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Speaker 1: My family lives across the states in a small house.

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I try to visit often, given I usually get a

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lot of vacation time from my work. The drive is

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something I find relaxing, so I don't mind the extra

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couple days it takes to get there. Most of the time,

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I try to stay at one hotel or motel along

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the way, and when I do, I just check in,

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sleep and get back on the road as soon as

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I'm able. It's mainly because the areas along the drive

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are bare and run down, usually in the middle of nowhere.

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I find it hard to feel safe since I'm not

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used to being in those kinds of areas. Last year,

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I took the same road trip I always did to

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my parents' house during the holiday season. I started my

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drive early I want to stay around one or two AM,

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and drove for almost twenty hours straight, aside from stopping

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for food and coffee a few times. By then, it

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was eleven PM and I was exhausted and struggling to

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stay awake behind the wheel. I was just under eight

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hours away, but I couldn't go much further. I was

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in the middle of nowhere, so whatever the next possible

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place to stay at was I planned on taking it.

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About twenty minutes further, I turned off into a small town.

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It pretty much just had a motel and gas station,

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but that was all I needed. I pulled into the

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mostly empty parking lot and walked over to the front desk.

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An older lady greeted me and made small talk. Then

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I got a room and headed back to my car

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so I could part closer to the door. I was

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extremely exhausted and left all my stuff in the car

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and just went inside. I didn't care about the room

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at all. I just went inside and immediately got in

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the shower so I could get ready for bed as

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soon as possible. During my quick five minute shower, I

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heard a few tapping sounds. They sounded like they were

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from outside, though maybe a tree branch knocking against the building.

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I thought nothing of it and got out, putting on

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the same comfortable clothes I was wearing, and then got

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in bed. I set an alarm on my phone so

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I wouldn't oversleep, and finally reached for the lamp and

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turned off the light.

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Speaker 2: Being at an old.

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Speaker 1: Run down motel in the middle of nowhere seemed irrelevant

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compared to how tired I was so I fell asleep

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without trouble, though I didn't stay asleep for long. I

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jumped awake, hearing something move in the darkness surrounding the bed.

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I sat up, staring toward the front door, but I

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could barely see anything. I was too scared to move

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and reach for the light, afraid.

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Speaker 2: Of what I might see.

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Speaker 1: It wasn't long before I heard something from the other

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side of the bed, outside the window. My heart was

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racing and I could feel myself starting to sweat as

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I was wide awake. At this point, I quickly turned

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back around and switched on the light. The room was empty,

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nothing seemed out of place until I noticed the closet

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door was cracked open. Everything was going through my mind,

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trying to understand every possibility.

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Speaker 2: Hello. I decided to.

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Speaker 1: Call out, but there was no response. Feeling like I

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may have just scared myself for no reason, I got

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up and slowly walked towards the closet. When I pulled

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the closet door more open, I was confused. A large

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bag was wedged between the back of the closet and

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the door, falling to the ground as I opened it further.

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Looking around, there was actually a whole stash of luggage, clothes, bags, appliances,

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all clearly belonging to someone, not the typical stuff you

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would see at a motel. While I was looking at

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all this stuff, I suddenly heard the window slam shut

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by my bed, followed by footsteps running away. I shivered

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and froze, then took this chance to grab my phone

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from the night stand and run out to my car.

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Almost just as I got inside and turned the car on,

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I looked up and made eye contact with a man

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standing right by the.

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Speaker 2: Door to the room.

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Speaker 1: He looked at me for a second, then rushed inside

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and grabbed one of the large bags from the closet

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and sprinted off behind the building. I was terrified and

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quickly drove closer to the front office, then ran inside

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to tell the woman what had happened. She contacted the

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police immediately and locked us both inside the office until

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they arrived. What we found out next was confusing, and

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the information came out over multiple weeks, but I'll try

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to explain it the best I can. The remaining bags

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in the closet were identified as they were found to

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belong to several individuals who were robbed within the past month.

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At several different motel locations in the surrounding area. It's

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likely that the man was using the room I was

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in as a place to temporarily stash the belongings, using

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the unlocked window to access the room. One of those bags, however,

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belonged to a young woman who was reported missing just

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a few weeks prior, and the officers believed the crimes

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are connected. But all the parted bags that were stolen

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were found inside that closet, so the bag that the

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man ran inside to grab was not accounted for. They

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questioned me on it multiple times, making sure I was

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confident that I saw him run out with another bag,

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and asking me the approximate size of it. In everything,

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my curiosity has really kept my mind from being able

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to forget that night, as I wonder what he planned

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on doing when he was outside the window while I

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was sleeping. I knew it was closed when I went

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to bed, so he had to have opened it while

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I was asleep, which is even creepier. I also wonder

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what was in that one bag that was so important

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that he needed to grab it before running off. I

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don't go on many vacations, nor do I stay at

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hotels often, but last year I had a problem occurr

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in my small house that required me to be away

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for several days for it to be fixed. Given the circumstances,

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I had to book a hotel nearby and stay there

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until further notice. I wasn't happy about it, but there

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wasn't anything I could do and nowhere else.

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Speaker 2: I could stay.

