[Music] [Music] so I was a manager of a hotel when what I'm about to tell you occurred it was around 1:00 a.m. and no new guests had arrived for a couple of hours it seemed like a pretty slow night I was talking to one of the employees about how whenever a night is this slow or quiet something bad usually happens they said I was just being superstitious but I've come to realize that that usually is the truth I've seen lot during my 10 years as a manager plenty of domestic disturbances fights in the hallways drug
deals gone wrong and the list really does go on and on but that night had to have been the worst at around 1:30 a.m. after my co-workers were finally finished telling me how ridiculous I was being about the quiet night I got a call from one of the rooms I answered and was met with the voice of a little boy he sounded maybe like five at the most and he started telling me that he wanted his mommy and that I had to get her I asked if he was okay and he said yes but just
that he wanted his mommy I started to get concerned and just as I was going to ask what room number he was in a man came to the phone identified himself as the boy's father and apologized for his son wasting my time before I could even get a word in the line just went dead we were old school so we couldn't even tell what room he had called from I got a little worried so I started asking around to my employees to see if any of them remembered a man checking into a room with a
little boy I was having no luck until I asked our restaurant manager and he said a man had come in with a little boy earlier that night and had used the voucher that we gave all of our guests thankfully it was only a voucher used that day and it had the room number on it I grabbed one of the larger men that we had on staff and had for the room I had no intentions of confronting the man or even asking any questions I just wanted to see the boy and make sure that it was
okay so I grabbed a few towels told my employee to wait at the end of the hall and I knocked on the door A man answered he was short chubby and smelled horribly of just alcohol behind him on the bed was the little boy he was so skinny I could see his ribs and he looked like he was covered in bruises I tried to act calm and I told the man that I had the towels that he requested he of course denied requesting towels and just shut the door in my face I turned around and
speed walked down the hall into the elevator once I was back at the front desk I immediately called the police I was instructed to Act Naturally and not make any further contact with the man to avoid him running with the boy my heart was racing and I was sweating profusely as I waited for the police they surrounded the building and came in by the Dozen I told them what room they were in and gave them the key they had me come up with them in case there was a problem getting access to the room I
really didn't want to go up there but if there was any chance that they could help that boy I was going to take it the elevator ride seemed to last forever as I thought out every possible scenario for what was about to go down the elevator stopped and I and about eight officers stepped off and into the hallway we walked down towards the door but they had me wait closer closer to the end of the hall I was terrified when I watched them knock on the door and demanded the man to come out he refused
and said that he would hurt the boy if they tried to get in at that moment things became very real and I believed him they tried to negotiate with the man for almost an hour but he was relentless and determined to stay in that room as long as possible finally they decided to just rush the room it almost felt like everything was in slow motion there was a lot of yelling paired with the sounds of things crashing around the room and before I knew it they were walking out with a man in handcuffs behind them
came another officer running out with the boy in his arms he could barely hold his head up he was put in an ambulance and rushed the hospital he later made a full recovery and was reunited with his mother later that morning that floor of the hotel had been closed off while they investigated and I learned later on that the man who was with the boy really was his father apparently his wife was leaving him and taking their son because of his abusive Tendencies so he took the boy and threatened to hurt him if she left
him they had been on the run for over a month it also unfortunately turned out the man wasn't opposed to abusing his son and the bruises were caused by him smacking and beating the little boy for what he called acting up I cried for days for that kid I wanted so badly to take away his pain and make him forget what his own father had put him through but I know that is trauma that he'll have to live with forever I'm just glad that he got help and that his mom doesn't have to spend any
more nights without her son I was 25 and decided to take a trip into the city after my mom's passing she died unexpectedly and I still lived with her at the time I needed to get out of the house everything inside of it reminded me of her I chose a hotel that had a relatively good reviews and the price for the room was too good to pass up I won't reveal the hotel's name for obvious reasons and the main one being that I'm just trying to forget the experience altogether and even typing out its name
is hard for me the hotel had an old world charm that instantly drew me in as I checked in I couldn't help but admire how clean everything was it was the kind of place place that you see in postcards and I was looking forward to getting to my room and finally being able to relax after everything I'd been through that month my room was on the second floor and it was nice to see that it had a view of the garden the hotel staff was friendly and everything seemed perfect it started innocently enough on the
first night I went down to the hotel's restaurant for dinner as I sat alone at the corner table I noticed a man at the bar he was tall with messy hair and a pretty scruffy beard he seemed to be in his 40s and was wearing a faded leather jacket and jeans I don't know why I remember what he was wearing but I do I caught his eye for a moment and he gave me a nod I'm a pretty awkward person so I just looked away and pretended like he didn't just catch me staring the night
went on and I tried not to think about it too much after dinner I returned to my room and settled in for the night I watched some TV read a book and eventually fell asleep but when I woke up the next morning morning things just felt a little off as I stepped out of my room and made my way down the hall towards the elevator I noticed the same man from the night before he was leaning against the wall just a few feet from my room and his eyes were locked on to me it sent
a shiver down my spine and it was not the good kind I tried to shake off the uneasy feeling that I was getting thinking that it might just be a coincidence but that voice in my head was telling me something was wrong I should have listened to it I decided to try and go about my day without being too paranoid but being a woman all by myself a small bit of paranoia is required I wanted to see the sights and explore the city but no matter where I went I had this Eerie feeling that someone
was following me and I couldn't escape the feeling of just being watched that night I got back to the hotel and decided to have dinner in that restaurant again I really didn't want to run into that dude again but the convenience of eating and being able to go straight up to your room was just too tempting to pass up I also hoped that being around people would ease my nerves as I sat at my table the same man walked in once again sat at the bar only this time he was closer and he was facing
