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It might be a text, an e-mail, or a personal message on any number of social networking
sites. It may be from a friend, a relative, or a random person you happened to connect
with and quickly forgot about. You will receive this message, and it will
be four words.
"come to the hotel"
There will be nothing more. No capitalization, no punctuation, even if this is someone who
would normally chide others for posting such an imperfect message.
You will receive the message, and you will become concerned. Maybe you will think your
Grandmother is in trouble. Maybe you will think your best friend has found something
important you have to see to believe. Perhaps this will come across as the green light for
an anonymous night of passion.
You will obey the message.
You will come to the hotel.
It can be any hotel. It could be the one blocks away, or you might pass that over and drive
for miles. The hotel could be one you stayed at while on business, or one you remember
from a pleasant childhood road trip. It could be at the beach, in the city, or even on the
grounds of a famous resort.
You will come to the hotel.
You'll probably drive, but failing that you'll hitch-hike. Even if you've never done it before
and there's a great risk of personal danger, you will do it. If you have to walk, you will
walk. If you were wearing heels when the message arrived, if they break, you will cast them
aside and continue walking. You would crawl on hands and knees if the situation demanded
it.
When you see the hotel, even if it's just the neon sign pulsating in the night sky,
you will feel a sense of increasing panic.
Why are you coming to the hotel? Who's there? What's there? Why would someone you trusted...
or worse, someone didn't know... why would they impose upon you like this? What is so
damned important that you have to be right here, right now?
You will want to turn back, and if you want you can do it. Just be ready to make a u-turn
when curiosity and worry overwhelm you once again. It's just a matter of time, but please
feel free to go in circles all you like.
You will come to the hotel.
You WILL come to the hotel.
The desk clerk will greet you as if nothing is wrong. For all he knows, that's true. You'll
give your name and ask if anyone's waiting for you. He won't even need to hear the rest
once you announce who you are. He'll just smile and thrust a key out at you.
It will be room nine.
It will be room nine, and you will come to room nine.
You came to the hotel.
You came to the hotel, that was the hard part.
Come to room nine.
The key will open the appropriate room, and you will enter. Even though it is as black
as pitch inside that room, you will enter. There's no reason to be afraid, and you will
understand this. You will realize how ridiculous you were acting, and you will feel bad for
wasting so much time in getting here.
You will see a light in the darkness. Colorful, shifting, bright, square. It will be a phone.
It will be the phone that belonged to whomever sent you the message.
"come to the hotel"
You will close the door and find yourself in a void, except for the light of that phone.
It will glow steadily as it raises from the floor, up the wall, to the ceiling. Then,
it will suddenly drop as the sound of footsteps echo above your head.
Your phone will be full of contacts. It will be connected to your favorite social networks,
which it instantly logs into for your convenience.
Someone will receive a message. It may be for a friend, a relative, or a random person
you happened to connect with and quickly forgot about.
"come to the hotel"