Chapter 131: At a Motel

"Something's off?" Jon chuckled, the sound oddly discordant in the creeping dusk. "My dear friend, since you've entered this line of work, you have to abandon your past habits and deal with all sorts of so-called oddities. The more off it seems, the more we need to head in—"

With a sense of purpose, Jon stepped out of the car, the gravel crunching under his boots like dry bones. Nancy, her instincts honed from years of battling Freddy, followed suit, her voice tinged with a mix of curiosity and dread. "You suspect there are evil spirits here?"

Jon paused, his gaze scanning the dilapidated facade of the roadside motel. "Not necessarily spirits," he mused, his eyes reflecting the dying light. "Sometimes humans can be more terrifying than any specter."

Creakk!

They approached the motel, the neon sign flickering like a beacon for the lost. The door creaked open, an invitation or perhaps a warning, as they stepped into the dimly lit lobby.

Aaaaaaagh!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

But then, the air was shattered by a cacophony of screams, high-pitched and frantic. Nancy's face transformed, her eyes hardening with resolve. "What's happening in there?!" she demanded, her voice steady.

Jon's hand shot out, a firm barrier against her advance. "Hey, don't get excited!" His command was sharp, a clear signal that this was no time for recklessness. Nancy, though bristling with the urge to act, yielded, her eyes locked on Jon, searching for his next move.

Ding!

He advanced with measured steps, reaching the front desk and pressing the service bell with a deliberate push. It chimed, a solitary note that seemed to mock the screams.

The owner, a relic from a bygone era with his thick glasses and outdated attire, emerged from the shadows. "Good evening, sir," Jon greeted, his voice a masterclass in calm.

"Good evening, my esteemed guests," the owner replied, his enthusiasm a stark contrast to the terror still echoing behind him.

"How can I help you?" he inquired, oblivious to the absurdity of the situation.

Jon's eyes narrowed, his question pointed. "Is everything okay inside?" The screams punctuated his inquiry like a gruesome punctuation mark.

The owner blinked, the screams seemingly reaching his consciousness for the first time. "Oh," he exclaimed, a moment of realization dawning upon him before he scurried away.

Silence fell, as sudden and complete as the darkness that follows the extinguishing of a candle. The owner reappeared, a sheepish grin on his face and a remote control in his hand. The screams, it seemed, were nothing more than the cries of a damsel in distress from a late-night horror flick.

"Sorry, hehehe..." he chuckled, a nervous edge to his laughter. "This place gets weird at night."

Jon's smile was a mirror of diplomacy, hiding his true thoughts. "It's okay," he replied, his voice betraying none of the suspicion that lingered in his mind.

"So, is there anything I can do for you?" the owner inquired, his voice a blend of hospitality and something else, something that Nancy couldn't quite place.

Jon, ever the pragmatist, didn't miss a beat. "Well, we've been on the road all day and need a place to stay," he responded, his tone betraying none of the weariness that clung to his bones.

The owner's smile widened, revealing a row of teeth that seemed too perfect for the rustic setting. "Then you're in luck. I can offer you the honeymoon suite for just five dollars more, and there will be unexpected surprises!" he exclaimed with a flourish that felt rehearsed.

Nancy, her cheeks tinged with a hint of red, quickly clarified, "Sorry, we... aren't in that kind of relationship."

The owner's eyes twinkled with mischief. "No problem, it could be the start of it~" he teased, undeterred.

Jon's patience, however, was wearing thin. "Just give us a regular room," he said, his voice firm.

"Then I'll have to charge you the same price," the owner replied, gesturing towards the rate card that hung like a decree above the counter.

"Whatever, the faster, the better," Jon muttered, clearly eager to end the exchange.

As the owner bustled off to retrieve the keys, Jon laid the cash on the counter with a decisive thud.

Catching sight of the bills, the owner couldn't hide his delight. "Oh, you're really lucky, sir. It's good you brought cash; we don't accept cards here!" he said, his voice a mixture of glee and relief.

Flipping through the register, he looked up and said, "I need one of your IDs."

Jon turned to Nancy, a half-smile on his face. "So, I'm paying, and you provide the ID. Seems fair to me."

Nancy, her brow furrowing slightly, took out her ID and handed it over, her thoughts momentarily lingering on the possibility that Jon might be without one.

After scribbling their details into the register, Jon had one more request. "Sorry, could you give us room number four?"

The owner's reaction was a flicker of something unreadable before he masked it with a professional veneer. "Oh, but I have to tell you that room isn't our best room here."

"No problem, we'll take it," Jon said, his voice leaving no room for argument.

"Ooh~!" The owner's lips puckered as if tasting something sour, then he handed over the key to room four. "It's just around the corner, room number four!"

He pointed them in the direction, and Jon, with a nod, led Nancy away.