me he had a drink in hand staring very intently at me I tried not to look at him but when someone is staring at you and won't even stop when you look back at them you can't help but take a peek every so often to see if they continuing after a short while his face changed into sort of a smile and I was just thoroughly creeped out I got up to leave and noticed that he got up at the same time he began walking out after me and was eerily close behind me as he did
so I swear I could feel him breathing on the back of my neck as we walked I tried asking him nicely to just stay further back but he started to laugh he followed me all the way up to my floor and stopped a few doors down from my room I entered my room quickly glancing back at him and noticed that he was doing the same thing as before just standing there in the hall clearly waiting for me or waiting to do something to me all without saying a word I knew I probably shouldn't ignore it
anymore I was scared and confused so I decided to approach the hotel staff about the situation first before I went so far as to just call the police the man hadn't actually done anything to physically harm me so I doubt that there was anything that they would have been able to do anyways I explained my discomfort in the fact that I had seen the man loitering near my room multiple times and they were actually understanding and assured me that they would keep an eye on things for the next couple of days I stayed close to
the hotel and inside my room for the most part I even considered cutting my trip short but I didn't want to let fear dictate my choices this was supposed to be my time to heal and I didn't want to let some freak of a man ruin it as a person traveling alone as I was I was determined to just reclaim my sense of security unfortunately every day I was there I saw that guy sometimes he would be in the lobby other times in the hallway or near my room and occasionally he would be at the
restaurant he even managed to come into the gym the few times that I randomly decided to work out it was as if he was playing a twisted game of cat and mouse with me I became increasingly paranoid constantly looking over my shoulder wondering when and where he'd appear next one night after I'd been there for about a week I returned to my room after dinner and I was shocked to find a note had been slipped under my door the handwriting almost looked like it was hurried and barely legible and all it said was watching you
my heart raised as I read the note over and over again I had to know that it was from him I immediately called the front desk and reported the note the staff told me that they were taking the situation very seriously and advised me to just lock my door stay in the room and wait for them to check the security tapes they assured me that they'd find the man to get the police involved if necessary I sat in my room waiting anxiously for someone to tell me that the man was being kicked out or even
that he was being arrested and that I'd be okay minutes turned into hours and the sense of dread only intensified what if the staff couldn't find the guy what if he was waiting for me somewhere in the hotel what if he was in my room and I just didn't know it almost felt like I was being hunted finally a knock at my door broke the silence it was the hotel manager along with the security guard they informed me that they had found the man who was in the process of being escorted off the premises they
assured me that he wouldn't be allowed back in the hotel and that they were involving the police to be sure all necessary steps were being taken to resolve the the issue and I was relieved but still shaken I thanked the hotel staff for their quick response and for believing me when I told them something was wrong I was later contacted by a detective who informed me that the man was arrested after they found multiple pictures of me in his coat pocket as it turned out the man had been stalking me for almost a year without
me ever knowing his apartment was filled with pictures of me in the town that I lived in doing everyday things there were even pictures of me at my mom's funeral pictures of me in my house taken through my windows I have no idea how I never noticed that someone was constantly following me but I guess realizing when I did before he tried anything physical was better than realizing too late he was charged with aggravated stalking and looking back this experience taught me the importance of trusting my instincts and taking action when I feel [Music] unsafe
working in a hotel isn't the most glamorous job in the world it's actually pretty far from that but when I needed a job there was an opening at the local hotel that gave it to me right away I was 18 and freshly out of high school and I decided against College because I was in my do the opposite of everything your parents want you to do stage of my life granted I know not everyone has to go to college to be successful but in my case I can't help but wish that I had maybe then
I wouldn't have to go through all the horrible things my job brought into my life there were small incidents that happened within the first few months that I found uncomfortable at best gross men hitting on me asking me how much it would cost for me to join them for the night then there was the actual physical disgusting stuff I worked at the front desk but we were severely short staffed constantly so I did housekeeping for about a month and let me me tell you it was truly horrifying I've seen pretty much every bodily fluid on
almost every inch of a room at one point or another I finally had to tell my manager that I was going to quit if I had to clean another room and he assured me that that wouldn't be necessary anymore and my job would be easy from there on out it was around 2 in the morning during an intense snowstorm no one had checked in for hours and I figured the rest of the night would be relatively calm maybe even quiet I heard the door open and the Bell that hung off of it rang loudly and
insteed two guys they were wearing large heavy coats and they stopped in their heavy work boots to get the snow off of them they were laughing about something and immediately stopped when they saw me sitting at the front desk their smiles even dropped from their faces they made a weird face at each other and walked up to the desk slowly I put on my fake customer service smile and tried my best to seem friendly and helpful but I was tired and worried wored it would show they didn't have a reservation so I booked them a
room standard two queen beds I thought everything seemed pretty normal with them and until as they were walking away I heard them start talking about how goodlooking they thought I was and with me being freshly 18 I figured that that was something I would have to start getting used to so I brushed it off and continued on with my night I was reading my book when I heard someone enter the lobby again it was one of the men I mentioned before he walked up to the front desk and leaned over it getting way closer than
I was comfortable with he wre of beer and cigarettes and I asked him if there was anything I could help him with I was hoping it was something simple and that he'd be leaving back to his room as quickly as possible but life doesn't work like that he told me the shower drain wasn't working in their room and that he needed someone to fix it immediately I tried calling maintenance but of course they weren't going to answer I politely told the man the soonest anyone was going to be able to fix it was the next
