The Secret of the Aurora Hotel (Ultimate Ending Book 5)

by Danny McAleese

  Jenna grabs your arm. "Quick!" she says. "We can't be caught down here!"

  Hurry! Flip two coins (or just flip the same coin twice):

  If both coins come up HEADS, TURN TO PAGE 21

  If both coins come up TAILS, FLIP ON DOWN TO PAGE 67

  If the coins come up with one of each, GO TO PAGE 124

  134

  You scan the room one final time. Then you smile. "I've got it!"

  "Got what?"

  "The answer to our riddle," you tell your cousin. He still looks confused.

  "There was a riddle?"

  You glare at him dubiously. It's times like these when you wonder if you're truly related. "Yeah, man," you say. "Think about it. Aside from you and I, what in this room has hands?"

  Evan has to follow your gaze before it finally dawns on him. "Oh yeah! The clock!"

  Together you approach the strange metal clock. As you pull it from the wall, it's every bit as heavy as you imagine it to be.

  "There's nothing behind it," Evan says.

  You pull a small multi-tool from your back pocket in answer. Settling on a screwdriver, you carefully remove the clock's back panel. Even the gears and sprockets inside the clock have been painted!

  "Now that's dedication," Evan exclaims.

  "No cousin," you tell him. "That's just weird." You continue removing pieces of the clock and setting them aside haphazardly. It's obvious you have no intention of ever putting the thing back together. Finally, deep inside, you see a glimmer of steel. Or what looks to be steel...

  "It's the bell!"

  A few pieces later you pull out a small silver bell. It looks exactly like the bell in Alastair's photograph.

  "No wonder this clock never worked right," Evan swears.

  Congratulations! You found the silver bell!

  Head back into the hallway when you FLIP TO PAGE 14

  135

  You're already holding the spoon so you dip into the soup. You blow on it -- pausing only to think of how absurd that is -- then bring it to your lips.

  It's creamy and full of mushrooms. Tasty, even. Despite not really being hungry you find yourself going back for more. You're halfway through the bowl, in fact, when you realize Jenna is staring at you.

  "Cuz?"

  You look back at her curiously. All of a sudden everything seems weird. Out of focus.

  "You okay?" she asks.

  "Yeah fine," you say. But you're not fine. Not really. The spoon is no longer in your hand and you feel woozy and weird. You're about to tell this to Jenna when...

  You wake up in an ambulance! Evan and Jenna are hunched over you, looking extremely worried. Somewhere behind one of the paramedics is your Uncle Gus, sitting with his head in his hands.

  "Wh-- what happened?"

  "Jenna tells me you ate some mushroom soup," Evan says. You nod glumly. "Served to you by ghosts," your cousin continues.

  You wince, your heart sinking as you realize the foolishness of the whole idea. What in the world were you thinking? Something turns over unpleasantly in your stomach. Jenna catches your gaze, looking absolutely miserable. She shrugs back at you apologetically.

  Well, on one hand you'll probably be okay. And you got to try ghost-soup! On the other however, is the nagging reminder that this is unfortunately

  THE END

  136

  You stop to think for a moment. Then something occurs to you. "Remember that song on the phonograph?" you say. "Wasn't it about colors?"

  Evan pulls out his notepad and flips to a page. "Yeah, actually you're right. It had all these colors, and--"

  "And the last line," you say. "What was it?"

  Evan glances down and reads it to you: "A jealous answer, when unsold."

  You smile triumphantly. "That's it!"

  "What's it?"

  "The right answer," you say. "Jealousy is green. We should pick the green door!"

  Your cousin's eyes narrow as he regards you skeptically. "Yeah, right."

  In answer you step forward and pull open the green door. Beyond it is a small rectangle of black space. The space shimmers and wavers, almost as if it's not a part of the room at all. It looks... well, fake. The words 'extra-dimensional' come to mind.

  In the center of the space floats a large crystal ball.

  "That's it!" Evan cries. You're so busy gloating you haven't even moved. "Hurry up! Grab it!"

  Less than enthusiastically you reach out beyond the door, waiting for something bad to happen. Nothing does. You grab the ball, which feels smooth and cool and perfectly normal. You pull it out and kick the door closed with your toe.

  "We got it!" Evan shouts. "We got one of the artifacts!"

  "Ahem," you grunt, clearing your throat. "We?"

  Congratulations, you recovered the crystal ball! What's next?

  The room next door seems to have no number. You can check it out OVER ON PAGE 38

  Or you can cross the hall and search room 116. To do that, GO TO PAGE 62

  137

  The three of you hurry to the elevator. Evan thumbs the 'B' button, and the doors open into the basement. Almost immediately you encounter a locked door. Evan produces the master key, and moments later you're walking through a large warehouse of hotel-related items. There are stacks and shelves everywhere, containing everything from toilet paper and cleaning products to soap, pillows and linens.

  "This place is clean," you say. "Too new and modern. Do you have any idea where Alastair would've held his ceremony?"

  Jenna casts Evan a concerned look. "That's just it, cuz. We really don't."

