Hello there! It's time for David and Logan's next adventure (I haven't posted in like a month, so here we are)! I hope you enjoy! I was trying to write one story a month, like I did with the last two, but originally I wasn't going to write a story this month because I wanted a break, but then I got bored and this happened. So, here we go!
One thing I had learned from sleeping over at Marina’s, ghouls were early risers. I, of course, was not. So no, the first words out of my mouth when Logan woke me up at 5 in the morning by accidentally tripping over a vase were not exactly nice.
“What the hell is wrong with you, it’s 5,” I groaned, sitting up to get a better look at the culprit, who I knew was Logan (Marina was quieter than a mouse). He looked at me from the ground and shrugged.
“The sun’s already up, it woke me. Ghouls have enhanced senses, so the light was brighter,” he said, not moving from his spot as he picked up the vase, which somehow wasn’t broken.
I sighed, my annoyance drifting off. “Are you okay,” I asked, getting up and sticking out my hand for him. He took it and stood up, brushing himself off. He gave me a thumbs up. “This happens all the time,” he said, looking at the vase. “I really need to tell Marina to move that thing. Or get rid of it.” I couldn’t blame him, the thing was kind of hideous.
I looked in the mirror and grimaced at my messy and dark hair, which definitely needed a deep clean. “I’m gonna take a shower,” I said. Logan nodded. “I’m getting in after though, so don’t take all the hot water.”
I scoffed. “Says you light-wright.” He opened his mouth as if to retort, but then he just shrugged. “Fair.” Then he sat on the couch and turned on the TV. I rolled my eyes with a smile and left him to it.
Personally, I liked cold showers better anyway. The water felt soothing on my tan skin. Gingerly, I touched the scar on the side of my face, the one I had gotten fighting Belphegor. It had faded, but I doubted it would ever really be gone. I had other scars of course, but this one was different. It was the first time I got involved in all of this. A memento of sorts. I almost liked having it there.
When I got out and was dressed, Marina was up too, sipping rose tea at the table. I sat down across from her, and she handed me a mug of my own. I thanked her and took a small sip, burning my tongue a little.
“So,” she began. “How did you sleep?” I shrugged. “Fine.” She gave me a look that I could tell meant she didn’t believe me.
“Seriously, it was fine,” I insisted, but I could tell that didn’t help my case, so I admitted it.
“Just some nightmares. It’s nothing serious, no need to worry,” I said. Marina put her mug on the table. “Maybe you say that, but I don’t need to be a psychic to know that’s not true.” She put her hand over mine.
“Fine,” I said. “It was about something Belphegor showed me. The apocalypse. It’s just, it’s hard to imagine we came so close to that.”
Marina nodded in understanding. “That would affect anyone, David. But you have to remember you did it. He is gone. Logan has been keeping an eye on the gates, and no one has gone there since except for some tourists.”
I knew she was right, but I still felt like this wasn’t over. That it never would be. It was weird to think only a few months ago I hadn’t known any of this existed. That if Belphegor hadn’t framed me I would’ve just continued being a police officer. The apocalypse probably would’ve happened, and no one would’ve even known.
Logan came into the room and noticed the awkward atmosphere. “Something wrong?” Marina smiled. “Everything’s fine.” She gave me a look that told me she wouldn’t tell Logan if I wasn’t comfortable, and I gave her a silent thank you.
Logan started making coffee. He asked me if I wanted any, but I just showed the tea and he nodded. Personally, I don’t think he needed the coffee. He was already pretty lively in the morning, way more than I understood.
He sat down. “I think I found a job for us, he said. He took out his phone and turned it so I could see. I raised an eyebrow.
“A haunted hotel,” I said. Logan nodded, smiling. “What?”
I gave him back his phone. “Are you sure? I mean, many places claim to be haunted, but that doesn’t mean they all are.”
Logan shrugged. “Can’t hurt to check it out. Plus think about it, we get to go on a mini vacation.” I thought about it. It couldn’t hurt, I thought. Well, if it turned out it was haunted it might, but still.
“Sure,” I said. The house was starting to feel cramped, even if I didn’t technically live here (I spent so much time here I might have as well had though).
Logan smiled. “Perfect. I’ll book us a room.” He practically was jumping, and I once again questioned why he needed coffee. I looked at Marina. She took a sip of her tea. “Something else wrong,” she asked.
“No I just, Logan’s a very bright person,” I said. Marina looked at me as if to ask ‘really?’ “Did it really take you this long to figure that out?”
I shook my head.
“Is that a bad thing,” she asked.
I shook my head again. “It’s just shocking, being everything we’ve seen.”
Marina put down her cup and stood up. “He’s always been like that. I think it’s a coping mechanism if anything. He’s had a pretty hard life.”