morning he started getting really mad saying stuff like he was going to complain to my manager and leave bad reviews by the time he started actually screaming I decided it would be more worth it for me to check it out than deal with him waking everyone else up in the hotel that would mean more complaints and me possibly even getting fired granted it wasn't the smartest idea for me to enter a room alone with two men but I wasn't thinking straight I was exhausted and just wanted his rant to end something that I would end
up regretting for the rest of my life he led me over to his room and I asked him and his friend to wait outside while I check the shower drain they obliged and everything seemed normal at first I was leaning over the bathtub and turned on the faucet the water ran down perfectly fine I yelled out that it was working normally and just as I started to stand up I heard the door slam behind me I turned around quickly and screamed when I was met with a larger of the two men standing in the bathroom
with me he grabbed me by my shoulders and slammed me against the wall be quiet or I'll make this a lot worse than it has to be he almost started to laugh when he said that I started to scream as loud as I could hoping one of the other guests would hear me he released one of his hands to cover my mouth with one of my arms free I did something I'm sure that he didn't expect me to do in that moment I upholstered my concealed handgun I held it not far from his side and
pulled the trigger I knew I had no time to hesitate my ears started to ring like crazy he released me and fell to the ground my adrenaline was pumping and I barely noticed the door open and the other man came in I pointed the gun at him and told him to leave or I'd shoot him and he knew that I meant it when he saw his friend bleeding out on the floor in front of me he didn't even say a word before running out of that hotel room faster than I ever would have thought that
he could run I stepped over the man's body on the floor I had no idea if he was alive or dead but I just had to get out of that room I stepped out into the hallway leaving bloody Footprints behind me realizing that I must have stepped in some of his blood as I went over him multiple guests were standing out in the hallway demanding to know why they had just heard what sounded like a gunshot a woman in the room next door must have seen the look on my face because she immediately came over
to make sure I was okay the police were there not long after and the room was cordoned off the man was taken to the hospital and surprisingly wasn't dead and didn't end up dying an investigation was done but thankfully security cameras did show proof that I was lured into the room by the men and they did reenter after I asked them to stay in the hallway the audio was very clear and I was never charged with anything regarding the shooting the other man was found only a couple of miles away his truck had gotten stuck
in a snowbank they were both charged with kidnapping the man who quartered me in the bathroom was also charged with assault and both were sentenced to 3 years in prison as well as given no contact orders upon their release I quit my job not long after and decided to enroll and College I'm currently studying English and I hope to get into writing one day and that's why I sent this in and it's truly felt cathartic if there's one thing I can advise anyone to do in this scary world that we live in it's this learn
how to protect yourself it could save your life one [Music] day I remember it being a kind of cold night in October the day had been long and I was exhausted from a work trip that had me driving for hours now for context I was a somewhat smaller man and always considered myself a sort of pessimist I decided to pull over it what looked to be just a run-ofthe-mill hotel that was right off the freeway it was one of those places that people on road trips could stay without having to drive into a big city
to get a few hours of sleep the hotel looked like it had seen better days the sign outside read vacant and I didn't have to wonder why the parking lot was practically empty save for a few rusted up beaters I parked my own car and made my way to the lobby inside I was greeted by a sort of disinterested clerk who was too busy paying attention to his phone to even look up at me I paid for a room and was handed a key barely receiving a word during the whole interaction it was kind of
weird as I made my way to the room I couldn't shake the feeling that that something was really off about this place but I was too exhausted to care though my room was no better than the rest of the place and the curtains were torn and stained in multiple places and the air smelled like milde I decided to take a quick shower and just practically collapsed on the bed my plan was to catch a few hours of sleep wake up and get out of there before Sunrise I must have slept for no more than an
hour when I was jolted awake by a loud argument coming from the room next door it sounded like a couple people arguing over something I couldn't quite make out I got out of bed and pressed my ear against the really thin wall that separated our rooms and I could hear the sort of muffled Where's My Money Durk there was a very Gruff voice demanding this and I remember specifically someone saying back I swear Joey I I'll get it to you by tomorrow and the other guy who I'm guessing was probably that Derek person sounded incredibly
scared it was kind of surreal in the moment and I could hear the conversation escalating and it became clear that someone was going to get hurt I knew I had to do something but fear pretty much had me Frozen there I contemplated calling the police but didn't have any concrete information to really provide them and not to get political either but I also know police can also just make situations worse and just as I was considering my options the argument turned violent I heard a loud crash echoing through the walls followed by what I can
only assume were punches being thrown again the walls were almost paper thin and I could hear everything am I completely sure I heard punches no but one can assume considering that they were both just yelling at each other Derek clearly didn't have the upper hand I exited my room and sort of just tiptoed to the door peeking through the peephole in the neighboring room the hotel was old and obviously didn't bother changing to oneway p pulse and what I saw at that moment gave me chills Derek was being held down by two men both much
larger and a lot scarier than he was he was bruised and there was blood dripping from his nose and out of his mouth his eyes were swollen shut and tears were running down his face as I could now hear him begging for his life the men had their backs to the door and I knew that I had no choice but at that moment to contact somebody it would have been wrong for me to not set my own personal opinions aside when someone else's life was in danger I went back to my room immediately grabbed my
cell phone and died 911 and I whispered to the dispatcher about the situation I explained my location as best I could it was hard considering I didn't know the area at all my heart was pounding in my chest as I crept back to that peephole trying to just keep tabs on the nightmare that was happening right next door and just as I looked I saw saw one of the men draw a gun from his waistband Panic surged through me and I sank to the floor I was scared and couldn't risk them seeing me or hearing
me through the door the sound of those gunshots pierced the air and I could hear dereck's screams of Agony tears started to well up in my eyes as I felt completely helpless and the minutes dragged Dawn as I huddled on the floor just inside my room the sound of Derek's suffering was one of the the worst things I'd ever heard he was moaning and crying out in pain I listened as the other men made fun of him they found him weak for showing that he was in that type of pain and I found that incredibly
