Reborn as a Prophet in a Horror Movie
#092
T/N: Thanks for the kind reviews Patwmm and thewaffler! I can’t promise I’ll be able to do this every time but… I can definitely do it today! Double release! Just a heads up, Prophet usually updates on Thursdays and Sundays, and I’ll probably be back to my regular schedule by next week. ( ＾皿＾)っ 1/2
#092
“You a cop or something?”
“Nope, definitely not.”
The woman at the front desk barely looked up from her magazine. “Then sorry, no can do on the guest info.”
“Come on, not even a tiny exception?” Johan flashed his most charming smile.
The receptionist just shook her head, totally unmoved. “Nope, no exceptions.”
Johan’s charm offensive crashed and burned against the impenetrable wall of her indifference. Even with his good looks, it wasn’t enough to get this jaded employee to budge an inch for him.
Feeling like he’d just lost a battle, Johan backed off. If only this motel had an old-school guest book he could sneak a peek at. But of course, the Decoy Motel’s ancient computer system was locked up tighter than Fort Knox.
Johan absent-mindedly fiddled with his wallet, then spotted the neon sign of the convenience store next door. Memories came rushing back – late night snack runs, making stupid choices under those harsh fluorescent lights, and that one cute guy who worked the register. A flicker of hope ignited in Johan’s chest as he walked in.
Five minutes later, the bitter sting of defeat smacked him in the face again.
The bored-looking clerk was just as unhelpful, shutting down Johan’s attempts to get any info with a blank stare. Shoulders slumped, Johan couldn’t help but think of Lacey. Apparently in this world, unless you were a serial killer, shady deals were off the table.
Johan stepped out of the store, just as a giggly couple exited with him.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe I’ve never watched a VHS tape before!” the girl squealed, practically bouncing with excitement.
Her boyfriend laughed and pulled her close. “Well, you’re about to. Let’s make some popcorn and make this a night you’ll never forget!”
They walked off hand-in-hand toward their room. Watching them, Johan felt a sharp pang of longing pierce his heart. What he wouldn’t give to hold Seojun’s hand like that, to have a cheesy movie date night, to spend hours cuddled up together binge-watching their favorite shows. His head spun with a million things he wished they could do together… but so far, almost none of them had actually happened.
But then, inspiration struck. Movies… Seojun was obsessed with movies. A cunning glint sparked in Johan’s eyes as he turned towards the video rental store sign.
Inside, the clerk – a short, cheerful guy with an infectious grin – greeted him like an old friend. “Huh? A tall dude with an eyepatch? Yeah, totally, he was just in not too long ago!”
When Johan asked where Seojun might be, the clerk chuckled like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Every time he smiled, his adorable buck teeth made an appearance, giving him an extra dose of charm.
The clerk shot Johan a friendly question. “So, you and him go way back, huh?”
Johan’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yeah, we’ve been good friends since we were kids.”
“Dude, that’s awesome! Having a bestie from childhood, you guys must be like, totally in sync, always on the same wavelength. Hey, want me to hook you up with his room number?”
“That would be much appreciated.” Johan replied, his grin stretching from ear to ear.
The clerk let out a hearty laugh, his voice unusually clear and melodic. “Alright, my man! But only if you help me push some sales by renting something. Oh, and check this out—it’s the video he borrowed. Wanna grab it too?”
He waved the videotape around so fast the title was a blur, but Johan was too eager to care. He would’ve taken it even if it had some ridiculous title like “Quarterback Loses Limbs and Manhood in Deadly Orgy with Seven Demon Sisters from Hell.” Luckily, when the clerk handed it over, the actual title was pretty tame.
“Real Life Situation?”
The clerk nodded enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up. “Dude, it’s like, the hottest thing right now, I swear! And get this: if you’re staying at this motel, we’ll even swing by and pick it up for you. No sweat. Oh, and just so you know, your buddy stayed in room 999.”
That little nudge from the clerk was all Johan needed. He whipped out his wallet, ready to make the deal happen. As the clerk handed over the black bag, Johan couldn’t help but notice how weirdly light the tape inside felt.
“Just a heads up, you’ve got the tape for one day,” the clerk warned, eyeing Johan’s tight grip. “And hey, be gentle with it, okay? No rough stuff.”
