The Lobby

At first glance, the hotel seemed harmless enough. Creepy, perhaps. Definitely old. We had no choice, though, and all I cared about was a dry place to sleep.

Traveling buddies - a cross-country trip. What could be more fun? Well, let me tell you, things are not always what they should be. I was driving with my sister, Lara, in the passenger seat, my best friend Cybil was in the backseat with her sister Lisa. Lisa and Lara were going to be freshmen in college - we were the older sisters, doing our duty and getting them settled in.

About halfway to our destination it started raining, and I do mean rain! None of us could see beyond the hood of the car, so we pulled off the road to wait for the rain to lessen. Suddenly there was a knock on the window and I peered out into the rain to see a figure standing outside of the car. Obviously we were scared to death, and there was no way we were letting anyone in the car with us, but I cracked the window just the same and yelled to find out what the person wanted. How convenient for us, we pulled off the road into the parking lot of an old motel, and wouldn't you know it, there were rooms available, and we could wait out the storm here. We didn't think twice! We grabbed our things and bolted through the rain to the warmth of the hotel on the hill.

"What a creepy old building", Cybil muttered under her breath.

"SHHHHH!", I said. After all, why look a gift horse in the mouth, even if that horse is a hotel that needs some good old elbow grease and a nice airing out! We checked in at the front desk and walked through the lobby to the grand staircase. I looked back over my shoulder, sure that I had heard a knock on the wall and maybe even a human voice. I dismissed it as nerves and went up the stairs with the other girls. We had a long night ahead of us, and I wanted out of my wet clothes.

We all trooped up to our rooms, agreed that after a shower we would meet in the lobby. I jumped in, and turned the water on as hot as it would go. I admit, I may have been in the shower for an extended period of time, but I had no idea what waiting for me could do to the other girls....

About an hour after entering my room, I walked down the hall and knocked on Cybil's door. When she didn't answer I assumed that she had already gone downstairs. I then knocked on Lara's door and on Lisa's door, and when they didn't answer, I turned and walked down the stairs.

When I entered the lobby, my first thought was that I was being watched. My second was that it was empty. Where were the girls?! I went to the couch in front of the fireplace and sat down for a few minutes, thinking they may have gone to the kitchen for a snack. Finally, after waiting for a half hour, I went to the front desk to ask the clerk. However, after ringing the bell a few times and getting no answer, I decided to wait. After all, we said we would meet in the lobby...

Back in front of the fireplace, I curled up on the sofa and looked around. Funny, I thought, I don't remember the walls being that dark red color before. Again I heard a knocking in the wall and a kind of animal sound. I dismissed it as rats or mice and picked up a magazine. I was flipping through the pages when I thought I heard Lara call my name. I got up and looked around, but didn't see any of the girls anywhere. I was beginning to become alarmed and again approached the reception desk. I rang the bell, and in answer I heard a blood-curdling scream. AND IT WAS CYBIL'S VOICE THAT I HEARD! I ran around the desk and picked up the phone, but there was no dial tone. The storm must have knocked it out. I ran to the kitchen in search of a weapon of some sort, but the kitchen lights were not working, and I didn't want to go in there in the dark. I picked up a baseball bat that I found behind the desk and began to look around. I called out for Cybil and Lara. The only answer I got was the wind whistling through the chimney in the lobby. But that couldn't be, because there was a fire in the fireplace there!

I ran back into the lobby to find the fire was not burning, and there was no evidence that there had even been a fire at all. What was going on? I turned, and I saw the wall by the stairs bow out toward me, and the shadow of a hand reaching, reaching. I was mesmerized, and I walked toward the wall. What I saw made my blood run cold. The walls were not painted red, they were covered in blood. I could see beyond the blood into the walls, and I saw hundreds of people trapped, terribly injured, bleeding, dead. I began to run, but the floor buckled under me, causing me to fall. The lobby had decided on its next victim.

The walls began to close in on me, the floor was rolling like the ocean. There was no way to run, no place to hide. The stairs had turned into razor-sharp teeth. I could almost feel them closing over my legs as I tried to crawl across the floor. I looked up and saw Cybil standing in front of me. She had blood on her hands, and she was crying. I tried to reach her, but she was farther and farther away with each movement I made. Finally she looked across the room at me, and the madness in her eyes caused me to flinch away from her. The lobby had her, and it wasn't going to let her go. Suddenly I felt a pain so intense that it caused me to pass out. Knowing that it was my last hope, I latched onto the reception desk before I fell into the blackness of my own mind. When I came to, the sun was shining, the walls were still red, and I was trapped here in the hotel lobby. It seems the hotel has found a new front desk clerk. Please come in... There are plenty of empty rooms for you.