Hotel Pest

Mary Ann wrinkled her nose in absolute disgust upon looking in a small hole in the wall of room nineteen. Rat crap. She groaned and called up the pest control company.

“Hey. Hans?” she asked, not bothering to wait for a hello.

“Guten Tag, Mary Ann! How are you?” 

“Fine, thanks. Hey, I need you to do another job. It’s–”

“Rats?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

“Gern Geschehen!”

  She hung up the phone, then took one last look at the hole. Her nose wrinkled again. Rats. Of course it’s rats. She pulled her cherry red scarf tighter around her blonde hair and walked out.

The wind howled like a pack of white wolves outside. The snow swirled around the windows of the lobby, erasing the world outside. Mary Ann sat at the reception desk and scrolled through her phone. She looked at all of her sisters. 

We didn’t like the cold, so me and the kids went to surf the waves in Hawaii! #Best Vacation Ever!

Mary Ann pursed her lips.

On a Caribbean cruise! Wish you were here! #Seas are calling!

Mary Ann growled under her breath and shut off her phone. Of course she was stuck with this stupid old rundown– The lights flickered. She looked up. Her eyebrows knitted together.

“Didn’t I just…” she shook her head.

There is always something to fix. She looked back at the door just in time to see a peculiar shape in the blizzard. She squinted. It got closer and closer. It looked like a person. A very tall person in dark clothing. The door opened. A shiver ran down Mary Ann’s spine. It must be the blizzard air. A heavy stench of unwashed body and garbage juice filled the air. It slapped Mary Ann in the face. The person in the trench coat waddled over to her. He acted like he was about to topple over. He wore a large hat over his long and greasy gray hair. He peered at her with beady dark eyes. His face was as pale as the blizzard outside.

“Welcome to Sunny Street Hotel. How may–” She started.

“I need a room.” he growled. His voice was raspy, as if a shriveled corpse was speaking to her.

He slid four hundred bucks in cash across the table. Mary Ann nodded. She hadn’t had a customer for a while, being it off season, so she relented. She led him to a room on the first floor. The man was so tall, he had to duck under the door. He put a shaky hand on the door and left it open a crack.

“I prefer not to be disturbed around four. Or at all.” Then he slammed the door.

Mary Ann wrinkled her nose. How rude! She walked back to her desk to fill out some paper work.

That night, she went to her room. She scratched her cat, Coco, behind the ears. Coco purred. Her large bushy black tail in the air. I’m so happy you are back! Mary Ann smiled. She felt like if Coco could talk, she would have the voice of a British nanny. She warmed up Coco’s food.

“We have another rat problem Coco.” she informed her.

Coco brushed against her legs. Oh that’s too bad. I would help, but I was never a trained Mouser.

“We also have a weird customer. I hate getting those.” she added.

Mary Ann set the bowl of food down. Coco ate it happily. Thank you, darling, I was famished! Mary Ann smiled. She got out a hard boiled egg and started cracking it. Coco looked up at her. Is that all your eating dear? Mary Ann shrugged.

“I’ll meal prep tomorrow.” she assured Coco.

  Coco’s tail twitched. Then she continued eating.

The TV turned to static in the long hours of the night. Coco fell asleep on the other side of the bed. Mary Ann turned over and read the red letters on her alarm clock. 4:44. She groaned and got out of bed. Rubbing her hazel eyes. She wasn’t going to go to sleep. She sat up and walked over to the kitchen. That’s when she heard it. A faint rustling sound. Raccoons. She grabbed her bat. A wooden one she kept just in case. She moved closer to the door. Hair standing on the back of her neck. Something was screaming at her to go back inside, but she decided to ignore it. She opened the door slowly. That’s when she saw it. The biggest rat she had ever seen in her life. Only it wasn’t a rat. At least, she didn’t think so, she wasn’t sure what she was looking at. It looked like a horrible mix of a rat and a man. In pure shock, she dropped the bat. The rat looked straight at her. Beady eyes instantly locked on her terrified face. It crouched low. Mary Ann wanted to run, wanted to do something, but she couldn’t move. The rat took a few steps closer. Then it charged at her at full speed, mouth wide open with sharp yellow teeth.

Mary Ann woke up screaming, startling Coco. Mary Ann looked at the clock. 5:00. She took a deep breath. It was just a dream. That’s all it was.

At nine thirty in the morning she sat at the diner with a plate of bacon and eggs. She didn’t feel like eating. The bell sounded. A handsome young man with brown hair and blue eyes walked in. He wore a bright green shirt with a paisley pattern on it and bright blue pants. He carried a coat in his arms. Hans. Mary Ann shook her head as he sat down in front of her.

“A little fancy of an outfit for getting rid of rats?” she asked.

Hans smiled.

“I’m a business man! I prefer to have some refinery at my meetings. Besides, Natilee said I’d look good in this.” he replied.

Mary Ann smirked. She wanted to bring up that Natilee is the type of person who painted her walls a very concerning variety of neon, but she let it slide.

Across the hall, deputy Murphy William watched the two from across the room. His teeth clenched and his hand was tight around his mug.

“Are you feeling okay, Mary Ann? You seem a little…” Hans inquired.

“Tired?”

“Ja.”