I remembered our conversation way back when she told me about Logan’s past, after I found out what he was. How his parents were killed, how the orphanage he was living in forced him to run, how he had accidentally killed someone. I had been so angry then that I don’t think I processed any of the information. I felt terrible for it, for having thought he would betray me. At this point, he was my closest friend and ally. I’d be dead if it weren’t for him.
“He didn’t deserve that,” I said.
Marina nodded. “That we can agree on. People don’t tend to accept others, history’s proof of that. I believe though that the people most affected by that are the ones who’s stories are never known, because they put a smile on their faces and remain quiet.”
“At least he’s not alone anymore,” I offered. “We know everything, and we’re still here.”
Marina nodded. “That’s why he likes you David. Because you’re good, and you care. Now, go and pack,” she said, waving me off with a smile on her face. I smiled back and did what she said.
“No wonder people say this place is haunted,” I muttered, looking up at the building.
It looked Victorian, with a dark roof that seemed to be pointed at the sky like thorns. Paint was chipped in many places but it was in nice enough condition. Every room seemed to have a window, but I couldn’t see anybody inside.
Maybe because they know better than to check into an obviously haunted hotel.
Damn, I really must’ve been stupid to think that ghosts didn’t exist.
Logan nodded. “True,” was all he said before walking into the building, me behind him.
The inside made this place seem way fancier than a place I should be in, but Logan didn’t seem to notice this fact, either that or he didn’t care. He walked up to the counter.
“Logan Wright,” he said. “Checking in.” The receptionist looked up at him from behind his glasses.
“Let me check,” he drawled, scrolling through his computer. It only took about a minute before he found it. “Ah, Wright right?” Logan nodded, holding back a laugh with what the receptionist said.
“Room 218,” he said, handing Logan a key. “Thank you sir,” Logan said. The receptionist just nodded and went back to looking at his computer.
The two of us got in the elevator and I pressed the 2nd floor button.
“Do we even know where to start looking,” I asked. Logan shrugged. “To be honest, not really. I looked into some stories surrounding this place, but each one said something different. A creepy kid running down the hall, an old lady fumbling with her keys, too many to count. I thought at least one of them had to be true.”
I moved my bag on my shoulder so it wasn’t uncomfortable. “Okay, there’s no way this place isn’t haunted though.”
“The book doesn’t always match the cover,” Logan joked.
“Yeah well, this is a book with a ghost on the cover,” I said. Logan laughed. “Can’t really argue with that.”
The elevator opened and we walked down the hall.
“This literally looks like the shining,” I said, looking around as Logan unlocked the door. The room was simple, with not much furniture except 2 beds, 2 nightstands, and a coffee table.
“This is cozy,” Logan said, walking in. He dropped his bag on one of the beds and I took the other.
I sat down. “If this place is haunted, that means ghost right?” Logan nodded. “Usually. Why?”
I shrugged. “Well I don’t know, how do we get rid of one,” I asked. Logan sat down on his own bed, facing me.
“There are multiple ways from what I know of. Helping them move on, and salt hurts them, but I don’t think it kills them. The most efficient way though is destroying what’s tying them here. Like a diary with all their secrets, or the gun that killed them,” he explained.
“How are we supposed to find something like that when we don’t know who the ghost is,” I asked. Logan smiled. “That’s why we got to check out the hotel. Ask around, see if anyone’s seen anything.”
I stood up, checking my watch. It was only 3, so walking around wouldn’t seem too weird I decided. “Won’t they be suspicious though,” I said. “Two random guys who just got here, asking about ghosts and killings.”
Logan stood up. “You’re probably not wrong. We can say we’re ghost hunters!” I grinned. “You know what, we’ve had worse ideas. Sure.” Logan looked like I had just given him a piece of candy, his face was so bright. I was happy that I had the ability to make him smile. It meant that we truly were friends.
The two of us decided we’d both take a half of the hotel. Logan said that was probably stupid, that this is how someone always got killed, but I told him we’d be fine as long as neither of us ran into something without the other. He finally agreed and we were off.
The hotel was not growing on me. It was even worse the more I was in it actually. There wasn’t inherently wrong with it. Not technically. It just wasn’t right. Something was wrong, I could tell.
As I turned around the corner, I bumped into someone. “Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” I said, helping the person up. It was a woman, around my age. She pushed her curly hair away from her face and gave me a small smile. “It’s fine, really,” she said, sticking out her hand for me to shake. “Adeline Delle. I own this place.”
I shook her hand. “David Locke. Just got a room. I was checking out the area, pretty sure I got lost though,” I said. If she owned this place she’d be the perfect person to give me information, I thought. I needed to keep talking to her.
“Oh, what room are you in,” she asked. I looked down the hall. “Um, I can’t remember. Can you help me look?” She hesitated, seeming to be trying to find a lie.
I put my hands up. “Hey, it’s no problem, I just really do not know my way around here,” I said. Adeline sighed. “No no, I’ll help. Come on.” We walked side by side down the halls.
