The Haunted Halls (16 page)

Chapter Five

Jeff sat across from Lee wondering how to explain the events of the last twenty-four hours. The more he thought about them, the more he saw the dots connecting. Kurt and the elderly couple, that night with the bizarre love-fest in the pool room that was then suddenly wasn’t, naked Kenneth McGowan and that tall buddy of his–
what had they been up to last night?
Coincidences?
Or part of something bigger that he had somehow not put together? He didn’t know, but maybe Mr. Buhl would. Looking across the table, Jeff had a few questions running through his head. Was this guy in the fancy clothes and jewelry the real deal? Was he a real ghost hunter or some fraud in it for the money? Jeff picked at the corner of his thumb. He glanced around to see who might be in listening range. He didn’t need to be treated like a weirdo in a place he enjoyed frequenting.

“First off, let me clarify, I’m not sure what I believe right now,” he said, looking over Lee’s shoulders before continuing. “There’s just a bunch of things that are kind of adding up, and truthfully, thinking about them right now, it’s sort of…
freaky
.”

“Okay, that’s all right. A lot of people in these situations are often confounded by what they’re experiencing, afraid of sounding crazy or being ostracized by those they eventually confide in. I’m not going to judge you, hell, I don’t even know you.” Lee reached for his pack of cigarettes. “Shit, I always forget you guys don’t allow smoking anywhere up here.” He slid the smoke back into the pack, dropped the pack back on the table, and continued. “So, maybe you don’t know what you’re dealing with. Let’s try starting with what’s going on. What in particular is piquing your otherworldly senses?”

Just as he was about to begin, the rock station coming through Matt’s speakers started playing Alice Cooper’s “Welcome to my Nightmare.” Jeff and Lee both glanced up toward the speakers, each giving out a nervous laugh. Jeff collected himself and began. “I think we might be dealing with something evil, maybe a ghost. I don’t know.”

“Go on,” Lee said.

“Well, I’m not sure if I believe it’s a ghost per se, but…” Jeff trailed off pondering his theories. “…but maybe it is.”

“What exactly have you experienced?”

The grey world beyond the large glass pane separating them from its vampiric cold caught Jeff’s attention. The bright sun that woke him this morning had been murdered by the coming storm. Folding his hands together on the tabletop he opened the can of worms he never wanted. “My friend said someone, or something, chased her from the hospital last night.” He felt stupid saying it out loud, but then thought of the elderly couple they had found alongside Kurt. “And I think I believe her.”

Sitting across the booth from him, Lee Buhl looked like a twelve-year-old at one of the Hollis Oaks Cineplex’s Saturday Nightmare Matinees. Jeff thought of the time he’d gone to see the afternoon double feature of
The Gate
and
Prince of Darkness
. He’d been so engrossed he thought he’d fall into the seat in front of him. That was how Lee looked now.

“Go on,” Lee said.

“There have been rumors, stories about something being there, but I never saw anything, I still haven’t,” Jeff said, raising his hands as if to claim some sort of innocence.  “Outside of a couple nutjob veterans and a naked geek who roams the second floor.”

“You said something being there. Where exactly is
there
?”

“At my work. There have been whispers about a ghost. A guy died in the pool a couple months ago and everyone–”

“A pool?” Lee looked ready to jump out of his seat.

“Yeah, a guy was found floating in the new pool one morning. The cops came and took pictures and everything.”

“And this happened at your work?”

“Yeah, I work at a hotel–”

Lee held up his hand. “What hotel do you work at?”

“The Bruton Inn, off Route five.”

Chapter Six

Kenneth opened his eyes to the brutal scene he’d produced the night before. The small room reeked of iron and feces–the scents of death. He would have to drag the bodies out at some point.
She
demanded they be discarded, buried in the patch of woods beyond the back parking lot. The room was cloaked in shadows. The alarm clock next to him read 6:07. He rose from the blood-sodden mattress and moved to the window. Pushing the heavy curtain to the side, a grey world shivering beneath a darkness it had no idea was coming stared back at him. He would have to wait until the shrouded sun fell from the sky before moving the two ruined forms. He could at least get the graves ready. He glanced down at his naked form, and then toward the dead man by the door; the dead man’s clothes would have to do. 

He cinched the pants that were about three sizes too big in the waist with the nice leather belt hanging in the loops. He passed on the shirt–the blood splattered Rorschach dressing its front would draw more attention than his boney chest. He grabbed the man’s socks to hide his wounded foot, smirking as he recalled the man and his son in the other room. He would have to take care of those bodies, as well. Quiet as a mouse, Kenneth cracked open the door and glanced out into the hall. He watched a family of four carrying enough luggage for an entire move rather than a few nights stay make their way toward the elevator. He remembered the college kids partying in the pool for the last few days and wondered if they were all heading home today.

That’d be a real shame. I’m just getting started.

As soon as the family disappeared, he placed the
do not disturb
sign in the door and headed for his own room. He liked wearing the mess his victims had made, but knew the big guy would have a shit fit if he saw him wandering around like he’d just stepped out of a slasher film. He’d had enough of Eric. First made or not, Kenneth had already decided he was going to make sure he put his lights out for good. The big guy would never see it coming. He felt confident that
she
would forgive him.

