I enter the hotel for my first day official day, having gone through a 'trial week'. I'm not naïve, I know that I'm working with... 'interesting' clientele. Vampires would sniff me out, beastmen would try to scare me, demons would encourage me to make a deal with them. My favourite was a succubus who specifically requested I 'look after' her and attempted to get me to sell my body to her. I actually wanted to entertain her, but company policy is we don't get 'too personal' with guests, which I told her. She promised she'd meet me after work one day.

Anyway, none of this bothered me, I saw it as a challenge and a way to expand my knowledge of the world. I took everything in stride, and now I'm ready to start for real. I'm caught off-guard, however. A skeletal figure stands right in front of me. "Come to my office please, Myers." I follow the being.

I try to figure out what's happening, then it clicks: I was told that the boss is impatient and unkind, and as a human I'm in a lot of danger. Now, if it were just a skeleton, I would brush it off as hazing.

I enter the office first, taking a seat in the chair. I hear the door deadbolt shut behind me. I gulp, knowing I could die, right here, right now. As he sits across from me, I can no longer hold it in:

"You're a lich, aren't you?"

"Very clever, human. Your co-workers tried hard to act like they didn't know, but I received lots of feedback mentioning a human. I knew it had to be my new hire."

I nod slowly. "So is this where you kill me for my life essence or something? Silence me AND maintain your immortality?"

He chuckles, his bones clacking loudly together. "Ordinarily, yes. I've had humans hired by accident before. Always makes me tingle with excitement, but..." he puts a folder on the desk. "As I mentioned, your 'type' was mentioned in reviews. You were quite popular."

I open the folder. 'Best service I ever had, and it came from a human! - 5/5' 'Who knew a human could be so fun to chat with? No fear whatsoever! Would have liked fresh sheets though - 4/5' 'Fun and respectful employees, especially that human who was prepared to let me feed - 5/5'

I look up. "I was very impressed by your results, Myers. Why should I kill such a great employee? Not only is it hard to find good workers these days, but you've already become popular! It would be a terrible idea to get rid of you! With that being said, the hotel's secrets CANNOT get out. How much do you value your soul?"

I shrug. "If I valued it much, I wouldn't be so unbothered being here."

The lich laughs. "You really ARE a strange one! In which case, you'll want to get yourself comfortable living among our kind."

"Can you make arrangements for my accommodation?"

"I don't think I need to." He turns a couple pages and points a bony finger at a specific review. 'Too bad I couldn't get closer to that human; he was charming, cute, funny, and I'd come back just to see him! - 5/5'

I smirk. "The succubus?"

"Yes. I heard a little rumour that you were considering her offer... well done for sticking to policy, but outside working hours is YOUR business. Of course you could say no to one of my best customers; I could also change my mind on letting you live."

"You wouldn't?" I'm scared, but I want to try to catch him out if I can, 'establish' myself, so to speak.

The lich grins. "Are you trying to test me?" He stands up, a hand reaching out.

I shrink back. "Well... kind of? I didn't mean to offend..."

"Very bold. I like your style. But I did mean what I said. After all, what will you do for living arrangements without the succubus? Take the offer, or I can't trust that you'll figure a way to live with us. So?" He tilts his hand from a shoulder-grabbing position to a handshake position.

Realising that my life really IS on the line, I dive for the hand. "I'd be honoured."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for reading! More stories here!

I imagine many people have felt this quiet hum of anxiety.

The one that appears when you're called to the principal's office and made to wait outside for a little while, and you have just enough time to start worrying that you're in trouble somehow.

Of course, my situation is a little different.

After what feels like an eternity, but a quick glance at the clock reveals to be about four minutes, the door opens and Mr. Winters peeks out.

"Sorry for the wait, Mike, you know how it is." His smile is a bit wry.

"It's no problem, sir," I reply, with a hesitant smile.

He waves me in with a vague gesture, and I stand up from the comfortable armchair and into his office.

Well, I say office, but really it's closer to an old-fashioned private study, or library. Elegant shelves of lacquered wood with gold filigree, comfy armchairs, red carpeted floor – and a small chandelier.

The shelves themselves carry both books – from modern paperbacks to leatherbound tomes that look like they belong in a library's rare books room – to curios – mortar and pestle, athame, beads and Celtic knots and more apparently ceremonial items that I hesitate to even try identifying – but the most notable item is, of course, the human skull perched at one end. Or at least, it looks human. I sometimes wonder who or what it once belonged to. (I can never quite decide if I'd prefer it to be a human, or something else.)

