by B. A. Frade
We headed down the hallway. I was holding the Scaremaster’s journal in my hand, when suddenly it felt warm.
“The Scaremaster has something to say,” I told Matt. “Fingers crossed he’s going to tell us where to find my sister.”
Matt took the book from me and opened it. “There’s nothing new,” he reported after scanning a few pages with his flashlight. “We’re at the same ‘to be continued.’”
I looked over his shoulder. “Hang on, Matt,” I said before he closed the cover. “Something is happening.”
The tour began on the second
floor. Room 18 was Chloe’s favorite.
“Is that it?” I shouted to the book, as if it could hear me. “Come on, Scaremaster, give us more! Where is she?” This was frustrating, and I was worried that time was running out for my poor sister.
I wished we had put a pen in Matt’s backpack. Maybe we could have written some questions in the book that the Scaremaster could answer.
“We’re in the wrong hallway,” Matt said, heading back toward the landing. “Room eighteen is to the right.”
I was on his heels. We were at the room a few seconds later. The door was closed. The number “18” hung sideways, but the knob looked as though it had been recently polished.
My blood felt like it had been replaced by taffy. I could barely breathe. I put my face near the door and said, “Chloe?”
Silence.
“Stand back,” Matt said. “I’m going to break down the door.”
“Uh, Mr. Macho,” I said, blocking his path, “twist the knob first. If she’s in there, let’s not hurt her when we barge in.”
Matt puffed out his chest. “I’m on a rescue mission.” He reached past me and turned the knob. The door opened easily.
The hinges creaked.
“Chloe?” Matt called her name, leaning in slowly. He shined his flashlight around the room. From the hallway, we could see an empty bed with dirty, torn lace covers, a broken window, and carpet that was moldy from years of weather coming in through a shattered window.
“Chloe?” I called again, stepping into the room. It smelled like dust and rotten fruit.
She wasn’t there. But Matt’s flashlight and our voices spooked the bats that lived in the ceiling. They flew toward us in a flapping mob. They were stinky, a lot like a massive wet dog. I ran into the hallway and ducked, putting my hands over my head to protect myself.
But they didn’t want to attack. Instead, the bat mob soared past me and up a staircase at the end of the long hallway toward the third floor of the lodge.
“Whew,” I said when my heart settled and I caught my breath. I looked around for Matt. “Matt?” I couldn’t find him.
Getting up, I went back to room 18. That’s where I found him, lying on the floor, like he was making a snow angel in the carpet. He was face-up. His hands high over his head. Eyes wide.
“Matt?” I was certain something was terribly wrong. “Matt! Are you alive?”
He blinked at me. “You win,” he said in a small voice. “That was so, so, so scary.” Matt moved slowly to stand. “Who knew? I was fine with one bat when it was way up in the sky. But more than one—” He shivered. “Ick. Bats creep me out.”
“I got scared first,” I reminded him.
“But I got more scared than you,” Matt said.
We were in an upside-down universe where we were arguing over who was more chicken. And my sister was missing. Could this night get any stranger?
I led the way back into the hallway. The bats were gone. I picked up the Scaremaster’s journal. In the rush of the bat attack, I’d dropped it.
“I’m starting to hate that book,” Matt told me.
“I already hate it,” I said. “But we need it to find Chloe.” I leaned the book on my knee. Matt had to go back into room 18, where he’d dropped the flashlight.
When he came out, I gasped.
“Uh, Matt,” I said cautiously. I now knew that he was terrified of bats. “You have a friend.”
“Huh?” Matt turned his head, looking back into the hotel room. “I don’t see anything.”
When he looked back at me, I touched my hair and gritted my teeth in a half smile. I figured a joke might lessen his panic, so I waved at the fuzzy little sharp-toothed bat. “Hi, Mom.”
“No!” Matt shrieked, swatting at his head as if his hair was on fire. “No! Get off me!” He grabbed the garlic spread out of his backpack and started waving the open jar at the bat.
The bat flew off his head and began to circle us both. It squeaked and chirped madly.
Matt dropped the garlic spread and covered his ears. “Go away.” He waved his hand, swatting at it.
