J. Rabb Storyteller

The Hotel Room

A young man named Edward entered suite 34 and was disgusted by the sight and smell; entering the room, he was greeted by the pungent aromas of cigarettes and cheap alcohol, and the horrible 1950s decoration also welcomed him.

"Go in, stay the night, and write a review. I don't need to stay an entire night; this place is gross; lord, have they even changed the sheets in the past decade? I bet bugs are lying in that bed, covered in fluids from the previous occupants. When I get back to the city, Janice will get an earful; what the hell did I do to that old crow that made her send me here?"

Edward shook his head in disgust and unpacked his bag; taking his toiletries to the bathroom, he discovered that the room was far cleaner and more appealing than the rest of the hotel room. The room's look reminded him of the retro 1920s art deco; the sink was porcelain white with a gold faucet and handles, and a black and gold shower was hidden behind an intricate glass and golden wall in the corner. The sight before him confused him greatly; the room changed from the tacky, ugly, bright mint green and pink room to a fabulous masterpiece as if he had entered a different room. King-sized bed in the middle of the room, two golden nightstands next to the bed, a fully stocked bar, and a fireplace.

Ignoring the sudden changes in the room, blaming it on the hour-long drive, Edward claimed into bed and fell asleep.

As the night progressed, everything was silent; a sudden loud crash shook the room, causing Edward to jump out of his bed, his heart pounding in his chest, and on full alert, he checked his surroundings to see what caused the noise, but nothing was amiss. Then, taking a deep breath to settle the fear that clutched his heart, Edward laughed at himself for his childish reaction to the loud noise. He climbed back into bed, but another thunderous crash shook the room before he could settle down.

The sounds came from the bathroom; it sounded like people were fighting, and each sound they made rocked the room. He thought it might be the people in the next room, so he walked to the bathroom and opened the door. The crash came again, shaking the walls and causing the lights to flicker. He ran to the other side of the bathroom and banged on the wall, yelling out, asking if everything was okay and if anyone needed help, but was only answered with more screams and pleas for help. Edward placed his ear against the wall and could hear the women being beaten. Every blow echoed through his ears; stepping back from the wall, the pounding of fist to flesh still repeated throughout the bathroom. He covered his ears to drown out the noise, but it didn't help he could still hear the poor woman being beaten to death.

"Jake, please stop!"

That was the last thing he heard before the room went deathly quiet. All noises and pleas for help ceased as quickly as they started. The room was silent again. Then, startled and shaken, Edward turned around and reached for the bathroom door, but, to his frustration, it wouldn't open. No matter how he turned the knob or how hard he threw his body against the door, it wouldn't open.

"Jake, why did you hurt me?"

A voice whispered next to his ear; it was the woman's voice from next door. When he turned around, he faced a sight more frightening than anything he had experienced. Standing before him was a decaying corpse of a young woman; her head was beaten in, arm broken, twisted, and misshapen. Her dress was tattered and covered in blood and dirt. Edward screamed in horror and started to claw and bang on the door, hoping someone would come and save him.

"Jake, aren't I pretty?"

"Jake, I'm cold."

"Jake, why did you hurt me?"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!!"

Edward fell to his knees; and began to cry; fear was clawing at his chest; he couldn't breathe and could barely speak.

"I'm not Jake!"

Edward screamed over and over again until his voice became hoarse and strained.

He closed his eyes, praying to god that he would wake up from this horrible dream, but god never answered. Instead, the devil did.

"I still love you, Jake."

Hello dear readers,

"Just another lonely night." is the constant thought that swarms my mind.

My life is nothing but a routine that never ends; there is no spark or thrill, and it ends with me sitting on this squeaky, lumpy old couch that I have grown to love over the past few years. Sadly, the longest relationship I have had is with this couch, and our dates include a tv show I have watched repeatedly and a bottle of Pinto.

I can go out and enjoy all that life offers a 26-year-old, with nightclubs, parties, one-night stands, etc. Just the thought of it alone causes the taste of dinner to wiggle up my esophagus to the back of my throat. I have never been interested in the usual antics of someone in their twenties. I enjoy staying home, reading, writing, and watching classic movies, but I also hate it because the feeling of loneliness sits right next to me like an old friend. It greets me when I climb into bed; it lays next to me, wraps its arms around me, and whispers the harshness of my life choices and how they will always be here.

