Floaters

Chapter 1

On the third floor of Quinta’s Inn, in room 34, many occupants went missing. In the span of twelve months, seven residents disappeared completely after spending the night inside the hotel. Customer had seen them go inside the room but never come back out. The fourth victim was a young boy named Walter Coombs. He knew something was off kilter the moment he stepped inside. The swamp cooler was turned on, humming and blowing cool air. He unpacked his duffel bags, placing his clothes inside the small rack that substituted as a closet. He had arrived in Arizona to visit his relatives for thanksgiving.

Walter felt an oppressive, heavy feeling weigh down on him as he switched on the bathroom lights. The fluorescent bulbs flickered, revealing the bathtub shower. It was immaculately clean. The shower curtains were yellow shade like bad urine and the mirror above the wash basin was enormous like a show glass. Walter went out to the foyer and spotted a single bed and television on top of a drawer. He stripped naked, pulling his pants off and sweat-stained shirt up and over his head. He tugged off his socks and tossed it on velvet chair.

As he crossed the room to the bathroom, the television flicked on. Static hissed on the screen. Walter looked at it quixotically. He picked up the remote and changed the channel. Weather. Sports. Sex. News. Cartoon. Movies. He left it on and unzipped the small compartment of his bag. He extracted a toothbrush and toothpaste and walked into the shower stall. He swiveled the spigot to hot. Steam curled up in the bathroom as Walter craned his head under the nozzle, wetting his hair. Water dripped down his face and body as he lathered his body. He was shampooing when he heard voices coming from outside the door.

Walter slid the curtains aside.

“Anyone there?”

He strained to hear anything unusual. The voices were getting louder.

“I said who’s there?”

Nobody answered. Walter finished washing up quickly and shut off the shower. He got out, toweling off fairly fast. He opened the door.