Mysticism Thriller Detective Hotel Knockout Race Afterlife
CHARACTERS Artem is the main character. In earthly life, Victor. Artyom, a former mercenary, is lonely, lost his parents early. Inna - 23-25 years old, fair-haired, blue-eyed, slightly snub-nosed, which adds piquancy to her image. Aristarkh Lavrentievich ("Cerberus") – the hotel manager, a tall, very middle-aged man with a bony face and gray hair. Kristina – reception staff. A platinum blonde with languid, languid eyes and a very, very curvaceous figure. Darina – reception staff. A redhead with a wild look in her green eyes, a playful upturned nose, high breasts, and a wasp waist. Arthur – reception staff. He looks like a young Scandinavian god: a perfect figure and facial features, icy blue eyes. Gedrik and Fifochka - a pair of parrots about 400 years old.
Couples: Artyom - Inna Ivan - Alisa Pasha - Olga Vasily - Alla Danila - Regina Seryozha - Alena Volodya - Zoya Senya - Lisa Valera - Kira Maxim - Marina Timofey - Emma Vadim - Evgenia Roma - Anfisa Gera - Natella George - Ariadna
SYNOPSIS The protagonist wakes up in a completely unfamiliar place, awakened by a girl who also doesn’t quite understand what’s happening. From her, he learns that he now has a different name (it’s written on his badge), that clothes have been prepared for him that most closely resemble a hotel employee’s uniform, and then that the two of them need to get to the lobby for some kind of meeting, which is almost here. Moreover, they must arrive together and cannot be late. In case of late, they will be crossed off some unknown list.
The hotel gives the impression of luxury. It is furnished with expensive vintage furniture, the windows have wooden frames, luxurious lamps stylized as medieval lanterns, tapestries on the walls in places, wide marble staircases and marble inlaid floors, a retro-style elevator with double doors that must be opened manually.
In the hallway, the hero sees his reflection in the mirror - a complete stranger! The only thing he has in common with the handsome and courageous man in the mirror is a scar on his chin, received in childhood. Artyom shows Inna the mirror, the girl squeals and turns pale.
Together, the heroes decide that the most important thing for them now is to get out of here, and until they figure out what is happening, they should stick together.
Downstairs in the hall, people are already waiting. Behind the reception desk is a tall, very middle-aged man with a bony face and gray hair - the hotel manager Aristarkh Lavrentievich. Nearby, on a sofa, there are two more middle-aged men - these are the new co-owners of the hotel. One is tall, thin, with delicate features, dressed to the nines - Anatoly Anatolyevich. The second is a short, plump "little man" with disheveled hair and wrinkled jeans.
The manager informs the heroes, who burst into the hall at the last minute, that it is considered good manners to arrive 5 minutes before the appointed meeting. Inna notes that she doesn’t see a single watch or telephone in the hotel.
After the meeting has already begun, another couple enters the hall, but the manager shows them out the door, beyond which nothing can be seen except pitch darkness.
At the meeting, it becomes clear that the action is actually taking place in a hotel, that all the young men and women present in the hall (about thirty in number) are “conditionally” dead, and that they are all now employees of a hotel called “Crossroads”. Their job is to serve the guests of this establishment, simultaneously helping them understand and accept the fact that they, too, are dead. Their goal is to ensure that the guest leaves the hotel having sorted himself out. They have only 3 days to do this.
The heroes are informed that the Hotel is their lucky ticket. But there are only 20 vacancies for 30 applicants. Initial positions and occupations are determined by lottery, then promotions or demotions are determined weekly based on performance. Five misses mean you're out the door. Leaving the hotel without permission is prohibited.
Following the lottery, the heroes remain bellhops on their floor. After inspecting their first room, they find minor flaws, such as a lack of shower gel, for which they receive praise from the manager and their first plus sign on the board.
At lunch, Inna and Artyom meet Ivan and Alisa. Ivan warns that those drawn to work in the kitchen are clearly unhappy with their fate. Waitress Regina explains that the head chef, some Italian named "Maestro Antonio," bosses everyone around, and the sous-chef, Giovanni, is a nasty and very picky fellow.
After lunch, the heroes go to the reception, where two young ladies and a young man work behind the counter. Kristina is a platinum blonde with languid, languid eyes and a very, very curvy figure. Darina is a redhead with a wild look in her green eyes, a playful upturned nose, high breasts and a wasp waist. The guy, Arthur, looks like a young Scandinavian god: a perfect figure and facial features, icy blue eyes. Two parrots sit in a large cage nearby.
Artyom decides to start a conversation. The redhead brushes him off, and the parrot calls him a fool. The hero finds this trio interesting. At the meeting, they were told that the hotel is not unique, there are others. Artyom assumes that Kristina, Darina and Arthur were sent here from another hotel, probably for some misconduct.