Entering his room–free from the tiny voices that had plagued him before
she
arrived–he made for the shower, curious where the rest of their little group were, especially the girl. Maybe he’d get another chance with her. No matter, there would be time for that when they were done. He had plenty of chores to keep him busy. Besides,
she
would let him know when he was needed. He showered, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, and headed back to his private graveyard.

Chapter Seven

She
was in his arms again; tangled in a mess of sheets and sweat, her roars of ecstasy making him harder. Eric pinned his Ice Queen to the mattress and drilled into her, wanting to make her scream, demanding the pain, but she unleashed her own needles of death. Just as he came, she transformed before his eyes from the beauty that walked with a sultry sway to the demon that demanded revenge. He watched the skin bleed from her face, her arms, her chest–hollowed eyes suddenly aglow with the blood of their victims peered into him. He could no longer differentiate whether he was ejaculating or pissing, either way, he knew it made no difference to her. A shriek blasted through the darkness causing something warm and wet to seep from his ears. He tasted blood on his lips. His nose began to leak. The husk of a human form remained beneath his nakedness. He sat back on his feet watching as its damned soul rose to the ceiling, its crimson eyes staring back down at him. Eric wanted to look away, but couldn’t. The eyes of the thing above him dropped at a break-neck speed, slamming into him, sending him flailing backward to the floor. Dust from the withering form upon the bed dispersed into the air of the electric room, sparkling, then fading and disappearing. 

Eric awoke to the sound of thunder. He could still feel the power of the dream, the electrical current of the vision somehow following him into the real world. His sheets were soaked; strong with the scent of urine. He rose, dropping the wet sheet to the floor. The pitter-patter of rain tapped on the window before him. He walked over and split the heavy, green curtains. Lightning flashed beyond the sea of trees dressing the earth below. He spotted movement within the closest patch behind the back lot–
the Rat
. He was going to see what the little puke was up to. Maybe he’d put him into one of those holes he loved to dig so much. He wasn’t sure what his dream had meant, if anything, but he couldn’t feel her call for him at the moment. This temporary freedom carried with it a sense of abandonment–the hurt he’d felt as he tried to see her last night came around for a second swing, but this time, there was a budding rage there as well. He would take the anger with him down to the Rat’s little play land.

…..

The afternoon rain escalated from a soft hint to an unrelenting barrage without transition. Kenneth didn’t mind, he preferred the rain–it softened the dirt and made his task easier. He emerged through the swaying trees to the small clearing that served as his burial ground. The soil  had already sunken in above the plot he’d made the other night. No matter. He wasn’t concerned with someone stumbling upon his bodies. They would never live to tell.

Stepping over the dead, he dropped to his knees twelve feet from his genesis grave and sunk his fingers into the earth feeling the already muddy particles packing beneath his fingernails. He hadn’t bothered wearing a jacket; it would have soaked through in seconds just like the rest of him. He piled clump upon clump of mud off to his right, his progress filling with the downpour as he went. He continued on, undaunted, getting lost in his directive.

…..

Eric moved through the trees, his presence hidden behind the powerful storm. Kenneth came into sight a few feet in. Eric watched from the tree cover as the scrawny geek clawed away at the ground. He wondered if the Ice Queen had already spoken to him. Had she sent the Rat on a mission and not him? Eric recalled his dream, the pain she had delivered, the mess he had made of himself. If she wasn’t going to use his talents because of this rain-drenched buffoon, he would just have to slim down her options.

Eric stepped from the shadows. Kenneth kept on digging. He walked right up behind the Rat as the drenched excuse for a man carried on playing in the mud. The thunder roared through the darkening sky as Eric reached down and wrapped his hands around the Rat’s neck.

…

Lee Buhl got up from the booth as Matt brought out the steaming hot pizza. “Sorry, can we get that boxed up?”

“Yeah, sorry, Matt. Something came up.” Jeff’s hands shook as he grabbed his sweatshirt.

“That’s fine,” Matt said. “You look a little pale, Jeff. You feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be all right. I just didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“I don’t know how you do those overnights, man. I’d be dead in a week. I’ll go grab a box and meet you at the register?”

“Sure,” Jeff said.

After Matt walked away, Lee could smell the lingering wave of cooked onions and green peppers. He looked over to Jeff. “Hey, I hate to do this to ya, but I left my wallet back in my car. Can you get this?” He watched Jeff’s brow furrow, if only for a second, then relax again as if he caught himself doing it.

“Yeah, I can pick it up,” Jeff said.

“Great. I need a smoke. Meet you outside?”

“Sure.”

Lee stepped out under the darkening sky; he thought the day looked infected like something had settled in and soiled it.

That would sound good in my next book.

No sooner than he got the cigarette lit, the rain began to fall. “Shit.”

Jeff came out holding the pizza box. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. We better get moving,” Lee said. The clouds let go all at once.

“Holy shit.” Jeff carried the large box over his head. He could already feel the warmth of the delicious pie trying to escape the bad weather. The rain came hard and fast.

