She nods. “Maybe not clear across, but it definitely moved away from the door.”
“Let’s get some sleep,” I suggest, lying down and getting comfortable.
Lanie follows suit and, despite the unsettling events, is able to relax, cuddling up next to me. We huddle together in the safety of my room, and before long, our breathing slows and my eyes close, the ghostly presence of the house seeming to fade into the background.
I’m not sure how long I’m asleep before I’m jolted awake by the sensation of the bed shaking beneath me. Confusion clouds my mind as I glance around the room, only to see the chandelier above us swaying ominously, and the lights flickering on and off erratically.
“Are you feeling this?” I whisper, turning to Lanie, who is also wide awake, her face reflecting the same mixture of disbelief that I feel.
Before she can respond, the trembling intensifies, causing the floorboards beneath us to creak and groan as if under immense pressure. Panic seizes me as I realize that this is no ordinary occurrence. This is one very pissed-off ghost.
With trembling hands, I reach for my phone, my fingers fumblingas I struggle to illuminate the room with its weak glow. The dim light casts eerie shadows across the walls, adding to the sense of foreboding that fills the air.
“We have to get out of here.” Lanie’s voice shudders as she speaks, her usually confident demeanor shaken by the supernatural events unfolding around us.
Without another word, we scramble to our feet, our movements frantic as we stumble toward the door, desperate to escape the haunting presence that lurks within the confines of this room.
As we burst into the hallway, the shaking subsides, leaving us breathless and shaken. We exchange glances, our minds racing with questions and uncertainties. What just happened? And more importantly, were we the only ones who experienced that?
Not another soul is to be found in the hallway. Nina is seemingly fast asleep in the comfort of her bed.
We rush to her door, banging our fists against the wood when we find it locked.
“Nina, wake up,” Lanie calls through the door.
When it finally swings open, Nina stands in the dark, dressed in a pair of shorts and a Nirvana T-shirt. She rubs at her eyes, dazed and unsure what’s happening.
“What?” she says, voice full of sleep.
“You didn’t feel the house shaking?” Lanie asks incredulously. “The place just about came down with us in it.”
Nina blows air out of her nose, making a sound between a grunt and a huff. “No.”
It’s all she says, clearly still asleep.
“Well, there is something here. Something dark,” Lanie says, looking to me for confirmation. I nod my head.
“Whatever it is, I’m not sure it’s a ghost,” I confess. “This felt different, worse than a poltergeist. It felt evil.”
The realization settles heavily in the pit of my stomach, fillingme with an overwhelming sense of dread. “I don’t want to stay here,” I declare, my resolve firm as I glance nervously around the room, searching for any sign of the malevolent presence.
Despite not experiencing the unsettling phenomena firsthand, Nina seems fully awake now, her senses on high alert.
“Do you think it’s a…”
“Don’t say it,” I snap. “Don’t give life to whatever it is.”
Something within me is screaming to run. To turn away from the foreign entity.
We rush to the front desk and explain to Adeana that we need to leave.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” she says. “With the festival in town, finding another room could be near impossible.” There’s something in her tone, a hint of underlying motive that makes me uneasy.
“What do you think?” Nina asks me, and I shrug. “I think it’s worth taking our chances. I’d rather catch a red-eye and head home than stay in this place another night.”
“You felt them,” Adeana murmurs.
“Them?” I repeat, with no shortage of frustration. “What is it?”
