Extended Stay

Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Foreword Part One: Courier (Colombia) Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Part Two: Foundlings (Las Vegas) Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Part Three: House That Believes It Is Not a House Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Part Four: No Plans for Our Return Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Epilogue Acknowledgments About the Author Guide Cover Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgments i ii iii iv v vi vii viii 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 
 
 
 
 
 
 Extended Stay
 
 
 Camino del Sol
 A Latinx Literary Series
 Rigoberto González, Series Editor
 Editorial Board
 Francisco Cantú
 Sandra Cisneros
 Eduardo C. Corral
 Jennine Capó Crucet
 Angie Cruz
 Natalie Díaz
 Aracelis Girmay
 Ada Limón
 Jaime Manrique
 Justin Torres
 Luis Alberto Urrea
 Helena María Viramontes
 
 
 Extended Stay
 Juan Martinez
 
 
 
 The University of Arizona Press
 www.uapress.arizona.edu
 We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples. Today, Arizona is home to twenty-two federally recognized tribes, with Tucson being home to the O’odham and the Yaqui. Committed to diversity and inclusion, the University strives to build sustainable relationships with sovereign Native Nations and Indigenous communities through education offerings, partnerships, and community service.
 © 2023 by Juan Martinez
 All rights reserved. Published 2023
 ISBN-13: 978-0-8165-4797-5 (paperback)
 ISBN-13: 978-0-8165-4798-2 (ebook)
 Cover design by Leigh McDonald
 Designed and typeset by Leigh McDonald in Adobe Jenson Pro 10.25/15 and Hardwick WF (display)
 Publication of this book is made possible in part by the proceeds of a permanent endowment created with the assistance of a Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency.
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 Names: Martinez, Juan, 1974– author.
 Title: Extended stay / Juan Martinez.
 Other titles: Camino del sol.
 Description: Tucson : University of Arizona Press, 2023. | Series: Camino del sol: a Latinx literary series
 Identifiers: LCCN 2022016012 (print) | LCCN 2022016013 (ebook) | ISBN 9780816547975 (paperback) | ISBN 9780816547982 (ebook)
 Subjects: LCSH: Noncitizens—Nevada—Las Vegas—Fiction. | Illegal immigration—United States—Fiction. | Immigrant youth—Nevada—Las Vegas—Fiction. | Haunted hotels—Nevada—Las Vegas—Fiction. | LCGFT: Horror fiction.
 Classification: LCC PS3613.A78645 E98 2023 (print) | LCC PS3613.A78645 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23/eng/20220516
 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022016012
 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022016013
 Printed in the United States of America
 ♾ This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of 
 For my parents, Alvaro and Susana
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 Foreword
 Part One: Courier (Colombia)
 Chapter 1
 Chapter 2
 Part Two: Foundlings (Las Vegas)
 Chapter 3
 Chapter 4
 Chapter 5
 Chapter 6
 Chapter 7
 Chapter 8
 Chapter 9
 Chapter 10
 Part Three: House That Believes It Is Not a House
 Chapter 11
 Chapter 12
 Chapter 13
 Chapter 14
 Chapter 15
 Chapter 16
 Chapter 17
 Chapter 18
 Chapter 19
 Chapter 20
 Chapter 21
 Part Four: No Plans for Our Return
 Chapter 22
 Chapter 23
 Chapter 24
 Chapter 25
 Chapter 26
 Chapter 27
 Chapter 28
 Chapter 29
 Chapter 30
 Chapter 31
 Epilogue
 Acknowledgments
 About the Author
 
 
 
 Foreword
 
 A horror story becomes even more unsettling when its protagonists are at their most vulnerable—as youth, as migrants, as working-class people. Such is the journey for Alvaro and Carmen, a Colombian brother and sister duo who escape their troubled homeland, seeking safety and a fresh start in America. But like many others who arrive with big dreams and small pockets, that transition from their former life to the new one is fraught with obstacles and setbacks. Instead of pursuing the dream, they find themselves persecuted by a nightmare.
 For Martinez, that nightmare is not figurative—not exactly. And that’s how Extended Stay distinguishes itself from the many other narratives about migrants who receive an unkind welcome from a capitalist society that further disenfranchises the poor. Alvaro and Carmen’s limbo is the Alicia, a Las Vegas hotel that will not let them leave.
 Why the