  Evan nods. "Yeah, we've been down here a bunch of times. Moved stuff around, swept all the floors, even the walls. If there was an explosion down here, someone did an awesome job cleaning it up."

  You fan out, checking for evidence of anything out of the ordinary. You even consult Alastair's photo, but to avail. Nothing is recognizable, and the place is just too well-kept. It doesn't look anything like you'd expect from a hundred year old basement. Unless...

  "Come on!" you say. "I think I know where we need to be!" Evan and Jenna follow you eagerly, at least until you lead them back into the elevator. Then they look confused.

  "Scotty, what--"

  "This," you say, pointing beneath the elevator's modernized electronic panel. A small, silver-colored keyhole is recessed into the wood. "I noticed it earlier. It must be from when the hotel was first built." You glance up at your cousins. "Do you have the key for that?"

  If you already know who has the silver key, add the letters in that word together using the chart below and then GO TO THAT PAGE

  If you're not sure where to get the key, TURN TO PAGE 26

  138

  You cross through the threshold of room 106. Orange and brown furniture clashes with horrible floral print wallpaper. They both do battle with a set of thick, paisley curtains.

  "This is the 1960's room, isn't it?" you ask.

  Evan responds with a chuckle. "You're catching on quickly."

  A giant dinosaur of a TV set sits like a pile of cinder blocks against one wall. Two long metal antennae stick up from the top in a 'V' pattern.

  "Is that thing black and white?" you ask. Before Evan can answer, the television clicks on. Beneath the angry buzz of white noise a picture fades slowly into view. But there's no reception. Nothing but 'snow'.

  "Finish it!"

  The voice is crisp, loud, staccato. It blurts forth from the TV's internal speaker. Evan is looking at you, presumably for an answer. "Finish what?" your cousin asks. "What do you think that--"

  "The page..." the voice rasps. "Finish the--"

  The air behind you comes to life with a huge burst of static. You whip around to find a box-shaped transistor radio has turned on. The dial on the radio is spinning on its own, flipping wildly through the channels.

  "Don't," the radio tells you. "Don't... can't... should not..."

  The noise in the room grows louder as the TV and radio compete with one an
other. In the meantime, the air crackles with an almost electrical charge. You smell something burning, like ozone. Glancing down, the hairs on your arms are standing right on end.

  "NO!" You can't tell if the word comes from in front or behind. A blast of energy strikes you like a physical blow, and then suddenly you and Evan are being shoved through the door and out into the hall. The door slams violently shut behind you.

  Evan appears shaken. "But we didn't even get to finish the room," he says forlornly.

  "I'm pretty sure," you tell him, "that room is finished with us."

  Wanna try room 108? HEAD TO PAGE 41

  How about room 109? TURN TO PAGE 47

  139

  The majestic beauty of the Regency Ballroom lays stretched out before you. It's easy to know, after just a single glance, that this room was most likely the heart and soul of the Aurora hotel.

  "There!" Jenna exclaims. She points upward, to where an ancient iron candelabra dangles from the ceiling. Loaded within, you see a circle of time-yellowed candles. "It's got to be one of those," Jenna says. "They've been here forever and no one ever lights them."

  You squint upward. The candles certainly look right, at least from here. If only they were a little closer so you could get a better view of them...

  "How do you think we should--" Halfway through your sentence you realize Jenna is gone. You're left standing in the ballroom alone, when all of a sudden--

  Screeeeeech!

  Your cousin re-enters the room dragging a large rickety-looking step-ladder. You rush over to help her out, mostly to put an end to the horrendous noise. "Where'd you get this?" you ask incredulously.

  "From the janitor's closet."

  You blink in disbelief. "Well then why didn't we use it in the library!"

  Jenna blows a bubble and shrugs. "Just remembered it."

  You consider the ladder for a moment, then glance back to the ceiling. "Well we can't use it anyway," you tell her. "It's not going to reach."

  "If I stand on your shoulders it will."

  Your stomach lurches. You're not a fan of heights to begin with, but the thought of your cousin climbing over you while standing atop that ladder is enough to make you physically ill. "Is there any other way?" you ask nervously.

  Jenna bites her lip, lost in thought. "Yeah maybe." She fishes into her pocket and pulls out a long piece of string. Then, grabbing the small bronze sculpture of a bird from a nearby table, she begins wrapping one end of the string around it. You look on, impressed.

  "What else have you got in your pockets?"

  Your cousin laughs. "Wouldn't you like to know."

  Will you try slinging a bird sculpture at the chandelier to knock down the candles? GO TO PAGE 34

  Or would you rather stack two people at the top of a very tall ladder? If so TURN TO PAGE 74

  140

  You approach the door to room 202. As you do, you realize the number plate has been screwed on upside down.

  "Looks more like 505," Jenna notes.

  "Or SOS," Evan says.

  Considering the stuff you've seen at the Aurora so far, that last thought is more than a little disquieting. Evan unlocks the door. It sticks at first, then swings open into a small room filled with an impossibly large amount of stuff.

