I walked along the dark corridor of the hotel. The lights had gone out and my flashlight stopped working. I was trying to find my best friend, Bam, but he was nowhere to be found. We had been in the hotel for three days now, and my parents were ready to go home. We had come so Bam and I could do some research for a science project, and now we were ready to leave. Bam had gone off to get some snacks, but never came back. I was about to go look for him, when the lights went out. My parents told me to find Bam, because we were leaving. So there I was, stumbling along looking for my lost friend. I couldn’t see anything.
“Bam? Bam, come on man this isn’t funny. My mom said we’re leaving. If you don’t come out we’re gonna leave you.” There was still no response. I stopped and waited a few minutes, and then the lights came back on. I shielded my eyes as the dark hallway was brought to life with light. When my eyes adjusted, I could see that the long skinny carpet that trailed the hallway floor, was severely crooked. As I looked farther down, I could see that a couple of the small tables were knocked over, along with everything on them.
“Bam? Come on bro, let's go. My mom said that we’re leaving.” I repeated what I said, but still no response. Just a low moan. Now I was really freaked out. I turned around, but there was no one there. The moaning continued, and I tried to follow, but was stopped by the hotel clerk. He was tall with greasy black hair and a wiry build. I looked at his name tag, and it read, Mr. Bone. I gazed into his cold, dark eyes, just long enough for chills to run up and down my spine. I just stood there paralyzed, not knowing what to do. All that sinister man did, was gaze right back at me.
“You shouldn’t be out of your room young man. It’s after 8:30 at night,” his voice was like a frozen drill in my ears. It was gritty and squeaky at the same time. When he spoke I could see his brown and yellow teeth, rotting away. His breath reeked of sour milk and garlic. I was trying not to be rude, so instead of plugging my nose, I held my breath. After a short pause, I started to back away, when I bumped into someone else. I whirled around to find my dad, glaring at the man with frustration.
“What in the world are you doing? You’re supposed to be at the front desk, not harassing my son.” He said those words with pure anger. Now he looked at me with half pity and half worry.
“Jake, did you find Bam? Or any trace of him in this matter?”
“No sir. I’ve been looking for the past ten minutes, but haven’t found anything. Dad? Do you think he’s ok?”
“Of course, he probably just got lost. I’ll help you look for him.” My father gave me a sympathetic look, then gestured for me to follow. I had completely forgotten about Mr.Bone, and when I turned to give him one last look, he was gone. I didn’t think much about. I mean, my dad was with me, and I felt safe.
We continued to look for Bam, for thirty more minutes, but still found nothing. I was on the verge of crying now. My best friend was nowhere to be found, I was stuck one more night in a creepy hotel, and I was alone. I had no one to talk to. I went to bed that night, thinking. I thought about Bam, I thought about home, and I thought about Mr. Bone. The guy was stuck to my brain. There was just no way to shut him out. Finally I fell asleep, but was soon awakened by the moaning. I tried to shut it out, but it continued to fill my ears. It sounded like someone trying to call help, to me anyway. After about 5 minutes, I got up and wandered out of my room, trying to pinpoint where the cry was coming from. I wandered down the hall, and came to room 201. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. It had been quiet for a few minutes, but then it started up again. That was how I knew, that it was room 201. It was so loud then. I started to beat on the door, trying to get someone to answer me.
“Hello?! Hello! Who’s in there?” I was so frustrated, I began to beat even harder. I stopped and tried to regain my strength, pulling small splinters.
“Jake? Jake, please man, get me out of here!” My heart sank. That was Bam’s voice. It was hoarse and so raspy. I had never heard it like that before.
“Bam! Bam, hold on I’m coming!” I began to beat on the door even harder, and finally felt it begin to break. Finally, after heaving and pushing, it came down. I looked around, but couldn’t see anything. I felt around for a light switch, found one, and flipped it on. I adjusted my eyes as quickly as possible. I looked around in astonishment. Bam was on an elevated table, strapped down. It looked just like Frankenstein's lab. Bubbling liquids, Bam tied down, and tubes running from his arms to vials on a table.
“Hold on man, I’m getting you out of here.” Just as I said those words, I heard a familiar scratching voice. Mr. Bone’s voice. I whirled around, to see his wiry figure.
“GET BACK TO YOUR ROOM!” he screamed. I just stood there paralyzed. I only had one thing on my mind at that time. I was going to get my friend out of there, and I was going to do it now.