Into The Depths Of The Hotel

Nightmares

(Y/n) awoke, finding their hair tangled.

Thankfully, these entities don't know what a bad hair day is, so I think I'm good.

There was one thing gripping (Y/n)'s conscience; Seek's head was hung lowly, signalling something wrong.

"Seek, are you okay?" (Y/n) warily scanned the area around them, approaching the entity with concern.

Seek was wordless, soundless. Not a thing crept from the creature, except for the inky black of its body.

"Figure, is Seek okay?" (Y/n) fixed their focus onto Figure, to realize there was blood covering it. The ribcage that wrapped it's torso had a rib missing from the right side, and another was cracked.

I don't like where this is going..

Figure raised its head to show the eye of Seek caught on one of its front teeth. It smiled at them, as the eye fell apart.

"What's wrong?" Figure asked in a tone deeper than its usual,"You look like you've seen a ghost."

It's voice deepened at the end, to something otherworldly. (Y/n)'s skin crawled as they froze into place.

"Seek..no." (Y/n) cried, holding an arm out towards Seek, who sat at the other side of the room.

"You humans are always the same, coming in and harming us. Things have changed." Figure's voice boomed, and (Y/n) couldn't see Seek's eye anymore.

Their hands felt wet and sticky, so their gaze fell to discover Seek's eye in their hands. When they looked up again, the room had shifted into Seek's hallway, complete with flaming chandeliers and crushing hands.

Seek stood before them, eyeless,"Why would you do this to me, (Y/n)? I though we were friends.."

(Y/n) went to wrap their arms around Seek, but fell forwards into a darkness. The place shifted into the library.

A voice, the same demonic voice from earlier, rang in their ears,"You've done no good here. Run away, run away from them for their sake."

Figure hurried towards them, without any ribs broken or lost, and stood in front of them, blocking whatever it was that was after them.

You can't protect them forever.

"I'll do it for as long as I can then." It hissed back, raising its arms.

The room went dark, and blood ran down Figure's torso. Red blood. Human blood.

(Y/n) hugged at its legs, sobbing bitter tears and choking back repressed sorrows.

It disintegrated into dust, blown into the black of the night. A spotlight appeared on (Y/n), and they realised it was a smaller library with a red switch in the dark. They wandered in, to be met with Screech.

You'll leave them all to die.

(Y/n) grabbed Screech out of agitation, and held it close to their chest, "I'll protect them from you, whatever you are!"

Their confidence wasn't enough to stop Screech from dissolving in their arms.

They closed their eyes, only to open it when a distorted buzzing sounded. A slender, black figure, alike to Seek, appeared in front of them. It was identical, except it was faceless. A purplish hue hung about it, unlike the violet one from under the door.

It held a hand out,"Want to see how this all ends?"

Reluctantly, (Y/n) took it; they felt obliged to.

(Y/n)'s eyes widened in pure horror, only to wake up at home, in their own bed. The figure was nowhere to be seen, and they sighed, nerves calmed.

Their alarm clock rang out, showing an alarm for six thirty-five. Slamming their hand onto the button, they silenced it.

Swinging their legs out of bed, they headed downstairs for something to eat, and to greet their parents.

Opening the fridge, they took a snack from it, before scouting the house for their parents. The news was on in their living room, and (Y/n) heard the male presenter ramble on about inflation and the economy.

A female voice came on, insisting the next segment was breaking news. (Y/n) had seen a variety of different things dubbed breaking news, typically local stabbings and food shortages. What took them off guard was that it was a building that had burned to the ground. They were taking live footage of it burning and rambled on regarding it.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, we're here live at the scene, giving you the best shot we can of this burning building. As you can see behind me, the abandoned hotel has miraculously caught fire overnight. Nobody is in the building, as far as we've been told, but firefighters are scouting the building for any survivors. We'll keep you updated."

(Y/n)'s breath hitched in their throat, and their airways threatened to close up.

"No!" They screamed, dropping their food to the floor,"This can't be!"

The figure emerged from behind, placing it's hands on their shoulders,"But it is."

"No, please! Don't let them die! I beg you!" (Y/n) roared, sobbing.

They got on their hands and knees and prayed, despite not being religious nor superstitious.

★

Figure had nodded off accidentally, having grown weary. It jolted the moment (Y/n) started screaming.

Seek pushed itself off of the sofa and onto its feet, ready to run. When it realized (Y/n) was screaming, it stumbled over to them, oddly very alert.

"(Y/n), are you alright?" Seek asked, looming over them in the dark.

Figure sat up, gripping both armrests tightly,"(Y/n), this isn't a joke, is it?" It asked.

Seek placed a comforting hand on their shoulder, feeling them shudder. They were whimpering in their sleep and Seek could feel their damp face.

"..Please, leave them alone..leave me alone.." (Y/n) whimpered, curling up into a ball.

Seek sympathetically pet their shoulder,"It's ok, (Y/n), they won't get any of us."

(Y/n) wept,"The hotel..it's burned down..they're gone, all of them.."

True, it was difficult to understand what was being said, and it would've been easier had they enunciated, but Seek listened as best they it could.

Figure let out a growl louder than (Y/n)'s cries, startling them awake.

"Seek?" (Y/n) blurted out, mind hazy with sleep.

"(Y/n), did you have a nightmare-"

"You're alright!" They squealed, wrapping their arms around them,"The hotel, it burned down. Everyone was against eachother, and.."

Seek returned the embrace,"You sound exhausted, you should probably get some sleep."

"I don't know if I can, I can't risk it coming back." (Y/n) groaned, slumping over.

Seek offered to sleep besides them, to comfort them if they needed it. (Y/n) wanted to decline, but they instead shuffled up a little and draped Seek in the blanket.

Closing their eyes, they nestled down again to sleep.