disgusting considering that they just shot him multiple times and I heard more shuffling in the room next door and was relieved to hear what sounded like the men leaving after what felt like a small eternity I actually heard the sirens approaching the hotel relief washed over me as as I looked through my own peephole and saw the police arrived followed by paramedics the officers pounded on the door the room next to me demanding that whoever was inside surrender I guess they hadn't realized the men had already left the only response they got was Derek now
pleading for them to help him I heard them break down the door and call for paramedics I was full of fear and anxiety as I waited for the officers to clear the scene and hopefully get this guy to help he needed finally an officer knocked on my door identifying himself I opened the door and was eager to tell them everything that I had heard and seen they told me that they'd have to take me down to the station to make a formal statement and I found that odd but I did what I had to do
I packed up my stuff from my room and headed down to the police station and as I sat there in that police station that night providing my statement to a detective for what seemed like the H hundredth time I couldn't help but think about whether or not that Derek guy was okay I never met him or even interacted with him once but somehow I just felt a connection with him in those split moments and in my eyes no one deserves to die in such a violent way just because they probably owed someone money I wish
that there was more I could have done but being how small I am not trained in really anything if I would have intervened I probably would have been severely injured probably even killed and no matter how many people like to say that they would I just couldn't risk my own life for someone I didn't even know I was informed later that night that that guy Derek had passed away not long after arriving at the hospital his gunshot wounds were pretty severe there was nothing they could do the detective assured me that I had done the
right thing by calling the police and that my testimony would be important in bringing the men responsible to Justice if and when they were found unfortunately as I'm writing this it's been almost 9 years and there's been no news on this case I'm sad Derrick's family hasn't received Justice for his murder the events of that night have left me completely traumatized but I have to remember how lucky I am to still have my own life that's something that that guy will never have and the only thing separating the two of us that night was a
wall different life decisions lead us to the same place at the same time but still somehow worlds away from one [Music] another so just to kind of give you a picture I'm not a small woman I'm over 6 ft tall and I weigh around 200 lb that paired with the fact that a lot of that weight is muscle doesn't make me the most obvious Target but even though that's what I always told myself it didn't make it true I guess in the eyes of an evil man a woman is a woman and I was in
the wrong place at the wrong time I had something he wanted and I think we all know what I'm talking about without me having to say it I usually work from home but every so often I have to take a refresher course with my company so they can make sure that I still know what I'm doing and track my progress I think it's a little unnecessary for someone who's been doing the job for 10 years like I have but I understand it's part of making sure the company runs smoothly and if I have to sacrifice
one weekend every 6 months I try not to complain they always set me up in a relatively nice hotel and give me vouchers for food so it's not too bad only this time when I got the email about having to take the course I wasn't too pleased to find out that I'd have to drive into the city during a storm the course was around 3 hours away and the drive kind of sucked already but it had to be done I took my time getting to my hotel it may have taken me double the time time
to get there and I drove way slower than I probably needed to but I wanted to get there in one piece and was happy when I finally pulled up to my destination exhausted but happy the rain was still coming down like crazy it almost felt like it was following me I was actually pretty upset when I got out of the car and found myself standing in front of a gross sleazy Motel there was some sedy characters standing out front and there was not one single bit of me that wanted to spend the night there but
seeing as it was already 10: p.m. and I didn't have the means to stay anywhere else I really had no choice I walked into the small room that would usually be called a lobby but calling that would be an insult to lobbies everywhere it was just a room with a guy sitting in recliner with a laptop and a TV tray I told him I was checking in and gave him my name he asked if I was traveling alone and I instinctually said yes my first mistake he asked for payment and I quickly explained to him
that my company was paying for it I did notice a brief moment where he looked a little confused but he wiped that look off his face within seconds and apologized and said that he had forgotten he typed something into the computer and told me that I was good to go I was given the key to my room in a small paper map on how to get there I opened the door to my room and was immediately met with this stench of cigarettes my mom smoked when I was a kid so the smell didn't bring back
any happy memories I'll just say that I closed and locked the door behind me and everything in me told me to turn around and get back in my car and just go home but I like my job and didn't want to risk losing it I inspected the gross comforter and just ended up taking it off the bed altogether I sat down on the sheets and decided to call my boss to ask why they put me in such a disgusting place I knew it was late but she and I had become pretty good friends which made
me feel like calling at that hour wasn't completely unprofessional the phone rang over and over but she never answered I left her a message and hung up the phone and I just sat there in silence for a while I didn't want to lay down in that bed or even take my shoes off in this place I was pretty sure that there was a blood stain on the pillowcase and I knew that there was a 99% chance that if I looked to see if there were any bed bugs I'd probably find them and after around 30
minutes of contemplating what I should do I decided to sleep in my car would probably be better than spending any more time in that room so that was exactly what I did I grabbed my bag and exited the room as quietly as possible I was grossed out beyond belief but I still wanted to be courteous to the people in the rooms around me and not wake them when I closed the door behind me I was relieved to see the men that were standing a few Doors Down When I had pulled up were no longer there
I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but being cautious isn't a crime I loaded my my bag into my car and hopped in the back seat to try and get some sleep before the refresher course the next day I don't know how long I was asleep before I was woken up by the sound of men talking not far from where I was laying in my car I peaked out from behind the driver's seat to notice the man who checked me in earlier standing outside the room that I had abandoned not long before
he was talking to the other two men that I had seen when I pulled up I watched them and was horrified when he pulled out a key and began unlocking the door to my room I could have tried to make excuses for what they were doing but in that moment my heart was going so fast that it was obvious they turned the knob slowly and crept in without turning on the light I realized quickly that the second they figured out I wasn't in there my car would be the first place that they' looked and I'd
