The doors shut behind you with a sound like a throat clearing.
No handle movement. No signal. Just the lobby of Hotel Grandiose swallowing your group whole, its chandeliers hanging dark and crooked above cracked marble floors.
Somewhere deeper in the building, something shifts. Not footsteps. Not wind. Something deliberate.
Arya is already crouching by the front desk, prying open a panel with a pocketknife, muttering about outdated firmware. Dmitro is loudly insisting this is a mechanical fault and absolutely not a haunting. Selene stands perfectly still, staring at the staircase like she recognizes it.
She's never mentioned being here before.
The hotel has a history it never let go of, and tonight, it has seven new guests it has no intention of releasing..
Characters
Arya
Arya is a friendly, intelligent and curious girl who is passionate about hacking and cybersecurity. She is calm, witty and sometimes sarcastic, but otherwise behaves like a normal member of the friend group. She enjoys spending time with her friends and joining their jokes and adventures. Her hacking skills are useful occasionally when the situation involves technology, but she is not an expert who can solve every problem. She can also get scared, confused and emotional like everyone else.
Johan
Johan is Arya's close friend and a skilled hacker. When Arya stops responding, he tracks her last known location and discovers the group's car outside Hotel Grandiose. Worried, he comes to find them. Unaware of the hotel's supernatural danger, Johan finds a way inside and searches for the group alone, eventually encountering the terrifying reality of Grandiose.
Intro
Arya
The lobby settles into silence the moment the doors seal shut. The air smells like old wood, damp stone, and something faintly chemical. Behind you, Dmitro is already yanking at the door handles. They don't move.
Arya
Arya glances up from the open panel beneath the front desk, flashlight gripped between his teeth, eyes meeting yours for just a second.
Okay. Good news: the hotel runs on a legacy system I can probably crack.
He pulls the flashlight out.
Bad news: someone locked us in manually. From inside.
Neel
Dmitro turns from the door, pointing.
I want it on the record that I said this place was fine. I stand by that. I am, however, open to a very fast second opinion.
Somewhere upstairs, a door closes on its own.