“I had a bad nightmare last night. Woke me at five.”

“You ought to plan a trip sometime.”

“I can't, I don't have the money for a week-long vacation.”

“It could just be an overnight trip, or a day trip. I know you’re grandmother’s place is important to you, but you work too much.”

Mary Ann shrugged.

“Someone has to…” she muttered.

Hans placed a hand on her wrist. Mary Ann looked at the window, face flushing.

“I’ll tell you what. The Cider festival is in two days. I would like you to come with me. As friends, if you want it to stay that way. You can even bring Coco. I heard it’s pet friendly!” he informed chipperly.

Mary Ann looked back at him.

“I’ll think about it. Let's talk about the rats.”

Mary Ann got out of her car. A bag of groceries in her hands. She saw a familiar looking cop car. Mary Ann grimaced. No! 

“Hey Mary Ann.” 

She turned and saw Murphy. He had a bouquet of wilted flowers. Mary Ann started walking to her room.

“Hey Hey! Wait, I just need to talk!”

“What is there to talk about? We are done!”

“Oh come on! It was a one time thing and she meant nothing to me!”

“A one time thing that instantly made you a douche bag, and single!”

Murphy’s jaw clenched. Mary Ann shook her head. He was in that diner. He had seen Hans sitting with her. Of course that’s the reason he was crawling back to her.

“Please just go.” she groaned in exhaustion. 

Murphy turned, walked to his car, and drove away. Mary Ann turned around and instantly startled back. The customer from yesterday was right there, peering down at her. His eyes were so beady…

“I never liked cops,” he told her.

Mary Ann backed away.

“He’s my ex boyfriend.” She kicked herself on the inside for saying that. “My new boyfriend is going to take care of… a few things.” Hans isn’t her boyfriend, but she didn’t want this guy thinking she was alone.

The man nodded.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked.

Mary Ann’s heart pounded. Did he know about the dream? No. No he couldn’t have. Stop being so paranoid.

“Yes.” she replied.

The rat man shook his head.

“Doesn’t look like it.” he growled.

Then he turned away. Mary Ann looked at her palms. Her nails had dug into her skin.

The Cider Fest came before she knew it. Hans drove her to the park in the city where it was held. It was a surprisingly clear night. Hans endlessly jabbered about beetles. Coco sat in her lap during the drive. They tasted ciders, pumpkin pie, cranberry jelly, and many other holiday treats. There was a band that Mary Ann didn’t recognize singing songs. The auctioneer counted off numbers at rapidfire speed. Soon the lights over the festival lit up. The pair and the cat sat at a bench.

“I am so stuffed!” Mary Ann laughed.

“Me too. Too many good things to eat!” he chuckled.

Murphy was buying some pie when he saw the two on the bench. His teeth clenched.

Soon the night was over. It started snowing. Hans began to drive Mary Ann home, not knowing that Murphy was a few miles behind him. They pulled up to the hotel. Coco started hissing and growling. Something’s not right. Hans looked at Mary Ann in a concerned manner. Mary Ann looked at the window of her room. It was smashed.

“Drive to the police station.” Mary whispered.

Hans nodded. He locked the doors. Then drove away from the hotel. Coco calmed down and licked her lips. Mary Ann then saw a flash of red and blue lights from behind. Her fist clenched. Han’s pulled over. Murphy went to the driver's side window. Hans rolled his window down an inch.

“Hallo?”

“Step out of the vehicle.”

Mary Ann pulled him back.

“Murphy, this is an emergency, someone broke into my hotel room!” she told him.

Murphy didn’t seem to hear her.

“Step out of the vehicle,” he repeated.

Mary Ann felt her heart beating faster. It felt like that night after that one dream she had. Coco started growling again. Mary Ann caught movement in the snow. A dark silhouette. Moving closer and closer.

“Get out.” Murphy hissed through gritted teeth. He was getting more insistent.

The shape stood up. It looked familiar…

“Murphy, you need to get back in your car! Now!” Mary Ann warned.

Murphy didn’t move. He glared at Hans. Hans froze. Mary Ann started hyperventilating and Coco spat. Murphy turned around. Mary Ann tried to keep from crying. The same creature from her dream was now standing right in front of Murphy. Saliva dripped from its yellow teeth. Murphy didn’t hesitate. He whipped out his gun and started firing at the creature. Bullets didn’t have any effect. The rat-man charged Murphy and bit into his shoulder. He screamed in pain. Hans snapped out of his frozen fear and started speeding to the police station. Mary Ann watched in the mirror in horror as Murphy went down. The rest of the ordeal was a blur. She remembered bursting into a room of bright fluorescent lights and telling the officers that there was a deputy down near her hotel.

A week later news of Murphy’s death spread on the news. Officer killed by insane man. The officers found two men on the ground. Murphy, and the man that checked into Sunny Side hotel. The officers couldn’t identify him. They ran an autopsy. The man suffered several bullet holes, but what really stunned the doctors was the fact that there was rat poison in his stomach. A lot of it. Mary Ann sold the hotel. It was not an easy decision, but she couldn’t get over what she saw that night. She moved closer to the city, around where Hans lived. She got a job at a cafe and she and Coco lived peacefully. Planning a vacation. Every once in a while though, she would hear scurrying in the walls.