The aircraft shuddered as the wheels came down in preparation for landing, jolting sleeping passengers awake. Within minutes, the aircraft's wheels met the runway, the impact causing many to hold their breath and tightly grip the armrests of their seats. The seven friends all simultaneously leaned to peer out of their windows with gleaming, curious eyes; it hardly seemed real that they were now thousands of miles away from their home. A dream that had always been shared among them was that of traveling abroad and seeing the world, and that dream was finally being fulfilled.

 

"Welcome to Paris, and thank you for flying with us today. We will deplane momentarily," the pilot announced. 

 

The girls could barely keep themselves seated for their excitement. Not only that, but their restlessness after being seated on a plane for twelve hours was proving to be too difficult to bear any longer. Finally, the pilot opened the door to allow everyone off of the plane. Dozens of people stood up at once, shuffling through one another to reach their carry-ons. Despite their anxiousness, the girls stayed seated a few moments longer to avoid being shoved or separated from one another. They soon were able to grab their carry-on bags and hurry off the plane.


 

Navigating the airport was a task and an adventure in and of itself, but eventually the seven of them all made it to the exit after collecting their suitcases. They divided into two taxis to make the trip to their hotel.

 

________________________

 

The hotel was nearly a century old, and yet appeared quaint and inviting from the outside. Vines wrapped intricately around the building, and a garden in front of the hotel provided a picturesque scene of pink and white. In the middle of this garden was a large fountain; a gathering place for the birds inhabiting the area. Rolling hills of lush greenery could be seen in every direction surrounding the small estate; it all looked like a scene from a 1950s Parisian film. 

 

Upon their arrival, they learned that they would be the only guests there, occupying the only three available rooms, as the other half of the small hotel was in the process of being renovated. Since they had reserved their rooms months before renovations had begun, the owner had allowed them to keep their reservation and simply leave their side of the building to be renovated at a later date.

 

Humble, and yet elegant, decor and furnishings inside of the hotel continued to showcase the charm of the estate. The girls had been informed that, though the furniture throughout the common areas of the hotel was primarily antique, each room had been furnished with more modern pieces, so they needn't worry about an uncomfortable stay.

 

The girls had elected to pick up their dinner on the way to the hotel, as they were exhausted and had no intentions of leaving the hotel their first day there. Only three rooms were available to them, and so they divided up as needed. Siyeon and Bora paired up, Yoohyeon and Handong took the second room, and Minji, Gahyeon, and Yoobin took the room with three beds. After dinner, it didn't take long for all of them to fall asleep, weary from the day's travels.

 

_______________________


 

Yoohyeon jolted awake, her forehead coated with a cold sweat. She reached over and looked at her phone; 2am. Restlessly, she pulled the covers back over her and tried to settle comfortably, to no avail. For a while, she laid silently, her mind racing as she noted an uneasy air in the room. Mindlessly, she scrolled through social media, trying to keep herself occupied so as not to think about the cold chills and the eeriness enveloping her. 

 

It was around 3am when she heard it. A scraping sound above her, similar to a chair being dragged across a hardwood floor. Initially, she disregarded it, brushing it off as her exhausted mind playing tricks on her. But she heard it again. And again. And again. Goosebumps covered her entire body. Slowly she sat up, quietly shuffling from her bed to the door to reach the light switch. Click. Nothing. Click click click. She fiddled with the switch repeatedly, but the lights wouldn't switch on. Perturbed, she scurried blindly back toward her bed and grabbed her phone, turning on its flashlight. Too uneasy to be alone, she moved to Handong's bed and shook her awake, frantically whispering an explanation when Handong sat up sleepily.

 

"I'm sure it's nothing, just try to sleep, okay?" Handong suggested. "You're psyching yourself out."

 

"There's no chance of me sleeping tonight," Yoohyeon replied, sitting next to Handong on her bed and hanging her head downwards, rubbing her throbbing forehead with her palms. She had become so uneasy and panicked that she had given herself a headache.

 

A knock at their door startled both girls, and Yoohyeon held her breath. 

 

The door was pushed ajar and Siyeon peeked in. "Did you hear something?"

 

"Yes! See?" Yoohyeon looked over at Handong indignantly. "I haven't been able to sleep for the past hour and a half."

 

Another door creaked open and Minji's bright red hair appeared behind Siyeon; she rested her head on Siyeon's shoulder. "What's up? Is something wrong?"

 

"Siyeon and I both heard a strange noise upstairs, and now I'm freaked out," Yoohyeon informed her.

 

"Well Gahyeon and Yoobin are awake too, maybe we can all go check it out, just to ease your mind," Minji suggested. "I'm positive it's nothing."

 

"You want me to wake Bora up in the middle of the night for this?" Siyeon scoffed, amused, before leaving the room to attempt to wake up her roommate.

 

Moments later, she returned, a groggy Bora shuffling behind her, yawning. 

 

"What's the matter?" Bora asked through another yawn.

 

"We're going upstairs to prove to Yoohyeon that there's nothing to be worried about. She heard a weird noise," Minji replied.

 

"Wait what?" Out of nowhere, Gahyeon appeared in the doorway, clearly hesitant about this plan. She reached over and flipped the light switch, but the room remained dark. Confused, she rapidly flipped it on and off.

 

"It's not working," Yoohyeon explained. "I don't know why."

 

Gahyeon momentarily went back to her room, and then Siyeon and Bora's room, to test the lights. The power seemed to be out. Uneasy, she returned and wrapped her arms around Minji's waist, as Minji played with her hair to comfort her.

 

"Let's go check this out so we can come back and get some rest," Minji prompted. "Don't forget your phones; we need flashlights."

 

Together, the seven of them tiptoed cautiously down the hallway toward the staircase, lighting their way with all seven phone flashlights. After a few moments, they reached the room directly above Yoohyeon and Handong's room. Despite the skepticism among most of them, no one wanted to be the one to open the door. Yoohyeon stayed in the middle of everyone, holding Handong's hand with both of her hands to ease her anxiousness.

 

Yoobin finally moved forward and turned the knob slowly, nudging the door open. Simultaneously, they all shined their flashlights into the room, turning to the left and the right. The only thing in the room was an antique rocking chair.

 

"What is this?" Siyeon moved farther into the room, toward the back wall. She shined her flashlight on the wall, revealing dozens of old photos. The rest of the group followed behind her, also shining their flashlights on the photos. They seemed to be family photos over several generations. But something was odd about them. Not a single person in any of the photos was smiling. In each photo, everyone is dressed the same in what looks to be some sort of uniform.

 

Yoohyeon shined her flashlight to the far right side of the wall. A gasp escaped her. Slowly, she moved closer to the photo her light was illuminating. Once she was standing in front of it, her eyes widened in shock and fear, and she put her hand over , panicked. She couldn't utter a word. Handong rushed to her side, followed by the other girls. Almost simultaneously, they all gasped, frightened, unable to speak. They were frozen in fear.

 

As they stood staring at the photo, trembling, a loud bang behind them startled them out of their frozen state. The door had slammed shut.

 

Bora was the first to reach the door. Desperately, she shook and turned the door knob violently, but it would not budge. Frightened tears cascaded down her cheeks as she continued trying to get the door open. The other girls began to weep. The door would not open. It was locked from the outside.