5: The First Scream

Another knock echoed through Room 1313. Winona glanced automatically toward the digital clock beside the bed.

11:32 P.M.

Not midnight yet, so technically this should have been fine. She walked toward the door carefully before opening it halfway.

A woman stood across from her holding a phone against her chest like she had been debating whether to knock for the last ten minutes. She looked around Winona’s age with long dark curls, glossy lips, and sharp eyes hidden behind round glasses.

Also unfairly pretty.

“Oh my God,” the woman blurted immediately. “You’re way prettier in real life.”

Winona blinked. The stranger looked horrified at herself. “Sorry. That sounded creepy.”

“A little,” Winona admitted.

“I’m Iris.” The woman pointed awkwardly toward the room opposite hers. “I’m staying across from you.”

“Winona.”

“I know,” Iris replied too quickly before wincing. “That also sounded creepy.”

Winona laughed despite herself.

“I swear I’m normal,” Iris rushed out. “Well, mostly normal. I have a paranormal podcast and I actually covered one of your horror stories last year. The train station one? It went kind of viral.”

Winona stared in surprise. “Wait, seriously?”

Iris nodded rapidly. “I loved it. Your stories always feel real somehow.”

Thunder exploded outside hard enough to shake the windows.

Iris jumped violently and instinctively grabbed Winona’s arms.

“Oh my God, I hate storms.”

For one awkward second, they stood ridiculously close together.

Winona wasn’t into women, but Iris smelled faintly like vanilla perfume, her curls brushed against Winona’s shoulder, and honestly, this woman was beautiful enough to make anybody temporarily question their life choices.

Iris seemed to realize the position a second later and nearly launched herself backward in embarrassment.

“Sorry,” she said quickly while pushing her glasses up nervously.

Winona cleared her throat. “You literally host a paranormal podcast but thunder scares you?”

“Ghosts are fine. Nature is where I draw the line.”

Somehow the tension in the room eased instantly.

Then Iris’s expression shifted slightly. “You should probably lock your door tonight though.”

Winona frowned. “You believe those weird messages too?”

“I think rich people with mystery themes are terrifying,” Iris replied honestly. “And this hotel feels… off.”

Another loud thunderclap echoed outside. Iris visibly flinched again before giving Winona an embarrassed smile.

“Anyway. Sorry for bothering you. I just wanted to introduce myself before somebody dies dramatically tomorrow for ratings.”

“That’s a concerning sentence.”

“Goodnight, Winona.”

“Goodnight, Iris.”

The woman hurried back across the hallway into her room while trying very hard not to look embarrassed. Winona closed the door smiling slightly to herself.

"At least not everybody in this place is insane."

Her phone buzzed.

AVA:

OMG bestie, we should totally sneak out after midnight and record the hallway!

WINONA:

absolutely not

AVA:

boring :(

WINONA:

I wanna stay alive.

AVA:

same thing honestly, but come onnn! 

Winona rolled her eyes before tossing the phone onto the bed.

Outside, rain hammered violently against the windows while the hotel lights dimmed slightly for a brief second before stabilizing again.

Then the digital clock shifted.

11:59 P.M.

A strange tension settled through the room. The silence felt heavier now, like the entire hotel was waiting.

12:00 A.M.

The lights flickered once. A knock echoed through the hallway, three slow taps.

Winona froze.

Another knock followed immediately after, closer and louder this time.

She remembered Adrian’s voice quietly warning her not to answer the door no matter what happened so she stayed still.

The knocking continued somewhere farther down the hallway.

Then suddenly, a door opened.

For one second, silence filled the hotel.

Then a woman screamed.