A Night at the Hotel
"Hurry up Honey!" Michael put down the suitcases and looked at his watch.
"We are already 5 minutes late!" He sighed. He was so anxious to get away. His life had been
so busy lately, the wedding having to be post-poned 3 times because of it. Now, he just
wanted to get their honeymoon going, so he could have a week of peace and fun, and get away
from everything.
"Come on, our reservations will expire before we get there!" He heard steps coming,
then his wife appeared. Susan. She was dressed in a summer top, and cute little shorts. Sun
glasses and and sandals completed the set. "Santa Cruz, here we come!" She kissed him
joyfully, then hopped into the car. He packed the suitcases, hopped into the car, and they were
off. "Ah, this is going to be great..." Michael thought, smiling at Susan....
...near the end of the day they reached Santa Cruz. It was a sizely city, with quite a bit of hustle,
bustle, and attractions. Their plans were to see the sights a couple of days, and then head up
on a Cruise. It had been a long drive, and both were anxious to reach the hotel. The Evening
Dream. A moderatly fancy hotel, it had very nice, comfortable rooms, and it's share of features.
Poll, Spa, Sauna, Rec room, Resturant, Bar, and an assortment of other things. As Michael and
his wife pulled into the parking lot to the Lobby area, they could see it was well maintained.
They hopped out, went in, and went up to the Main Desk. "Hello there." "Hello sir, how may
I help you?" "I am on a honeymoon with my wife, and we have reservations here for 2, under
Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick." "Ok, just a minute sir.........yes, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick, room
31, 1st level. Here is your key. Thank you, and enjoy your stay here at The Evening Dream."
" Thank You." They trooped back to the car, and proceeded to park it near their room, at the
corner of the hotel. Room 31 was inside the outer door, down the hall, in the middle on the
right side. The only window the room had faced out back, where a cement walkway was. On
the other side of that was the second The Evening Dream building with more rooms. The room
accross the walkway had it's curtains drawn. The Fitzpatrick's entered and set the suitcases
on the floor. They then proceeded to unpack. The room featured a bathroom right next to
the door---it was a sink and towl area---with a door behind it with bath and restroom facilities.
Straight from the door was the living room, a TV, and a cooler/microwave. The adjacent room
had one Queen size bed, a dresser, and a lamp table with clock.
The Fitzpatrick's unpacked everything, and then went to the hotel's Resturant. They
enjoyed a lovely meal, and afterwards they went dancing. It was a fantastic evening. At 10:30
pm, they, tired but happy, went up to their room to turn in for the night. After they had
cleaned and showered themselves, they both into bed for their first night as a couple....
Something was shaking him. Michael opened his eyes. "Michael, what was that?",he felt Susan
whisper into his ear. "What was what?" "I heard something." They listened. Nothing. "Go to
sleep, sweetheart." He began to snuggle back into his pillow, when he heard it. A small, scratching
noise. "What....." he thought, still quite groggy from sleep. He perked up. Nothing. Then, again,
a faint, odd scratching noise came to his ears. He crawled out of bed, and, throwing on some pants
first, decided to check it out. He was standing next to the bed, on the side next to the door. The
curtains were drawn, but yellow street lamp light could be seen. His wife was laying on the window
side. He stood still, listening. The strange, creepy scratching sound crept out again. But, it didn't
sound like it was coming from anywhere.
Michael stood still, his breath making the only noise. The scratching had stopped again.
Nothing. Strangely, as trivial as scratching may seem, a bad feeling was begining to grow in Michael's
gut. Suddenly, his wife touched his hand. He had been so tense, he nearly yelped. He looked down
at her. Her face was white, deathly white. Her finger was accross her lips, meaning Quiet. Her other
hand pointed to the orange lit curtains. He raised his head to look. The orange glow was still there.
He looked back at her. He eyes had gotten really wide, she was trembling, and no longer looking at
him. He looked again to the curtain-clad window. He froze.
A black shadow had come accross it. A human shadow. It was creeping along. Past their
window. Then it was quiet. Nothing. And then, as if on cue, the strange, haunting scratching noise
broke out. He quickly pulled Susan out of bed, gave her pants and a shirt, and grabbed her hand.
Silently, they crept toward the door to the hallway. He then noticed the scratching had stopped
again. One hand clenching hers, the other reached into one of the suitcases, opened a secret compartment,
pulled out a gun, and tucked it into his waist. He put his hand on the door.
It opened softly and quietly, not making a sound. He took a deep breath, and stepped into
the hallway.
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