RAMSEY
In the mist filled night, with the owls flying past the orange moon, the elderly man, driving home from his business meeting, drove quickly down the curved highway, alone, and isolated from everything. Certainly tonight was not meant for driving as the visibility was growing quite obscure, so the man found a hotel on his GPS, however little did the man know that this hotel had a curse: a curse of death to all who came, the home of a psychopath.

Ending several miles later, the man pulled into a gravel parking lot, with not one car present. The hotel lights were off, but just as the man turned off the ignition to the car. The lights blasted on, nearly blinding the man. From the front of his windshield, a black shape came in front of the lights. Slowly the shape moved around the car, before suddenly the door burst open. The man turned to see a severely facially distorted man. His face was pulled so tight that it looked like the man was permanently smiling.

“Hello,” said the man without moving his lips as they were open, “Ramsey’s the name,” he continued.

“Er- Hello, I would like a room for the night,” said the man, named Howard.

“Splendid! This is quite marvelous! Come along,” said Ramsey, who backed up, revealing he was wearing a bright purple trench coat, and an olive green turtleneck sweater. His deathly white hair was slicked back so tightly it looked as if he were wearing a swimmer’s cap. Ramsey’s already high eyebrow, lifted yet higher.

“Hurry now, a storm is coming,” said Ramsey, pulling at Howard’s business jacket as if he were a young child.

“Okay, okay, just let me grab my bags,” said Howard who was slowly beginning to dislike Ramsey more and more each minute.

“I will grab them,” shrieked Ramsey who hurried to the back door, pulling out Howard’s suitcase and dropping it to the gravel ground.

“Come along, I will bring your bag later. The storm is coming! It will rain any minute,” said Ramsey, beginning forward towards the office door.

Howard followed, as Ramsey led him into the office which was glowing with a soft angelic light. Under the light, Ramsey turned to face Howard, revealing that Ramsey had gone under the knife about 50 times to many. Ramsey had drawn in eyebrows, and the smallest nose he had ever seen.

“Let me take you to a room,” said Ramsey, running over to the desk to grab a key.

“Don’t I need to check in?” asked Howard.

“Oh yes, I suppose. Just write your name on this,” snapped Ramsey, handing Howard a pink colored post-it.

Howard followed as Ramsey directed, and wrote his name. As he wrote it, he felt Ramsey move behind him.

“Hurry now, you need to get some rest,” said Ramsey, pulling the pen out of Howard’s hand before Howard had finished writing his last name.

“Very well,” said Howard, knowing he would not win with Ramsey.

Ramsey led Howard through the office, and into a nearby room: Suite 4.

Suite 4 featured a small mattress on the floor, with no sheets, or pillows. The walls were cement, and had pictures of Justin Bieber posted all over the walls, and ceiling. At the far wall, a small table with syringes and bottles was set, a wooden crate as the vanity chair.

“Do you like the room?” asked Ramsey looking most pleased with his suite.

“My granddaughter would like it, but I doubt I will be able to sleep with over one hundred pictures of Justin Bieber staring at me,” said Howard.

“Oh this isn’t your room. This is my room. I love Justin Bieber. His music is marvelous. I play karaoke in this room, the mattress is my stage and my bed. I listen to him all the time, and sing along when I give myself my botox injections to look like him. Isn’t this room just splendid?” asked Ramsey.

“Err—yes,” agreed Howard.

“Come along now, I will take you to your room,” said Ramsey.

“Good,” said Howard.

“You’ll be in Suite 5! We can have a karaoke party then!” Ramsey exclaimed.

“Oh god, no, I need to go to bed,” Howard said.

“Okay, well I will take you there still,” said Ramsey sounding rather saddened.

Ramsey led Howard to the next room over which was normal, much to Howard’s relief. There was a small bed, with paintings of deer on the wall. There was small desk with a notepad and phone, however the wire had been ripped from the wall.

“Good night, I shall bring your bag in the morning,” said Ramsey.

“Err-“ called out Howard, wanting his bag now, but Ramsey slammed the door behind him.

Howard locked the door, and then laid on the bed, quite tired. He leaned over to the switch and turned the light off. Several minutes passed then Howard fell asleep, drifting away from his real life.

Suddenly, a loud bang sounded.

“Perhaps thunder?” Howard said aloud, looking at the clock: it read 12:00 A.M.

Another bang came. It was coming from the door.

Howard slid off his bed, crawling behind.

Another bang came, this time, a bit of light shone through the door.

“You who, You who!” called the voice of Ramsey.

Howard leaned over the bed, to see Ramsey chopping away at the door with an axe, slowly he became visible as parts of the wooden door were destroyed. Ramsey leaned his severely injected and tightened, and pulled face into the hole.

“You who! I’m not ready to play hide and seek, but we can later! That would be marvelous!” called Ramsey into the dark room.

Slowly, Ramsey leaned his hand into the door, unlocking it, opening the door to reveal Ramsey’s full silhouette, still wearing his purple trench coat, and olive green turtleneck sweater, but also holding a large axe in his left hand.

“No locking doors! It’s a fire hazard,” said Ramsey. “Anyways, I brought you some soap and your suitcase,” said Ramsey, as if he hadn’t done something quite bizarre.

“I’m leaving,” said Howard, jumping off the floor and grabbing his suitcase from Ramsey.

Just as Howard ran out the door, Ramsey tripped Howard, sending Howard onto the gravel parking lot. Hurriedly, Ramsey skipped down the stairs, and stood in front of Howard, holding his axe in his hands, high in the air, struggling to keep it held up.

“No one leaves, unless I say…Welcome to my world now,” said Ramsey, beginning to laugh in a high shrill that echoed, sending several owls into the black twilight.






THE END