*CHAPTER 8 - ÇINAR HOTEL 12:56*

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*CHAPTER 8 - ÇINAR HOTEL - 12:56 PM - 

_And in the flickering yellow light, they realized: 1256 is not just a password. It's a room number._

_Silence. The kind where you hear fluorescent buzz and your own heartbeat. 12 people breathing same cold air._

_ÖMER - staring at wall, reading scratched text again, voice low, finger tracing scratch marks:_

"0 378 10 55 136 - IT BEGAN HERE - ROOM 1256... 0378... that's Manisa phone code? 0 378? No that's Karabük? Wait, 0236 Manisa... but this... this is like a phone number, old style. And 'IT BEGAN HERE'... what began?"

_GIZEM - already taking photo of wall with phone, flash on, shaking hands:_

"Don't touch it. Don't touch drawings. There are hundreds. Same devil. Same as seals on Cenk and Haydarcan. Look, same angry eyes, same clenched fists. Someone drew this before us. Someone stayed here before us. Someone knew."

_SIMGE - still hugging "Beyza", but looking at wall, whispering:_

"Room 1256... but hotel has only 6 floors. How can there be room 1256? 12th floor 56th room? That doesn't make sense. Unless... unless it's not floor number... unless it's..."

_HASAN - who recovered from joke that no one laughed, now serious, pointing at elevator:_

"Yo, 3rd to 6th floor is OFF - OUT OF ORDER - DO NOT TURN ON. Why would manager lock 4 floors? Maybe room 1256 is on those floors, hidden? Maybe they renumbered?"

_ÖMER - standing up from chair, leather squeak again, but no one jumps now, because they are past jumpscare, now in dread:_

"We need to check register. Hotel register. Every hotel has book, who stayed when."

_He clicks on desktop, finds folder: "Hotel_Logs". Opens. Excel file, old. Last entry: 03/12/2024, same as last login. Name: M. Demir. Room: 101. Notes: "They are coming. I heard them in corridor. They scratch at night. 1256. Don't go 1256."_

_BUĞRA - reading over Ömer's shoulder, face pale:_

"M. Demir... M? The note said 'M'... 1256 - For lights - Don't forget!!! - M. Same M. Manager M. Demir?"

_GIZEM - to Beyza, who still frozen, flashlight beam now pointing at floor, not moving, eyes fixed on 1256:_

"Beyza? Beyza you okay? You haven't moved. Beyza?"

_"Beyza" - slowly, voice too calm now, too flat, after shaky child voice, now flat like someone else speaking through her, eyes still on number:_

__"BEYZA":_ "12:56... 12:56 is time. Not room. Time when it happened. When he... when he was left."

_SIMGE - frowning, letting go of hug, stepping back a little because Beyza's arm is ice cold, colder than hotel air:_

"What time? What happened at 12:56? Beyza what are you talking about? You know something?"

_"Beyza" - blinks, suddenly back, eyes watery, acting again, hand on forehead, as if dizzy:_

"I... I don't know... I just... felt dizzy... I... I think I remembered something... from my childhood... 12:56... my father always... never mind..."

_ÖMER - watching Beyza carefully, because Ömer watches everything, tall guy watches from above, he saw her freeze when 1256 typed, he saw flat voice, he stores data:_

"Beyza, what childhood? What father? Your father died? You said you don't remember?"

_"Beyza" - tears now, quick, convenient tears:_

"Can we not talk about my father please? Please? I want to go home..."

_SIMGE hugs her again, glares at Ömer: "Leave her alone!"_

_But Gizem saw it. Gizem saw Beyza's hand, how it was not shaking when she said flat voice, how it shook when acting. Gizem stores too. Gizem and Ömer look at each other, small nod, without words: "something wrong with her"._

_ÖMER - turns back to computer, closes logs, opens light control again, cursor hovers over 3rd Floor ON button, which is greyed out with red text OUT OF ORDER. He tries to click, error: "ADMIN REQUIRED - FLOORS 3-6 LOCKED BY MANAGER M."_

_ÖMER:_

"Manager locked upper floors from software. Not just turned off, locked. Like he didn't want anyone up there. Like he wanted to keep something in, or keep us out."