My gaze passes over these without lingering – much. Best to feign passive curiosity. The hotel has both written and unwritten rules it operates by, but I have my own rules by now, and rule one is : do not bring undue attention to these things.

We sit ourselves at the desk – lacquered wood also, of course.

And so begins my annual work review.

The first few minutes are simply business as usual – self-evaluation, an opportunity to talk about any problems. Ordinary. I slowly relax as the discussion progresses.

Until there is a lull in the conversation. Mr. Winters eyes me through his glasses, something that used to make me feel like a pinned butterfly under an unmerciful green gaze.

You get used to it. These days I take it in stride.

"Now, Mike," he starts, "I don't mean to be indiscreet, but I am by now quite curious, and I hope you can relieve me of that curiosity."

I hum questioningly.

"See," here he pauses to pull a soft cloth out of his pocket and casually clean his glasses, "I've been rather stumped now for quite a bit of time, and it took me such a long time to see the obvious – well, in hindsight – obvious answer, and by now I'm rather sure of it."

He puts his glasses back on, and I almost feel as though he's the slightest bit more manic than usual. Just a slight difference to the curve of his smile, the tilt of his head. The hair on the back of my neck stands up, ever so slightly.

"Now, Mike, correct me if I'm wrong," he finally says, "but you're actually human, aren't you."

Oh. Well.

I'm suddenly both terribly afraid and – well, relieved honestly. I'd been wondering for a few months now if this was going to come up, especially once I found out about the Rules – not the hotel's rules, but the actual Rules governing this...society ? Civilization ? People ?

Of which Rule One was more or less – as is often mimicked in fiction – "Don't Let the Humans Find Out".

"Yes, sir," I politely answer. "If I may ask, what gave me away ?"

He chuckles, the mania fading ever so slightly with his question answered. "Well, of course.

"It all started when I checked up on my bookshelf's alarms, you see."

I grimace a bit. "I did wonder. Back then I didn't quite know enough to know that it was a terrible idea."

"Indeed." He smirks. "But I was quite surprised that the only books you accessed were a rather basic bestiary, and an essay about the manners of our little...corner of civilization. At the time, I wondered whether you'd been raised in isolation and sought to educate yourself, and simply didn't know better than to peruse a warlock's library."

My eyes trail over to the works he mentions. A Short Reflection on the Manners of the People, though a little old-fashioned, had served me well in a hotel that was itself a little old-fashioned, quite intentionally so.

"This started me down quite a strange goose chase," he continues, lost in remembrance. "Such isolation is dangerous, you see, and against the laws of the People. So I thought to find out where you came from, and remedy the situation if needed.

"But the further I looked into you, the murkier the link to our People seemed. I traced your family back to the eighth generation, you know," he mentions offhandedly, "and there was still nothing to be found. Not a single strange tale or family heritage. At one point, I thought I'd found a connection to a witch clan that's since died out, but further inspection revealed otherwise.

"And meanwhile, I started doing something that – as I imagine you know by now – was quite impolite by our customs. I attempted to find out your species."

And indeed, my eyes widen a bit, used as I am to the manners of the People. That was, as he said, very impolite. I'd been lucky not to say a word to that effect in my first month on the job, or I'd have been found out much sooner. Or possibly eviscerated.

"I know," he waves off, "but by then I was really quite mad with the desire to know. The were clans were quickly eliminated – you handled silver well – and I sensed not a spark of magic from you, which rather neatly eliminated a large amount of practitioners from the running. I shan't bore you with my contrived attempts at determining your shapeshifter status. The last possibility I could conceive of was some vampire strain that could handle limited sunlight, but all would have required invitation to enter this office – which I did not provide."

I nod, his earlier, uncharacteristic hand gesture finally explained.

"And so : human," he concludes. "Which puts me in a bit of a bind."

I gulp discreetly. This was the final reckoning – which poison would I prefer ?

The silence stretches.

Literal poison is of course a possibility – or other flavors of quiet 'disappearance'. I would hope instead that the memory spells I'd heard of in passing would be my employer's chosen option.

But even this...unsettled me. How would my new self reconcile the past year ? Would there always be a strange gap at the back of my mind ? Some part of me that whispered when it saw unusually pale men in offices, that drew me towards practitioners and their discreet symbols, that would meticulously catalogue those who avoided silverware ?