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Speaker 1: I looked for the absolute cheapest hotel in the area,

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trying to save as much money as possible. The one

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I went with was twenty five minutes away, but was

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half the price of the ones closer. Although I knew

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it was because the hotel was located in the lesser

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part of the town, the extra money saved more than

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made up for it in my mind. That was until

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I got there. The place was disgusting, at least on

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the outside. Trash was everywhere, and the building was very

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clearly not taken care of. The pictures online only showed

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the rooms in the lobby, but they looked clean and

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somewhat nice, so I was a little bit confused. I

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grabbed my small suitcase from my back seat and walked inside. Immediately.

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When entering, I was relieved. The lobby was very small,

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but it was nice, and I headed for the counter

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to check in, but nobody was standing there. I stood

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patiently for a minute looking around the main room. It

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was very quiet and not a single person was anywhere.

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It was only four pm, so I assumed people would

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be walking around or hanging out in the lobby. I

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took a few steps further into the hotel, looking down

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the main hallway leading to the rooms. At the very

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end was a man standing right outside a room door.

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After watching him for a few seconds, it was apparent

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that he was just facing the door, not moving or anything.

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Feeling uncomfortable, I backed up to the front counter again. Finally,

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a man came from outside and walked behind the counter. Honestly,

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he looked dead inside. He asked for my name and

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gave me the key card, then walked away. I glanced

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at the cart, seeing the room number written with a

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marker in the corner. Given the low number, I knew

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it was on the first floor. I walked over it

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to the hallway I was just at and looked at

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the directions for where the rooms were, and my stomach

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ached a bit when I realized it was down the

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hallway where I'd seen that man. Even worse. As I

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started making my way down, I realized it was at

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the end of the hallway, right where the man was standing.

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I couldn't tell if he was standing outside my exact

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room or not because of how far he was when

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I saw him, but it was creepy either way. Although

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I hadn't been to many hotels previously, I do remember

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the annoyance of the thin walls allowing you to hear

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every noise from every room. What was strange as I

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walked down the hall was that there was no noise

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coming from any room. No TVs were on, nobody was talking,

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no movement, nothing. It gave me chills, but when I

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reached my door, I quickly scanned the card and headed inside.

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Given everything, it was actually in good condition. It was

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very small and was clearly old, but it was exactly

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what I expected of the cheap room. I laid my

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suitcase down on the floor, then took a look into

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the bathroom to make sure it was good, and finally

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locked the door and sat on the couch, not at

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all surprised. The TV didn't work, though, so I was

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left with just my phone. After an hour of trying

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to keep myself occupied, a knock came from the door.

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It startled me given it was just a single knock,

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which sounded more like a hit. The door had no peephole,

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so when I got there, I flicked the safety latch

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over just in case, and opened the door a crack.

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That same man from earlier was standing in the hallway,

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only a foot or so from the door. We made

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eye contact through the crack in the door.

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Speaker 2: Hi, did you need something? Yeah?

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Speaker 1: I paused, waiting for him to tell me what, but

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he just stood there like he was waiting for me

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to say something.

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Speaker 2: Okay, man, what do you need? Then?

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Speaker 1: I said, in a way to show that I was

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clearly bothered by him. The strange man responded, claiming he

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was the previous person staying in my room and that

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he had accidentally left something important inside one of the drawers.

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I said okay and told him I would grab it

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real quick, and began closing the door and turning round.

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But the man pushed the door back, slamming it against

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the safety latch. I looked back at him, my heart

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starting to race as I was getting a really bad

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feeling about this. It's in the top dresser drawer. The

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man muttered to me, then backed up, letting the door close.

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I turned back around, heading to the dresser and opening

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the top drawer. Inside there was actually a small sized

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box taped shut on the top. Picking it up, it

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was fairly light, though I mean like it felt empty.

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I walked back over to the door and opened it,

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seeing the man still standing.

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Speaker 2: There. Is this what you were looking for? I asked.

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Speaker 1: The man nodded and held his hand out. I went

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to slip the box through the crack in the door,

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but it was barely too big. I tried every possible angle,

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probably looking like an idiot, but it was just slightly

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too wide on every side. The man looked impatient, and

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while I really didn't trust this place at the moment,

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I thought the guy had told the truth about leaving

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something behind, and I did see him standing by the

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door before, so I figured it'd be fine to open

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the door for a second, just to hand him the box.

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As soon as I moved the latch over, the man

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rammed his body into the door, knocking me down and

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pulling a gun on me. He yelled at me to

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back up into the living room and stand against the wall.

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I was actually stunned at how loud he was screaming,

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thinking surely he would alarm everyone in the building. He

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grabbed my whole suitcase and continued looking around while holding

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the gun at me. Then, just when he was about

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to leave, he walked up to me, put the pistol

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just inches from my face and stared me in the eyes.

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I was shaking in fear staring into this man's rage

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filled eyes. But after a few seconds he backed up

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and ran away with my stuff. I stood in that

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same spot for probably a whole minute, staring at the ground.

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It happened so fast it almost didn't even seem real.

