The Gold Keycard || The Ink Well March Contest

"Welcome to Oprus Bed N Breakfast, Mr and Mrs….?" The lanky innkeeper prompted the odd couple standing in front of the reception desk.

The wife looked slightly older, probably in her late forties, slender and tall. Her body looked toned revealing she was careful with her diet and took her health seriously. The man on the other hand appeared carefree and younger but taller.

"Veronica and Cole Clarke, please," the husband replied, displaying a fine set of white teeth and a dimple on one cheek. "We hear this is a B & B with a unique tourist experience. Is that right?"

The innkeeper paused in an eerie way and glanced from the husband to the wife and back to the smiling husband who was anxious for a reply.

He cleared his throat. "Our bed and breakfast is not popular around these parts of town. I'm curious though, how did you find out about us?"

The couple exchanged a look. "Um, actually the train conductor recommended this place when we told him of our love for adventure and fantasies. He gave us the directions," the wife replied with a serious look, gauging the innkeeper.

Veronica took a good look at the innkeeper who had an unusual appearance. He was lanky with a bony face and big, dull eyes that dominated his face. His cheeks were sunken and his bones jutted out in a way that seemed like his features had been carved by a sculptor. His uniform was about two sizes too large for him yet he managed to wear it properly.

The innkeeper closed his eyes for a moment and flipped them open again with a suspicious bright smile. "Of course! We don't get many guests at this time of the year but we are happy to have you. Will you like the honeymoon suite?" He took a wild guess.

The wife blushed and glanced around the reception room to hide her embarrassment while the husband beamed. "Yes, please. We'll take the honeymoon suite."

"This way please." The innkeeper led the couple up some creaky, old stairs. He could sense the uppity wife cringing from the state of the stairs and the entire mansion. But the husband did not mind.

They stopped in front of a dirty-looking door that was once painted white many moons ago. The wife cringed some more and whispered to the husband who shrugged in response. She turned angry eyes at the innkeeper. "Is this the honeymoon suite?"

"Yes, ma'am. It is. Here's your keycard," the innkeeper gave them a plain gold keycard. As the husband reached out to take it, the innkeeper held it for a moment. "Don't lose it. You'll thank me later," he said and released it.

The Clarkes glanced at each other in curiosity and at the keycard. "What's that supposed to mean?" Veronica asked but realised the innkeeper was gone. "Are you sure staying here is a good idea?"

Cole shrugged once again. "C'mon, darling. See this as an adventure, one we can entertain our kids with." He swiped the keycard on the reader and a green light blinked.

The couple opened the door and stared into a clean and sophisticated room with modern amenities common with five-star hotels. It was like they were in a different world.

"Wow! Is this a trick?" The wife asked as she shut the door.

"Darling, it's our honeymoon. Let's just have a good time!" Cole winked at his wife and pulled her into the bedroom.

The Clarkes dressed up for dinner and stepped out of the room around eight pm. They were faced with a drastic and uncanny change to the interior of Oprus Bed N Breakfast. It was like the decorating team had been busy within the few hours the couple rested in their room.

Veronica yelled at the top of her voice as she walked straight into a cobweb, flailing her hands. Clarke quickly dusted them off her, calming her down. They looked about and saw cobwebs stringed from one end of the hall to the other.

Small-sized pumpkins with lights glowing inside them were placed at the top of the bannister and different points on the floor. Black widow spiders moved around the cobwebs while filmy, white figures flew around the mansion, making ghoulish noises, some entering into the walls and some jutting out before disappearing completely.

Veronica began to shake and cry. "Oh, Cole! What is going on here?"

Cole was stunned. "Darling, it's not Halloween yet is it?"

"I don't know and I don't care! Let's get out of here. I knew there was something very wrong with this place but you wouldn't listen to me!"

"Darling, calm down. I'll find the innkeeper. It must be some prank to welcome new guests. I did say the building looked old and eerie."

The couple held hands, the wife trembling as they walked downstairs. Just then a very tall person in a black cloak and hoodie, holding a pitchfork, glided towards them. They couldn't see a face where one should be, only darkness and the cloak touched the floor but they saw no feet.

"Oh no, oh no!" Veronica whispered beside Cole while he gripped her cold hand tight to calm her.

"Welcome, Mr and Mrs Clarke," the strange figure in a black cloak spoke. "We are the night duty staff and we are happy to serve you."

Veronica clutched her husband's forearms and dug her nails into him. "Let's get out of here," she whispered from the corner of her mouth, her eyes bulging and staring at the strange figure.

"I'm afraid there's no getting out of here," the figure said with a smile even though they couldn't see it. "Unless you have the gold keycard. In the meantime, you must eat with us." He waved towards the dining room, revealing supernatural beings seated at a long dining table.

"Are those….?" Cole whispered.

"Yes, they are. Zombies, witches, goblins, ghosts, vampires and wizards. They are your fantasies, yea?" The cloaked figure asked as the beings at the table turned at once to gaze at the couple.

"Oh my, Master. You did not tell us you brought humans for dinner," one of the vampires said, slowly running the tip of his tongue around his fangs.

Cole grabbed his wife's hand and they ran back up the stairs. Veronica stumbled and fell but Cole gripped her hands and dragged her up. The cobwebs moved and wrapped around them to stop them from entering the room.

"The key!" Veronica screeched like a banshee, her eyes bloodshot from crying.

"Yes, yes. I have it here!" Cole pulled out the keycard and swiped it on the reader. The light was still red.

"Oh no, Cole. They are coming closerrrr!" Veronica was at her wit's end. Cole was sweaty and trembling badly. He swiped the keycard repeatedly until the light turned green.

The couple pushed into the room and the door clicked shut just as the scary beings were almost at the door.

As their chests heaved, the couple stared at each other. They were back in their beautifully furnished five-star room. They held onto each other and stayed in bed until morning.

As the sun rose and sprinkled its rays into their room, the couple woke up with a start, their hearts racing. A loud pounding on their door woke them up. "Mr and Mrs Clarke, are you in there? It's the innkeeper."

"Yes. Are you alone?" Cole asked, reluctant to open the door.

"I'm sorry but I was told you did not stay for the show last night. It's a thing we do to welcome couples…." The innkeeper was still speaking when Cole pulled the door open, his teeth clenched in anger.

"A thing? You people scared us out of our minds! No wonder you don't have many guests visiting this place. We are leaving now!" Cole declared.

The innkeeper looked thinner that morning and was a little sad. He hung his head in shame as the couple dragged their luggage, flung the keycard at him and walked out of the mansion.