The Lost Hotel

It was an unusual hotel. Abandoned. Dusty. Tucked between two alleys in the quieter part of London. An odd spot for a hotel. It was almost as if it was hidden away from the main streets, from the passersby. Ellie wonders if the hotel even attracted any business. Nothing about the hotel seemed eye-catching.

Despite her lack of interest here she was, standing outside the rundown hotel with her closest and only friend Nico. It was Nico’s idea to visit the hotel in hopes of some thrill he thinks Ellie desperately needs. Of course, Nico doesn’t know that his apothecary friend has more than enough adventure distributing remedies and poisons in her shop. 

Meanwhile, Nico steps ahead and tries the heavy door to the hotel. As expected it wouldn’t budge but Nico was prepared. He jams in his crowbar and pries the door open a bit with many efforts. Ellie helps by slicing off the latch of the door and pushing it open. 

Behind the door is a decent-sized reception. On the right are a wooden desk and a hallway leading to what they could assume to be guest rooms. On the left is a sitting area with a staircase to the second floor. Despite the settled dust, it was easy to make out the lush carpet under their feet, the fancy interior that would be in a 5 star rated hotel in the city centre. It was definitely beyond what the pair of teenagers had expected.

The seventeen-year-old girl heads for the oak desk near the doorway. On the desk lied a rotary dial phone and a register with a pen between the pages. When she reaches out to try the phone Ellie notices the cord was cut. No point in trying to make a call then, Ellie thinks. Opening the register, Ellie is surprised to find the pages filled with long entries. Why would anyone visit a hotel so far off? The last entry was in 1890. 

6 Apr 1890, Mr Breyley, Sunday, 3:00 afternoon

Each entry was similar, with only one or two standing out. Those entries were of couples. Ellie wonders what the time meant? Was it the time the guest arrived? Or left? 

She is about to call out for Nico when she notices the boy missing from the room. She steps away from the desk, looking through the rooms for the younger.

Nico gasps in surprise when he opens the show box filled with wads of bills. He had wandered through the whole hotel, deducting most of it to be boring. But then he stumbled into the last room on the top floor, more vibrant than others. The room had its bathroom, and the closet was filled with regal, fancy clothes. It might have belonged to the owner of the place. Nico moves on to the cabinet in the room, opening to find shoe boxes stacked in it. 

Shoe boxes filled with money. Nico pulls out the money, examining it. He shivers with the realization that the money is real, counts it when something drops on his hand. 

Nico frowns at the slimy substance. He looks up at the source and his scream is muffled before it could ever get out. 

Ellie goes through the rooms one at a time calling out for her friend. "Nico, you better not have left me here." She grumbles under her breath. 

She opens the door to the last room, convinced Nico had pranked her successfully and left her alone. Her skin prickles with anticipation as she walks in towards the shoe box and the money lying on the floor, kneeling to pick it up when she hears the door shut and the lock clicks into its place. 

Ellie freezes, her breath caught in her chest. Something in Ellie clicks, the entries make sense when she looks back at the door. Nico grins at her maliciously, half of him covered in dirty green slime. His mouth is not a jaw and his hands are claws. The time in the entries wasn't the time of arrival or departure. It was the time of death.