The Room (A Short Story by Austin Garfield)

         Lightning strikes on the glowing city, as a car parks in front of a hotel. A man in a suit and briefcase walks out, his name is Ronald Johns. He was on a business trip, but his flight was delayed due to a heavy storm. The next flight wouldn’t leave until tomorrow, so he decided to stay in a hotel. After grabbing his briefcase and locking the car, he walked through the automatic glass door, and headed to the front desk. A young woman was standing there, a casual smile on her face. “Hello, " said the attendant, “Welcome to Reynolds hotel.” “Uh hey,” said Ronald, “I just need a room for tonight, cheapest you got, I’ll take it.” The attendant nodded and searched through the computer that wasn’t visible from over the desk. “We seem to have a regular room on this floor, room 13,” said the attendant, “That’ll be 150 for the night, if that’s fine with you, sir.” The man sighed and said, “Sure, better than sleeping in a car I guess, paying with a card by the way,” he says as he hands his credit card to her. The attendant grabs it and swipes it. A beep of approval was heard, and the attendant gave the card back. “Enjoy your stay, sir,” said the attendant with a smile, and then handed him another card for the room.

Johns walked to the left of the desk, the entrance to the rooms of the first floor. The doors were guarded by a man who quietly, and smiling as much as the girl, opened them as soon as he arrived. Johns walked through the halls of rooms, each with a number on the doors, whether they painted or nailed to the door, he couldn’t tell. Johns then came by Room 13. The room seemed like nothing out of the ordinary, just another red and black door. He put the card on the card reader, lighting green to indicate that it’s open. Ronald put his hand on the black doorknob, about to turn it, but then it suddenly felt cold. Not normal cold, like when metal isn’t touched for some time and feels cool. It felt like holding death in your hands, and Johns was thinking in his head, “What the hell?,” as he was still holding the knob. It felt like seconds going to minutes for Johns, but he shook it off and opened the door. The room was dark, light from a window that wasn’t visible from the doorway barely lit the area. It was even colder here than the doorknob, like walking into a freezer naked. Ronald then felt the wall for a light switch, his hands feeling like they’re touching ice, and eventually found it, clicking it on.

        The room was completely lit in a warm light, showing a room with red sheets on a bed that looked too big for a regular room. On his left was a bathroom, with the darkness making it seem more anonymous than usual. Ronald walked in further, shutting the door and hearing the automatic lock. “Huh,” Johns thought in his head, “Must be one of those doors that opens from the inside.” Johns continues walking into the room, throwing his case on the bed and sitting on the left side of it, before finally taking off his shoes. The room was unbelievably cold, the warmth of his socks doing nothing to defend his feet. He stood up and looked around to see if he could find a thermostat, with his entire body shuddering with chills, then finally saw it by the corner of the wall. He walked to it, lifting his arm in an attempt to press it before noticing a note on it: BROKEN. WILL FIX TOMORROW.

“Son of a bitch!,” he exclaimed out loud. In annoyance, he walked back to the bed, lifting the sheets, then laid in the bed before covering himself in the sheets. It was getting warm, but not enough to not mind the coldness of the room. He then noticed a TV in front of the bed, he didn’t recall seeing one, “Guess I didn’t notice,” he told himself, “Almost looks like the one I had during college.” He looked around and saw the remote on the nightstand at the right side of the bed, also looking like the one he also had for the TV in college. He examined the remote, astonished at the coincidence, before finally hitting the power button. The TV turned on, showing an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S, one of his favorite shows during college. In fact, it was an episode he explicitly remembered watching in college, since it was an episode he watched with his college girlfriend. He then remembered a specific detail about his remote, turning it over and opening the cover for the batteries. Looking under the cover, his eyes grew wide as he saw what was written: RJ’S PROPERTY!

Ronald dropped the cover and got out of bed seconds after. “What the hell?!?,” he said in a confused and worried tone, “No way, there’s no fucking way.” He stared at the cover for a bit, before finally looking at the TV, and came to another realization. He walked towards it, moved the left side of it towards him, then looked to see his initials and message written in gray sharpie. It was his TV and remote from College. “Okay someone has to be messing with me,” he thought, “This can’t be real. It just can’t for god’s sake!” He then heard the water turning on in the bathroom, hearing the water faucet entering the drain of the sink. He quickly reached for his briefcase, opening it, and pulled out a knife that he kept in case of emergencies. He turned around and slowly walked towards the bathroom. The light was off and the faucet was still running, Johns then shouted, “Who’s there?! I’m warning you, I have a weapon!” 

No response came and the faucet was still running. As he got closer to the door, he saw the bathroom mirror from his angle. While it was still dark, he noticed a silhouette that looked like a girl. He then rushed quickly into the bathroom, turning on the light and screamed out, at an attempt to surprise whomever was in there, "AHHHH!" But no one was there, the room was too small for anyone to not go unnoticed. He looked behind the door and saw no one there. He then noticed the shower curtain closed, and despite seeing no silhouette, he thought someone had to be there. He slowly walked, panicking and breathing heavily, then finally yanked open the curtain. No one was there, despite seeing a silhouette of a girl before entering, there was no sign of one. He then sighed in relief, “All in your head,” said Johns as he walked to the faucet, splashing water on his face a total of five times.

He put the handle down on the faucet, the water finally stopping its sounds of escape. After wiping the water off his face with a hand towel that was next to him, the coldness now being numb to him, he was looking down and saw, at the corner of his eye, a toothbrush. He was still partially blinded by the water, but could make it out as a pink toothbrush, remembering that his toothbrush was blue, and never took it out once at this hotel. At first he considered the person before leaving it, but then noticed something on it. He blinked a few times, finally being able to see clearly, and saw another set of initials on it. He instantly recognized it as his ex-girlfriend had the exact same toothbrush, and the initials were hers: LA. 

Johns was breathing heavily again, before noticing movement in the mirror. He turned and looked, seeing someone recognizable. A blonde haired woman with a smile on her face, her skin pale and broken. “Lucy?,” asked Johns in shock, before the woman reached out to him. Her reflection coming out of the mirror and pulling him in one quick movement. The lights flickered, both the one outside and inside the bathroom, and finally they returned to normal. The room is now empty once again, with nothing more than a simple bed with red sheets covering it. The lights then switch off.