For a while, all I could think about was how much trouble I was in. I had stumbled into the world of the Gregory Horror Show. The only shelter for miles would be Gregory House, a cursed hotel of lunatics that did very dangerous things to other guests. Some of those things, such as Catherine's needle, were some of my worst fears. Understandably, I knew I was, to put it mildly, doomed.

When my senses came back, Angel Dog and Mirror Man were scooting me along the path. Things were still a little groggy and I moaned trying to ask what was going on.

"Are you all right?" Angel Dog's voice asked. "You were out of it for awhile."

All I could do was stutter. "G-G G G-G-G G-G…"

"I think he's still out of it," Mirror Man suggested.

"Strange…" Angel Dog noted. "They usually don't start babbling until after a few days."

I knew what was happening around me, but flashes of the potential horrors I would face once in the hotel kept freaking me out and distracting me. How does the condemned man feel, facing the firing squad, especially when the firing squad had a giant needle, a bloody carving knife, and a pistol that never hit its intended target, not to mention everything else?

During this time, they kept moving me along the path like they were hauling a statue on wheels. It wasn't long before the path widened into the graveyard that served as the front yard and eventually the huge looming hotel itself. Dagnabbit, knowing what was coming did not help the matter at all.

I tried to shake off those dark feelings as I approached the threshold. Angel Dog pulled open the green wooden double doors. "Well? You coming in, or not?"

My voice was slowly coming back. "Y-Yeah… Just… Just gimme a min, OK?" I took several deep breaths, trying to gather my nerves and forget about the living hell within (if only for the moment). Not an easy task, for sure. Once I felt I was ready enough, I stepped through. Mirror Man and Angel Dog followed behind me and shut the doors behind them.

Well. So far so good.

The small lobby was about the same as I saw on the DVD. "Gregory!" Angel Dog called out to the rest of the house. "We're ba-ack!"

"Oh great…" a familiar voice moaned. Shuffled footsteps sounded from the hallway beyond the next door. I knew that was Gregory, the propi… propret… owner of the hotel. "Why did that stupid dog have to come back…?" his voice faintly muttered.

"I heard that!" Angel Dog shouted back angrily. I noticed that Mirror Man seemed bored of the whole affair. I suspected he would've left had he no need to check in.

The old mouse walked into view, carrying a lit candle in his paw. "I don't care if you heard it, you're lucky I-" He looked up and saw me. "Why, who's this?" he asked.

"Don't know," Angel Dog replied.

"He was asleep on the bus when we got on," Mirror Man added.

"Really now?" Gregory continued. He walked past them and up to me. "Is this true?"

"Um uh, yeah," I got out. Even though he was acting friendly enough, his face was still creepy, even moreso in real life. "I need a place to crash until I can catch a northbound home."

"Is that so?" Gregory said with his trademark chuckle. Hearing it for real gave me goosebumps. "Well lucky you we just so happen to have a room available right now. I'm sure it'll do for you until it is time." He made his way behind the front desk and put on a pair of reading glasses. "You two can return to your rooms," he said to Angel Dog and Mirror Man. "I'll take care of our new guest."

"See you later!" Angel Dog chimed to me as she and Mirror Man exited into the hallway and disappeared from my sight. I wondered what she meant by that.

"Now then," Gregory continued as he opened up a notebook I guessed was the guest registry. "I'm going to need to see some photo identification."

Photo ID? News to me. "Sure, gimme a few secs," I replied as I pulled out my wallet. I quickly fished out my student ID card and passed it to the old mouse.

"Oh my, a college student," Gregory said upon looking over my card.

"What, something wrong?" I asked.

"Oh no, not at all," he replied. "We just don't normally get very many guests at such a young age. I assume the workload at the university is rather excessive for your tastes?"

I glanced at the overstuffed backpack I was wearing. "Oh yeah."

He chuckled again as he gave me my ID card back and wrote some things down in the registry. While waiting, I replaced the card in my wallet and repocketed it.

"Everything's set," Gregory announced as he closed the book and took off the glasses. He picked up the candle and the key ring on the wall peg. "Come, my friend, I'll show you to your room."

For a moment I wondered why he didn't refer to me by my name, which he knew since it was on my ID, but I didn't voice my concerns as I followed him into the hallway.

Gregory headed up the flight of stairs past the hallway door. I started to follow him I heard a voice down the call and coming closer. I took cover against the edge of the stairwell as best I could and listened.

"Do you know, who I am? They call me Judgment Boy…"

I kept still until I saw the giant scale move past. I don't think he saw me, but I cannot be sure; he might have seen me out of the corner of his eye and decided to keep on going. After his singing faded into the distance, I hurried up the stairs. Once up, I looked around for Gregory. He was right down the hall.

"There you are," he said as I jogged up. "I was afraid I lost you back there." That darn chuckle again. I was starting to hate it. "Anyway, here is your room. Do make yourself comfortable."

I looked at the room number. 205. I shouldn't have expected otherwise. "Thank you," I said as I entered.

"It's very late," Gregory suggested. "Why don't you get some rest?" He closed the door, and his footsteps signaled his departure.

Sleep now? Pfft. I'm an owl (metaphorically). I can stay up pretty dang late. I took my backpack off and left it leaning against the bedpost before I headed out into the hallway.

So what if I was doomed? Doesn't mean I can't try to have a blast in the meantime.