“Come on. Let’s get the hell out of here,” Lee said. He pushed Jeff ahead of him.

“Where to?”

“Back to the bookstore. Back to my car. Go, go go.” He followed Jeff as they crossed the street and headed down another little road. Jeff stopped under the awning of a store with mannequins dressed in hippy garb in the window. “Go, go, and don’t stop,” Lee said, raising his voice above the rapid-fire deluge pelting everything beneath it.

They rounded the corner; Lee saw the Barnes and Noble across the street. He took the lead as they scooted between cars on Bell Street. His car was in the closest corner. He unlocked the doors and stopped. He watched Jeff surveying the soggy pizza box. “Ditch it. I don’t want that thing in my car,” he said. Jeff tossed the wilted cardboard to the ground and got in.

“Sorry I’m getting your seat wet,” Jeff said.

The thought of his leather seats cracking and looking like crap spilled over into his delivery. “Not much we can do about that now, is there?” He started the car, threw the wipers on high–though they were hardly able to keep up with the rain–and headed for the exit.

“Shit, wait.”

“What is it?”

“I left the books back at the pizza place.”

Of fucking course you did.

“Where are we going?” Jeff said.

“I gotta go back to my hotel and grab some stuff. We can dry out a little while you tell me everything you’ve heard about your hotel.”

“What about the books?”

“Don’t need ‘em,” he said, looking over at Jeff. “We’ve got you.”

…..

The moment the large mitts wrapped around his throat, Kenneth couldn’t breathe.  He couldn’t yet see his attacker, but had a good idea who it was
.
He tried pulling free and only wound up helping close off his airway.

“No you don’t,” the big guy said through the storm. “I don’t know why she chose you, but right now, I don’t really care.”

Kenneth was seeing dots. He felt his eyes trying to fight their way from their sockets. He tried clawing at Eric with his dirt-filled nails, but the rain made it difficult to puncture through the big goon’s slick skin.

How is this happening? Where are you?

He managed to donkey kick the big guy in the shin, but still couldn’t break his grasp. Instead, Eric flung him backward slamming his head into the ground. A ringing resonated through his ears. The world began to drift from his sight and the rain threatened to drown him. His mind slowed as the world closed in upon itself.

…..

Eric continued squeezing long after the Rat stopped fighting. He finally let go when the puddle of water he was holding Kenneth’s head in was up to his wrists. His hands shook as the thought of what he’d just done and the ramifications it might have for him, crossed his dizzying mind. His world began to spin. He closed his eyes, placed his fists in the mud, leaned over, and took some deep breaths. After a minute, the feeling passed.

He grabbed the Rat and dragged his still body to the shallow grave the fool had managed to scratch out before meeting his fate. Eric considered pushing the sloppy mound sitting next to the hole over the ugly face staring back at him. “Fuck it. You’re not even worth a half-proper burial,” he said. He hacked up a glob of phlegm and spat. The yellowy wad landed just under the Rats left eye, the rain washed it away immediately. Nonetheless, Eric’s grin returned.

He tried the back door before realizing he’d forgotten his room key. He would have to go around to the front lobby. Soaking wet from head-to-toe, he lumbered around the side of the building. He watched a group of teen girls pile into a large van, their parents struggled behind them with a luggage cart. They paid him no mind as he passed them by. As the lobby doors opened, all of the residual giddiness from choking out the Rat dissolved, instantly replaced by a sense of dread at the sight of the girl they’d changed last night. The Ice Queen had stolen the body. Her hair was different, and her eyes–Eric tried to think of something to say. A voice screamed through his mind.

Shut your mouth, you look like a fool. Get up to your Goddamn room.

…..

Rhiannon stared at the big guy. He was the one Jeff had said was with Kenneth. He stood dripping wet, looking like he’d just been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to. Before she could ask him if he was all right, he bowed his head and took off for the stairs.

“Wow, that was weird. I bet you guys get a lot of that, huh?” the girl said.

Rhiannon wondered what the hell he had been doing out in the storm.

“Hey, are you okay?” the girl asked.

Rhiannon slowly came back around. “Yeah, uh…did…you still want me to come up to your room?”

“Actually, I forgot about something I had to take care of first. I’ll call you when I finish cleaning things up.”

Rhiannon didn’t say a word as the girl, Sarah, crossed the lobby and disappeared into the stairwell.

Ring, ring ring.

“Thank you for calling the Bruton Inn, this is Rhiannon speaking–”

“Hey, hey.” It was Jeff.

“Hey, what’s up? Where are you?”

“I’m at the Motel 6 in Hollis Oakes. Are you okay?”

“I’m…yeah, so far it’s been pretty quiet. Why are you at the Motel 6?”

“I met someone who’s interested in our…situation. We’ll be there in a bit.”

“Okay, see you in a few.” Rhiannon’s thoughts shot back to the girl, Sarah. She seemed familiar. She figured it was the girl’s A/C unit that was on the fritz, but she liked to at least make an effort to check things out before just switching her guests to another room. Sometimes they tipped you for going that extra mile. She wondered if Sarah would give her a tip.