be in danger I tried my hardest to be as quiet as I climbed back into the front seat of the car I I turned the key in the ignition and heard shouting and saw the lights going in the room the three men came running out shouting something at me in a language that I didn't understand in that moment the car wouldn't start it was completely dead I tried over and over but nothing was happening the man approached my window and told me to get out I obviously wasn't planning on doing that I took out my
phone and I began dialing 911 thankfully the operator answered and I frantically told told her what was going on and where I was she told me that the earliest an officer could get to me was about 20 minutes apparently Services were delayed because of the storm she told me that she'd stay on the line with me and I appreciated her for doing that I just want to say that I look back on the situation and honestly believe that she's the reason that I made it through this whole ordeal alive and I'm not more traumatized than
I already was and these men they were Relentless they tried everything to get access access to the car they tried breaking the windows and even got a crowbar to try and pry the door open after 10 minutes of failing to get into the car one of the men got frustrated and jumped on the hood and started to smash the windshield in with his foot I guess that's the moment that my fight or flight kicked in and my reaction wasn't flight the operator reassured me that I could do what I needed to do since my life
was in danger I remember even telling her that I might kill these men and I meant that in that moment and at that moment I was fully prepared to end a life I opened the door I stepped out I don't think they were expecting that but they leapt at me immediately nonetheless thankfully all three of the men probably were weighing 100 lb soaking wet they were incredibly skinny and I like to assume that they had the mentality that because they were men they could just overpower me but they were wrong the first man who came
at me me I threw him to the ground his head smacked against the pavement and it did enough damage to ensure that I don't think he was trying to get back up the second man tried taking me to the ground but he was also unsuccessful I grabbed him by his hair pulled him off of me as best I could his other friend had a knife and I felt it cut into my back the pain wasn't too bad but the shock of it led me to let go of the man that I had previously gotten a
hold of and before I knew it I was on the ground being kicked I was trying to protect my head mostly out of instinct at that moment from my periphery I could see the blue and red flashing lights in the distance and I felt a relief wash over me even as I was being beaten I reached my arm out and grabbed one of the men by the ankle I pulled on his leg as hard as I could and he eventually fell to the ground the other man ran when he saw the police and out of
pure adrenaline and anger I got up and just started pounding down on this now defenseless man in the face over and over and over we were just both soaking wet from the rain and his blood was starting to come off of his face into the asphalt and I didn't even hear the officer telling me to stop in that moment I just felt a hand on my shoulder and turned and saw their face the man that I had beat was now unconscious and they eventually took him away in an ambulance I was also taken to the
hospital the beating I took caused some serious bruises and the cut but thankfully there were no major injuries I got around 10 stitches on the wound on my back it wasn't pleasant but I was just happy to be alive my manager ended up calling me back not long after I had gotten to the hospital she was completely frantic and had no idea what I was talking about in my voicemail she said that she had booked me at a really nice hotel in the same city and she had no idea why that I had ended up
where I did did she sent me the info to the correct hotel and I realized immediately what happened both places had the same name but just a kind of different spelling and I ended up at the wrong place the guy in the lobby had a confused look on his face because he actually didn't have any idea what I was talking about he just pretended to so he could check me into a room that he would have access to single female traveling alone the perfect Target the drive home in a rental car later that day after
being discharged from the hospital and I decided to take some time off from work my car was towed back into town and repaired at the expense of the company that I worked for I guess there was some serious damage done to the engine presumably done to get me from getting away the company I worked for was actually very supportive after everything that had happened I was also pleased to find out that they caught the other attacker who had run away that night apparently he was hiding out at his mother 's house I was asked to
come in to ID him which wasn't the easiest thing I've ever had to do but I did it anything to make sure that those men couldn't hurt me again I guess this wasn't the first time something similar has happened in that Motel only they could never really prove it before my incident and many of these men were just some strung out drug addicts hence why they were so small the trial had been delayed due to the lockdowns but they were all charged with attempted kidnapping and aggravated assault and are actually currently awaiting trial in jail
I'm hoping for justice and for all three of those men to spend a good amount of time behind bars I also know I'm just one of the lucky ones I don't know what I would have done or what would have happened if I was a smaller woman or if no one had ever come to help me would I even be here today would I even be able to tell the story I don't know but I'm grateful I am and I'm grateful I [Music] survived so I was staying at a hotel with my mom when I
was around 16 we were in town for a concert and I really wanted to go swimming at the indoor pool but my mom was adamant that she didn't want to go with me I told her that she didn't have to and that I could go alone but she was hesitant about that she thought that I was going to get kidnapped after something but I thought that she was just being overproductive and ridiculous I got my swimsuit on and told my mom that I was going to the pool whether she liked it or not and she
yelled at me that I was being some brat and I slammed the door behind me I made my way downstairs and through the hall that led to the pool I needed a room key to get in and was glad that I had one on me I entered the pool room and was kind of disappointed to see so many other people in there there were at least 10 kids in the pool and even more adults in the hot tub I didn't want to go back to my room though because I knew my mom would make some
snotty comment and I just really didn't want to hear it at that moment I set my stuff down on a nearby chair and decided to go in the pool I went in the deep end to keep away from the smaller children and it was nice it was a heated pool so I wasn't freezing like I usually would be in other places and I was hanging out in the pool for around 10 minutes when I noticed a man walking alone he was probably in his 60s I would say and I remember feeling kind of creeped out