“Will do, thanks.”
With a new spring in his step, Johan left the video store feeling like he was walking on air. He marched straight to the motel’s front desk, asking for room 999 like it was destiny. The employee behind the counter raised an eyebrow, clearly weirded out by Johan’s super specific request. But Johan just shrugged it off, too eager to let it kill his excitement.
Key in hand, Johan raced towards the room where Seojun had stayed. As he pushed open the door to room 999, a laminated paper fluttered to the floor, catching his eye. He snatched it up and propped it against the wall so it wouldn’t fall on him again. Then, he headed down the short entryway, his heart doing backflips in his chest.
As he cracked the window, a cool night breeze slipped in, making him shiver. He quickly slammed it shut again, keeping the chill at bay. Desperate for any sign of Seojun, he sniffed around the room like a bloodhound, but it had been cleaned within an inch of its life, erasing any lingering scents. He dug through the ashtray, but the grungy room was a total dead end, not even a single scrap of his trash to be found.
Finally throwing in the towel, he put the tape into the VCR and hit the play button. Remote in hand, he flopped onto the bed, his back sinking into the pillows like quicksand. He tucked his left hand behind his head, getting all comfy. As his sneakers brushed against the blanket, the TV sputtered to life, filling the room with a soft, electronic glow.
“Real Life Situation” began.
A high-pitched giggle exploded from the speakers as a woman popped up on screen. Wearing some barely-there sleepwear, her fiery red hair spilled across her shoulders in a tousled mess. She looked about thirty-ish, with some faint crinkles under her eyes, but her face radiated with vibrant energy. Mouth slightly open, she stared straight into the camera like a deer in headlights.
“Ed, honey! Am I doing this right?”
Ed’s deep, smooth voice purred back, “You know it, Lindy! I’m capturin’ your breathtakin’ beauty in all its glory.”
“Oh, Ed!”
Lindy, her wild crimson locks flowing like a raging inferno, and Ed, his thick jet-black mane, were the picture of passionate lovers. They tumbled around on the bed, their bodies all tangled up as they got lost in a lively conversation, totally forgetting about the camera. They couldn’t stop gushing about their big dreams of starting a family together.
“Ed,” Lindy cooed, running her fingers through his luscious locks, “promise me we’ll have a tight-knit family, one that sticks together through thick and thin, forever and always.”
“Lindy, darlin’, don’t you worry your pretty little head. Our family’s gonna be drowning in love and we’ll always have each other’s backs. Just like we’re doin’ right now.”
“Oh, the thought of it is just too wonderful for words! My heart’s about to burst with happiness!”
Johan’s eyes wandered as he watched Ed and Lindy getting frisky on the bed, momentarily distracted by the familiar setting. It looked like they’d filmed this little happy home video right here at the Decoy Motel.
But the more he watched “Real Life Situation”, the more confused he became. This wasn’t a movie at all – it was just some random couple’s lovey-dovey home video. Not that Johan was really bothered about the difference. What really threw him for a loop was that Seojun wasn’t the type to waste his time watching other people’s sappy home movies.
Head cocked to the side, Johan tried to make sense of it all. No matter how he sliced it, this totally average home video just didn’t align with Seojun’s usual tastes.
As Johan watched, Lindy suddenly cleared her throat and stared straight into the camera, breaking her usual Ed-only eye contact.
“Ah, um, so… Ed and I decided to make this little video for our future little ones. To our precious little darlins’, Mama and Papa want to be parents you can be super proud of.”
With that announcement, Lindy and Ed dove into a full-blown makeout session, much to Johan’s increasing discomfort.
“Did Jun seriously sit through this?”
By now, Johan was 100% sure the clerk had made a mistake. He was about to turn off this cringe-fest when Ed and Lindy finally came up for air. Lindy was the first to glance at the clock as it struck 10.
“Oh my, would you look at the time! Ed, let’s not be like those lame folks who forget the importance of bein’ prepared.”
“Ah, Lindy, your genius outshines the sun and sparkles like the finest ruby. Imagine how happy our little one will be, being born to such a flawless mama—and a meat-lovin’ one too! They might just cry tears of joy right outta the womb.”
