My stomach churned as I backed away from the dead body. I was going to be sick. My feet got in each other’s way, sending me stumbling. I went tumbling into the wall, my shoulder protesting as it hit right next to the curtained-off window.

Shrieking immediately came, loud enough that even through the wall it filled the entire room. It felt like knives had been stabbed into both of my ears as I ran for the bathroom. Both to empty my stomach and escape the screaming. Just needed to get away.

My throat burned as whatever had been in my stomach came up. Mostly liquid. There were chunks of something now floating with the ice in bathtub. Heaving, I tried to catch my breath leaning over the tub. The screaming had stopped. But the dead body would still be in the next room.

Watching the shadows on the surface of the water, I realized where I was. Over my shoulder the light flickered. I was back to my feet as it winked out entirely.

But this time the light stayed. I had left the door open.

Light from the hotel room filled the bathroom entirely, enough that the few shadows were subdued. I started chuckling as the light bulb came back on, flashing. On and off. Repeated a dozen times while my laughter turned hysterical. The damn thing was alive. And apparently wanted me dead. Well too bad for it.

Walking over, a grin on my face as I tried to contain my laughter, I reached up for the lightbulb. It seared to touch. Heat scorched the surface of my hand, but I didn’t care. Tightening my fist, it refused to break under the pressure as I squeezed. So instead I quickly grabbed the chain with my other hand. As hot to the touch as the bulb itself, but it should only last a second.

I lifted myself off the floor. The chain squealed in protest before it ripped out of the ceiling. The chain hit me in the shoulder, feeling like a whip. I grabbed the entire thing and threw it on the ground, glass shattering. Panting, I stood over what was probably a pointless victory in the end.

Grabbing a chair, I wedged it to keep the door wide open. I wasn’t risking it shutting on me if I ended up in there again. Now with that darkness. I went back to the main room.

A withered, pale hand stuck out over the edge of the suitcase. My veins felt like ice as I froze. That hadn’t been there when I had rushed away. Maybe I had bumped into it in my panic?

The finger on the hand twitched.

My feet pounded into the floor as I covered the distance quickly. Inside the corpse had collapsed in on itself. Bones and flesh had melted together into a single mass. It was reforming, I could see the head coming back out, skin splitting and ripping off. It roared at me with a maw of bone spikes where teeth had once been.

I reached for the top of the suitcase, but the twitching hand sprung into motion. It was practically bone below the wrist now, flesh peeling off. Its grip made it feel like my own bones were being ground up. Uneven, chewed-up fingernails were elongating on its fingers. Pain lanced through my arm as they pierced my skin.

I punched the bone under the hand. My knuckles protested as they rammed into the Ulna. With a snap it split, and a scream came from the suitcase. My hand was free now, and I reached for the top of the suitcase.

The head lunged for me, ready to bite with its new teeth. The top of the case rammed into its head before it made it out. The hand made another lunge. The case lid slammed then sheared through the hand.

It wriggled at my feet like a fish, trying to claw through my boots. I reared up and stomped on it, even as I thumbed the latches shut on the case. Skin ripped off, nails broke, bones shattered under repeated blows until the pieces that were left stopped moving.

The briefcase shuddered once, twice, and then I was on top of it. Pressing down it as hard as I could, it shuddered a few more times but eventually stopped.

I moved off the briefcase onto the bed and sank into it. I was still afraid, with that thing right next to me. But with the suitcase closed, and also the bathroom taken care of I was getting a handle on things. Whatever these things were.

The sheets and the mattress weren’t the best, but right now they felt like bliss as I lay there. Keeping an eye on the briefcase, but nothing moved. Whatever was in there was seemingly not interested in trying to get out anymore. And for right now I’d take the moment to catch my breath. That's when the rotary phone on the nightstand next to me started ringing.

With everything that had just happened, at this point, I could just be proud of the fact I didn’t jump out of my skin when that happened. I did almost punch the phone though. I grabbed the receiver gingerly, eyeing the phone. It seemed innocuous enough, a tall rotary phone. But with everything that had happened, it might do something like spit acid in my face. But if everything in here was like that I wouldn’t be lasting that long either way. Still, I held the receiver a fair bit away from my ear. That acid idea wasn’t leaving my head.

“Hello?” I asked cautiously. I almost stammered that out, still rattled.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“This is your eight o clock wake-up call from the Night Manager, Miss Indigo. And also to tell you we expect payment today.” A voice said on the other side. Higher than mine but much more authoritative in tone and does not sound very happy. A woman? No, it could be a very effeminate man. Or maybe a normal man, or maybe I should stop making assumptions about things. Crap, was I prejudiced? Please no.