The first hotel guests arrive. The first to enter is a middle-aged man with a sports bag, followed by a well-dressed woman of about 40.
On the floor, Natella and Georgy are waiting for their guest. In response to Artyom and Inna's polite greetings, Natella pointedly ignores them. Inna and Artyom decide that fair and honest play is not the main thing, but winning this struggle is. They both agree that they are lucky with their partners.
The woman of about 40, whom they saw in the lobby - Elena Nikolaevna, becomes their first guest. She enters the room and closes the door behind her, but after a while asks the bellhops to come in. She says that she knows she is dead and has already encountered people like them, "gatekeepers of the gates of eternity" in another hotel. But the guys here are more polite, and the guest does not allow them to ask her anything they want.
She does not remember how she died. She was getting ready to go to bed and that's it. And then she found herself at the hotel's doorstep. She was tired herself and wanted to sort things out and finish her journey. The conversation, which had dragged on for an hour, yielded no results, and Elena Nikolaevna ended it.
Artyom and Inna rushed to a corner at the end of the hall where the only computer was. According to the hotel rules, each couple had 30 minutes to try to find something that could help them sort out their guest. It was up to them to decide whether to spend it all at once or in parts. By the time they reached their spot, the couple was already fourth in line. A crowd was gathering behind them. While they waited, everyone began to discuss their guests. Liza and Arseny complained about their guest, Natella sarcastically interjected, but Inna abruptly cut her off...
Suddenly, a sound more like a howl emanated from the computer. The manager immediately appears, turns off the siren, and reminds them that the contract prohibits attempting to contact anyone from earthly life. Olga wanted to contact her mother; she was sobbing. Aristarkh reminds them that either of them can simply leave voluntarily. But then his partner would have to leave with him into nowhere. By the manager's decision, Olga and Pavel lose the right to use the internet with this and their next guests. After which the computer room is closed until tomorrow.
Kira and Artyom ask Aristarkh Lavrentyevich, in all fairness, to save places in line for everyone who stood in line but didn't get there. He agrees. Kira and Artyom clap their hands contentedly. Inna doesn't like this gesture.
In the evening, when Inna goes to take a shower, Artyom reads the contract, where he finds many interesting things. For example, flirting with guests is strictly prohibited, gambling is prohibited, and taking guests into the service areas is prohibited... And there's also a clause that, for a salary, they can improve their living conditions.
In the morning, the sun is at its zenith, contrary to all the laws of nature. Artyom and Inna analyze everything Elena has said and come to the conclusion that, when it comes to health, she kept changing the subject.
In the dining room, over breakfast, couples share stories about their guests. A dividing line begins to emerge between those drawn to the kitchen and those who were assigned to the floor.
While the heroes are pacing the lobby waiting for internet access to open, Aristarkh Lavrentyevich pounces on them with criticism, informing them that each of them has a room stock that they should look after and not waste time idle, because there is always something to clean, polish, vacuum, etc., and there is time for this only when the guest leaves the room.
Artyom realizes they have made a mistake and, while Elena is having breakfast, runs to the reception for the keys. He showers Christina with compliments and receives a reproach from Daria.
Having managed to clean the room before Elena returns and being very pleased with themselves, the heroes note that there are a lot of paper tissues in the trash can - Elena cries a lot!
They meet the guest in the hallway, she tells them that the parrots said to her: "Grief. Ashes." Artyom writes these words down in a notebook, since he is already sure that these birds are not chattering idle.
Artyom asks the manager where to get consumables, soap, shampoo ... And learns about the household wing, which is managed by Adelia Karlovna.
When the heroes finally get to the computer, a battle has already broken out. Alisa and Ivan arrived first and did not want to give in to anyone. Natella quarrels with Alisa. The team splits up. Kira calls on Aristarkh Lavrentyevich for help. By this time, things are on the verge of a fight. The manager intervenes, fulfills his promise, and restores order. After waiting her turn, Inna, pushing Artem aside, takes the search into her own hands. She searches Elena's social media accounts, her husband's, and her friends'... On her husband's page, in the comments under a photo, she finds that the cause of death was heart problems. Elena's husband is a doctor. Visiting the page of Elena's friend Larisa, they see a photo with a baby. According to their calculations, Elena was three months pregnant at the time of her death. There was also a photo of Elena's husband. Rewinding their feed, they find a photo indicating that Elena's husband had spent a vacation with Larisa in life—his hand, wearing a ring, was captured in the frame, and Larisa "accidentally" posted it.
At first, the heroes consider murder, then Inna suggests suicide. Then they decide to talk to their guest. Entering the room, Artyom asks the question point-blank: "Why didn't you just get a divorce?" Elena doesn't argue, isn't surprised, she simply tells her story. It turns out her husband didn't kill her. She took her heart medication every day, but that evening she took a second dose.