Or would there be nothing – just a return to the mundane, the ordinary, the unbearably boring ?

There was, after all, a reason I hadn't quietly resigned in twelve months of work in a hotel where I might be slaughtered at any false move.

"Fortunately," he suddenly says, making me jump (and him smile), "I believe I have found a loophole which would allow the situation to resolve to my liking."

I try to compose myself.

"It is oft said the first Rule is that by all means necessary, the People must be hidden from humanity. Of course," and here the mania returns, "it is seldom clarified what, precisely, the bounds of 'humanity' are. I myself once was quite indistinguishable from the men you might walk past in the streets of London or Paris. An old man such as I has quite a lot of sway in the courts of the People, and I believe I could inconvenience quite a lot of people should this matter come to light.

"And, quite besides this, I find the idea of subjecting our guests to the same unsettling experience as I very, very appealing."

By now he is grinning in a manner others might find unsettling. I find myself unafraid.

I find myself grinning back.

The idea that guests might find themselves troubled thus, questioning what I am, and never seeing the truth, never guessing at a mere human, losing sleep wondering if they should fear the concierge, in terror of the unknown...is exhilarating.

After all…

"It is," I say softly, "rude to ask after one's species."

"You have no idea how freaked out I felt at first by all this but, it seems most of you do seem to be pretty okay people, so, I stuck around" I said. Eyes of the lich are hollow and an empty voice then rang filled with thought, you will need to take my word.

"Normally, I would fire you but, considering how well you have kept yourself together, haven't told anybody and haven't shown how you felt. I rather keep you around, it is difficult to find good workers" Lich said after a moment of pondering.

"Not particularly surprised to hear that, if I was in your position of course. May I continue working?" I reply.

"I will need to hold you for a moment but, for a different reason" Lich said and we discuss for a while. It does get stretched out quite an extent as we go through quite a lot of important matters, about customers, about what work entails, other workers and some quick banter about which direction the hotel is heading in terms of sustainability.

"Well, I hope we will not run into any huge issues" I say as I set all of the laundry into a bag to be sent to a nearby laundry house to be washed.

"So do I" Lich says and we cross check everything. "All are in order. As you were good sir" Lich says and departs.

"Well, I didn't expect that" building security officer ghost Ghamil says and I almost jump. It almost barked a laugh at it.

"How long have you been there?" I ask recovering from the scare and look around quickly. Nobody else here except us.

"Quite a while, don't tell the boss please, I shouldn't spend so much time just standing around constantly" Ghamil says and comes out of the wall.

"I won't but, man you almost scared me soulless" I say and Ghamil grunts in laughing manner.

"It is indeed rare to have such company. Welp, I need to get back to patrol. Nothing to report so far" Ghamil says.

"Nothing suspicious yet, but, blood pressure and heart beat is up..." I say and Ghamil hummed laughingly. Then waved a good day and went through another wall. While I push the carts with laundry bags to place where they will be picked up and then I return to lounge.

I see a draconian, a fiend, a vampire and a griffin being processed at the register. The draconian finishes first and the manager waves to me to help the guy out.

"Hello, name is Lareth. What is your room number?" I ask as I approach "Room 105" Draconian says and I help him with some of the luggage. "This way to the elevators please" I say and guide him to there. I call down the elevator and it arrives sooner than I expected.

"Cozy place I have to say, nothing what I have seen so far" Draconian says as we step inside of the elevator and the doors close, I press the floor 10 button and we start going up. Draconian shakes this head a bit, probably slightly confused by the feeling of floor elevating him up.

"It indeed is cozy, wait until you see your room sir" I reply and we both transition to quiet. Doors open after a minute and we step out. I carry the portion of Draconian's luggage to the door 3rd on the left.

"Thank you" Draconian says and nods to me that he can handle the rest while he opens the door. After he opened he looked "Well, I 'ill be. A fine room indeed. You may go now and thank you again" Draconian says as I place his luggage inside of the room but next to of the door when he had went inside to take a closer look.

"Enjoy your stay" I say and turn to go back to the elevators. The door closes soon behind me. I take a lift back to the street floor and the doors open up. I am greeted by another guy who has the same duties as, I move out of the way and accidentally touch a lady on my right. It is Sheyra, she works at the bar and is a serious tease to me...

