by Amy Cross
I open my mouth to ask what he means, but I can't quite manage to get the words out. There's something about the expression on Jason's face that's really scaring me.
“You remember, don't you?” he says. “They said you wouldn't, but then they didn't know at the time that you'd skipped one of your pills. Then they called me into the office this morning and showed me the camera footage, they showed me the moment last night when you hid one of the pills.”
“Camera footage?” I reply, as my mind races to understand what's actually happening. “In the bathroom?”
“Camera footage in the bathroom,” he says. “Do you seriously think this place doesn't have camera coverage everywhere? They need to know everything that's going on.”
“This is a bathroom!”
“They don't care.”
“Jason...”
“I knew you were conscious last night,” he continues. “Strickland swore that it was impossible, but I could see it in your eyes. Then this morning, when you talked about having a bad dream, I began to think that maybe you really believed that.” He sighs. “I thought there was still a chance to salvage this thing and to make sure that the third night went ahead properly. But when they showed me the footage of you hiding the pill, I realized I was being a fool. So, in answer to your question about where I've been for the past few hours, I'll tell you. I've been begging them to reconsider their decision. I've been trying to persuade them not to kill you.”
“What?” I reply, as I feel a cold shiver pass through my chest.
“They won't allow anything to happen that might jeopardize Hotel Necro.”
“They want to kill me?” I ask, still convinced that this must be some kind of bad joke. “Why? What is this place? What happened to me last night?”
“Katie -”
“Forget it,” I stammer, hurrying over and trying to squeeze past him. “I have to -”
“No!”
Grabbing me by the shoulders, he shoves me back and presses me hard against the wall.
“If you try to run,” he says firmly, as I continue to struggle, “you'll be dead before you get to the lobby. I'm not lying to you, Katie. I managed to persuade them that I can fix this, that I can get you to the end.”
“The end?” I reply. “The end of what?”
“You just have to wait it out until the morning,” he continues. “We're due to check out at 10am and go to the airport to fly home, and then everything'll be fine. You have to trust me on this, Katie. And the best part of the whole thing is, you don't really have to do anything. Just spend the evening with me as normal, take your pills, and then you'll wake up in the morning and you won't remember anything that happens tonight.”
“What will happen tonight?” I ask. “What is this place, Jason?”
“There's no -”
“What is Hotel Necro?” I scream, struggling again to get free. “What aren't you telling me?”
“Katie -”
“What have you dragged me into?” I shout.
“I didn't drag you into anything!” he snaps. “You wanted to come here! You chose to come here! It was your idea! It's all your fault!”
“What?”
Sighing, he stares at me for a moment before taking a step back.
I want to run, but for a few seconds I hesitate.
“I'll prove it to you,” Jason says finally, as he takes his phone from his pocket. “I'll show you the full truth. I'll show you that you're the reason for all of this.”
Twenty-Six
“And how excited are you,” Jason's voice asks in the video that's playing on his phone, “on a scale of one to ten?”
“I don't know,” I reply on the screen, smiling slightly. “Nine? Ten?”
I watch myself laugh, and I feel a cold shiver in my chest. There's no doubt that this video shows me, but I don't remember any part of this conversation actually happening. On the screen, I have my hair tied back and I look to be wearing some kind of smart black dress, and I'm wearing more make-up than I'd ever normally wear. The scar is on my face, and it looks a little fresher. There's something else, too; my expression is different to anything I remember seeing on my face before. A little colder, maybe. A little calmer.
But it is me.
“So this time next week we'll be at Hotel Necro in Italy,” Jason's voice continues, “and we'll be right in the middle of the whole experience. You know what that means, right?”
“Stop it,” I reply on the video. “You're turning me on.”
“Wait until we actually get there,” he replies.
“I'm looking forward to it,” Video Me tells him. “Now, do you mind if I get back to work? I can't just sit around here all afternoon like this. Some of us actually have serious responsibilities.”
“Just one more question,” Video Jason replies. “Do you think you'll have any problems with the... dirtier parts of the experience?”
Video Me hesitates, as if the question troubles her slightly.
“No,” she says finally. “I think I'll be fine. I know I'll be fine. I mean, that's what this whole Hotel Necro thing is about, isn't it? It wouldn't work without the dirtier parts, as you so delicately describe them.” Video Me still seems a little uncertain, but finally she forces a big smile. “I can't wait. I need this trip. I need it so much, I'm damn near ready to burst.”
The video ends, and I'm left sitting on the edge of the bath, next to Jason. The words from the video are ringing in my head, but they still don't quite make sense. I can't deny that I'm the woman in that video, but why don't I remember any of that? Why don't I really remember very much at all?
“There's one more that you need to see,” he says, bringing up a second video. “Hotel Necro requires all guests to record one of these, in case of emergencies. I think this counts as an emergency.”
He plays the video, and I see myself on the screen once again.
