"Gasp..."
I woke up startled, taking in huge gulps of air like someone who had just got out of being drowned.
"Hey, Asura. Calm down. Take deep and slow breaths."
I heard Arhat's voice and his warm hand patting my back. As always, the soothing voice always makes me calm down in whatever trouble I may be in.
After a few moments, I finally was able to breathe normally and slowly looked at my surroundings. As if noticing what I was going to say, Arhat replied, "Asura, you fell unconscious in the tiffin stall and the people rushed you to the hospital as you weren't waking up. The doctor told me you were unconscious due to weakness in the body, and they also said you do not seem to have a proper diet which may be the main reason. "
I looked around in a daze as I heard Arhat's voice. Thank God, it was all just a dream. I sighed in relief at the situation finally settling down.
I then raised my head and was met with the intense gaze of Arhat as he stared at me waiting for answers. It was heartwarming to see someone caring so much for you, but if it was any other situation, I would not have hidden it from Arhat. But these ghosts and supernatural things, I do not want to drag him into this. If something happened to him because of me, I can't forgive myself.
I gave him an awkward smile and replied, "Arhat, I... umm.."
Noticing my obvious failure at hiding things, he shook his head and sighed out loud and said "Okay. Oaky. Enough. I know you do not want to say whatever this secret is, and I will not force you to say it. But if you require any help, do know I won't say no to you ever. " As he spoke, he bent down and hugged me and planted a kiss on my forehead, causing my face to blush.
He left the hug and laughed at my reaction, then patted my head and asked. "Now, Let's get you out of here. If you leave now, you will be able to get back to the boarding house before dinner."
I hurriedly stood up from the bed feeling only feeling a little bit weak and nothing more. I patted my face and body, trying to see if everything was in place. Looking at my antics caused Arhat's brow to raise and he seemed to be thinking of something.
We both walked out of the room and towards the front desk, where I had to fill out some discharge form details. As Arhat had already paid the bills, it wasn't a problem and we left the hospital.
As I got out of the hospital, I bid farewell to Arhat and walked towards my boarding house, while he left for his.
Arhat is three years older than me and he works as a teacher in a private high school. As the school is on the other side of town from where I live, we can't stay in one boarding house due to the distance he needs to travel back and forth.
I slowly walked along the sidewalk making my way back to the boarding house thinking about everything that has happened. After reaching the boarding house, I quickly washed and had dinner. By the time I reached back to my room, It was reaching 9 pm.
As I laid down on the bed, I was seriously thinking about whether I should go to the hotel or not. Due to everything that happened today, my mind is too exhausted to face another day in that ghastly place, but I was also fearful of the consequences of not going there...
"Thud"
"Huh!!. What the fuck.. Why am I here? "
I looked around my surroundings alertly as I noticed I was back in the hotel lobby and then I looked towards the clock. It was pointed out at 10:50.
I was surprised to see I was back in the hotel. I do remember lying in bed and falling asleep as I was thinking over stuff. I never thought the hotel would be able to teleport me over.
If I do need to arrive at the hotel daily and just get teleported, it is a good thing, and as for how I was teleported, that is unknown.
I stood up from the ground and made my way towards the reception desk, where I sat down on the table and checked everything.
"Okay, The network is connected to my phone and computer. My names are still there on the chalkboard". If my guesses are right, at 11 pm every night the hotel will be activated and ghosts will arrive. My job is to simply register rooms for them and nothing else.
"Zzztttt"
It was then the lights flickered for a second and a weird pulse washed over me. Yesterday I didn't notice it. But as the clock struck 11, it seems this place is undergoing many changes, and one of them is the outside world.
I looked at the windows on my side. Though I could hear the sounds of vehicles and noises of people moving across the streets, there was no light or shadow falling from the outside, like this whole building is in some separate area or dimension.
For the people on the outside, this building must look like a broken, abandoned place. Even if someone enters the hotel, I do think they will arrive here where I am. There must be some special restrictions that stop anyone from entering or seeing the hotel at night.
"Creak."
The door opened with a jarring creaking sound as the overweight ghost from the previous night arrived. He looked the same as he was the other night. He walked straight towards the desk, took out the ID and patted it on the table, causing the table to tremble in shock. As I know what to do from last night, I wasn't as scared and nervous as last night.
I simply took the ID card and registered a room for him and gave him the id and the room key. Then, without even glancing at him, I sat back in the chair. The overweight man took the key card and walked towards the staircase with heavy thuds.
In a few moments, I once again heard the tearing of skin and creaking of stairs and the trickle of blood flowing falling from the wounds. Even though I didn't see it, I remembered what happened last night and a cold shiver went across my body as I imagined the chunks of flesh and blood falling on the floor.