_HASAN - looking at dark staircase at end of corridor, stairs going up, yellow light from 1st floor only reaching first 3 steps, rest dark, dust thick on steps like no one walked for years, but... there are footprints. Fresh. Small footprints, barefoot, child footprints, going up, not down._

_HASAN - voice whisper now, not joking:_

"Yo... guys... look at stairs... footprints... going up... fresh dust... someone went up today... or... something..."

_Everyone turns. Phone lights, now weak compared to flickering yellow corridor light, point at stairs. Dust, thick, grey, and in it, clear, small bare footprints, maybe size 35, child, going up, one after another, disappearing into darkness of 2nd floor landing._

_GIZEM - counting:_

"One set... only going up. No return. Someone went up and didn't come down."

_BUĞRA - holding Beyza's bag now, because Beyza not holding:_

"Maybe manager? M? Maybe he is still here? Up there?"

_ÖMER - looking at number on wall: "ROOM 1256" - then at elevator panel next to reception, old elevator, out of order light on, but inside elevator, floor indicator, faint red LED, still on, showing: "12". 12th floor? But hotel has 6 floors outside. How 12?_

_ÖMER:_

"Hotel has 6 floors from outside. But elevator shows 12. And room 1256... 12th floor, 56th room? But we saw only 6 floors. Unless... unless hotel is bigger inside... or... or this is not same hotel from outside..."

_SIMGE - shivering, not from cold now:_

"Don't say that... don't say bigger inside..."

_"Beyza" - suddenly, loud, too loud, clapping hands once, making everyone jump:_

__"BEYZA":_ "We should split! Boys check 1st floor rooms for food and blankets, girls check 2nd floor for beds! We need to rest! We walked 20 minutes! We are tired! Splitting is good idea! Like always!"

_Everyone looks at her, weird, because splitting in horror hotel is worst idea, everyone knows, and Beyza never suggests splitting, she always says "stay together"._

_GIZEM - cold:_

"No. No splitting. We stay together. All 12, one group."

_"Beyza" - smile flickers, annoyed for 0.2 second, then back to sweet:_

"Okay... okay you are right... stay together... sorry, I just... thought..."

_ÖMER - staring at Beyza's shoes, white sneakers, clean, but dust on hotel floor thick, everyone's shoes dusty grey now except hers, hers still white, as if not touching dust, as if floating slightly._

_He doesn't say anything. He just looks at footprints going up, small barefoot, size 35, Beyza's size._

_He looks at wall again: WE DIDN'T CHOOSE. WE WERE CHOSEN. 0 378 10 55 136 - IT BEGAN HERE - ROOM 1256_

_He whispers to himself, so low only Gizem hears:_

"1256... 12:56 PM... now is 12:56 PM. Check phone."

_Gizem checks phone, time: 12:56 PM. Exactly. When they entered hotel, it was 12:40. Now 12:56. The moment lights turned on, time became 12:56._

_Gizem's eyes widen, looks at Ömer, looks at Beyza, who is now looking at staircase, not at wall, looking up into darkness, smiling tiny, almost invisible smile, not scared smile, familiar smile, like coming home._

_FZZT! Corridor light flickers again, one bulb explodes, POP, glass falls, and in that flicker, for 0.1 second, the hotel corridor looks different: not hotel, but school corridor, Kazım Kaynak, lockers, and at end of corridor, not reception, but Room 1256 door, wooden, old school door, with pink hair clip hanging on handle._

_Only Ömer and Gizem see it in flicker, because they look. Others blink._

_Light back, hotel again, reception again, but smell now not lemon cleaner, but old school smell, chalk, sweat._

_And from upstairs, from dark of 3rd floor that is OFF, a sound: HRRRNNGGGHHH... HRRRNNNGGGHHH... same snore as Chapter 9, but now awake, now here, echoing down stairwell._

_Everyone freezes, looks up._

_Buğra whispers: "That's... Beyza's snore from hotel... from Aydın... how... how is it here?"_

_And Beyza, real Beyza? No, "Beyza" is not there anymore, she walked 3 steps towards stairs, towards darkness, towards footprints, alone, hand reaching for railing, as if called._