“Uh, thank you,” I said, trying to sound more confident. I was failing. Miserably. “Can I ask-”

“We also want to inform you, Ms. Indigo-” She cut me off without even an acknowledgment, and I also finally noticed what she called me. That was my name? Indigo? “that you have not paid for the past six days. This is your final warning. Members of the Chainer’s Brigade are still waiting outside the hotel for you and will be more than happy to take you into their custody. We would ask that you consider our offer of money for your tools once again.”

Well, that wasn’t very helpful. Apparently, I owed this place for a stay I couldn’t remember, and someone named the Chainer had people waiting outside to arrest me. Probably for this dead body, which I had no idea who it was or what it was, or what the hell was going on. Also, what tools?

While I was thinking, the Night Manager apparently had about enough of my silence. “Ms. Indigo, do you need me to repeat the last message?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think this message is for me. Ms. Indigo is not my name. I think.” I blurted out in quick succession.

“You think? You are the current resident in room 1912, isn’t it?” The voice on the other end of the line had grown harsh fast, enough that I felt the urge to snap back but no, I couldn’t do that. Not till I had some answers.

“I’m going to be honest. I woke up in a bathtub a few minutes ago with no idea who I was, no memory of this place at all, and found a dead body in my suitcase. Then it came to life. Where on earth am I?” I said, doing my best to keep my tone somewhat calm. I don’t think I was very successful, but this wasn’t a calming situation. Hotel managers should be used to angry customers, anyway.

“You are Ms. Indigo, or at least you signed in with that name at the beginning of this month. Give me a few minutes to clear this up with our owner and see if I can figure out where the disconnect seems to be. Also, the destruction of your lightbulb has been added to your bill. Please stay in your room” The Night Manager’s tone was at least back to a calm neutral.

“That lightbulb was trying to kill me!” I finally found the confidence to yell something but by then the phone had hung up. Wait, how did she know to begin with?

They had said they would clear this up. Did that mean they would send a staff member or another phone call soon? Either way, it was a bit of a relief, even if they hadn’t really answered my questions. I didn’t want to go outside this room, all things considered, with the noises from either direction. I could forget the dead body in the suitcase as long as it was closed, and I didn’t have to see it. There was still the second one next to it on the bed.

I approached it nervously, put my thumbs on the latches, but didn’t open it just yet. It was heavy, but not as heavy as the other one. But that could just mean the body was smaller if it contained another of those. If I let things like that keep me from doing anything, I’ll never make it out of this room. You are better than this. Well, I assume I am. I flicked the latches, and opened up the briefcase.

There was a gun, which was the most immediate thing to grab my attention. A pistol, semi-automatic. Nothing fancy about it, and picking it up felt familiar. Not that I was going to test that familiarity right now. It felt good in my grip but I didn’t really know how to fire it besides click goes the trigger. I wasn’t going to try practicing with it, since I didn’t really know how to use it. Not worth the risk trying to figure that out. Well, unless the thing in the other suitcase got out.

There were more clothes, the same style as what I had on, an old-looking flashlight, and an assortment of other stuff. Shoulder holster, matches. Was that a stick in there? And some knife with writing on it?

There was a piece of paper as well, folded in half, words scrawled on it in a language. English, my brain told me, and I could read, so at least whoever I was, I could read English. A few sentences, nothing more on it.

Don’t use the window

Don’t open the second suitcase

Don’t leave the hotel without a position, a bind, or an item

Take risks

I examined the note for anything else, any possible writing no matter how tiny, but it looked like that was it. Okay, that second piece of information would have been a lot more useful a few minutes ago. The rest was for the most part nonsense, as far as I knew. Whoever had written this either did not know how much I knew or was being a dick to me. Oh, it was going to turn out to be me, wasn’t it? What was this, Total Recall?

Gaah, I had felt that little piece of pop knowledge fluff just slide into my brain as though it had always been there. I don’t know what was going on with my memories, but so far things just slid into place at the most random things but even worse none of it told me anything about me! I knew the plot, the scenes, the original and the remake, but I couldn’t remember ever watching both of those movies and any details about that. My head was a resting place for random pieces of pop knowledge fluff to poke their way in while contributing nothing useful!

I took a few deep breaths. Panicking would not help me. I was safe, for now. I put on the holster, put the gun inside, and slipped the knife inside a pocket. Next, the flashlight. Bulky, too big for the pockets even on the coat. Was it worth the inconvenience in case the light went out again?

I was interrupted with the crackling of someone turning on an intercom.

“This is the Night Manager of the Hotel.” It was the same lady, person, whoever, as the one who had contacted me on the phone. There was no visible speaker for any of this, but the voice continued talking as if put through one. It sounded scratchy and choppy, like an old gas station intercom on a rural road that has seen no changes for forty years.

“It has come to our attention that the resident of Room 1912, the Suitcase Killer, has attempted to cheat the Hotel out of payment for her stay and damages to her room. Any resident who catches and apprehends her, dead or living, will earn a free stay for a month with all benefits. Good hunting residents.”

Well, shit.