What would you expect for a succubus? I know, I know, but, MAN she is hot. "Sorry" Sheyra says and I apologize too "Oh, Lareth, how are you?" Sheyra asks while my face receives a color, she gets a mean grin on her face because of it.

"Feeling like wanting to log out..." I say feeling quite embarrassed and she giggles. Didn't I say? She is a tease as she quickly runs her hand across my back and looks into my eyes.

"Hang in there, the flow is rough today" Sheyra says as my eyes visit her chest but, instead of feeling harassed sexually, she just slides her hand on my waist, smiles meanly, raises my chin then says "There, better".

"I wish actually would be" I say still feeling embarrassed and she nods to me in agreement as there is nothing I can do with the blushing for now.

"See you later" Sheyra says and walks away, swinging her hips to walk a straight line forward away from me, didn't I tell you? She is a tease!

________________________________________________________________________________

Okay, I enjoyed writing this more than I thought...

"The job's not so bad," is what Leon said.

Us sitting in the dorm, a paused videogame blasting rock on the TV, a red wine glass with a damn straw in it, and Leon, his pale hands so enthusiastically planted onto a coffee table.

He said it wasn't so bad, and I took it. I wanted to save for a pair of golden-yellow sneakers - the price difference is insane for different foot sizes!

I didn't think I'd sell my dang soul for a pair of kicks.

So there I was every afternoon studying like everybody else at college. Then I'd take night shift, and doze off till morning. Always skipped the morning classes, anyway.

Everybody else took normal part-times though. Interns at project companies, bartenders, countless upon countless baristas...

Not me.

Now that I think about it, Leon always sipped on red wine. He never went out in the day, and he had this strange obsession with garlic.

Turns out he's a regular at this monster hotel or whatever periwinkle crap they're running.

He hangs with vampires of all sorts - gothic nobles dressed in tweed, ancient caveman-eaters, or the more modern punk goth gals with the crazy accessories and tastefully black shirts.

I always gave special service for those clients. They had a sip of my blood once and said I tasted very sweet. I wanna date them. Apparently they usually kill a human immediately and drain all their blood for an immediate fiesta - but I had to "produce more of this delicious stuff," as they said.

Then there's the beasts. More than once has a deranged beastman try to go for my head with their Fantastical Battleaxe of World Devourers, and more than once has some chick with cat ears do the same damn thing. I only survived because I invested in a sturdy shield - sold to me by a shady dark knight. The price was seven cabbages and a man's head. I paid with a zombie's head - it counted.

Speaking of the undead... Zombies and skeletons galore - the two seem to be under the same category of monster. One day I met their necromancer, and she seemed very unhappy that I stole one of the skeleton skulls as a flower display on my work desk.

In my defense, that skull was charred with holy flame. It looked cooler than the golden shoes I've been eyeing.

The clients always do a double-take on me. "Are you a vampire?" is a common question, and my go-to response is "my blood is fifty doubloons per milliliter. Each limb is a thousand."

I just hope some Richie Rich of the monster world doesn't come along and purchase my limbs.

Speaking of my humanity, I was called into the head office this morning.

Our boss - I've never actually seen him - was some old lich with glowy eyes. He warned me with a boomy voice that seemed to permeate from every direction -

"Such a disgrace!" is what he started off with. No pleasantries, not even a 'hello how are ya'!

"Leon brought in a hughman! Ande the hughman passed the interview!"

I didn't know what to say, goddamnit. This is my employer, a lich with every right to take my soul and turn me into a ghoul. It's in the contract, and I thought it was a joke.

"Thou shalt payeth with thine soul - be a ghoul within my army for a thousand years. Only then may thou be free."

I shrug my shoulders and tried to reach for his cup of coffee. Skeletons don't actually drink their drinks - every skeleton has a tiny black hole in their stomach cavity which they use to store items like some damn kangaroo.

The lich watched as I sipped his coffee. "Macchiato, blended, four times more cream, brown sugar, sugared cocoa. And Venti," I said.

I added that Venti part because of this videogame I've been playing. I don't work for Starbucks. But apparently the lich did.

"However... Strange. How can a hughman as thou have such affinity to our elements...?"

The lich snatched the cup away from me like I was a kid with a lighter. The coffee had dragon's blood in it, and I failed to notice.

"They say the bloode of dragounns drive men, vampyrs, and even beastmen mad. Then why do thou hath such affinity?"

In case you didn't know - well of course, you don't work here - to drink the drink of a skeleton is a form of respect. You remove them from the need to take up valuable black hole space. I don't know, trust the culture.

