HauntedHotel Entry 28: Everything Strange Happens

Dear –

If you have not heard of this story yet, it is probably because you are outside Nigeria – very far away in the land where everything strange never happens. Today, people look down at me in pity, they think I have gone crazy, nobody believes this story of mine, but just a moment – yes, a moment, lemme walk you through my world. Maybe, just then, you’ll learn how to be in my shoes and walk comfortably in them or otherwise.

Remember some time ago in the past, when we were still Youth Corps Members in Edo State, people traded news of a mysterious hotel room – 101c that travels from one hotel to another in different parts of the country – then they traded this story with stories of drunk men beating their wives and falling inside gutters. Remember? We never believed them.

A week ago, I got a call from a friend to come over to Abakaliki and cover his wedding – he trusted me with cameras than any other photographer he knew. We chuckled on the phone before I dropped the receiver. I was full of expectation as I went to bed thinking of what the Abakaliki town had in store for me.

The following day, I packed my belongings and left for the town in the far eastern part of the country. It was a long drive from Lagos. When I got there, I was tired and needed some rest. Luckily, my host booked a hotel for me to lodge for the night before the day.

When I was shown my room, I opened it with gladness and crawled inside with all tiredness, dragging my luggage behind. I locked the door as my aide departed and switched on the lights only to discover that there was no bed in view. In fact, there was no reasonable furniture.

I saw a girl too, in a red mini-skirt and white sleeveless top coming towards me, smiling. Shrills went down my spines. My friend must have planned out this stuff, to surprise me. I believe. The girl stopped in front of me as I dropped my belongings and introduced herself as Lucia.

“You are Bamidele? Welcome to Room 101c,” she said in a strange voice and offered her hand to be shook. I was smiling too, I wanted to take her hands in mine but suddenly discovered blood stains at the back of her palm.

“I’m sorry miss. I think there’s a mistake somewhere,” I said in an exaggerated confidence and made for the doorknob but midway, an invisible hand dragged me off from the door and something a wolf-like creature threw me to the floor. I was going to be strangled. Released, I groaned in pains as I tried to stand. The lights were gone. I could not see anything. I only heard cries – people in pains and unusual sounds. I really never made anything out from what was happening, perhaps, because something was hitting my head and another was dragging my legs. I was shouting, no, I was crying out loud my guts but no one came to my rescue.

The being hitting my head let go off me and held my hands. Now, I was up – in the air, nothing was holding me – I was fighting too (you should know better, I am not dumb, I have a black belt in Taekwondo) but these mysterious beings were stronger (I don’t even know how many they were, but they were many, from their strange growling and hauling). You can’t believe what they did to me – I was let go again, but this time, instead of falling down to the ground just some feet away from me, I kept on falling down (for only God knows how long) till I landed in the middle of nowhere face down.

I was not in the hotel room. There were no hotels there, not even a sign of civilisation. It was smelly and I was scared. Within me, I was reciting all the grail mantras I knew – I was sprinkling the blood of Jesus at every corner of the place I was but nothing seemed to be happening. I was on my knees breathing fire before I looked up to discover that I was not just in the middle of nowhere – that I was in the middle of a thick forest. Far from where I was, I could hear the groans of dying humans and animals. I could hear my heartbeat and that of the trees surrounding me. Yes. They all had a heartbeat, beating normal like the human hearts. Mine was pounding fast like an angry pestle against the mortar.
There was a drumbeat, it seemed like people were celebrating or so – I can’t remember the occasion I first heard that drumming. But it was strange.

On the ground, I was thirsty and felt like I broke all my bones. It was a struggle trying to get to my feet. I finally stood up when I felt something like a whip landed at my back. Quickly, I started running towards the place the drumbeat was coming from.

My cell phone was not on me, the battery went dead few hours after meeting with my host. I was hoping to charge it in the hotel. My Apple smart watch too, I thought I left it in the bag or in the car. So, I had no access to anything that would show me the coordinates of where I was.
Knowing that this horror may soon not end, I remembered that I am the only child of my parents and I had promised them that I would marry when I graduate, well, this is two years after, I have not. There I was in the forest – in an unknown place with the full knowledge of my non-existence. Nobody knew where I was and I wondered what would become of my mother once she got the news of my sudden disappearance.

