Xanthl's Place

We decided to stay the night at the first of the two hotels on the lonely road. This one looked cheaper, and it still looked like a nice enough place. It advertised clean beds and showers, anyway, and that was what we needed.

At the front desk, we met a strangely charming man. His head was bald and very shiny.

“Call me Xanthl,” he said in a smooth voice.“And you needn’t pay anything.”

Seeing my surprised look, he added, “You’re not staying very long, right? That’s what we’re here for-- to give shelter to those passing through.” He shrugged.

“We can pay,” I insisted.

“We’ll discuss it later,” he said. “And now, go up to your rooms and rest.” He smiled at Alice and Dinah. They smiled shyly back.

A kind older lady showed us to our rooms. The girls squealed with delight when they saw the bunk beds. “Awesome!”

I tried to stay a little more detached and cool. “It’s just for tonight, ladies,” I reminded them. “Tomorrow we’ll be on our way.”

“Aw, why do you have to be such a party pooper?” Dinah asked me. “We haven’t had a nice bed to sleep in for days! And these are perfect!”

“Yeah,” Alice put in with a pout. “I’m tired of sleeping in the car.”

I didn’t reply. I just shoved my tattered bag underneath the bed by the window.

I was tired of sleeping in the car too.

* * * *

We had meant to stay for only one night, but we ended up staying longer. On the seventh day, I decided to talk to the girls about it.

“Hey, there’s something we need to discuss,” I said in a casual voice. They were lounging on their beds, snacking on some strawberries that the serving lady had brought up to our room.

“What?” asked Alice.

“Well, I just… I think we should be on our way,” I said.

“Yeah, maybe…” Dinah replied. “I mean, I guess we’ve been here for a while. But what’s the rush?”

“Xanthl’s a real dream, isn’t he?” Alice said, changing the subject.

“Yeah, he is pretty great,” agreed Dinah. They began discussing his dreaminess and all that, so I didn’t say anything else. Maybe it would be okay if we stayed a little longer.

But really, weren’t things just a little too perfect? Is there such a thing?

* * * *

On our twenty-first morning at the resort, the intercom called for someone named Ben to come to Xanthl’s office.

That was when I decided it had been long enough. I was out-y. I knew I might have a hard time persuading the girls, but I couldn’t stay any longer. I brought it up again while we were all in the bedroom and Xanthl’s listening ears weren’t near.

“I’m getting out. Tonight,” I announced abruptly.

Alice pouted. “Why?” she asked. “Don’t you know there’s a big party tomorrow? There’s going to be dancing and everything! It is going to be such a blast! Couldn’t we leave the day after that?”

I pointed out that she had used that very same excuse last week, the day before the luau. She looked sheepish.

Dinah came to her defense, though. “You’ve never even been to one of Xanthl’s parties. They are loads of fun. You would know if you would just relax and go to any of the stuff he is always planning for us!”

I didn’t know what to say. The girls knew that we needed to get going, so why should I remind them yet another time? Finally I decided to bring up the most important point.

“Girls, you know as well as I do that Xanthl doesn’t seem exactly, well, human,” I said.

Alice sighed. “Aw, come off it,” she said. She turned around to continue folding her laundry.

I insisted. “Aren’t you guys scared at all?” I asked.

“Of Xanthl?” Alice said, incredulously.

Dinah chimed in, “Come on, nobody’s perfect. Although Xanthl does come pretty close. Anyway, I can’t go anywhere until all my laundry is done. I still have two more loads for the cleaning lady to come and pick up. By the time it’s done, it’ll be well past midnight!”

Dinah did have a lot of clothes.

“I’m leaving tonight, whether you girls are coming or not,” I said. I sat down on my bed and tried to come up with a plan. How to get out without being spotted…?

Alice looked my way. “I have laundry to do, too. Can’t you wait until tomorrow?”

“No,” I said firmly. “I’ve waited long enough.” I thought and thought until I had a plan.

* * * *

At 8:30 p.m. I snuck out the back door in my gym shorts and a sweatshirt. I carried my bag. Was Xanthl somehow watching? I couldn’t tell.

Charm or no charm, I was frightened of him by now. He often called people into his office, and those people were never seen again. The others at the resort didn’t seem to notice. Or if they did notice, they seemed to shrug it off. What was it to them that four people had disappeared within the last week?

I made my way along the path. Finally, there it was. The recreation field.

Across the field, in the distance, I could just make out the other hotel. A wire fence divided our back field from theirs. How hard could it be to jump over that little fence?

I began to jog the long way around the field. Tuesday, so everyone was jogging counter-clockwise. I hoped that no one would notice the bag I was carrying, or if they did that they would just think I was weird. I guess I was weird—no one else seemed to want to leave this place as badly as I did.

I kept jogging, just like the rest of the evening runners. I waved at a girl who stayed in the room adjacent to ours.

Finally, I was yards away from the metal fence. I saw to my surprise that there was an opening in it. A regular opening. Easy for anyone to pass through. No lock.

I took a deep breath and made a run for it. With all my strength I covered the distance in seconds, dove through the opening, and landed on my stomach, clutching my bag.

* * * *

A kind-looking man helped me up. “Come with me,” he said. I followed him to the large building, up stairs and into a very beautiful lobby. He knocked on a door and then told me to enter.

Xanthl.

Xanthl was sitting there, his bald head gleaming. “You ran away?” he asked, his voice puzzled.

I gulped with dread. “Y-yes.” I said.

How could I escape? How had he known? What could I do?

“No, I won’t force you to come back,” he said finally. He sounded sad. “But I don’t know why you would want to leave our beautiful home.”

I tried not to be drawn in by his fascinating voice, his charismatic way of speaking. All I could say was, “Thank you, sir.”

“Are you sure you want to leave?” he asked then. “You can come back right now if you want to. You can stay as long as you like; you can even leave whenever you like. I won’t stop you.” He smiled.

I shook my head, holding onto my resolve.

“Are you sure?” he asked again.

I nodded.

He finished with these words: “What you are doing is a mistake. But I can’t stop you.”

And then, he got up and left, closing the door behind him. I breathed a tremendous sigh. I was confused, but relieved.

* * * *

What now? I saw suddenly that there was another person in the room with me. Someone I hadn’t noticed before. Someone even more mesmerizing than Xanthl was.

“Shidnsl is my name,” he said, grinning.

And then, in a heartbeat, in one split second, I knew. I had nothing to fear from Xanthl. I had never had anything to fear from Xanthl. It was this alien who was the real threat.

Shidnsl rubbed his hand over his shiny head and confirmed my thoughts with these simple words: “My brother tries to protect them from me. He sneaks them out when I’m not watching and sends them on their way. It’s too bad you didn’t listen to his warning.”

I was frozen with shock.

“You look delicious,” he added.