"Yet thou ratings are top notch. Succubi and incubi alike wry for thou touch. Vampyre women seek for thou well-being instead of blood, and beastmen say that thou art a good fighter. And they love the fighting kind."

I kind of shrugged.

"And to be so bold in thine dealings - to take my drink right as I question thou as a hughman being?!"

I must have messed up somewhere if he began shouting outta nowhere, but where? I jittered around in my seat trying to recall every step I've made, when it dawned on me.

Liches don't follow skeleton customs.

"Well, thou art bold, thou art charismatic, thou art well-tasted, and thou art popular. Go! See me not again!"

I just staggered out of the office and Leon, his stupid fanged grin and his chuckle waited for me. The bastard apparently already knew the outcome, and wanted to throw me a welcoming party for my formal introduction to the company.

Formal introduction? What? That felt like being interrogated by Shakespeare! And I was already working in the dang company!

So about that party... A vampire gal whispered into my ear, "the blood of dragons drive men mad." Had no idea what that meant.

But she gave me a kiss on the cheek, I got cake, and Leon sent me off with a gift. All the regular clients wished me pleasantries.

It was a good night.

I walked to our dorm solo, Leon had something to do that night. The box was weird, it was bloody without being messy, and it glowed in the dark too.

I opened it - and there it was. Golden-yellow sneakers, exactly my size and exactly the ones I wanted.

On the bottom was a line burnt in blood, it just said "xoxo", must've been the vampire chick.

The other shoe, on the other hand, had an ominous aura around it. I checked the bottom and sure enough - magical necromancer energy burnt calligraphy into it.

"The blood of dragons drive men mad,"

I just scoffed and put it back in the box. Definitely from the vampire girl, I'll get her number soon.

Went back to the dorm, picked up my basketball, and tried on the shoes. Just a test run on some smooth wooden gym floor.

I took a look at the ominous shoe again.

"... but madmen are already mad."

[Monday's Mentor]

"Ms. Monday!" Julio was relieved to find the teenage girl. He'd heard she arrived at the hotel and he knew it was his chance to be rewarded. As soon as he learned she was there, he dashed to his room and dug out the rainbow-covered photo album he'd kept hidden away for this moment. He bolted out of his room with the album in hand and immediately began asking his fellow co-workers for Monday's whereabouts as well as searching for her himself. It was a large hotel and it took some time to finally discover her in the garden maze. The pale, rainbow-haired teenage girl in a white suit was his boss' daughter; and, she had a friend with her. Another teenage girl with a pair of golden, double-plaited braids running down her back; she wore a brown and green robe.

"Hey, Julio," Monday turned and smile at him. "This is Crystal," she said. "I told her she could visit the hotel any time she wants; make sure the staff knows her," she said.

"She will be treated as your personal guest, Ms. Monday," Julio nodded. "But, if I may have a moment of your time, please...," he added as he brought the album forward to show it to her.

"THAT should have been destroyed!" Monday had the album in her hands by the time she finished reprimanding him. Crystal was surprised; Monday was one of the calmest and most collected people she'd ever met. But, just the sight of the rainbow photo album was enough to make her snap suddenly. She recovered quickly once it was in her hands.

"I'm sorry, Julio; you're still new. Maybe you didn't know," she said. "In the future, please destroy any more of these that you find; and, report it to me after," she said.

"Yes, Ms. Monday," Julio nodded. Her reaction was exactly why he loved working there so much. The owners were always understanding. He found the job through a website that put him to work on a trial basis before he met any of his bosses. After a month the system finally arranged a meeting. His direct boss was Andrew; an employee that joined the hotel staff as a human and worked his way up to becoming a Lich.

Once he was officially on staff, Julio was given a proper tour of the hotel grounds and a duty list. Somewhere in there, Andrew mentioned the mysterious rainbow photo album that was known to appear from time to time. Julio was given clear instructions to follow, should he find one. Alicia, the hotel owner and Monday's mother, was obviously where Monday's level head came from. She was always a thoughtful employer that genuinely wanted her staff to be happy. At least, that was the impression Julio always got. He didn't let Monday's minor outburst diminish his enthusiasm to help the family.

"Is there anything I may help you with, Ms. Monday?" Julio asked. He did the job he wanted to do and was ready to move on to his usual chores.

