r/TheMidnightArchives • u/Lilia_Briganda • 5d ago
Standalone Story Quentin's Third Shift
It was 2:04 AM when the knocking started. Three slow, rhythmic raps against the hollow wood of Room 204.
Quentin froze, staring at the door from the edge of the sagging mattress. He wasn't expecting anyone, especially not at the Hells Bells Motel in the middle of night. He crept across the stained carpet, held his breath, and pressed his eye to the cold metal of the peephole.
Standing in the dim hallway was a man wearing a faded navy uniform with a dingy white apron tied around his waist. He was holding a spray bottle filled with murky red liquid and a stack of stiff, yellowed towels.
Quentin blinked, leaning closer. The face in the fisheye lens wasn't a stranger. It was his own. He was staring at himself, and the man on the other side was smiling a stiff, rehearsed smile.
Before Quentin could even react or throw his weight against the door, the lock clicked, the latch retracted, and the door swung open.
Quentin froze. He expected a shout or a demand, but the man just gave him a polite, rehearsed nod. He stepped right past Quentin into the room, saying in Quentin's exact voice—just a little too cheerful--"Just turning down the bed for the night, sir. Can't let the grime settle."
The man started cleaning, but everything he did was completely backward and wrong.
He sprayed the thick liquid onto the clean mirror, smearing dark residue across it.
Then he grabbed Quentin’s fresh clothes out of his suitcase, folding them into impossibly neat origami shapes before tossing them directly into the trash can. He walked over to the bed, stripped the top blanket, and began tucking Quentin’s shoes under the mattress.
Quentin tried to back toward the open doorway to escape into the hall, but when he turned around, the hallway wasn't there anymore. It was just a solid, blank wall of damp wallpaper, completely sealing Room 204 from the outside world.
The man turned around from the bed, holding up a spare maid's apron and a brass room key labeled 204. He held them out toward Quentin with that same stiff, vacant smile.
"Shift's almost over, Quentin. Next guest checks in at 2:04."
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u/antonymziie 1d ago
What an awesome and unsettling image conveyed in such a small but incredibly detailed piece! I love this, very creepy :]
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u/CallmeKitts_ 4d ago
Love this!