'Oh, hell no.'
Xavier stood in front of the open elevator door, staring at the dark corridor stretching ahead of him.
There was no way that he was going there. The place looked as if no one had set foot there in ages. The layout made no sense, with the corridor leading straight ahead, instead of running in both directions. Considering the length of the corridor, it went against the shape of the building. On top of that…
Xavier glanced at the display in the elevator.
13.
The problem? The hotel didn't have the 13th floor. They skipped it, just like many hotels tended to do.
This, on its own, could naturally be dismissed as an error. Perhaps the screen malfunctioned and displayed a wrong number. It could have been…
That is, if Xavier were to disregard all the weird events leading up to it.
And the impossible layout, of course.
Tzzt, tzzt.
The lights above Xavier's head flickered, prompting him to throw another quick glance at the elevator's ceiling. Not wanting to stay in this eerie place any longer, he reached out and pressed floor number seven, hoping to return to his room.
And…
Nothing.
The door didn't close, the elevator didn't move. The diode in the middle of the button didn't even light up.
Once again, Xavier tried all the other floors, the alarm, the speaker. Even the emergency stop, even though it seemed pointless when the elevator wasn't moving. He just wanted to check if anything worked.
However, it was to no avail. The elevator was still completely unresponsive.
He stared at the control panel for a moment, before turning back to the corridor.
…Yeah, nope.
He wasn't going there. He wasn't going to be like those stupid characters from horror movies, who willingly walked straight into danger. And yes, he had been the one to press all the buttons according to the instructions from the urban legend he had heard…
But he was drunk, alright? Drunk people weren't exactly known for making the most sound choices.
And it's not like he expected anything to happen. It was supposed to be just a stupid legend, after all. If he had known…
Right, the legend. Xavier furrowed his brows, trying to recall that moment at the bar when he had heard the story. While he was not an expert when it came to the urban legends, they also contained ways to exit the 'secret realms' or deal with the spirits, no? As long as he remembered the woman's directions…
'Ah, shit.'
Xavier's shoulders dropped at the sudden realization.
He had never heard what came after pressing the numbers. Bored with the stupid, un-scary story, he had grabbed his drink and moved to another table, ditching the woman.
And now, for that very choice, he was doomed. He had to figure out the way out on his own somehow. His last hope was looking it up online, but as he pulled out his phone, there was no signal.
Because of course there wasn't. He was in the 'ghost realm', or whatever.
With a heavy sigh, Xavier leaned against the back wall of the elevator, keeping an eye on the corridor.
Thinking logically, if there were any ghosts, or monsters, or anything else, around, the chances that they would find and get him weren't any lower if he ventured outside. Quite the opposite, since that could be seen as his invading their space. As for looking for any exists… The elevator was still his safest bet. It might have been unresponsive now, but once the morning came…
Xavier glanced at his phone.
Quarter past four. There should be around two hours left till dawn.
He could afford to wait that much.
He stuffed his phone back in his pocket, focusing on his surroundings instead. Boring as staring at the empty corridor was, he had to remain vigilant. Not that he had much hope that he'd be able to defend himself in case any supernatural beings truly came - he was just a regular guy, who had no prior experience with anything paranormal - but still.
He should at least try his best, no?
The world around him seemed deathly still and silent. Nothing moved, except for the vapor forming in the air from his breath, as well as the elevator lights, which flickered every now and then. The air was frigid. So much so that Xavier couldn't help but huddle his arms, curling his shoulders for warmth, but even that didn't stop him from shivering. The alcohol in his system didn't seem to be doing much to warm him, the only thing that it was doing was…
"Gasp!"
All of a sudden, Xavier's head snapped up, his eyes widening.
His drunkenness and lack of sleep were getting the better of him, causing him to doze off. Thankfully, whether it was his survival instinct or something else, he managed to snap out of with before fully drifting away.
That was a close call. If he fell asleep now, he probably wouldn't even know what killed him.
Which perhaps wouldn't be so bad if he were to die anyway - at least he would be spared the fright and suffering - but still. It was too early to give up just yet.
He quickly scanned the corridor in front of him. Still perfectly peaceful and still, even if in an extremely eerie way. Xavier half-expected something to suddenly jump from the side or above, but no such thing happened.
Only after staring intently for a good few minutes, he exhaled with relief.
Seems like he wouldn't be dying just yet.
Keeping an eye on the hallway, he reached into his pocket to check the time. The small display in the elevator seemed to be broken, and it couldn't be relied on anyway. It was better to just check the phone…
Quarter past four.
…Huh?
Xavier rubbed his eyes, before taking a look again, but the numbers remained the same. Not even a minute had passed since the last time he had checked.
At least according to his phone.
But, let's be honest, that made absolutely no sense.
In a last desperate attempt, Xavier unlocked the screen, and opened the clock app, turning on the stopwatch. If the time on his phone couldn't tell him the passage of time, then at least the stopwatch should do the job.
However, it was a problem he had to face, whether he liked it or not.
Because no matter how many times he tried to use the stopwatch, the time remained at 00:00:00. The icon changed from 'start' to 'pause' with each tap, but nothing really worked.
The place seemed to be frozen in time.
…What did that mean to his plan of waiting for the dawn?
Xavier gulped loudly, staring at the screen, his heart sinking lower and lower with each passing second. Seconds that the stopwatch on his phone couldn't register at all.
Then, he slowly lifted his eyes, taking another look at the corridor.
…He had to go there, didn't he?