"No, thanks, Julio. You're good, "I'll take care of this," Monday said. Julio lingered an extra moment in hopes of a reward; the family was usually generous. But, she must have still been annoyed by the album because she waited with her eyes on him until he gave a curt nod and left them alone in the garden again.

"What's that album?" Crystal asked.

"It's... annoying...," Monday sighed. She shifted her weight to lean closer to Crystal as she opened the book. "This little pain in my side is my brother, Alex," she flipped through a few pages of pictures to find one that only had the boy. Crystal saw what looked like a ghostly pale 5-year-old boy with long straight rainbow hair pulled back in a ponytail. Monday flipped through a few more pages and Crystal watched the boy grow up in pictures. The next time Monday stopped to point at a picture, he was a lean, athletic teenage boy with the same rainbow ponytail and a square jaw.

"Since when do you have a brother?" Crystal asked. The news of a hidden sibling came as a surprise. She thought she knew Monday pretty well, and she'd even met her vampire mother. She briefly registered that she really didn't know much about Monday at all. She still wasn't sure how Monday could work for someone as clearly, maybe evil as Ms. Sharp. But, she'd never been able to find the right way to ask.

"In this timeline?" Monday giggled. "Since never," she grinned. Then, she flipped through several more pages of the book to get to the middle. The pictures stopped and Monday singled out a transparent page; then, she bent it. Crystal heard a distinct snap like a thin piece of glass breaking. "I'm trying to keep it that way; but, he went and set up save points. So, this book...," Monday closed the book and held it at arm's length and two small portals opened; one above it and one below. Then, a stream of bright blue plasma poured out of the top one through the book, and into the bottom one. "...keeps popping up trying to get someone to find the node and restore him." Monday discarded the book and both portals closed.

"Whoa...," Crystal was thrilled that she was still learning new things about the universe. But, she also had a sudden insight. Monday mentioned 'this timeline' and Crystal immediately thought of one person.

"Is that why you work for Ms. Sharp?" She asked.

"Huh?" Monday looked at her.

"Because, somehow, she wrote your brother out of this timeline; so you work for her now?" Monday grinned and shook her head.

"You've got it backward," she said. "Ms. Sharp wrote my brother out of this timeline because I'm so loyal. She didn't need to bribe me; it was just a nice reward.

"But why? She's Evil! Probably!" Crystal shook her head. "I can't explain it; but, she gives me a bad feeling in my stomach."

"You talked to Surge and Alis; you saw they were fine, didn't you?" Monday asked. She offered to show Crystal around Sharp Development; but, Crystal wouldn't let the tour end without seeing Surge and Alis herself.

"Yeah...," Crystal nodded.

"Do you know Ms. Sharp's story?" Monday asked.

"She's God...?" Crystal shrugged.

"But, she was born as a Zero," Monday smiled at her. "You can paint any action in a negative light and call it 'evil'. But, no matter how you look at it; Ms. Sharp had the vision and determination to climb to the top herself," Monday said. "THAT is why I work for her."

***
Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1865 in a row. (Story #055 in year six.). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place at a high school in my universe. It began on August 22nd and I will be adding to it with prompts every day until May 26th. They are all collected in order at this link.

Are there gloves for your gloves? A quick search on the reception desk computer nets me nothing. I let out a sigh, my breath doesn't appear because the room is allegedly warm despite the fact that I'm constantly freezing. I wrap another scarf around my neck. It does little for the chills but no one can say that I'm not trying to fix the problem myself.

The other employees always give me worried looks. At least, I think they look worried. Some of these monsters make the same expression whether they're happy or angry. Have you ever tried to figure out what a Slime was feeling as you informed them that they'd have to pay an additional cleaning fee for leaving the entire room wet? It's not easy, let me tell you. But I guess that's why I'm considered one of the best.

Maybe that's why the other workers look at me that way. They might be afraid that I'll work them out of a job! Even the customers believe it. They laugh and say that I work an unholy amount. I believe it. This desk is manned by me, twenty-four hours, seven days a week. Of course, like any other hotel employee manning the front, I'll occasionally sneak away and try to take a power nap out back. Just laying down and closing my eyes for a bit is enough as of late.

Ah, its Mr. Rutt, and he's brought his family along. He's a Werewolf, and after seeing him a few times he's become my favorite customer. He always leaves me big tips. It has to do with the first time he met me. The guy was coming back drunk after a fight with his wife and tried to check in at the hotel to spend the night away. He was a bit angry at the time, and ended up venting his frustrations on the desk. The shock of seeing him maul the giant block of sturdy wood must have caused me to pass out. When I came to, Mr. Jeeves had arrived, scolding Mr. Rutt and asking me if I was okay.