“So,” I said, trying to start up a conversation. “How long have you owned this place?” She looked around. “I just inherited it from my mom. I spent my whole childhood here though, practically lived here. I know every crook and crannie.”
“Do you know any ghost stories?”
She paused, looking at me with a look of confusion. “Ghost stories?”
I nodded. “Well yeah…me and my friend heard some things about this place. We’re really interested in the supernatural, how we met actually.” The best lies are the ones with some truth to it, and every word I said wasn’t exactly wrong, obviously. Adeline’s face softened.
“Oh. Well I know every story, but I can’t say how true they are. I haven’t seen anything.” She looked around, as if checking for witnesses.
“But, a month ago, I swear I could hear something from Room 212,” she whispered. This sounded promising.
I crossed my arms, feigning excitement and interest when really I was just disappointed I was right. “What kind of noises,” I asked. She shrugged. “Scratching sounds, and then I heard a scream.”
“A scream?”
“Mhm. When I went to check it out, I found a young girl. She had checked in a few hours before, but when I found her she was dead. It was terrible. Ever since, I’ve had this aching feeling that something’s wrong. But nothing’s happened since,” Adeline explained.
I nodded. “Don’t worry Miss Delle. We’ll find out what’s going on here. I promise.” She smiled and put her hand on my forearm. “Thank you. And you can call me Adeline.” I looked away.
“Oh, I think this is my room,” I said, pointing to room 176. It wasn’t, but I wanted out. And I had gotten the info I was looking for. There was a ghost, room 212, and I needed to tell Logan.
“Room 212? That’s just a little down the hall, no one’s got that room yet. We can check it out right now,” Logan said once I finished telling my story.
I sat down and so did Logan. “You’re right, but how are we going to get in? They don’t just leave the rooms open,” I said.
“True, and that would be a problem, if I hadn’t taken the keys from the maid while talking to her,” he said, taking out the ring full of keys, grinning from ear to ear.
I opened my mouth, but all that came out was stutters. “You-what?” Logan shrugged, the keys jingling in his hand. “Don’t worry, she had like five of these. She won’t miss them.” I nodded and let it go. Stealing may have been new to me, but it was for a good cause, and at this point, it was more like burrowing.
“Let’s go then.”
It was starting to get dark, and the two of us creeped to the room. It stood there, ominously. I had my hand on the bag of salt at my hip Logan gave me. I had a feeling I’d need it.
When Logan opened the door, I almost expected something to fly out and stab me or something worse, but nothing happened. Me and Logan looked at each other and entered the room. It was colder there, and the air felt dead. The room looked exactly the same as ours, except it looked like the maid hadn’t cleaned it yet.
We walked deeper into the room, and it got colder. I felt something sticky on my shoe and looked down.
I jumped. Blood.
“Logan. Logan,” I said, hitting his arm multiple times. He noticed what I saw and his eyes widened. We followed the trail, practically running, until we saw it.
I mean him.
The receptionist. His shirt was soaked with blood. His eyes were open, but they were glazed over, no life behind them. His stomach wasn’t moving up and down, and his glasses were thrown a few feet away, broken.
I cursed.
Logan tried to grab the receptionist’s glasses, but something slapped them farther away. Logan bolted up. Suddenly, a blurry figure appeared out of nothing and lunged at him. Logan barely dodged.
The table next to the ghost began to levitate. “Go, go, go,” I said, grabbing Logan’s arm and dragging him out of the room. I heard the table crash and break. I swear I felt a splinter or two hit my back, but I wasn’t looking back to check.
I pushed Logan out of room 212 first. Once I got out, he slammed the door and locked it. We both tried to breathe. I thought the ghost might break through, but it didn’t.
I looked at Logan, wiping the splinters off his shoulder. He thanked me, but I didn’t respond.
He was right. This place was haunted. And people were going to die.
How will this end? Will they defeat the ghost?
Also, next chapter will have a special character appearance! Who do you think it will be? Stay tuned to see!
Links to the other stories-
Accused
@gracepro/accused
@gracepro/accused-part-two
@gracepro/accused-part-two-e284bc46819b3 (part 3)
@gracepro/accused-part-4
@gracepro/accused-part-5
Jingle Bells, Monsters Smell
Part 1: @gracepro/the-mps-sequel-to-accused
Part 2: @gracepro/the-mps-jingle-bells-monsters
Part 3: @gracepro/the-mps-jingle-bells-monsters-316f1376a8ffe
Part 4: @gracepro/the-mps-jingle-bells-monsters-f86b07d8e0f4b
The MPS are at it again! I love ghost stories and I'm really enjoying this one. The poor receptionist! Who could be killing the victims at this haunted hotel? My money is on Adeline or her deceased mother. Hehe.
A special character? I can't wait for the next chapters to drop. Always a pleasure to read your stories, @gracepro. Well done! Thank you for posting your serial fiction in the Scholar N Scribe community. !LUV 🙂