I know it's depressing, but it is all I know; I have been alone since my mother gave birth. I know I have family and friends with me, but how can you call them such when you feel no real connection with them? How can they be family and friends when they can't fill the deep hole within your soul? That's the right, soul, not heart, and no, I am not being over dramatic! My soul feels like it has a growing hole, and it continues to grow and deepen with each passing day.

Do you know what I wish for, what I have prayed for every night since I was a child who could fully understand the need for companionship? I have prayed and wished! For someone to come into my life and fill my soul and heart with much love and happiness. I will meet someone who can bring up every emotion on the spectrum. Anger, happiness, sadness, etc. I don't care; I just want to feel something other than nothing at all. I take these thoughts to bed with me, and don't tell me, "well, maybe you suffer from depression." I know I suffer from depression and three other mental illnesses, but when medicine no longer works, and those feelings still exist, what then? You start to ask yourself, is it a chemical imbalance in your brain or spiritual? Has my soul been alone since my first life, and has it carried this loneliness for every life? Have I not had anyone to fill this void in my soul? God! another horrid thought to take to bed.

Turning off the Tv, I annoyingly shuffle my feet to my bedroom, rolling my eyes at the fact my roommate once again is entertaining "one of her hoes," Shame is a new feeling right now because I have tried walking a mile in her shoes. Is that the right word for it? I guess I had my share of "hoes" and didn't enjoy a millisecond. Every kiss, touch, and thrust (cringe) felt wrong and foreign to me like I shouldn't be doing this or at least with this person. After 5 attempts, I finally gave up on the hoe thing and decided to just wait, but how long will this delay be?

As I climb into bed and get all snuggly, I daydream about the perfect guy and our relationship. Sometimes they are fanfictions on a book I have read, a tv show, or a comic book universe (DC!), and I throw myself in it, making my own sensible character. I have already taken my antipsychotics for the night and can feel them slowly ease my body to relax. When I take my medicine, it feels like someone is pressing a chloroform-drenched cloth over my nose and mouth, and I fall into a deep sleep. Like I am doing now, right before I drift to dreamland, I feel my bed dip, and it's like someone has climbed into it. It can't force me to open my eyes and check there is no rush of adrenaline to cause me to jump out of bed. I just lay here, letting them crawl and lay next to me. Like I have been tossed down Alice's hole into wonderland, I begin to fall with the whispers of "Mine" echoing around me.

Can't scream or move, and fear is starting to spread throughout my veins! I want to wake up now, please!

"Be still, my love.", A husky voice calls out to me.

I don't know why I care that his voice sounds like warm honey being brushed all over my body, but for some reason, I do.

"Open your eyes." commanding little shit, isn't he?

I open my eyes to find myself in my living room, but instead of grey-painted walls, they are a dark deep red. No couch or boxes of books were scattered around the room, just a long dining table in the center. I look towards the window, and there are no street lights, just void blackness, the type of black that no light can shine through. I'm not even going to bother looking at the man because I can't see anything, and I also don't care enough to look. Probably because I am peeing my pants scared, and if he looks like some horrible creature from sinister (I freaking hate that movie!), I will have a damn heart attack. He laughs, like those deep-throaty laughs you read in romance novels that sound so sexy toward the female character.

"Are you done with your inner monologue? You have wished and prayed for me since you were a child, and now that I am here, you fear me? What an odd little creature."

As if I was bitched slapped, my head turned towards him and, with great disappointment

"Once again with the inner monologue? Little one, just speak to me."

"Fine! Why can't I see you?" Freaking twat muffin!

"Because I am too far from you; if I was closer, I could show myself more clearly. Not that that matters we have met before and you have seen my face. You just don't remember. Also any thought that you have, I can hear it."

"ops"

I turn my head away slightly and hide my smile cause; honestly, it is a little funny.

