Frights (Scary Stories)

2. Star Motel

The rain was pouring down hard, blocking the view outside the windshield. My gas tank was empty, and it seemed there was no where to go. A light in the distance illuminated the darkness. As my car drew closer to it, I saw it was a sign for "Star Motel." The weather was only going to get worse, I could just stay there for one night and go home in the morning. The gravel parking spot threw up rocks into the air as I drove quickly to a parking spot. There was only two other cars, a little green truck and a yellow june bug. The motel had brick halfway up the wall, then it changed to yellow paneling on the other half. Mud splashed up on my jeans as I walked towards the check in area. A bell rang as I opened the door. The room had a couple of chairs and a desk. Behind that desk was a girl, 20 maybe. She had dark raven hair and black eyes. Her face was red and there was a cut on her cheek bleeding lightly. "Hello sir," she said smiling.

"Hey, sorry for coming in so late. The rain out there was blocking my view."

She smiled, "Its no problem sir, are you only booking a room for tonight?"

I said yes and she told me the price for the room, which was way too expensive by the looks of the motel. She handed me the key to my room, 56. Walking out of the check in area, I saw that a door to a room on the far end of the motel was wide open. I couldn't see inside all the way. I went to my room, the door was red and seemed to have scratch marks near the bottom of it. Once stepping into my room, a nasty smell hit me. It smelled like old water that had gotten dirty over time. I began to look around, and the room seemed pretty nice, besides that horrid smell. Everything was clean, even the shower which in most motels is filled with mildew, or someones athletes foot. The rain poured down harder and harder outside, rattling the roof of the motel. Storms was something that never frightened me, not as a child, and not now. There was always a sense of calmness found in the storms that could cause so much damage. After a while I laid on the bed and dozed off for a little bit.

A scream awoke me. I rushed to the window and looked out of it, there was nothing. It was probably a dream. I was too busy trying to find out the source of the scream to notice the smell of dirty water was stronger now. I looked around everywhere, in the shower, cabinets, anywhere that could have water. Then I looked at the bed. Maybe the sheets were wet from being washed, but I don't think it would make it have a dirty smell. Wanting to know anyway, I took off the comforter of the bed, the sheets were clean. There was something under the sheets showing through. When the sheets were thrown off the bed, it revealed writing in some type of red substance. The writing was messy, but readable. "Look under." Chills ran down my spine, what was the red substance? What does look under mean? The smell of the red substance went up my nostrils, and I could tell it wasn't paint; the red substance was blood. Look under the bed! The thought hit me. The floor thumped as I dropped to my knees and looked. There was a square place in the floor that sat slightly higher than the floor around it. My arm wasn't long enough to reach it on the ground, so I moved the bed out of the way. The bed was now up against the wall. It was a hatch. The hatch had a circular handle. Seeing no other choice, I pulled the handle. Cold air, along with the strong smell of dirty water, came into the room. It was dark down there, so I went out to my car and got my flashlight. On the way back to my room, I looked towards the lobby, and saw the raven haired girl pulling a circular thing of carpet. Something sketchy was going on at this place. I rushed back into my room, and when shining the flashlight at the hatch; I could see a ladder leading down to somewhere.

It was stupid to do so, but I slowly climbed down the wooden ladder. I could tell I landed on dirt at the bottom. I got my flashlight and shone it around the room. The room was made of stone, not stone used to build a house, but stone someone would find at a river. The room wasn't completely enclosed, on the wall next to the ladder, was a long hallway with steps going up at the end. The sound of a door opening echoed through the hallway and into the room in which I was standing. My breathes came harder and harder as the sound of someone coming down the stairs filled my ears. My foot hit something as I slowly backed away. I turned and shone my flashlight, revealing a circular well. I felt like I was in a nightmare. The light of my flashlight shone something deep down in the bottom of the well, floating in the water. A round object floated, it turned towards me. A lifeless body floated at the bottom of the well. Panic fueled my body, the sound of footsteps coming from behind me made me turn quickly. The raven haired girl was pulling the carpet down the hall, she hadn't seen me yet. I threw my flashlight back up into the room and climbed the ladder fast. If she hadn't seen me, she sure had heard me slamming the hatch door shut. My hands covered my mouth in shock. There was a knock at the door.

"Hello? Please help me, anyone." My legs felt like they were gonna give out beneath me as I looked through the tiny peephole in the door. A young woman stood in a blood covered night gown, she had marks all over her face. She wasn't part of what was going on here, I could tell. She partly let her way in when the door opened and slammed it behind her.

"Please help, they're after me?"

"Who's after you?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"All of them," she said before the hatch behind us shook with force. Someone was trying to get in.

"Lets get out of here." I said and went for my keys. The thumping on the hatch door stopped. I guided the woman outside in the rain towards my car. Once I got her in the car, I looked over to the room that had a open door earlier. What I saw was a very tall and slender man with a machete in his hand. Then I looked towards the lobby and saw the raven haired girl with a kitchen knife.

"No! Get in, come on now!" the woman in the car screamed as both of the people started running towards me. I hopped in my car just in time. The girl was stabbing at my door with the knife as the man tried to break the window.

The truck skidded some as I backed out of the motel parking lot as fast as I could.

"Don't let them get away!" a voice in the distance screamed.

Once at the police station, the woman told the police the people running the motel were murdering their guest, and doing things with the bodies. It had to do something with them using the bodies as offerings to something. I don't want to know what. I wish I would have kept driving in the rain that night. It would save me from thinking those people are watching me sleep at night. At least I hope its just in my head.