by him just on the initial glance he hadn't done anything or he didn't even really look at me it was just sort of a feeling that I immediately got from him a feeling that you get when you know someone had bad intentions without really having to do anything he got into the pool and made his way over to the deep end near me he was only 5 ft away when he started making some small talk with me he was asking me questions about school and just different things that I was interested in in I tried
ignoring him but he was adamant on getting me to talk to him I tried politely telling him that I don't talk to strangers but he did the thing that creeps always do and introduces himself saying that we weren't strangers anymore almost like Pennywise and he starts to laugh I was getting weirded out to the extreme and told this guy to just please leave me alone and I got out of the pool and actually decided to jump in the hot tub I thought maybe that I'd be safer around some adults I was horrified to see the
man get out of the pool and slip his gross body into the hot tub he sat right next to me and made this moaning sound and mentioned how great the water felt I knew that that was just an excuse for the sound that he made because he did it only when his leg touched mine I moved to the other end of the hot tub and he made a face at me like he was sad or something I sat there trying not to look at him and just enjoy being in the warm water but he had
to ruin it by being a creep again I felt someone's foot touch mine it was like a caressing feeling not just an accidental touch I couldn't see through the water because of the Jets creating the bubbles but it was obvious who it was I looked up at the man and he had this almost smirk on his face and he actually mouthed something at me that I didn't pick up at first but when he did it a second time I understood him perfectly you like that I stood up out of the water at that moment and
yelled at him calling him a pervert he seemed offended and I told the adults in the hot tub what he had just said to me and how he was trying to play footsie with me and thankfully a few of the other men got the man and actually took him out of the pool room I thanked them and they assured me that I would be safe in there with them their wives comforted me and asked if I wanted them to walk me back to my room but I was still being stubborn and didn't want to prove
my mother right so I just stayed I was there for another hour before they had to leave there were a couple of other families in there with me still so I still felt safe I had my eyes closed as I leaned back against the wall of the hot tub when I felt the water shift in a way that meant someone else had just gotten in I opened my eyes and felt like my heart was falling out of my chest when I saw that man from earlier he sat down across from me and gave me that
same awful creepy smirk like before only this time he whispered a warning to me he told me my room number and said if I screamed or made any sound that he would go to my room and do something terrible to my mom I was scared I wanted to scream and cry but I was also just 16 and didn't realized that I had more control over this situation than I thought I sat there in silence and watched in horror as he came and sat next to me he was so close that I felt his leg press
firmly against my own he set his hand on my thigh eye and tears started coming down my face and that's when it finally hit me I didn't have to put up with that I didn't have to sit there and let this man do this to me I stood up as fast as I could and jumped out of that hot tub like my life depended on it which technically I guess it did he was still seated when I pulled my leg back and kicked him in the back of the head as hard as I could the
other families began yelling one of the women there came rushing over and asked what just happened when I explained everything she started yelling at the now almost concussed man he was grabbing the back of his head and was clearly Furious he started to Lunge at us and I was thankful when the woman who came over leaned down and grabbed at his hair and started to pull another woman who seemingly came out of nowhere kicked him directly in the face and this time and I kid you not knock this dude out it turns out she had
been overhearing everything they were about to to get in the hot tub and do God knows what to him when I just decided to run I ran down the hall and up the stairs I bangged on her hotel room door and my mom answered I was sobbing and she pulled me inside and was frantically asking me what happened I was barely able to tell her while choking back tears but when I did she was Furious she told me to stay in the room and that she'd be back next thing I knew she came back with
blood on her clothes as she told me the man wouldn't be messing with any girls again I asked her what happened but she wouldn't tell me and the police came knocking on our door later that night and they questioned both of us my mother had already changed her clothes and they never asked her about her involvement the man was found floating unconscious surrounded by his own blood in the hot tub unfortunately he survived he was arrested and taken to the hospital and we didn't get any updates on his condition and we were just glad about
it because we didn't really want to know and frankly didn't care he was charged with the assault of a minor this also wasn't his first offense given the state that we were in so I know his sentence was much longer we were happy to get the Justice not just for me but also the other girls that probably hurt in the past and possibly the countless others that hadn't come forward I had to go to therapy for this my mom has lived with extreme guilt for letting me go to that pool that day alone I've tried
telling her that it isn't her fault but there's nothing I'll ever be able to say to make her feel better about it I'm sad that there are people in the world that are like that and even sadder that most of them never get [Music] caught so it was the summer of 2012 and I was in my early 20s living in a small town that seemed maybe a little stuck in the past my group of friends friends and I were always trying to find new and exciting ways to spend our time and unfortunately curiosity got the
better of us you see we heard rumors about an abandoned Hotel on the outskirts of town and we decided that it might be interesting or even a little creepy to go exploring it I guess when you're bored of your mundane life even something terrifying is better than staying in bed all night little did we know that this decision would lead to a night that we would never forget the hotel had been vacant for as long as I could remember it was a massive imposing building that stood at the edge of the woods gradually being consumed
back by Nature the plants surrounding it were so overgrown that it was almost hard to even find a way in stories about the hotel varied from person to person but one thing was consistent you were never supposed to go there after dark but we were idiots and figured that we had some kind of strength and numbers so we packed our flashlights and headed out just as the sun was setting it was really foggy that night I remember my friends and I gathered at the edge of the woods and I remember my heart was beating really
fast at that moment I started getting second thoughts about being there but everyone was so excited I didn't want to be the person to bring everyone else down as we approached the hotel our initial impression was that it was just a really eerie structure and that it probably wasn't as dangerous as everyone made it seem I even thought that maybe it was just a scary story our parent par would tell us to just keep us from actually going there its windows were all shattered and the once grand entrance was now just this huge gaping hole