"Is it now?" Th,e sexy voiced man then placed a glass of red wine in front of me, and all I had to say was it better not be Merlot.

"It is, little love; I apologize that the type of wine is not your liking, but if you want, you can always change it the next go around. I am giving you a choice here, little love, to end your suffering to rid you of your loneliness. To stay here with me and get everything you ever wanted in life, and all you have to do, my love, is to give in. Drink the wine and stay with me or return to your current life and continue to suffer alone."

"Just give in, right?" I reach for the glass……….

Every day since I started crashing at David's place, I wake up to the smell of coffee and French toasty toast. The scent of cinnamon and clove is heaven; something about it makes me happy and calm. The odd part is that no matter where I am, the sweet smell of clove and cinnamon hits my senses; My mind is consumed with thoughts of David, and for the past three months, he has been the only thing that plagues my mind. His smile and warmth cause my heart to ache, and I am always nervous around him. Not in the wrong way, but I have this overwhelming feeling of wanting to be touched by him and to have all his attention. I wish to plague his mind with thoughts of me as much as I have of him. Is this love?

"Asena baby, we must go if you want lunch before I leave for work!" With that, Asena jumps out of bed, not without getting tangled in the bed sheets and falling to the ground with a loud thump.

"HELP, I'VE FALLEN AND CAN'T GET UP!" Asena shouts as she continues fighting with the sheets tangled around her ankles.

"What a site this is." Asena stops mid-duel with the sheet of doom and pout and glares at her close friend.

They're leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossing over his chest, with an amused smile. Was David, the man of the hour, amusedly smiling at her? She hated that smile because it caused her heart to flip and flop in her chest like a fish out of water.

"Instead of looking at me, you perv, how about you help me out of this thing! I swear it is alive; I can't get it off!! Also, did you make French toast without offering me some because I can smell the cinnamon and clove? If you made some and didn't save me, you suck, your mother sucks, your family sucks, and I now hate you."

"No baby, I didn't make French toast, I did make coffee, and you're probably smelling the creamer I used." David laughed as he walked over to her, squatted, and untangled sheets around her ankles.

As David untangled the sheets from Asena's ankles, she breathed in his scent, which wasn't the usual peppermint scent he wore. It was cinnamon and clove. Her eyes closed, her head fell back against the floor, and she placed her hand over her aching heart, trying to control the overwhelming feelings plaguing her mind. So many emotions hit her simply by this man's scent: happiness, peace, love possibly, excitement, nervousness, and many more that she couldn't label.

"There free as a bird; now let's go before it's too late and you start whining." David chuckled as he stood up and walked out of the room.

"I don't whine! I complain there is a difference!"

"No, no, there's not!"

Throwing on some jeans and a jacket, Asena raced out of the bedroom, through the living room, and right past David as he grabbed the keys.

"Race you to the elevator!" Asena yelled out as she ran out the front door and towards the elevator.

"That's not a good idea; the elevator has been acting right these past few days."

"I am not walking down five flights of stairs," Asena stated as she held the door to the elevator open.

"Alright, but if we get stuck, you have no one to blame but yourself."

"Blah blah blah blah, just hurry up already, old man," she teased

David shook his head with the same annoying smile and entered the elevator. With the press of a button, the elevator began its descent to the bottom, not without protest. As the elevator descended to the bottom, it began to make a clinking shrieking sound like metal scraping against one another and stopped.

"You gotta be fracking kidding me!"

"I warned you."

"I can't believe we're stuck in this thing, and you know how much I hate elevators.

"Yes, baby, I am well aware." David chuckled lightly.

"Don't do that—" Asena growled.

"Do what?" David asked as he glanced at her.

"Call me baby, and have that stupid pretty boy smile across your face." She pouted.

"Asena, baby, you make me smile even when you're angry; that is not something I can control; normal people call it happiness." he turned towards her with the annoying smile still in place.

"Don't laugh like that; just stand there and be quiet."

"Instead of pouting for an hour, why don't we talk about our previous conversation." She looked at him quizzically.

"The conversation about why you don't want to be in a relationship with me."