Honestly, I was just worried I'd get fired for the property damage somehow. In this line of work the employees get blamed for everything. But Mr. Jeeves just gave the equivalent of an awkward smile for a lich and said he would be crazy to get rid of his best worker now. I ended up making amends with Mr. Rutt, though he's always quiet when stopping by, but hey, more money for me!

"Checking in with the family tonight, Mr. Rutt?" I ask with a smile. He wordlessly gives a short nod of his head, clutching one of his pups nearby. After typing some things into the system, I retrieve his door keys and slide them across the desk. "Enjoy your stay!"

He quietly nods again as he grabs the keys. One of the pups makes a sniffing noise. "You smell funny!" he said. Werewolf pups sound adorable!

I raised an eyebrow and tried to smell my armpit, but couldn't detect anything. Well, that was probably because I'm wearing three layers. I unzipped my coat and jacket and then tried to smell my body, but nothing seemed amiss. I shrugged. "I can't smell anything at all."

547 days.

Most people would quit their job by then, especially working at a hotel, especially for your first summer job, but that’s the funny part. This summer job is slowly becoming forever, as my immortal old hag of a boss has decided that I have to keep working here, forever 20 until I can make a million dollars to put directly into his slimy, rotting wallet, ‘tis the punishment for the crime of my humanity, and my lack of monstrous figure.

That’s what’s in Roswell. No UFO, no little green men, but a small cave entrance that takes you to a world of monsters and Eldritch beings you’ve never seen before, if make believe was made believable. I found my way to the Underbed Inn, a hotel for monsters and critters and whatever else goes bump in the night. I got a job there, because why the Hell not, right? What a mistake I had made.

My boss found out when he realized that I had no otherworldly lineage, and he was furious. But being the greedy capitalist he is he struck a deal with me. I’d have to make $1,000,000 to earn my freedom, including tips, but in exchange he wouldn’t eat me out to whatever horror governs the area.

So I’ve been here for the past two years, though I guess for the past 17 Augusts, every August 31st the clock goes back to day 1 the moment it strikes 12, and I’m going mad. Maybe that’s my boss’s goal, to make me go mad so that I can qualify as some Eldritch prophet, but until then it’ll be this same cycle of cleaning fur out of mattresses, getting slime monsters out of the pool and burying corpses.

Luckily I have access to the Internet, they aren’t completely backwards down here, so I’m able to confide in you all, but still, I can’t take this solitude. I meet more living creatures than I did when I was among the humans but I still feel so alone. As I sit here, the ghoulish blue glow of just another random game show, writing this message to the outside world I’m only $203,451 dollars away from freedom.

I just hope I don’t get to attached to this literal Hell hole.

548…

I knew something was up from the beginning. The unfamiliar name caught my attention as I scrolled through the job board. It seemed a new hotel would be opening nearby, and they were still hiring front desk attendants. I wasn't aware my city had enough tourism to afford a new hotel. The requirements listed under the job posting were...interesting, to say the least.

"Must be able to work nights and holidays" was fairly standard.

"Must possess a high level of integrity and discretion" wasn't as common of a point, but I supposed that if it was a fancier place with big-name clientele, they probably didn't want their business splashed all over the local tabloids.

"Must have a strong stomach, mind, and resolve" definitely brought some questions to mind related to the choice of wording. Those questions went out the window when I got the next rent invoice, and my car shat itself.

I took a bus to where the hotel stood on the outskirts of town, nestled into the countryside that was no doubt enjoyed by people who could afford this place. Fifteen-foot stucco walls enclosed the property, which struck me as out of place in a town like mine. The decor here tended to skew more toward decorative wrought-iron fences, or just wide-open, manicured lawn. Clearly the walls did their jobs- I couldnt remember ever seeing this place before. Even if it was new, I should've seen the construction from the road when I drove to my last job. I chalked it up to the paranoia of the senator's sons and celebrities that I assumed made up the customer base, and made my way to the desk.

My interview was handled by Sharee, a woman who seemed to be your every day, run-of-the-mill HR snake. She didn't stand from her desk when I entered, merely gestured to the chair across from her. I sat on my hands and tried not to come off as desperate.

