Page 57 of The Vampire and the Barista

CHAPTER 19

To everyone’s disappointment, especially Mathis’, the door didn’t creak when they opened it. A shoulder shove from Ian and the door opened wide, leading into a large entrance area. Dust and litter covered the floor, and a few broken chairs were on their side, chair legs scattered across the parquet flooring, and there were cobwebs here and there.

“This place doesn’t look like it’s been empty for over a hundred years,” Gabe pointed out. “The dust alone should be inches thick, as it is, it looks like maybe a month’s worth.”

“Maybe it will, the further into this building we go,” Mathis replied.

“Shall we split up? This place is massive,” Cairo suggested.

“Yeah, pick a direction and see what you can find,” Seth said.

“I’ll go that way,” Adrian said, pointing towards the back.

“We’ll join you,” Jamie said, tugging on Ivan’s arm. Olly joined them.

Cairo, Troy, Seth and Gio went to search upstairs while Kevin and Ian went to the left, and Gabe and Mathis went to the right.

Jamie was walking down the back hallways, mulling over the fact that he saw a ghost, not really looking around. “How can I suddenly see ghosts?” he asked aloud. “Ivan, as well as a vampire hickey, did you make me see ghosts?”

Adrian and Olly laughed, and Ivan rolled his eyes.

“No, babe, all you got from me is the hickey.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that was all I got from you,” Jamie replied, grinning at him.

“And I don’t need to hear any more about that, thanks very much,” Adrian said, trying a door handle.

“Me either,” Olly agreed, fake shuddering.

The door opened, and they went inside. It was pretty much empty except for a chair with a doll seated on it.

“Because that’s not creepy or anything,” Ivan muttered.

“Thank goodness it doesn’t look like Annabelle,” Adrian replied.

“No, it’s more like Chucky,” Jamie said. “But a smaller version and without the face slashes. I’m not even going to ask why there is a room with a Chucky doll sat on a chair in a mental asylum.”

Olly shivered. “That’s probably wise. Let’s see what else we can find.”

Before they could move, the door slammed closed, and they heard a sing-song voice. Run, run, as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the bogeyman.

Jamie stared at the doll, but it didn’t move. His heart was moving, though, it was trying to jump right out of his chest. He turned away from the doll and quickly looked back. “I swear that doll just moved.”

The others turned to look at the doll. The head moved to stare at Jamie, its eyes wide.

Jamie took a step back as the doll’s mouth opened, and it laughed as his head started spinning around.

Ivan moved to the door and tried the handle, but it was stuck. Using his vampire strength, he punched his hand through the handle and pulled the door open.

That’s cheating. A voice from the doll said.

“And somehow, we really don’t care,” Adrian replied, pulling Jamie out of the room behind Ivan, Olly going last.

At the top of the stairs, Cairo and Troy went off to the left, while Seth and Gio went right.

“Of all the things I thought I’d be doing today, searching a haunted asylum wasn’t it,” Cairo said, looking around the corridor.

There were a few pictures on the walls, but most had been removed, leaving behind frame outlines on the paint. Furniture was dotted around, some upright, some lying on their side, broken. If he didn’t know better, Cairo would have thought this place had just closed down.