“My name is Katie Johnson,” I'm saying with a faint smile, “and I'm twenty-nine years old, and of sound mind. Well, some people might question that, but anyway... I'm recording this video because I want to make it clear that I'm doing the whole Hotel Necro thing willingly. I want to do it. And if something goes wrong, I want to state on the record that I'm going into this with my eyes open. I know what happens at Hotel Necro, and I want to do it. I'm a little nervous, but that's all. I'm totally up for this.” The video version of me turns and looks past the camera. “Is that okay? Is that enough?”
“Do you have a message for yourself,” Video Jason asks, “if for whatever reason you're watching this and you don't quite understand?”
Video Me hesitates, before looking into the camera again.
“Just be cool,” she says. “Don't over-think things, don't stress, and don't screw it up. Trust Jason. You know he'd never do anything bad, right? Just accept that you don't understand everything, and push on through. You'll be so glad that you did. You need this experience. For your sanity. Now go and enjoy it.” She smiles. “Peace out!”
The video ends.
I have a million questions, but I can't get any of them out. I simply sit in silence, trying to work out exactly what's happening to me.
“People like you come to a place like this because they need to let off steam,” Jason explains after a moment. “You spend all your time running your company, Katie, and your stress levels are off the scale. You also have enough money and connections to try an unorthodox approach to that problem. Hotel Necro allows you to... unleash an aspect of yourself that you'd usually keep hidden. We all have that aspect, but we keep it contained. Doctor Strickland's program at Hotel Necro is based on the belief that any individual will gain untold benefits from a short, focused period of unrestrained violence. It's kind of like getting back to your inner caveman.”
I wait for him to continue. This has to be some kind of joke.
“You can do anything at Hotel Necro,” he adds. “Anything, Katie. And because your memory of it all is suppressed, you get all the subcons
cious benefits without any of the guilt. All your stress will be gone, and the effect will last for at least six months, maybe even longer.”
I start slowly shaking my head.
“You took a few pills before we came here,” he explains, “just to get you started. That's why you might not remember much of your actual life. It's actually perfectly normal.”
“I run a tech company,” I reply, struggling to think back to the time before we came to this place. “It's small, it's a start-up.”
“That's right. The pills you take in the morning here are the ones that increase production of certain hormones. Those hormones allow you to overcome your inhibitions during the nights, which is when we go down to the main rooms beneath the hotel. The round pill, which is the one you skipped last night, makes sure that you don't remember anything in the morning.”
“Jason,” I say cautiously, “none of this makes any sense. It's like something out of some dumb movie.”
“The important thing is that you won't remember any of this,” he says firmly. “All you have to do, Katie, is get through the next twenty-four hours. Less than that, even. Fourteen, fifteen hours at most. Do exactly what I tell you to do, and we both get to walk out of here, but if you try to break the rules in any way...”
His voice trails off for a moment.
“What you say next is very important,” he adds. “Remember that they can hear us.”
“Who can?”
“The whole building is bugged from top to bottom.”
I take a deep breath.
Looking around, all I see is a normal hotel bathroom. There's no sign of any cameras or microphones, but I guess those things can be pretty tiny. Is it true? Are we really being watched right now?
“You have to stay strong,” Jason says firmly. “Trust me, Katie. Once you're away from here, you'll be glad that you listened to me. Once you get home, you'll feel all the benefits of this trip and none of the guilt. None of it. It'll all make sense, I promise, but you have to trust me. You heard what you said in the video.”
He reaches over to take my hand, but I pull away.
“Katie -”
“Go to Hell,” I reply, getting to my feet and hurrying out of the bathroom.
“Katie!” he calls out as I race to the door and pull it open. “Don't be stupid, you're making a terrible mistake! You're in over your head!”
I start heading along the corridor, but I stop after just a couple of paces as I see two men waiting ahead. They're wearing dark suits and dark glasses, and I immediately realize that they mean business. I stare at them for a moment, before turning just as Jason comes out of the room behind me.
“Everything I told you is true,” he says with a hint of fear in his voice. “If you try to fight it, they'll kill you. If you try to call the police, they'll kill you. The police know better than to come here, anyway. But if you just stick to the original plan, to the plan that you agreed to before we came here, then everything will be fine. And when we get home, and your head is clear again, you won't remember what happened here but you will fell all the benefits of the process. You heard what you said on the video, Katie. You trust yourself, don't you?”
Staring at him, I realize that he's serious.
“You have to decide, Katie,” he continues. “If you've ever trusted me, I'm begging you... Trust me now. And trust the version of you from that video.”
Twenty-Seven
Sitting on the end of the bed, I listen to the sound of Jason brushing his teeth.
I can't do this. I keep telling myself that I have to get out of here, but at the same time I know that I have no choice. The woman in that video was me, and there's no way a deep fake could be that convincing. I still don't entirely understand what's going on here at Hotel Necro, but I feel as if I'm caught up in something that's way bigger than me. I keep telling myself that those guys in the corridor wouldn't actually have hurt me. At the same time, I didn't dare to take the risk.
