A Hotel Right Off The Freeway

Devin was dead tired. His eyes felt detached. Twelve hours of straight driving will do that. He had to be vigilant of snow. Icy roads and eighteen wheelers do not mix well.

He spun the steering wheel and proceeded to park the truck in the designated area for his kind. He was the only semi in the lot at the back of the hotel his boss had booked for him. The young lady behind the front desk typed on the computer. She was having trouble getting him a room. Devin did not have the energy for this. He sat with his head between his shoulders in the lobby.

While waiting for the lady to fix whatever it was that held him there, he looked around. There was a bar in the restaurant of the lobby. He could go for a drink but he knew one drink turned to two and he had to drive the next day. 

Eventually, he was allowed access to his room but not before the young woman warned him. 

“You might hear things at night. This place is haunted.”

Devin sighed and shrugged. “At least it's not snow.”

He stayed on the third floor. The elevator had a light that flickered. He watched it. 

“Please,” he said aloud. “I just need to sleep and I'll leave early tomorrow.”

The bulb went out as soon as Devin stepped into the hallway. He waited for the doors to close then he went on. The hallways were long and empty. He dropped his backpack when the door to his room wasn't opening. He held the hotel's card to the electronic lock and it showed green but it wouldn't budge. Over his shoulder the backpack went and he faced the elevator to go speak to the front desk. A baseball sat by the elevator. The hallways seemed abandoned. 

Devin shook his head in disapproval and faced his room again. The door was open. After a brief second of contemplation, he thanked whatever was there. 

The small room had a mirror by the entrance, two beds, one to sleep the other to jump on if the occasion arises. He couldn't figure out how to turn on the television. He showered in the clean bathroom and got comfortable. A blunt he rolled the night before waited for him. He opened the window of the room. Outside, the white pine trees looked down at him. He lit up and pondered.

He was having a conversation with himself about going down to the bar. A hard drink was earned. He deserved it. Maybe, he could find company down there.

After achieving highness, he decided the best choice was to save money and sleep. He didn't want to be tired for tomorrow's drive even if it was six hours shorter. He slid onto the stiff mattress and struggled to doze off.

He didn't feel time pass, when the TV roared on. He launched up to see a nurse telling an older woman she'll be fine. It was a commercial.

He walked over and turned it off. He waited for a second in silence, anticipating it to roar again. He groaned at the idea that he couldn't figure it out earlier and it turned on by itself. He went to bed. 

An excessive amount of caffeine had Devin between consciousness and a fever dream of people in his room. 

The TV woke him. He laid in bed staring at the ceiling. His ears were filled with a man yelling at someone to get up. His eyes shifted to the action movie playing. 

The channel was changed to a music video of people dancing. The artist sang about partying on a weekday.

“On a school night?” Devin giggled then grunted. “I have to work tomorrow. I need sleep. Please.”

The sound was amplified. Devin stood and attempted to turn it off. No luck. He wanted to lower the volume. The buttons didn't work.

He stared at the screen full of people dancing, drinking, smoking, and kissing. He yelled, “Fine.”

He complained as he dressed himself up. The volume lowered itself and in less than ten minutes, Devin was out the door. 

The hallway was packed with people moving left and right. They laughed and drank. Devin was awestruck. So many souls. 

A hand slid between his elbow and oblique. A slender arm wrapped up his muscular arm. He turned to see a woman he had never seen before by his side.

Her hair was loud and curly. Her face glistened from smoothness. The eyelids were low and he couldn't see the soul but the smile welcomed him. She held a beer bottle and presented it to him. “Can you finish this? I can't.”

Devin studied the bottle, her face, and his surroundings. He leaned his mouth to her ear. “Are you the one that's been playing with my TV?”

She laughed. “I just got here.” She extended her hand with the drink closer to his chest. “And so did you. Enjoy the night.” 

Devin chuckled as he shook his head. He grabbed the bottle and took a sip.

“Let's go downstairs.” She guided him to the elevator.

