Reject the Creepy Stranger
“You’re so beautiful. Want to come up to my room? You must be cold.”
This is part of a Choose Your Own Adventure story, ‘Vacation Roulette.’ Go back to the first chapter by Linden Schneider here. Or return to the previous chapter. Here is the chapter guide.
The man sidles up to your naked body, and whispers, “You’re so beautiful. Want to come up to my room? You must be cold.”
You glance at him, aghast. You’re standing in the middle of a crowded hotel buffet. Your partner is nowhere to be found. And you can’t believe no guards have harassed you out yet.
With a smirk, you say, “Not today, you creep.”
As the man’s face contorts into rage, you knee his groin hard. He squeals with pain and jumps up and down.
You snort. At least that was entertaining. Then you strut out of the hotel buffet, and head back towards the swimming pool.
A guard stands outside the door. He gazes with hunger at your nude body.
You’re tempted to kick him in the nuts as well, but you refrain for now.
Instead, you smile sweetly. “I was swimming here a short while ago, but when I came back up, my belongings and clothes were gone. Do you happen to know where they are?”
The guard looks like he’s holding back a laugh. “No, I have no idea.”
He clearly knows where your things are. You try to peek over his shoulder at the swimming pool, but the glass is fogged anyway, and the guard watches you with an amused smirk.
You frown. “All right. What do I have to do to get my bag back? Do you want money? Or…”
The guard rakes his eyes all over your shapely form. He licks his lips in the most repulsive way possible. “Well, if you come up with me, I can see what I can do for you.”
You give him a stare and he doesn’t flinch. So you put your hands on your hips. “All right, then.”
The sleazy grin on the man’s face makes you want to puke.
After he calls a colleague to take over his shift, the guard leads you up the dimly lit stairs to the second floor. Suite 209.
The guard shoves you onto his bed and locks the door behind him. He undoes his belt — and everything else. You try not to grimace as the man climbs on top of you, and proceeds to satisfy his urges.
When he finally finishes, you crawl out from under his gross body, and head for the shower, determined to wash off his stench.
While you’re in the shower scrubbing soap all over your skin, you hear a knock on the main door.
A few seconds later, you hear the security guard holler, “Who the hell are you?”
A heavy crunch and thud sounds. All you want to do is to hide, but the shower is still running and you’re totally naked and unarmed.
Footsteps approach the bathroom, and you have nowhere to hide.
The door swings open, and you see a buff-looking man with glossy black hair. He would have been handsome if he didn’t have a cruel smile on his lips.
The man marches straight to your shower stall, and slides the glass door aside.
You gasp, the water still beating down on you. But you won’t go down without a fight!
To your surprise, the man nods, his smile broadening. “You are perfect. Your boyfriend out there did not deserve to live, but I don’t believe that you loved him much anyway.” So he did indeed kill the security guard, though you’re a bit insulted that he called the guard your boyfriend, as if you would willingly date such scum.
The buff man continues, “You won’t win in a fight against me, sweetheart, nor do I want to mar your pretty body. Instead, you can come work for me. I’ll give you protection and plenty of money. What do you say?”
You narrow your eyes. “Why should I believe you? You just killed my boyfriend. You can’t be a good person.” The guard he shot outside isn’t your boyfriend, but you need to keep up the ruse.
The man laughs. “Your boyfriend wasn’t one of the good guys, either, and unlike us, he wasn’t smart enough to cover his tracks. Idiots get themselves killed.” His arrogant smile is almost charming.
He goes on, “I work for a secret force. Not sanctioned by the government, since we all know that the cops are useless and corrupt. But we take out the assholes like your boyfriend out there.”
“So you’re like a vigilante justice force?” You gape with dismay. Your hands itch to shut off the shower water, but you don’t want to talk to the guy while naked and cold.
“You could say that,” the man says with a predatory grin. “We take out the scabs of humanity. With your looks, you can easily seduce and kill your targets.” He looks too pleased with himself. “We even let you pick assignments, so you only need to work on the cases you believe in, and leave the other cases to your colleagues. So there is literally no downside for you.”
You stare at this man, trying to wrap your head around it all. And what about your partner? You’re afraid to mention them, in case the guy hunts down your real significant other and kills them too. So you ask, “Aside from my looks, why else are you hiring me? You seem very eager for me to join you.”
“I have investigated your background.” He says your name, your real name, which you had carefully hidden all these years. It makes you shudder. “So I know how skilled you are at these operations.”
This revelation makes you shiver all the more. You also wonder if that means that he knows about your partner, but chooses not to mention them. Like an invisible threat.