Elena asks about her loved ones, about her husband, about her friend... What did they call their daughter? "Elena!" Artyom unexpectedly answers. Suddenly, the manager appears at the door behind him and happily announces that Elena's stay at the hotel is over. Artyom and Inna were the first to complete the task and send their guest on his way.
A satisfied Inna is already getting ready for lunch, but Artyom dissuades her. The likelihood that Aristarkh Lavrentyevich will come to check whether they have prepared the room for the next guest or have rushed off to eat and rest is very high. And he was right. Fifteen minutes later, the manager arrives and is surprised to see the couple cleaning Elena's room. He praises them for their work and says they are forbidden from sharing or giving advice to other hotel employees about their guests. They could be the ones to suffer for this, especially if the guests don't check out because of the wrong advice and end up in the next hotel.
In the dining room, the couple is greeted with applause. But, as expected, not everyone applauds. They are pestered with questions, and Olga gets up and leaves.
After eating, the couple goes to the utility wing to look for Adelia Karlovna. Lost in the hallways, they come to the laundry room, where they meet Alena, who was sent from the kitchen to menial work after a complaint from the cook, Giovanni. She put a colander of spaghetti on his head for pestering her.
Going further, they see an incomprehensible door with no identifying signs and an eerie staircase leading into pitch darkness. Having finally found a door with a sign "A.K. Rosencrantz", they enter the office with relief. There sits a withered little old woman with a lorgnette and rings on her fingers, in the office there are antique oak cabinets. The old woman gives them a request form and a quill and inkwell so they can write a list of everything they need.
In the evening, Vadim and Zhenya knock on the heroes' room. They ask the guys for help with their guest. Artyom is very upset to refuse them, because he likes this couple. He explains that there is an unwritten rule. The couple leaves.
Thanks to their zeal and luck with their first guest, Artyom and Inna have earned three pluses on the manager's board and are already beginning to worry that these achievements might backfire, turning the team against them.
At dinner, the guys learn that tomorrow is the 5 PM deadline for all guests to check out of the hotel. At the table, everyone agrees to get together some evening to relax, having coordinated the event with Aristarkh. Zhenya asks Artyom to go to the manager with him. Aristarkh initially criticizes the messengers for their initiative, but listens to their arguments about team cohesion. "Cerberus" relents: "After the guests leave, it's okay."
On the way, Zhenya suggests that the couples form a temporary alliance. Inna and Artyom discuss in the evening who they shouldn't expect to stab in the back and who they can stick together with. Inna suggests Vadim and Zhenya, Elizaveta and Arseniy, Tima and Emma... As for the attractive Kira, Inna, being terribly possessive, immediately declares that his interactions with the girl, and especially his attraction to her, could cause a ton of problems for them, because Inna finds it unpleasant and has trouble controlling her emotions, and Kira infuriates her. Then Inna tells Artyom that Olga had another meltdown yesterday because of her mother, and Pasha even ran to the reception desk to get her medication. And Natella and Ariadna talked about something all evening. Regina also talks with them, making three growing couples, each one in a different league. Artyom fears that by creating a coalition, someone else should also initiate the unification. Those who don't get into the group will certainly harbor a grudge.
In the morning at breakfast, everyone learns that two more guests have been discharged. Timofey and Emma shared their stories, while Natella and Georgy kept their mouths shut. Natella and Ariadna were once again the first to have breakfast together.
After breakfast, Artyom asks the manager if the hotel has any books he can read in his free time. The manager allows him to borrow books from a special room. During the conversation, he learns that their hotel had been closed for some time. The manager won't say what happened, but the entire staff was disbanded, some were fired, and others were put on probation. Aristarkh Lavrentyevich, however, retained his position, as he was absent from the hotel on the day of the incident. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Artyom asks Cerberus for Alena, who placed a colander over the head of the cook who groped her. The manager, unaware of the circumstances of the conflict, promised to consider what could be done.
From his conversation with the manager, Artem understands that the reception staff are the same ones who were demoted. He is very interested to understand what happened there. Artem goes to the room where he can find books. There is everything under a layer of dust. The books take up three shelves. All the editions are old and in a variety of languages.
In the evening, Inna asks Artem if he got Alena out of the laundry room. It turns out that Aristarkh even apologized to her. Alena also told her that there is a place in the hotel that is much more creepy than the laundry room. Those who really screwed up end up there, and it is somewhere down there...
After dinner, everyone began to gather in the hotel bar. Alena sits down at Inna's table with Artem. She asks if he stood up for her. Inna replies that he did. Alena hugs him and kisses him on the cheek.
When everyone has gathered, Zhenya takes the floor and invites everyone to get to know each other better and share something about themselves, the most important memory from their lives. Zhenya talks about his sister, who drowned when they were children.