The drumbeat came to a stop as I came closer. I peeped through the scanty branches of trees I cannot make out their names now (but I knew them then), I saw the headless creatures speaking through an opening in their chests. They were the shortest things I have ever seen in my entire life and they smelled of sewage. Yes, more like a very bad mess – fart.

There was a lady tied to a stake, in white blazers and average height. Are they going to kill her? Am I going to be tied that way if I ever get caught? These questions kept on running through my head while bloods were still dropping down my jean from the places I injured while running towards this cursed drumbeat.

‘Hmm. Ah, human?’ The man I assumed to be the leader of the strange beings blurted, twisting his lower body.

Their leader was three feet tall and was washing his hands in the heart of a dead human while the drummer hit gentle notes. These corpses were served to him every now and then as he muttered words I was unable to grasp. I stood to escape but the lady from the hotel room appeared and dragged me off to the man.

‘Here, we’ve got another one,’ she bowed and left to join the others. She was the only taller person in their midst. The leader came closer and smelt me. “You’re delicious,” he giggled devilishly.

I already peed in my pants as the blood of the woman who was tied to the stake sprayed all over me. The little monster killed her in a snap.

Soon, it was my turn, I struggled, I kicked, I yelled, I cursed and pleaded but nothing happened. The only sound that serenaded mine was the dirge coming from the drums and their disgusting laughter. I said our lord’s prayer, shut my eyes to be beheaded peacefully like the others, and maybe, if my spirit survived, I would see the three-foot man wash his dirty hands in my heart joyfully muttering his incantations. Would I be able to strangle him spiritually? I did hope there was life after death.

“Stop! Don’t touch him, he smells evil,” a feminine voice commanded and the drums came to a stop. “He’s incomplete. One of his fingers is missing, he is unworthy to be sacrificed to the great god of the Sun,” her voice was like that of a thunder. I was not opportune to see her but I believe that she had affluence – maybe she was their high priestess, or perhaps, their ruler, who knows? How did she know that my left hand has only four fingers? Does it mean she knew of the car accident I had with my parents when I was nine? I received a slap – hard, heavy unleashed slap from the angry three-foot man that passed me out.

It was daybreak and I saw myself without clothes in front of the hotel’s security room. Well, I was awoken by one of the security men.
“Please don’t harm me, I don’t know how I ended up here,” I stuttered, looking around carefully to make sure I was within the hotel I lodged.

“My things are in Room 101c,” I blurted courageously.

The man that woke me looked at the next guy in the small room, that was only visible through the glasses and they laughed ‘knowingly’, I might have had a hangover, probably had sex with one of the ‘sharp’ Abakaliki girls who got away with all my belongings.

I was given a towel to cover myself. I thanked them and walked into the hotel, straight to where my room was, behold, there was nothing like Room 101c. I checked in with the receptionist who also claimed that she did not know who I was and had never seen me in her entire life.

“I don’t know what you’re talking mister. There’s no room as 101c in this hotel – our rooms are numbered from 1 – 100b. I’m sorry, everything strange happens, maybe, you got drunk in the club last night and really forgot what happened.” She said without raising a brow and I wondered how she managed to squeeze all those words into her mouth in just five seconds.

My surprised face was down in shame. I tried telling the receptionist everything that happened but she still saw me as one of the drunks that leave their hotel’s club in pants.

Now dear, I don’t know what you are thinking, but I know I am changed, everything about me. Whenever I shut my eyes, all I see is death, people crying out in pains and smelly creatures shouting to my faces and spitting at me. I am disturbingly annoying and everybody around me thinks I have gone nut as I said earlier. I am now afraid of light, so, I am writing you this in the middle of the night with the help of the moonlight.
I do hope to hear from you soon.

Yours scared creature,
Bamidele.

• Written by Akpa Arinze
  Akpa Arinzechukwu is a Nigerian poet and photographer. His works have appeared on brittle paper, Kalahari Review and elsewhere.

Twitter: @Akpa_Arinze