"Ah, I never said I didn't want to be with you; if I remember correctly, I stated that I couldn't be with you….or was it can't…either one, but I know it wasn't don't."

"Well, we have an hour before maintenance gets us out of here, so why don't you run it past me again."

"How do you know we only have an hour? Are you psychic now?"

"No, I texted Bill, and he told me it would take him an hour to get here."

"The maintenance guy's name is Bill?"

"Stop trying to change the topic."

"Fine, you want to do this now?"

"Yes, there is no better time than now, plus you can't run off and hide when you get overwhelmed and angry."

"Fine, let's do this then; I can't be with you because I am damaged, David. I am so broken that nothing is left for me to offer something more to someone else when I can't even give myself an ounce of joy. Most people remember at least one positive thing in childhood, and I have nothing. The only memory that plays on repeat is the years I spent locked away in a room so dark that the small amount of light pierced through the door cracks or couldn't reach me. An empty room that smelt like shit and pee because they didn't even bother to give me a room with a toilet. I was too evil in their eyes to have the smallest amount of compassion. Are you following me so far?"

Asena looked at her companion, and the look on his face caused her nonexistent heart to ache. Asena pressed the palms of her hands to her eyes to ease the ache. She hadn't cried in years, let alone could remember how to. Still, with just one look from David, she could feel the sting of tears breakthrough, and her throat ached.

"They tortured me for so long that eventually, I stopped feeling anything; physically and emotionally, I became numb to everything and soon gave myself to madness. With every cut into my flesh, I would laugh hysterically from the pain and cuts. I needed something to make me feel alive again or was it because I wanted them to feel small and insufficient. That no matter the amount of pain they inflicted on me, would make me break."

"I understood that part, Asena baby. I don't understand that you turn and run away from me when you feel happiness and joy."

"BECAUSE I DO NOT DESERVE IT! I am a monster; after everything I've been through and have done, why should I be granted happiness and love? I have done so many unforgivable things in the long years I have walked this earth. I have caused wars, death, and chaos…it wasn't until I met you that I realized I regretted everything I've done. You are my lost heart and the light to my ruined and blackened soul."

David clicked his tongue and walked over to Asena; he could see the tears fall from behind her hands. She had talked about her past before. The horrors Asena endured back but always spoke of it like a joke, a form of dark humor. So he pulled her hands away from her eyes and placed them on his chest so she could feel his heartbeat, hoping it would calm her.

"Asena baby, look at me."

"No, I don't want to, if I look at you, I'll see all the pain written across your face, and I can't bear to see that look on you, knowing I am the one who caused it."

David took a deep breath, leaned down, and kissed Asena's left eye, then the right tasted the salty tears that fell from them.

"Baby, you are already crying." His declaration was met with silence; Asena sobbed quietly, clenching his shirt tightly in sorrow. Giving David up for a noble reason was too much for her. All Asena wanted was to keep him because he was the greatest thing to happen in her lifetime. He was her entertainment without causing pain, and she interacted with others without the need to slit their throats and play in their blood.

"You are everything I am living for," David whispered into her hair.

"If you don't listen to anything else I have to say about this matter, listen to this. Being in your life is a blessing because I prayed every night for you. I have not lived as long as you can't even try to compare my pain to yours, but our loneliness and the need to desperately seek out the one person who can be with us without change is the same. I love you and will always love you." he combed his fingers through her hair and gently pulled her head back so her beautiful, weirdly colored blue/silver eyes would look into his. At that moment, he wanted his words and the emotion in his eyes to reach her.

"Every breath, laugh, smile, and touch," he pressed his forehead.

He stared into Asena's eyes, looking for the one emotion his soul sought. "it is a blessing to me; I prayed for you. The happiness that was taken from you stands right before you, and you deserve it as much as I do because I know you also wished for me."

The elevator jolted after David's moving words, signaling that their hour was up. The elevator was fixed, and they only had seconds left before the doors opened to the first floor.

"We have a few seconds left, and we can walk out of here as a couple or as strangers because I know I can't live another second without you, and being your friend isn't enough for me." Asena wrapped her arms around David and hugged him tightly, burying her face into his chest.