For a moment, I imagine what would have happened if I'd tried to run. In my mind's eye, I see a scene from some bad action movie, as the two men aim guns at me and fire. I see myself falling to the ground, and I see Jason racing over to me. But...
That wouldn't actually have happened, would it?
I swallow hard.
Maybe I'm a bad person, but I figure I just have to take the easy way out now. I have to take the pills, and then tomorrow morning I'll wake up and I won't remember what happens during the night.
Easy.
End of story.
I just have to take the easy way out for once.
The tap turns off, and a moment later Jason emerges from the bathroom with a glass of water in one hand and two red pills – one round and one oblong – in the other.
“Please don't take this the wrong way,” he says, stopping in front of me, “but I'd kinda like to see you swallow them. The guys watching on the cameras will too.”
“Were they watching when we...”
My voice trails off as I think back to the two times we made love in this room. Then I think about all the times I was in the bathroom, all the times I took a pee or went in the shower. Even the times I pooped. Was I being watched while I was doing those things? The thought sends a shiver through my body.
“You accepted all of that before we came,” he replies. “Remember what you said on the video. Once we get home, you'll understand.”
I look at the pills, and for a moment I consider not taking them. Then again, maybe those guys from the corridor would come back. Maybe they're waiting out there now, in case I decide to rebel.
“One more night,” Jason says softly. “You won't even remember it. You can do this.”
“Can't we just leave?” I ask. “If I promise to never say anything...”
“That's not how this works, Katie. You have to go through the full experience. It's one of their rules. Once you start, you can't stop until you're done.”
I hesitate, and then I reach out and take the pills from the palm of his hand. I look at them for a moment, before slipping them into my mouth and then taking the glass of water and washing the medication down. Except, at the last moment the oblong pill catches between my teeth and my cheek, and I let it stay there as I swallow the last of the water and hand the glass back to Jason.
“All done?” Jason asks. “Do I need to check?”
“All done,” I reply, shocked that by sheer luck one of the pills didn't go down. Or was it luck? I think I might have done it on purpose, albeit subconsciously. It's hard to be sure.
“You've made the right choice,” he says.
“I hope so.”
“You'll get tired soon.”
“I know.”
“Once we get home, you won't remember having been here. Not any of the details, at least. But you'll feel the benefits, Katie. It's gonna be so good for you.”
“What about you?” I ask. “Will you remember?”
“Yeah,” he replies. “One person in a couple has to be less immersed than the other. I agreed to do this for you, because I love you. I mean, you practically begged me.” He stares at me for a moment. “It hasn't been easy.”
“What do I do when I get down there?” I ask. “Down to the rooms under the hotel, I mean.”
“You lose all your inhibitions.”
“But what exactly does that mean?”
“It means that you loosen up,” he explains. “That's all I'm allowed to tell you right now. I'm sorry, Katie.”
“Do you really think this is the right thing for me to do?” I ask.
He pauses, and then he nods.
“Then I guess I have to trust you,” I continue, “don't I?”
“You won't regret it,” he says, leaning down and kissing the top of my head. “Now why don't we get to sleep? They'll come for us around midnight.”
As he makes his way to his side of the bed, I take a deep breath and try to keep from throwing up. I feel really nauseous, but I guess that's because I'm so
totally nervous. Still, I tell myself that I can do this, and – as I head around the bed and climb in – I tell myself that I should just swallow the second pill. It's the oblong one that's still in my mouth, and I think Jason said that's the one that makes it so that I won't remember what happens tonight.
But I want to remember.
I want to know.
“Feeling tired?” he asks, leaning over and kissing me on the cheek.
I nod.
“And nervous?”
I nod again.
“This time tomorrow, we'll be home,” he continues. “Everything'll be okay, and you'll get back to your normal life.”
“Did I really understand everything that this involves?” I ask, turning to him. “Did I make a totally informed decision about coming here?”
“You did,” he says firmly. “We even joked about what would happen if you somehow realized halfway through. Of course, you're not the first person this has happened to. Others have figured it out as well, but that's okay. They have a system in place to deal with that. You might even say that it's all part of the fun, and it certainly won't have a detrimental impact on the benefits you'll feel. Less than twelve hours to go, and then we'll be all done here.”
He pauses, before putting a hand on my thigh.
“Do you want to loosen up a little first?” he asks, slipping his hand between my legs.
“Not tonight,” I reply, reaching down and moving his hand away, as I glance at the walls and wonder where the cameras are hidden. “I just want to get this whole thing over with.”
“I understand.”
He kisses me again.
“Good night,” I reply, rolling onto my side and staring at the wall.
I wait, and after a moment Jason switches off the light, plunging the room into darkness. For all I know, there might well be night vision cameras here in the bedroom, so I hesitate for a moment before carefully rolling over. As I do so, I manage to surreptitiously spit the oblong pull out of my mouth, and then – while pretending to fluff my pillow – I push the pill past the top of the bed and send it into the crack between the mattress and the wall.