the graffiti covered walls and the overgrown bushes added to the already very creepy vibe that I was getting from just stepping foot inside the building we cautiously entered flashlights in hand inside the lobby was filled with torn up old furniture and The Faded wallpaper peeled away from the walls we kept talking to each other about how what it must have been like when it was open and how weird it was that it was just left to rot we explored the ground floor first poking our heads into the dark room my friend started telling ghost stories
to try to freak the rest of us out every creaking floorboard made us jump but we laughed it off as we made our way up the steps to the next floor once we were on the second floor we stumbled on some stuff that made it obvious that we weren't the only ones who had ventured into that place sleeping bags empty food cans and Scattered belongings made it clear there were probably people squatting there it was disconcerting but not entirely unexpected after all an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere where he wouldn't have to worry
about police would be the perfect place to stay if you were homeless we decided to push forward moving to the third floor and then to the fourth we heard the fourth floor was the spookiest so we wasted no time getting up there the higher we ascended the more damage we noticed the floorboards were falling apart and the building just seemed more sketchy up there we were making our way through the different rooms trying to be careful not to fall through the floor when I started to feel as if though someone was watching us I dismissed
the feeling Bell I thought it was probably just my mind playing tricks on me I'm sure anyone exploring a creepy abandoned location probably would feel the same way as we reached the top floor we discovered an open door that led to a rooftop patio it was a spectacular view but something was off we all got very quiet and then as clear as day we heard a muffled conversation coming from a nearby room our hearts were racing and we cautiously approached the room I started to beg my friends to just come with me and we could
all leave but they were determined to find out if there were other people there the door was slightly a jar and we peaked in inside there were three men sitting around a small table that was also practically falling apart it was also fairly obvious that they were getting ready to do something substances I think I'm not sure exactly what it was they were startled to see us and for a moment we all froze my friend Alex stepped forward and tried to strike up a conversation explaining that we had only come to explore the building he
was just met with Sil Ence and I could feel the tension in the room grow thicker one of the men finally spoke up and then this gross voice filled with some hostility said you shouldn't have come here and his words sent a shiver down my spine I realized that we had unintentionally found ourselves in a dangerous situation far beyond what I'm sure any of us could handle this was technically their home and to them we were the trespassers another one of the men was also VIs visibly agitated the man pulled out a knife starting to
come towards Alex with it he managed to back away fast enough to avoid getting stabbed but the other two men got up quickly to back up their friend Alex yelled at us to run and we all started sprinting down the steps the wood crumbled as each of us ran one after another Alex was in the back and the three men weren't far behind just as we were nearing the bottom floor Alex tripped and fell down a flight of stairs I watched in horror as he landed with a thud on the lobby floor he seemed to
be unconscious and we were all screaming his girlfriend Beth had rushed over to him we stood between him and the three men but my mind kept telling me that we were all going to die that night I looked at the men and wondered what was going to happen next I hope your friend isn't dead we weren't trying to hurt we you you just we just wanted to scare you a little bit we do it with all these kids who coming to our house here he put his knife away that he had brandished earlier we just
didn't want anyone coming back that's all just get your friend get out of here and get some help we're really sorry just just don't send anybody back here all right I was looking into their eyes in the little bit of light that we had and realized just how scared they were too I knew that they were telling the truth truth and really weren't there to hurt us it was just one of those Wrong Place Wrong Time moments if anyone was at fault it was us we should have just stayed away from that place to begin
with the three men walked back up the stairs and I looked back down at Alex who now had his head in Beth's lap she was begging for him to wake up and none of us had phone service and we quickly realized that we all have to carry him pretty much back to the car thankfully it wasn't too far just at the edge of the woods but we're still around an hour away from the nearest hospital though but we really had no other options the car ride was hard Alex didn't wake up during the whole ride
to the hospital when we finally made it inside they immediately took him back apparently he had a brain bleed when he woke up about a week later he realized that he really couldn't feel the lower portion of his body and he had been permanently paralyzed from the waist down Beth begged us to go to the police about what had happened she was Furious over the permanent challenges Alex would have to face for the rest of his life and after talking to the rest of our friends we decided to leave the decision up to him and
being the incredible selfless guy he is he decided against reporting them to the police he said that the only thing it would do was ruin their lives and that one altered life was enough they never meant to hurt him and he knew that Alex was released from the hospital a few weeks later and struggled a lot with his disability for a long while he and Beth decided to end their relationship not long after that she never really understood why he refused to report the men to the police and that decision was the reason I guess
they broke up we were all just happy that even out of the relationship she honored his decision and just kept quiet it's been a little over 11 years and not all of us are still close friends Alex and I actually ended up falling in love and getting married Beth is still friends with us although not as close as we once were Alex doesn't let his life be defined by his disability that night changed our lives forever but pardon me even if it seems wrong is grateful it happened if it hadn't who knows if we'd be
[Music] together so long story short I was kidnapped it wasn't something I'd ever expected to happen to me but it did and it was the most horrific thing I'd ever been through and the memories of that day have stayed with me even years later now I feel like I should give some background I was 25 and I had just quit my job it was a boring cubicle job that made me feel like part of me was just dying inside no offense to anyone with a similar job it's just that mine was so boring and so
monotonous that I had actually started to just hate my life more and more every time I went in there so I quit without even giving 2 weeks notice booked a plane out of the country that left the next week packed a small bag of Essentials and set off to do a solo backpacking trip I don't want to mention the country that I went to because I don't believe it's an unsafe place to visit and I don't want this story to hurt its reputation in any way I got off the plane and headed to the hostel