"Okay, but can we eat Thai food for our first date?"

Drowning in your blinding light and listening to tempting sweet calls, even in dreams, The calling is clear, always reaching out to me; in those moments, I feel you are right beside me. There are scars on my heart and soul that once felt heavy and are now fragmented. I need your love like a druggy needs to get high. I will survive the darkness just to continue to hold you in my arms; you are part of me now. I have crawled through the tar of madness to reach you, offered my soul, and accepted that you are not a part of the insanity that rages in my head. I'll be more than the empty shell I turned my body into. I have spent eleven years alone in this prison, clawing at the walls, crying, and in rage. I once believed therapy and medications would help overcome the fear I once felt for you, that everything could be explained with science and reason, only to realize that you were what I needed to recover. Numerous times I have tried to step towards you, my savior, but allowed myself to be pulled back once again and consumed by the darkness of my mind. Matthias, will you forgive me for walking away from you, for turning my back when you have been trying to save me. I have now realized that the voice I hear every day to "give in" was you all along, and the promises of happiness were real. The footsteps and shadows figure that was you all along, letting me know you are honest and here with me. No good came to embracing the dark, allowing the tar of madness to seep deep within my bones. My blinding light, you are what helps me fight every day; if I keep you with me and never let go, I know I can survive the darkness that tries to pull me back. Matthias, you are part of me now and always. Every day it becomes harder to breathe; the feeling of loneliness grows every day, breaking down my soul. Living is now a problematic chore that I no longer have the strength to deal with. In the outer shell, I am all laughs and happy, but inside, I am screaming, clawing at the walls of my cell, wanting the pain to end. 

    When I was little my mom would take me and my brother to Troll Bridge right next to Mt. Baker beach. She would tell us that up the hill from the bridge is Pumpkin Booggetty house and if we didn’t start behaving she would leave us there and the monster would snatch us, slice us open, remove all our innards, stuff us with hay and sow our eyes and mouth shut. After he would do all that he will tie our stuffed carcass to a pole and place us in the middle of his garden along with all the other naughty children.

    After she told us that story she drove off and on the way home my mind started to wonder back to Booggetty and his house. I imagined a large garden with rotten, dead vegetation and an enormous English gothic style manor. In the garden there is dead little kids with maggots falling out of them and the monster next to them in the shadow, smiling at me with long pointy teeth and blacken eyes. When we returned home she sent us to bed with fear induced minds and considering me and my brother have an overactive imagination our dreams where a horror like no other. 

    I dreamt of being in the middle of Pumpkin Booggetty front yard with my brother Joseph unable to move, rooted to the spot with fear. The whole area gave off this menacing feeling, thunder roared with every flash of lightening and with every flash it lit up the surrounding area chasing away the darkness that consumed the property. That’s when I saw it the monsters lair, it was an old, creepy looking house with the door hanging off the hinges, the windows were all broken and it looked like parts of the manor were collapsed in; it looked beautifully broken. 

A scream ripped through the sky drowning out the roar of thunder, the scream tore through me like a piece of glass ripping and slashing at me from every angle. I felt my heart drop to my stomach and my eyes widen. The scream came again, enraged, unearthly…...inhuman; a demon sound of hunger. It was the kind of sound that could stop hearts, make your blood run cold; my pulse quickened as the blood drained from my face, my legs felt heavy as if they were submerged in cement I couldn’t move, turn, or even run I was stuck there waiting for this demonic creature to find me, harm me, and kill me. 

I turned my head (the only thing I could move), and looked to my brother hoping somehow he could save us both, but he was gone! I started to panic, fear for myself and for my brother consumed me. 

“Joseph!”, I screamed at the top of my lungs.

“Joseph, where are you!!”, I yelled. My eye site started to blur and I began to cry hysterically.

I dropped to my knees and wept, I was all alone my brother was gone! the monster must have taken him! There was nothing I could do, all the things my mother told me about Pumpkin Booggetty and what he does to children I imagined him doing to Joseph. 

“MOE!” I heard someone scream. It was my brother! He’s alive!