Artem tells how he was left an orphan after the death of his parents, how his guardian fled abroad with his inheritance, how he found him on Koh Samui, how he died from a snake bite brought by his Thai partner, and Artem then forked over some money to her.
Natella told how she killed her sister for stealing her boyfriend. And she killed the boyfriend too. Как умерла сама – Нателла не помнит, полагает, что ее убили в колонии.
Инна рассказывает историю о том, как один из множества маминых мужчин в детстве повлиял на ее решение стать журналисткой и как она потом искала его в журналистских кругах, но не смогла найти. Артем сомневается в искренности Инны. Когда мероприятие заканчивается и все уходят, бармен окликает свою напарницу Марину, и Инна неожиданно отзывается. Она почему-то расстроена, что Артем узнал ее настоящее имя.
На утро за завтраком ощущается общая тревожность в связи с предстоящим заездом новых постояльцев. Гостьей Артема и Инны становится 18-летняя девчонка по имени Полина, симпатичная, грудастая, полноватая. Она скандалит и постоянно требует вернуть ей смартфон. Она предполагает, что ее похитили, но Инна в лоб сообщает девушке, что она умерла. Пара пытается успокоить гостью, которая плачет, потому что она здесь, а «он – там!» Девушка говорит, что Антон вот-вот должен был сделать ей предложение, ей недавно исполнилось 18.
Отправив гостью в ресторан заедать стресс, они мчатся к интернету, но в социальных сетях найти ее не удается. Зато находится информация в новостных сводках. На фотографиях был ее «Антон», которого на самом деле зовут Амри. Оказывается, их отношениям был год, когда Идляль, друг Амри, опасаясь за моральный облик земляка, сообщил его жене об отношениях с юной Полиной. Жена, оказавшаяся крайне ревнивой, приехала, подкараулила Полину в подъезде и нанесла 11 ножевых ранений.
Герои находят гостью в баре. Артем просит Рому за ней присмотреть. На ресепшн стоит Дарина в прозрачной блузке, подчеркивающей ее объемную грудь. Она подмигивает Артему, он делает ей комплимент, Дарина заигрывает с ним, но тут Инна неожиданно оскорбляет Дарину, пройдясь катком по ее внешности и фигуре. Кристина смеется, а Артем понимает, что у них будут из-за этого проблемы. На этаже Инна обвиняет в случившемся Артема, ведь она его предупреждала о том, что собственница и не может себя контролировать.
Через какое-то время в их номер звонит Дарина и говорит паре прийти в бар с ведром и тряпками. Полину тошнило и она практически без сознания. Артем уносит гостью в номер, а Инну Дарина заставляеь вычищать полы за их гостьей.
Вечером Инна долго отмывается в душе. Она обижена на Артема за то, что он не заступился за нее. Он говорит, что она выбрала неподходящее время для ссоры с Дариной, ведь сейчас у них неприятности, потому что Полина вообще не готова принять то, что они узнали. А еще он советует извиниться перед Дариной, потому что она опытный сотрудник и гостей считывает на раз-два, а, если Инна не извинится перед ней, то скорее всего к ним будут попадать только самые сложные экземпляры. Инна расстроена, но согласна.
За завтраком все обсуждают две новости. Кира с Валерой ночью отправили своего постояльца. А еще сегодня ночью чуть не изнасиловали Ольгу. Гость оказался психом, вырубил Павла, когда тот повернулся спиной. Ольга пыталась сопротивляться, но безуспешно. Слава богу, Павел быстро очухался и связал гостя.
Вечером герои рассказывают Полине обо всем, что с ней произошло. Девушка начинает сквернословить, но, когда Инна предлагает ей помощь – она отказывается и говорит, что будет здесь ждать любимого. Она выставляет коридорных из номера, вешает на дверь табличку «не беспокоить» и обещает пожаловаться на них, если они еще хоть раз посмеют к ней зайти. На этом их общение заканчивается. Ее время в отеле истекает, а герои получают первый минус на доске результатов.
К концу недели коллектив очевидно расслаивается на группы. Управляющий озвучивает результаты – герои остаются на этаже, а те, кто никак себя не проявил снова устраивают жеребьевку. Неожиданно Ольга спрашивает Аристарха Лаврентьевича, может ли она навсегда уйти. Аристарх соглашается, но, согласно правилам, Павел обязан составить ей компанию. Павел в шоке, он не готов уходить. Управляющий говорит, что подобная ситуация не новая и есть вариант решения – если кто-то из молодых людей пожелает сам покинуть отель. Неожиданно голос подает Иван, напарник Алисы. Он протягивает руку Ольге и говорит: «Пошли!» Все отмирают лишь после того, как за ними закрывается дверь. Паша с Алисой образовывают новую пару, которая по правилам должна начать путь с низов. А Зоя и Владимир как явные аутсайдеры получают второй шанс проявить себя – их отправляют коридорными на этаж!