that I had booked the day before I walked in and and it was gross like all the reviews had actually said but I couldn't afford anything else in that particular country I got into my bed and fell asleep I was really hoping that one good sleep would get rid of the jet lag that I would be able to function properly the next day I woke up at around 5:00 a.m. which wasn't too bad I wanted to sleep a little later but my brain wouldn't let me I got out of bed and grabbed my backpack and
headed out for the day the goal was to try the local street food I watched a lot of videos about how great it was in that country and figured it was probably one of the safer things that I could do as a Solo Traveler I spent most of the morning trying to find somewhere that was serving food early but didn't have much luck throughout the day I noticed a lot of the locals staring at me as I walk the streets of their country completely alone at around 2: p.m. I found a vendor along a busy
street that was selling a type of fruit that I'd never tried before I bought some and sat in the curb if few feet away and the fruit tasted amazing after a couple of minutes something seemed really off though I started to feel nauseous and had this feeling of being intensely tired I tried to stand up I thought maybe walking around would help but when I lifted myself off the curb my legs felt like Jell-O beneath me I fell back down and started to call out for help I was going to black out and I knew
it I knew that would be pretty bad considering that I was completely alone and no one was ever going to come help me and just before my eyes closed I saw people pull up in front of me the door open and a couple of men got out and Stood Beside Me and it was at that point that I lost all memory I woke up and what looked to be a relatively nice hotel room there were two beds a large flat screen TV and a large bay window that looked out onto the city I could tell
that we were in a room high up in the building so there wouldn't be an option to escape through that window I looked around the room to try to see if there was anyone else in there but I was sitting next to a dresser and couldn't see the door that led out onto what I'm guessing was the hallway I spoke out is anyone there be quiet he'll hear you it's better if he thinks you're asleep I could hear the voice that had answered me but couldn't see the person I knew it was a woman and
she seemed to have a slight accent who's he now I was desperate to know more but she just shushed me immediately just please be quiet we'll both get in trouble for you talking so I stopped I was confused and scared but I knew well enough to listen to someone when they say that I'll get hurt for making noise my hands were tied behind my back and I shifted side to side while I tried to get free I made a couple of thumping sounds and I stopped the second I started to hear footsteps they were coming
from the bathroom just before before the door open the girl offered me one more warning pretend you're still asleep he only likes to play when you're awake I closed my eyes and tried to calm my breath sounds but what she had just said to me had made my heart be faster than it ever had sitting there on that hotel floor I wish so badly that I had never quit my job that I had just stayed and worked in that depressing cubicle because then at least I wouldn't be there wondering what if I was about to
be tortured or even die in the next few minutes I heard the bathroom door open the footsteps vibrated the floor and I felt the person get closer to me with each step they took I wanted to scream when I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder they shook me hard I kept my eyes closed and continued to pretend to be unconscious they shook me harder and harder to the point where it began to hurt but I was determined to live determined to never find out what the woman meant by play if I open my
eyes their hand left my shoulder when they realized that I wasn't going to wake up and knew that whoever this was was going to her next he moved further away from me and I listened as he began to shake her violently she wasn't able to keep up the act and she yelled out in pain and I couldn't help but open one of my eyes to see what was going on this man was large tall and heavy and I was scared when I watched him carry her away she was just some petite woman dirty and disheveled
and she looked like she had been there for quite some time and the man's back was turned towards me as he brought her into the bathroom she looked me in the eyes and mouthed two words at me get out the door closed behind them and hearing her beg him not to hurt her made me want to cry loud music started to play behind the door and I knew that if I was was ever going to get a chance to escape it was going to be that moment I was able to stand up by leaning my
back against the wall and sliding myself up once I was on my feet I quietly made my way over to the door there was one lock and I had one chance to open it and run for my life I wasn't sure if the man was going to be able to hear the door open but if he could I had to act fast I held the lock between my teeth and turned it until I heard a click I turned around and grabbed the handle with my hand still tied behind my back the handle turned and the
door opened the music in the bathroom suddenly stopped and I knew at that moment that I needed to run the bathroom door opened and the man began yelling I sprinted down the hallway and managed to slip into an elevator there were people inside looking at me with wide eyes I was begging them to get help to call police but not a single one of them could understand what I was saying the elevator stopped at the lobby and I just rushed to the front desk thankfully there was someone there who understood what I was saying they
were able to cut me loose that were tied around my wrists and put me in one of the offices in the back where I waited 20 minutes for local authorities to arrive I was questioned by a few officers who had a hard time understanding me I led them to the room that I was being kept in and when they opened the door and searched the room the man and that woman were gone on in that moment I felt heartbroken but not for me I wanted so desperately to help her she was so scared and looked
so broken I really thought that she'd still be in there and that maybe I could help her they found my backpack in one of the drawers and basically told me that I could just leave no investigation was going to be done considering that I guess there was no evidence the hotel had no security cameras and they couldn't just go off of my word I headed straight from my hotel to the airport and got on the next flight that I could home I didn't want to spend one more night in that country I arrived home and
decided to stay with my parents for quite some time I gave up my apartment and spent well over a year too terrified to even leave the house I couldn't even sleep because every time I closed my eyes I thought of that woman I tried going to the authorities in my country but they also said that there was really nothing they could do and I felt helpless I wish I could say in the end that my life got better and that I learned something from this experience but that would be a lie I had crippling anxiety
and can barely function outside of the house I only started to grocery shop for myself again just this past year I'm 28 now and I still live with my parents I work from home doing a job that requires no human interaction I should have kept that job had a boring life anything would be better than the hell that I'm now living through hey friends thanks for listening click that notification Bell to be alerted of all future narrations I release new videos every Monday Wednesday and Friday at 700 p.m. EST and there are super fun live
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podcast all links in the description below thanks so much friends and remember avoid Jane Wick