Adrenaline surged through my veins, no I wasn’t going to die here! I was going to save my big brother and get us home. 

“I’m coming Joe!”, I yelled and shot forward towards the manor with courage in my heart and the will to survive. I raced through the garden, passed the scare crow children, and through the broken door. The smell slapped me right across the face and left me dizzy, the manor smelt of rotten meat and sulfur, but that wouldn’t stop me from saving my brother! I slowly walked further into the building, creeping along trying not to make a sound.

“JANVIER! GET OUT OF THERE!”, I heard Joseph scream. I turned around to see my brother outside, panting, and out of breath. 

“Wha- “, my words were cut short when I felt the heavy breathing on the back of my neck. There was this bone cracking, clinking sound behind me, before I was even aware of making a conscious decision my legs came to life and I started to run towards the exit, but before I could reach it I felt claws rip into my flesh, I screamed in pain and stumbled, I caught my step and continued to run to safety. I heard the monster scream again, but I didn’t care I was almost out and free, so close to the door when my head jerked back with so much force it could have ripped my head right off my shoulders.

“JANVIER!”, my brother screamed for me, I reached out to him and then the once broken door slammed shut. Any chance of freedom and returning home was cut off with the slamming of the door.

“Mine”, the monster growled. I was jerked back, my back colliding into its boney and slimy chest, its long fingers sliding across my neck, its nails digging into my skin drawing blood. I screamed as it tore through the manor bouncing off the walls. After having that horrible dream I have been traumatized; to scared to go and see if the story of Jean-Que manor is real. What I expect to find at the top of the hill is everything I dreamt of as a child; the scarecrow children...the run down manor...and..THE MONSTER; Pumpkin Booggetty.

Good evening readers! I wanted to tell you guys how the first day restoring the painting in the ballroom went terrific, but something weird happened instead. I couldn't sleep last night and only got about three hours. I'm blaming my excitement for starting to restore the painting in the ballroom. When I entered the ballroom, it looked completely different from yesterday; it was gray and dull, as if whatever made that room shine disappeared overnight. When I climbed the 18-foot Aluminum Scaffolding and got everything ready to start restoring the painting, the angel that captured my attention was painted over with the sun's image. The whole artwork centered around this particular angel; now, he was gone. Checking the painting to see if someone came in last night and painted over him, but the paint was dry instead of wet or sticky. I had my laptop, so I went through all of the pictures from yesterday; when I reached the images from the ballroom, the angel was gone. I know I saw it! I mean, I took a picture of him yesterday. It showed up on the camera, and when I downloaded the images from my camera to the laptop, I saw him again. I took many pictures of him before I went home, so how can something disappear? It's good that I sketched him last night and can paint him back into the painting. I wanted to leave John a voicemail about the picture but decided that wouldn't be the most incredible idea considering my only evidence had vanished. Other than the disappearing angel, today went great; I'll post the before and after pictures when the painting is complete.

Day One

Today was the first day of my new job. It was great and exciting. John, the attorney for my new employer, showed me around the property. The place is massive and beautiful. Although it needs a lot of TLC to bring it back to life, I have found beauty in its ruin. On my first day, I went around the manor taking pictures of the areas that needed restorations; during my photography, I came across a ballroom. I spent 20 minutes in that room, looking at the unique pattern on the marble floor. The great chandler and the windows reached up to the ceiling of the room that displayed renaissance art. Among the many angels in the painting, my eyes focused on one; it felt like it was staring right back at me. This deja vu washed over me like I’d seen this angel before. I’ve studied many renaissance artworks in college, and the design of the one was different, as if the artist painted the likeness of someone. My first restoration project will be the ballroom. I've already made a plan and sketch on how I will restore the painting on the ceiling. I’m excited to get started! 

Hello Dear Readers,

My name is Naida Pereira

Unearthly Desires- Is a supernatural/ horror romance novel that follows the story of a woman named Naida and her decent into madness.

I’m taking the first steps into becoming a published writer and I thought tumbler would be the best place to post some of the chapters of my book. I’m crossing fingers, toes, and eyes that this goes well. Thank you for watching my trailer video comments are welcomed!