Once they were out of sight, the owner's expression morphed from sunny to stormy, and a nearly sickly smile crept across his face. He took back the register and disappeared into his quarters.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Aaaaaaaaaaa-

The sound of a woman's screams once again filled the room he entered.

Jon unlocked the door to room four and flicked on the light. It was a modest space, a single bed its centerpiece, but it was surprisingly clean and tidy compared to the rest of the motel.

"Oh, this is really not bad," Nancy commented, though her approval was short-lived as she spotted cockroaches scuttling in the corners.

Jon, unfazed, simply turned on the TV, which greeted them with nothing but static due to the poor signal.

"You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch," Nancy said, her voice resolute, as she dropped her bag and surveyed the room, her senses alert for any signs that this night would be anything but ordinary.

Thump! Thump!

Jon slapped the TV in a futile attempt to clear the static. "I'm not sure if I could get some sleep here though," he muttered, his eyes never leaving the screen. "Just make yourself comfortable."

As if on cue, the TV signal sharpened, but the clarity only revealed a violent, blood-soaked scene from a movie that seemed too real, too raw. A man was on the ground, being mercilessly beaten by several figures wielding blunt instruments.

Nancy recoiled from the brutality, her voice a whisper of disgust. "How can they show this stuff?!"

Ring! Ring!

The landline phone on the nightstand shattered the moment with its shrill ring.

"It might be the owner," Nancy suggested, her hand inching towards the receiver.

"Don't answer it, let it ring," Jon commanded abruptly, his attention now fixated on a videotape he'd found atop the TV. He slid it into the player with a sense of purpose that Nancy couldn't fathom.

She withdrew her hand, a sense of dread creeping up her spine as she involuntarily glanced back at the TV. The images that flickered to life were even more grotesque than before. Masked men were assaulting women in a scene that blurred the lines between a sickening reality and a twisted fantasy. One of the assailants brandished a knife, and as the blade pierced the woman's flesh, Nancy felt her stomach churn.

"God! Is this what you enjoy?!" Nancy's voice was a mix of horror and accusation. She couldn't comprehend Jon's motives, especially as he cranked up the volume, filling the room with the sounds of terror and pain.

Thump! Thump!

The knocking at the door resumed, persistent and demanding.

"Who is it?!" Nancy's hand was on the doorknob, her instincts screaming at her to confront the unknown.

"Ignore it, let them knock," Jon said again, his eyes never leaving the screen.

Nancy's hand fell away from the door as confusion and fear warred within her. The room became a cacophony of ringing phones, violent imagery, and incessant knocking. Yet Jon remained eerily detached, absorbed in the chaos of the tapes, instructing Nancy to disregard the outside world.

***

In the dimly lit confines of the owner's private quarters, the air was thick with the hum of electronic surveillance equipment. The owner sat ensconced in a chair that had seen better days, his eyes locked onto a bank of screens that cast an eerie glow across his face. Each screen flickered with the black-and-white imagery of different parts of the motel, but his focus was unyielding on one in particular—the screen that displayed Jon and Nancy's room.

His fingers danced with a perverse kind of glee as he repeatedly dialed the room's number, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards each time the shrill ring cut through the silence. He watched, almost breathless with anticipation, as Nancy reached for the phone, only to retreat at Jon's command.

Simultaneously, he had orchestrated a symphony of disturbance, directing his unseen minions to knock at their door, a rhythmic thumping designed to unnerve and unsettle. It was a game to him, one he had played many times before with countless others who had passed through the motel's doors. The reactions were always the same—fear, confusion, panic.

But Jon was different.

The owner's brow furrowed as he observed Jon's stoic demeanor, unaffected by the psychological onslaught. The usual tactics that worked so effectively in unraveling the minds of guests seemed to bounce off Jon like rain off a roof. It was as if he was made of sterner stuff, or perhaps he was familiar with this kind of game.

The owner leaned forward, his interest piqued. What was it about this man that rendered his tricks impotent? He watched as Jon deliberately turned up the volume on the disturbing scenes playing out on the TV, a counterintuitive act that seemed to serve a purpose the owner couldn't discern.

With each failed attempt to disturb Jon, the owner's fascination grew, morphing into a blend of respect and irritation. He had encountered many guests, but none like Jon. The owner's sickly smile began to fade, replaced by a tight line of concentration. He needed to understand, to find the chink in Jon's armor.

As the night progressed, the owner continued his campaign of harassment, but with each passing hour, his confidence waned. Jon and Nancy remained in the room, seemingly unphased by the psychological warfare being waged upon them.

The owner's hands eventually stilled, the realization dawning on him that he had met his match. He leaned back in his chair, the creak of the leather a lonely sound in the quiet room. The screens continued to flicker, but the owner's game had come to an unexpected and unsatisfying end.

In room number four, Jon and Nancy remained, a mystery unsolved, a puzzle incomplete. And outside, the night at the roadside motel wore on, the screams from the TV now just another part of its unsettling soundtrack.

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