  Everything here is weird and mismatched. The jumble of furnishings, decor, and random objects scattered throughout the room make absolutely not sense. In fact, the room itself feels totally off.

  "It can't be this big," Jenna says. You know exactly what she means. The tiny room feels like it expanded since you entered, as if it somehow grew in size. It looks like someone dumped the entire contents of their attic in here. Everything seems either too big or too small for the room, without exception.

  Nervously you glance back at the door, which now seems tiny and very far away. You've only taken three or four steps inside, you realize. The place reminds you of staring into a giant fun-house mirror.

  "Start searching through all this stuff I guess," Evan mutters. Though he's standing right next to you, his voice seems like he's calling to you from off in the distance.

  The three of you get to work sweeping the hotel room. Evan checks about a dozen pieces of random furniture. Jenna upends an array of dusty boxes, only to find more boxes inside. You search through a series of trunks and crates, only to turn around and find a brand new stack of identical trunks and crates standing behind you. "Something's up," you say finally. "I think we're wasting our time here."

  That's when you notice the elephant statue. It's very large and beautiful, except that it's missing a tusk.

  141

  If you know which room the other tusk is in, TURN TO THAT ROOM'S NUMBER. Or if that room is a word, add the letters of the word together using the chart below and then GO TO THAT PAGE.

  If you can't locate another elephant tusk, that's okay. Head to the next room OVER ON PAGE 93

  142

  You enter the coldest and oldest room yet. Moonlight filters in through the small, open window off to one side.

  "I know what this is!" Evan cries. "This is one of those little gables that sticks out of the roof!" He punches his sister lightly in the arm. "You know what I mean -- those little decorative things that stick out on top, with the tiny windows."

  Jenna's expression is one of realization. "Oh yeah!" she exclaims. "There are a bunch of them, I think. But didn't dad say they were only for decoration?"

  "Not this one apparently," Evan shrugs. You can tell this room has been sealed off for a very long time. The furnishings and fixtures are ancient, most of the wood cracked or splintered from the cold. It looks like the perfect place to find something important. If only you knew what you were looking for!

  "Check it out, a trunk!" Jenna says excitedly. She flips it open. "Awww, it's empty."

  An even frostier blast of cold washes over you. Every muscle in your body tenses up as you feel that all-too familiar tingling sensation.

  "There," Evan whispers. "Look!"

  143

  In the corner of the room, the apparition of a young man is hunched over a low table. He sits in contemplation for several moments, two fingers on his chin. Eventually he rises and walks the length of the room, never taking his eyes from the table. Then he returns to his original position.

  "What's he doing?"

  You creep closer. There's a chessboard on the table, arranged mid-game. The pieces are old and dark -- probably cast from pewter, as far as you can tell. The young ghost keeps pacing the room along the same path, returning again and again to contemplate the board on some kind of bizarre, endless loop.

  Evan examines the board, his lips moving silently. "I only count 31," he says, "including those that were captured." He looks up at you. "That means there's a piece missing."

  Do you have the missing chess-piece? If so, what is it? Add up the all the letters in that word using the chart below, then TURN TO THAT PAGE

  If you don't have the chess-piece, that's okay. Exit through the window and cross the frozen rooftop OVER ON PAGE 150

  144

  The crystal globe swirls with darkness. The candle flickers. But the silver bell, you notice, sits on the table very unassumingly.

  On a whim, you reach out and ring it.

  Your glance back at the table just as the book slams shut. The candle goes out. Yet the ball of crystal, resting in its cradle, is still spinning with an inner darkness. It's moving even more wildly now, as if feeding off the light in the room -- or maybe the energy of the nethergate itself.

  Something behind Mr. Roakes catches your eye. A glint in the mirror, or maybe a trick of the eye. For a brief moment, it looks like a figure. A man perhaps, standing there in the shadowy world behind the glass.

  ...must not all be here. Something else...

  You follow the mirror-man's gaze downward to where James Roakes is still seated at the table. His body is convulsing all over. His hands clutch the edge of the table like iron claws.

  Do you
have anything else to add to the ceremony? Some last second addition?

  If so, take the four letters in that word and add them together, using the chart below. Once you have the total you can GO TO THAT PAGE

  If you don't know what else to do right now, that's fine. See what happens next when you TURN TO PAGE 109

  145

  The gold door shimmers in the filtered moonlight. It actually looks inviting.

  "Here goes nothing," you tell Evan.

  Your hand closes over the knob. It feels warm. Satisfying. You stand there for a moment just enjoying it, noting that the sensation seems to travel upward and throughout your entire body. It feels like you just sank into a hot tub on a really cold night.

  "Well?" Evan says. "You gonna open it?"

  "Yeah," you say distantly. "In a minute." With embarrassment you realize that you're actually smiling. "Okay sure, I guess so."

  You open the door. There's nothing behind it. All you see is more of the pure white wall.

  "Guess that's not it," Evan says. "Or maybe all these doors lead to nothing. If so, we're wasting our time."

  The warmth is still with you as you close the door. You do it slowly, savoring the body-engulfing feeling of pure euphoria.