They sat at the bar watching people. He asked questions about why and how this place was packed. 

“Are you guys ghosts?”

“Maybe.” After some seconds she shook her head and said, “There's no such thing.”

“The lady at the front said this place was haunted. And the elevator light was flickering. My TV kept turning on and changing channels. There was a baseball by the elevator with nobody around.”

She shrugged. “Maybe, for the baseball, the kid hid so you could be scared. This place is old. Maybe that's the reason for the flickering. As for the TV, you probably slept on the controller.”

“That's what a ghost would say.”

They stayed up for hours laughing, drinking, and talking. She introduced herself as Claire. She was an elementary teacher. The kids were mean earlier that day so she wanted to drink. 

Devin was hypnotized until she asked if he wanted to come over for some free drinks. They were both young and plastered. Devin looked at a clock on the wall. One in the morning. He had to start driving in four hours.

“I can't. I have a long day tomorrow.” 

“Will you be back?”

He stopped functioning for a second. His head warmed up. Many words danced in his head. Sentences failed to form. He stuttered as a reply.

She giggled. “You'll be back.”

The elevator was quiet except for the electric buzzing. Many scenarios played behind Devins closed eyelids. His lips pouted. “Why didn't you go with her?”

“I have to work.”

He groaned and cursed the grind every human was expected to chase. More money was needed if he planned to visit this little. town.

The hallway of his floor was empty and clean like no one had been there. In his rented out bed, he hid under the sheets and blankets from the TV that continued to turn on. It was on mute but it showed a romantic movie. He covered his ears with a pillow. Someone wept on the other side of the walls. 

He woke hours later. It was almost the afternoon. He tried calling his boss but there was no signal. A look outside his window presented a winter wonderland. Everything was covered in snow. The snow covered the trunks of the pine trees. Two feet high he estimated.

He went into the vacant hallway. The elevator bulb that went out flickered again. The same young lady stood behind the front desk. She greeted him. 

“It's crazy out there,” she said. “I haven't been able to go home.”

“Were those ghosts last night?”

“I'm not sure what we are.”

He asked her to repeat herself.

“I'm not sure what we are. I don't know if it's the hotel or the town but we've been here for a long time.”

“What do you mean?” 

“The only way for you to understand is for you to try and leave.”

“I have to go to my family.” He bargained. 

“I'm sorry.”

Devin ran to the elevator. It moved too slow for his liking so he sprinted up the stairs. The hallway had some people standing around. They greeted him but he ignored them. He packed his belongings with haste. 

Back out the door, Claire was there. She smiled her grand smile. 

“I have to go.” Devin passed her with a pale face.

As soon as he stepped outdoors, he was blinded by snow that seemed to aim at his face. He couldn't move as fast or accurately as he begged himself to do. He went back into the hotel.

Claire sat in the lobby. She rolled a baseball from one palm to the other. Her eyes looked up to Devin who stood in front of her.

“Are you a ghost?” He asked.

“I hope not.” She smiled a weak smile. “I'd like to go home one day.”

He planted himself next to her.

“What now?” He asked. His spirit seemed to have left his body.

“We can get drunk. It's on me.” She laid a hand on top of his.

He didn't like the idea. He moved his hand and asked about the baseball. 

She focused on it before answering. “I think this is how it chooses who stays and who leaves. If you see it, it wants you here.”

He felt all the blood drain from his face. He pouted and wanted to cry. She wrapped her hands around his head and cradled him. 

“I know. I know. I'm sorry. But don't cry. The drinks are free and there's others just like us.”

“Misery loves company.”

He was silent than he stood up. 

“Let's get drunk,” he announced. 

He drank until the late hours of the day. He drank to forget the situation he was in. It never left his mind. 

In his room that night, the ceiling spun. He wanted to be alone. Claire did invite him over again but he couldn't stand. When he could, she was gone. The hallways were empty like his soul. His weeps joined the others’ in the hotel and the movie the TV wanted to play of people crying