“Ed, my stud muffin, your beef with vegetarians is making my inner carnivore roar.”
“Oh, Lindy!”
As they drowned each other in over-the-top mushiness and sloppy kisses, Johan started wondering if Seojun had accidentally rented a straight-up porno. But just as the thought crossed his mind, Lindy and Ed pulled back, exchanged a meaningful glance, and busted out laughing in a unsettling way that made one’s skin crawl.
“Uh…”
Johan’s jaw dropped in disbelief as he watched Lindy’s disturbing behavior unfold. She snatched a long, gleaming knife, waving it around with a chilling playfulness before scurrying under the bed like a creepy insect. Ed, his camera trained on Lindy’s contorting body, zoomed in to capture every unnatural twist and turn before making his way to the fridge.
With a calculated precision, Ed opened the nearly empty refrigerator, angling the camera just right to get a perfect shot of the room. He left the door open just a crack, allowing the camera to peer through like a sinister eye. The faint light cast an eerie shadow across his chiseled features, intensifying the ominous atmosphere.
As Ed grabbed a water bottle and filled the coffee pot, he called out to Lindy, who remained hidden beneath the bed. “You’re right as rain, Lindy. We should get those towels in the bathroom ready ahead of time. We’ll need a whole bunch of ‘em, and if we pay attention to these little details, our kids will follow our example.”
Ed vanished from view, and the sound of the coffee maker’s gurgling filled the room. Johan, still lying on the bed, turned his head to the right. Through the narrow gap between the refrigerator and the wall, he could barely make out another door—presumably leading to the bathroom. Suddenly, a jarring thud emanated from the TV, as if something heavy had toppled over.
Lindy’s muffled voice rang out from under the bed, laced with a hint of panic. “Ed, what was that noise?!”
“Nothing to worry about, Lindy!” Ed’s voice boomed back from the bathroom, a little too reassuring. “I just accidentally knocked over the towel basket, that’s all.”
Moments later, Ed reappeared on screen, pouring steaming hot water into a mug. He added a mysterious black powder, stirring it in with deliberate motions. At first, Johan thought it might be coffee, but his suspicions grew as Ed added a white powder to the mix. Given the unsettling atmosphere, Johan highly doubted it was something as innocent as sugar or salt.
As the powder dissolved in the steaming water, a sharp knock at the door broke the eerie silence. The camera only showed Ed’s back, but Johan couldn’t shake the feeling that a sinister smile was spreading across his face, hidden from view.
“Just a minute!” Ed called out, his tone unnervingly polite. He walked off to the right, and the sound of a door creaking open was followed by the entrance of two people. On the screen, a new figure appeared – a cleaner with long black hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, emphasizing the tension etched on his face. His hands gripped an assortment of cleaning supplies, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. The man’s eyes darted around the room, and his lips moved rapidly, speaking in a voice too soft to be heard. His hunched shoulders and shuffling feet conveyed his unease, as if he sensed the malevolent energy that permeated the room.
Despite the cleaner’s obvious reluctance, Ed’s relentless pressure finally wore him down. The cleaner accepted the mug, his face twisted with a desire to be anywhere else, and managed a couple of tentative sips of the mysterious brew. But even that small amount was enough to send him reeling, his body instantly betraying him.
He stumbled and staggered, his arms and legs flailing wildly as he crashed onto the bed in a chaotic display of helplessness. The metal bucket he’d been holding clattered to the floor, its contents spilling everywhere in a jarring cacophony. Desperate to escape, he clawed at the bed, trying to haul himself up, but his strength had vanished, leaving him vulnerable and exposed. His face hit the mattress with a thud, and though his body remained rigid, he still struggled to crawl away, his movements sluggish and uncoordinated.
That’s when the true horror began. A hand, pale and slender, emerged from the dark recesses under the bed, its fingers curling around the cleaner’s ankle with an iron grip that promised no escape. In a single, terrifying instant, he was dragged beneath, vanishing into the inky depths below.
Bloodcurdling screams erupted from the TV, their intensity punctuated by bursts of maniacal laughter and the sickening squelch of flesh being ripped apart. Johan quickly lowered the noisy volume.