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When I finally got myself together, I went outside my

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room and went straight to the front desk. The guy

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there was just casually standing there, like he didn't hear anything,

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and nobody else was in sight. To sum everything up,

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nothing was done. He got away with all my stuff,

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and honestly, every authority figure I talked to didn't seem

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scared or surprised in any way. They kind of just

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looked at me like I didn't even belong here anyways.

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I guess it was just normal and they expect you

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to look out for yourself. The box was in fact empty, though,

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and the whole thing was obviously just an interesting plot

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to rob.

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Speaker 2: Those who stayed at the hotel.

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Speaker 1: Those last moments before the man ran away, though, are

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what I keep thinking back to, the rage in his eyes,

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holding the gun up like he was ready to pull

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the trigger without thinking twice. Why didn't he My only

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thought was that maybe he knew that if it was

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just a robbery, then nobody would come looking. I don't know,

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but I definitely won't be staying at a cheap hotel

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in a bad neighborhood ever.

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Speaker 2: Again.

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Speaker 1: This happened while I was on a work trip. I

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work for an insurance company and we can win trips

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to our other two big locations, one of which happens

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to be in Miami. I won the trip and went

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with my boss and a few other people in the company.

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Most of the trip was spent doing work stuff during

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the day, and then at night we were left to

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do what we wanted, like go to the hotel, pool

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bars in town, and all that other stuff. It was

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the second to last night I was there, and I

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didn't have much to do the next day, so me

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and a coworker went out to a cool looking bar

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on First Street. We took an uber and got there

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around eleven p m. Miami is a party city and

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the night life there is amazing. The bar was packed

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and it made me feel like I was in college again.

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Speaker 2: I wasn't that old, but I'd.

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Speaker 1: Been out of college for a few years now. My

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coworker gets us shots, and throughout the night we have

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some more, and he ends up inviting two girls to

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the table and buys them shots as well. He hits

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it off with one of them and the other one

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seems to take a liking to me. I'd been single

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for quite some time and work had taken over my life,

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so I was honestly just excited someone was showing interest

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in me. Plus I was on vacation and she says

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she was too, so neither of us were expecting anything

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serious out of this.

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Speaker 2: I thought she was really cool.

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Speaker 1: And extremely attractive, and throughout the night I offered to

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buy her drinks, but she bought her own, which I

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thought was really cool too. It was around two am

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now and she asked if I wanted to go back

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to her hotel, which I found out was only a

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fifteen minute walk from mine. I agreed, but honestly was

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pretty nervous. I knew this girl was way out of

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my league, but I decided to have fun and take

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a chance.

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Speaker 2: We ubered back to her hotel.

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Speaker 1: Which was insanely nice by the way, and.

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Speaker 2: Got to the room.

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Speaker 1: I'll spare you the details, but events occurred and afterwards

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we ended up talking for a bit. After a while,

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I noticed she was starting to get glued to her phone,

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so I went to the bathroom to clean up and

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get dressed. But while I was in there, I heard

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a key card open the door to the room and

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was confused. She never mentioned that she was here with anyone,

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and I didn't see anyone else's stuff in the room either,

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And that's when I heard a man's voice. My heart

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dropped to my stomach. I quickly got dressed and checked

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if I had everything. I had my phone and wallet,

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which were in my pants pocket, but my shoes were

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still out there. I decided i'd have to leave them,

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as I could not deal with whatever this is right now.

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While I was waiting for my time to slip out,

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I heard him ask why there's men's shoes by the bed.

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That's when I knew I was screwed. By the time

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I made the decision to make a run for it.

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There was a pounding on the bathroom door. It was

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one of those doors that slide open and doesn't really lock,

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so of course the cheap thing revealed me behind it.

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Speaker 2: This guy was huge.

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Speaker 1: I could not have been more unlucky if I tried

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the cherry on top was. He also had a gun

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and was pointing it right at me. He told me

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to get my shit and get out, in the most

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calm voice that made everything ten times scarier. I grabbed

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my shoes and left my heart beating out of my chest.

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He closed the door behind me, and then silence. I

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didn't hear any fighting or yelling or anything, which I

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thought was weird, but I wasn't going to stay to

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find out. I got in the elevator and took my

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wallet out to get my key card, and what do

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you know, all my cash was gone, my credit card,

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my debit card, even my gift cards were taken. I

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don't even know when she had the time to take

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all this stuff and how I didn't notice. I tried

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thinking back to the bar and going into the room,

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but the night had turned into a blur. I spent

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the next hour canceling my cards, pissed that for the

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rest of the trip, I would have absolutely no money.

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The next day I told my boss and co workers,

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who sympathized but also found it funny. And now that

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it's been a few years since that incident, I can

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look back and find the humor in it. But what's

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stuck with me was one of my friends theorized it

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might have been a setup that might not have been

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her boyfriend at all. She could have taken me back

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to the hotel, stole my stuff, and waited till I

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went to the bathroom for the guy to come in

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and scare me off before I noticed the money was gone.

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If that's the case, it would explain why I didn't

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hear any fighting after I left, and why the guy

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wasn't more angry. I try not to think about it

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too hard, and anytime I go out, which isn't much anymore,

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I try to keep myself safer and make better decisions.