Bing, bong. The gentle tone of the facility's intercom system hummed through the metallic halls.
However, it disconcerted you a bit, gentle as it may be.
Reason being... it's 2 am. Who else was even in the building at this hour, aside from the other janitor working in the courtyard gardens on the ground floor?
“, come to the manager's office. Ah, right now! Go, go.”
It was definitely the voice of your boss, but the lack of professionalism and composure struck you as odd. Combine that with the time...
Was he drunk? It seemed like the only plausible explanation. Whatever the case was, you ultimately decided the suspicious circumstances weren't enough for you to jeopardize your 185 credit-per-hour job. You set your mechanized mop against the wall and started on your way to the office.
The manager's office was on the 17th floor – coincidentally, the same floor you found yourself on – but it was also on the opposite end of the ornate hotel. You weren't in any mood to run through the halls at this hour; a comfortably paced walk would only take you about a minute or so.
Bing, bong.
The sudden chime jolted through you with a pang of anxiety.
“! ! Hurry, please~! I don't like waiting.”
...You decided against walking after all. Quickening your pace to a jog, you turned left once you reached the four-way junction that connected to the office.
There was the office door. You entered the building's security code into the keypad locking the door: 1-9-3-8-3-9. The lock clicked as it disengaged.
You swung the door open.
It took you a moment to process what you were looking at. The office's white and grey colour scheme... was stained red? That giant, dapper figure sitting on the desk... a statue?
No. No.
It was moving. Its clothes were stained red just like the floor and walls. And, that's... a severed human arm protruding from the creature's toothy mouth.
It jerked its head around and looked straight at you with two beady, black, cross-shaped eyes.
The monster took the arm out of its mouth. “Human. You run, and you're next,” it growled, perfectly mimicking your boss' voice. “Or, you can step inside and lock the door, and you'll leave here with your life.”
Shakily and hesitantly, you decided to comply with the second option, against all your best judgment.
“Good choice, ,” the creature beamed, switching to an entirely different, raspier voice. “Ignore the mess. Just be happy I ran into him first rather than you.”
“Wh-what...” you stammered, transfixed on the arm in the creature's hand. “You... k-killed...”
“I SAID IGNORE THE MESS!” the creature screamed, prompting you to jump in place.
You took a couple of frantic breaths. “Sorry, sorry!” you blurted, waving your hands in front of yourself. “U-um...”
“I just need one thing from you, and then you can go. Run away, call the police, no matter.” The alien hopped to its feet and threw the severed arm in its mouth, quickly swallowing it down. “Let me get to the point. Your late boss had a panic room, and I've been led to believe it's in this office somewhere.”
The word “late” made you shudder, confirming your suspicions about exactly what happened here.
“Ah, ah! Come, human.” The creature beckoned you to the back of the manager's desk.
It was far too late to back out of this now; you cautiously walked behind the desk, standing right next to the towering biped.
“The human has number buttons on the desk, here,” the alien began as it pointed out the keypad on the back of the desk. “I am sure this leads to the panic room.”
It stopped talking for a moment and placed an enormous hand on your shoulder, sending a chill through your spine.
“I hope you know the code, .”
“M-me too...” you mumbled.
You knew only one code for the hotel, which was the general security code for most offices and maintenance halls. With a shaky finger, you slowly pressed the numbers 1-9-3-8-9-3.
The pad beeped as it rejected the code.
Your eyes widened in fear. The hand gripping your shoulder tightened drastically. No. This can't be. This can't–
“Wait, wait!” You yelped, seeing your mistake. “I messed up, just let me...”
1-9-3... 8-3-9.
The pad beeped as it accepted the code.
You heaved a sigh of relief, only now realizing you'd been holding your breath the whole time.
Some sort of machinery started whirring behind you. You spun your head around; the wall was opening up, revealing a dark, hidden room you never would've thought existed in the past.
The hand on your shoulder let go.
“Ah, I guess that means I should stay true to my word. You really are a lucky human, aren't you?”
You stood and watched sharply as the creature ducked into the secret room. It looked around for a few seconds before slapping something on the wall inside the room, causing the wall to slowly close again.
“Ah, ah! . When you call the police, if that Anders human shows up again... tell her Zev says hello,” the creature finished, dismissing you with a huge, toothy smile as the walls sealed again, shutting it off from view.