Enjoy Your Stay

Nikki scrolled through the hotel's reviews one last time. There were hundreds, all raving about the excellent service and reasonable pricing.

Yeah, this would do.

She slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and pushed through the revolving door.

She was barely two feet into the lobby when a bot with a nametag reading 'Joel' glided her way.

"Good afternoon, ma'am, how may I help you?" it asked.

"Um..." Her mind went blank as the bot's human-like eyes seemed to stare into her soul. "I'd like to rent a room for the next two nights?"

"Right this way." The bot slid away to the front counter, leaving Nikki no choice but to follow.

"Room 312 is available. One bed, one bath. Is this to your liking?"

"Uh... Yes, thank you."

The bot held out the room key.

When she reached out to take it, the bot's fingers closed around her hand.

"Nikki Anderson. Enjoy your stay."

A shudder ran through her body as she turned away and headed to the elevator.

Not once had she said her name or given any kind of personal information. How did they know her name?

What else did they know about her?

***

The elevator contained no buttons, she noticed as the doors shut and sealed with a quiet hiss.

Immediately her heart leapt into her throat, and she began pounding on the door.

"Help! Someone help me! I'm stuck in the elevator!"

The doors slid open again, and she tumbled forward onto the rough carpet of the third floor.

Nikki snapped her bag close to her body just before the doors could shut again.

Unlike previous hotels she had stayed in, this one had no signs indicating what direction the rooms were.

She was about to cry out in desperation when a cool voice said, "Your room is to the left and around the first corner."

Nikki looked around to see who had spoken, but there was no one there. She had the nagging suspicion that the voice had come from within the walls themselves.

She found her room without any further issues. She popped the key into the scanner and the light blinked green almost instantly.

"Enjoy your stay," the disembodied voice said, and Nikki darted into the room.

She slammed the door shut and leaned against it. This was not at all the kind of hotel experience she had wanted. Why hadn't she just gone down the street another block to the Marriott?

It was too late now. The long drive and the stress were eating at her, and all she wanted to do was go to bed.

Nevertheless, she unpacked her duffel bag, placing her change of clothes in the dresser and her toiletries on the bathroom counter, and sat down on the bed to call for room service.

A mechanical voice answered the phone, though she was less than surprised at this point. She hadn't seen a single human being in this place.

"How may I help you?" the bot asked.

"Hi, I was wondering if I could have a pizza sent up to my room?"

"Yes, ma'am, we will send a Meat Lover's pizza up to 312 immediately."

The line went dead as her skin crawled.

This hotel gave her the creeps.

No sooner had she wondered how they knew what kind of pizza she liked, there came a knock at the door.

She tentatively went and opened it, only to find another bot standing there with a pizza box held out before it.

"Your pizza, ma'am. Enjoy."

"I just called to order this," she said, shocked by the speed.

"It is our duty here to anticipate our guests' needs. Good night, ma'am. Enjoy your stay."

She stood frozen in the doorway as the bot whirred away. Finally she was pulled out of her daze by the unbearable heat of the pizza box.

She stumbled back into her room and drew the chain across the door.

***

The alarm clock woke her at 8:00 AM.

Nikki slapped at it with a tired hand and then rolled to her back, slowly and blissfully transitioning to full consciousness.

And then she realized that she had not set the alarm clock the night before, nor had she turned off the lamp before falling asleep.

She bolted upright, sheet clutched to her chest and heart racing.

"Good morning, ma'am," that voice said again. "Would you like to order room service?"

If her nerves weren't already frayed from the day before, they certainly were now.

"I can't stay here," she muttered, sliding out of bed and right into her shoes.

She spent the next several minutes retrieving her belongings from around the room and stuffing them back into her bag.

She was getting the heck out of here.

Nikki got halfway down the hallway before the voice called out, "Before you go, please stop at the front desk to return your key. We hope that you enjoyed your stay and will come stay with us again."

"Not in this lifetime..." Nikki took the stairs this time, giving the elevator a wide berth.

A bot greeted her in the lobby. "Leaving us so soon?" it asked.

"Change of plans. I... My meeting got moved up a day."

The bot blinked at her, and again she had the sensation of her deepest, darkest thoughts and fears being paged through and read like a travel magazine.

She held out the key, and the bot slowly took it from her.

"For a discount, would you mind giving us a review?" the bot asked.

Nikki hesitated, but her wallet begged her to give in.

She reluctantly followed the bot into a room off of the lobby.

***

Claire Jenson walked into the hotel lobby and was promptly met by a bot with a nametag reading 'Nikki'.

"Good afternoon, ma'am, how may I help you?" it asked.

THE END