"Hello Quinn, thank you for coming. Tell me about your experience in hospitality," she purred. There was something slippery about her voice, and the way it slid into your ears. What is it about HR managers that always makes you feel like you're stepping into a trap?

We discussed my limited experience in a hotel, and I played up the tasks I performed behind the desk. I'd only ever watched the front desk associates do check-ins while I was cleaning behind them, but she didn't need to know that. While I talked, I reminded myself to sit up straight, to make eye contact, to tell her the truth, to tell her everything about myself.

I blinked, and trailed off my somewhat rambling sentence into a weak "and, uhm, yeah." She doesn't need to know all of that. And besides, that was the truth. I did say my front-desk experience was limited, but I wasn't lying when I said I was familiar with the general expectations of the job!

"Well, Quinn, I'll be honest. I originally didn't want to list the position where you found it, but you seem like a strong candidate. If you'll head out to the door at the end of the hallway, the GM would like to have a brief chat to finalize the terms of employment."

Again, she didn't stand, she merely gestured with her hand towards the door. I followed her directions, and as I approached the door labeled "general manager" a cold weight formed in the pit of my stomach. I knocked, and touching the handle sent a winding vine of dread tangling around my lungs. What if they don't hire me? What will I do then?

I poked my head around the door and saw an older man in a sweater hunched over the desk, scribbling away onto some paper. He motioned me in, and I perched on the edge of the seat across from him, anxiety twisting every which way in my stomach.

"What manner of girl are you?" His voice gave the impression that he wasn't interested in mincing words, or that he might mince me if he didn't like the answer.

I decided to proceed with caution. "I'm afraid I don't understand the question, sir."

He dropped his pen onto the paper, and when I glanced towards the noise I realized the page was covered in odd symbols and glyphs. My eyes couldn't quite focus on them properly, and I blinked. I must be more tired than I thought. I looked closer, and it occurred to me that the paper wasn't manila as I'd previously thought. Is that vellum?

"I don't like to repeat myself, Quinn. Very few people actually find that listing, fewer still manage to find the building. You're the third applicant we've had, and the only one who made it through the initial interview with Sharee and also into my office. The last one pissed himself from fear as soon as he knocked on my door. Clearly, you must be something supernatural, but you've hidden it well. So what are you?"

I knew the pay they advertised was too good to be true. This guy had to be crazy. Maybe he was senile, maybe he was sundowning, maybe he ran a branch of the mafia if the threatening look he was shooting my way was any indication. No matter what the reason was, I got the distinct feeling that I wasn't safe here. The old man's dark eyes had become down right stormy, and as I searched them for answers I came to the terrible realization that his eyes weren't dark, they were black. As I watched, the black seemed to leech into his scleras, an inky pool expanding into a void and consuming the room around us.

A sharp rap sounded on the door behind us, and I closed my eyes. Turning towards the door, I saw Sharee again. The top half hadn't changed, but there was no desk to conceal the bottom half this time. Sharee's human torso balanced on the tail of a massive serpent, coiled around to fit into the space between the door and my chair. "Sir, I've got the contracts," she said, leaning forward to lay them on the desk in front of me. I glanced over the document stack, noting that the top sheet was an extensive NDA.

With Sharee behind me, and the front gate so far away, there was no running from this. I took another steadying breath, and tried de-escalation.

"I think there was a misunderstanding about the job and what I came here for. I'm so sorry to have wasted your time, but I think it's best if I go now." I made to stand, and the manager held up a hand. Behind me, Sharee positively giggled.

"That's quite impressive, keeping a straight face in a situation like this. A mere human, by the looks of it, but if you've made it this far then I'm quite sure you have some more hidden talents that may be of use. As it stands, your unusual reactions tell me I may not be able to completely remove this place from your memories, and we simply cannot have that. I am not in the business of drawing unnecessary attention with the bodies of mortals unfortunate enough to stumble onto my grounds, so I believe the most mutually beneficial answer here is to employ you."

My blood ran cold at the casual mention of my own murder, but I couldn't afford to panic while still in the lion's den. I stared at the papers in front of me rather than risk looking him in the eye again.

"And you learn quickly. I believe I am correct about your usefulness," he continued. "Have a look through the contract. We'll need to make some revisions given your mortality, but if you would like to negotiate any of the terms, Sharee will handle that. Make sure you're ready to commit to the terms outlined in it before signing, as I assure you it is is quite binding."

[removed]

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