Ed being the older one decided to drive as he knew funerals, as much as they aren't really anyones thing, certainly weren't Aaron''s thing, as he always had an intense fear of death and all that surrounded it. Ever since they were kids together watching cartoons every Saturday and Sunday morning it was always Ed who was the more outgoing and in control of the two. Aaron had a more nervous disposition of which he had for the most part grew out of while going through college, but still had that nagging fear etching away at the back of his mind surrounding his and everyone he cared abouts mortality.
They decided to head on up the night before the funeral as it was taking place very early in the morning and they wanted to make sure to have a good rest beforehand. This was mainly Ed's thinking, he knew a tired and nervous Aaron would be an extra stress he and everyone else didn't need. The drive went surprisingly smooth as far as Ed was concerned, Aaron mainly was calm and read his book throughout, only asking a small few questions regarding death such as "When you die would you like to be buried or cremated?" and " What would your last thought on this earth be?". Not ideal car journey conversation but situation considered it wasn't as bad as Ed had thought and they actually shared a laugh or two about it.
Accomodation was proving a problem in the days leading up to the funeral. Their uncles house was a small country family home that had no room to accommodate them, even the couches were took up by the children of the family. Ed and Aaron''s parents weren't arriving until the morning of the funeral since their journey was a little shorter and they didn't have a nervous wreck to entertain, something Aaron''s parents were both worried and relieved about. Online Ed came across a motel just a half hour away from their uncles home called " Night Night", a rather stupid name he thought but as long as it had two beds and some snacks it was good enough for them.
On arrival the one thing they both noticed was the fluorescent look about the place, especially the sign with name of the motel, which happened to be missing the N of the second word. They checked in and entered their room. The door was very stiff to open but as far as complaints would go, that was it, the room was immaculate inside and everything they could hope for in a last minute motel booking. The decor was funky in a good way, it was spotless all over and they even had their own mini bar filled with drinks and snacks.
As the night was passing it was pretty much uneventful with Ed laying on his bed, shoes off relaxing just watching some TV to pass some time away. Aaron, on his bed was still reading his book but the morbid talk had stopped and looked calm in himself. They had something in common though, and that was that their beds were full of chocolate bar wrappers and empty cans of soda, "When in Rome" Said a smirking childish like looking Ed.
A couple of hours later and they both had nodded off, Aaron's face planted in his book and Ed snoring over the left turned on TV. It stayed that was until Aaron grumpily rose from his slumber to take a much needed bathroom break. Still half asleep wobbling side to side while peeing more on the ground than in the toilet itself, he noticed something, there was a bright large light that kept shining through the room every couple of seconds or so. He zipped up his jeans and went over to the stylish curtains, pulling them back to see a car driving slowly in circles around the empty small car park.
He closed the curtains again but left enough of a gap so he could peek out but not be seen. The more he watched the car the stranger things got as he noticed that not only was it odd to see a car going around in circles in the middle of the night with the headlights on full but that there was seemingly no one driving the car!. ...
He struggled but managed to open the front door and continued to look at the car while making the short few metres walk over to reception. Just as he was about to reach reception the lights on the car had gone out and the car also had stopped, but it didn't just stop in its tracks, it stopped, turned towards Aaron and faced him directly as if addressing him. Aaron looking a mixture of confused and worried ran to the reception door while saying to himself "I really hope this is a bad dream". He tried turning the door knob but it wouldn't move so he knocked on the door which transitioned to banging on the door but the reception guy was nowhere to be seen.
He turned around slowly, facing the car which was still facing him and he could of swore that the left front light of the black Alfa Romeo classic had winked at him. His room door wide open he decided to make a dash for it but as he picked up pace so did the car. The lights shone and engine roared on, causing Aaron to panic. The room seemed so far away as every lunge brought a sense of intense fear. The car right on his trail and gaining momentum, Aaron got to the room but struggled with closing the door. Just when the car was about to crash right into the room, it stopped again and just parked there again as if it was staring at him.
The commotion brought Ed to wake, he jumped straight out of his bed, wrappers falling off his bed like leaves blowing in the wind and was asked intensely "What the hell is going on". All Aaron could say was "The car" in a nervous stuttering manner while pointing out the open door. Ed looked out but was blinded immediately by the headlights which again turned on. Before he could ask who's that in the car, the front door slowly opened.
There was no person visible but they could hear the steps of someone walking towards them. Together they managed to shut the room door closed but the sound of someone walking didn't stop, they infact got louder and louder which only meant one thing, it was right next to them!
The cousins tried to move away but couldn't, they tried talking but again couldn't. Everything they tried wouldn't work, they were stuck in a paralysed state. The thud of walking now was circling them along with the sound of a gentle whisper but it wasn't anything they could understand. Ed moving his eyeballs looked over at Aaron and knew the fear that was going through his younger cousins mind and that he was helpless to do anything. As that thought started to linger, the two started to move out of their control. They were placed on their individual beds, both facing each other as the whispers continued.
Slowly their eyes started to get heavier and heavier, everything felt drowsy and started to darken. Just as they were about to fade away they could finally understand one of the whispers, it said "Night Night" then they both faded away. The car started up again, drove around to reception and the door opened again. This time out stepped the reception guy who opened his office, sat there for a minute before ringing the police.
Aaron's last thoughts were filled with terror and panic. Ed's last thought was of Aaron.
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