The night was surprisingly stormy for early summer. The man sighed as he sat back in the cab's seat. His flight had landed late, and now he was hoping to at least take a nap before he had to leave for work again. At least the hotel he was staying at was more than accommodating. They were letting him check in nearly two in the morning.
The cab pulled up to an older yet rather fancy hotel, not like the one he thought he booked. Although, as he looked at the address on his booking, it was indeed the right hotel. The cabdriver took his bag out and drove back into the night.
The man sighed, and walked into the hotel completely drenched. However, it didn't seem to bother the concierge who waited at the desk. His hair had been slicked to the side and he wore a very formal uniform completed by white gloves.
"How may I be of service?" the concierge asked with a slight bow.
"Yes, I booked a room for the next few days. Here's my paperwork," the man explained, handing him his phone. The concierge compared the information on the phone to the computer before handing it back.
"Ah, yes, there you are. Room 327. Right this way," the concierge smiled, leading the way. The man looked around, surprised to be taken to his room. There was no one else in sight, not even another employee.
"Don't you have to man the desk?"
"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll just be a few minutes, and very few patrons come so late at night," the concierge informed before boarding an elevator. The man followed with his bag.
The elevator matched the hotel's older sophisticated style, and he wondered if the hotel had ever been updated. There was a level to move the elevator instead of the now normal buttons. However, the concierge used it with precision and accuracy.
Once on the third floor, the room was relatively easy to find. The concierge pulled out a key and unlocked the door for the guest. The man sighed, realizing that he hadn't even seen the concierge grab the key.
"Now, don't lose this key. It's the only one available," he informed, handing the key to the guest. The man took it gingerly and nodded, walking into his room. "There is a swimming pool and hot tub open all hours of the day, except between the hours of 1am and 2am for cleaning."
"Thank you," the man replied. The concierge bowed before closing the door behind him.
The room was larger than he expected, which he appreciated. He had paid in advance, and was surprised to be receiving such wonderful service. As he started to unpack for the night, there was a knock at the door. When he answered it, there was no one there.
"Hello?" he called out. Laughter was the response, and he frowned. With a sigh, he grabbed his key and left his room. "You shouldn't be out this late, especially messing with other guests."
Where he expected children to come around the corner, there was nothing. Even as he went farther down the hallway, there was no sign that there had been anyone there. With a sigh, he turned around.
Much to his surprise and horror, the hallway to his room was gone. Instead, an elevator was present with the doors open. He looked inside, wondering if the children were in there. It was in fact empty. With a sigh and a shrug, he walked into the elevator.
He wondered if he had lost time due to lack of sleep, or in fact had sleepwalked. It would explain the hallway disappearing. However, as he looked at the floor indicator, it did say he was on the third floor.
"That's good, I guess," the man grumbled as he took a step toward the exit. The doors shut on him, nearly taking his foot off. He shouted in surprise before looking for a door opening button. Before he could, the elevator took off upwards.
As he stumbled at the speed of the ascent, he could hear the groaning and screeching of the elevator. He grabbed at the walls of the elevator, wondering if it was going to smash him against the roof of the shaft.
Just as he braced for impact, the elevator slowed down and came to a stop. The doors flew open to show the pool deck on the roof. Without a moment of hesitation, he dashed out of the elevator and collapsed on his knees. He could hear the doors close again behind him as the elevator descended again.
Catching his breath, he stood in the darkness. He was surprised to see that the rain had ceased and he could see the stars. They were strange, and more orange in nature than he remembered. With a deep breath, he turned around and saw the concierge behind him.
"It's beautiful up here, isn't it?" he asked the guest, who stared at him horrified.
"Um, yeah," the man whispered, glancing up. The concierge looked in front of him for a moment, then turned to the guest.
"The stars always come out to watch this part," the concierge chuckled. The man could see fanged teeth in the concierge's smile as both of his eyes turned yellow completely. Even the white's of his eyes were now an almost glowing chartreuse.
"Excuse me?" the man hissed, hiding his terror. The concierge turned to him with almost inhuman speed and pushed the guest with all his might. The man flew across the roof and tripped over the edge.
The next thing the man knew was that he was falling. He could see the stars getting farther away and the ground grew closer. He shut his eyes, scared of the impact.
The man's pain grew more intense as he opened his eyes. He was sprawled on his back and it was incredibly painful to move. Remembering what had happened, he surmised that he should have died when he landed. However, he was conscious and could feel everything.
Just as the man tried to move, the concierge with yellow eyes and sharp teeth smiled down at him. The concierge reached over and grabbed his chest, dragging a small glowing orb out of the guest's body. The darkness closed in again as the guest could hear faint words from the concierge as he pocketed the orb.
"Thank you for staying at Hotel Hell."
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