I laughed for the first time since we’d entered the lodge. I’d read in books how people could be so scared that they’d laugh hysterically, and for the first time, that made sense to me. “Now that I know your greatest fear, you’d really better watch your bat….” I chuckled harder. “I mean ‘back’!”
Matt rolled his eyes and pointed at the book. He clearly didn’t feel like laughing. “Let’s find Chloe,” he said. “Anything new in the story?”
I held the book in the light of his flashlight. There was nothing new. We waited, thinking that the story would show up as we waited like before. But after a few seconds, it was clear there was nothing else.
The bat was flapping wildly above us, and no matter how many times Matt tried to get it to leave, it wouldn’t.
“I think it wants us to follow,” I said, thinking about the bat in my dream. This was sort of the same. “I hope that’s not Chloe. What if we’re too late and Wampir already turned her into a… a…”
“I don’t think so,” Matt said, though I could tell he wasn’t 100 percent sure. He gathered his nerves. “One bat, I can handle. Let’s follow it.”
In the glow of his flashlight, we followed the bat. At the end of the hall, the bat moved aside and soared back toward room 18, leaving us at the base of a narrow stairwell.
“Do you think this is how guests went to the third floor?” I asked Matt as we moved slowly up the steps. I didn’t want to crash through a board if the stairs weren’t stable.
At the top step, there was a closed door.
“Let me.” I offered to open it, in case we were facing another bat attack.
Matt didn’t argue. He stepped away and put his hands over his head. “I’m ready.”
I flung open the door. It was dark on the other side. I couldn’t see a thing. “No bats,” I reported when nothing flapped at me. Stepping into the room, I kept my arms straight out so I wouldn’t run into anything. “I wish there was light.”
Suddenly, as if granting my wish, a fire burst up in the fireplace. I was so surprised that I jumped back, bumping into Matt.
The warmth of the fire immediately heated the room. And the glow allowed us to see where we were.
We were in a living room area with two old couches and several small antique coffee tables. The window was broken, which reminded me that this was probably the room where I’d seen movement that first afternoon when we stood in our own cabin and looked out to the old lodge.
“I think this is the Wampirs’ private residence,” Matt said, drawing my attention to a shadowed area at the back of the room. There were about a dozen tables there. They were stacked in several long rows.
“Wow, the Wampirs really love collecting tables,” I said, taking a step toward the collection.
“They aren’t tables,” Matt told me, stumbling back with a horrified look on his face. I thought he might make a dash for the door.
“What are they…” I started, but then realized. “Oh, coffins,” I choked out the word. Now I was ready to run too.
“Let’s—” I was pretty sure that Matt was about to say, “Go!” but then one of those coffin lids began to creak open.
I reached out and took Matt’s hand in mine. He squeezed my fingers.
We were so curious that we couldn’t stop watching it
. We should have run away, but it was like our legs were rooted to the floor and we couldn’t even look away.
The lid creaked as it rose, then stopped against its hinges.
A body began to rise. The first thing I noticed was the white dress. It was frilly, like a wedding gown, but the body inside was small.
I dragged Matt backward. “Vampire!” I shrieked.
“Really?” a small voice came from the coffin. “No way! Where?” The vampire laughed.
“Huh?” I turned around to find Chloe sitting up in a shiny, polished black coffin that was just her size.
“Hi, Zoe!” my sister greeted me. Then to Matt she said, “Boo!”
Chapter Ten
“That’s not what vampires say,” Matt told Chloe, rushing to help her out of the coffin. “Come on, we have to get you out of here.”
“What are you talking about?” Chloe asked him, climbing out of the coffin. She reached back in to get her jacket. She’d been using it as a pillow. “It’s so comfy in there. Want to try one?” She pointed past her small coffin to some of the bigger ones. “I’m sure they have your size.”
“Chloe, stop fooling around.”
Once Chloe was out, Matt closed the coffin lid.
I rushed to my sister and hugged her so tight she said, “Can’t breathe. Get off me!” Chloe shoved me back. I gave her a little space but didn’t let go.
“I’m happy to see you.” I checked her neck. “Did they bite you?” I was so relieved to find her. I didn’t even care if she was a vampire. My vampire sister. It would be okay. We’d take her to a doctor, get her therapy, feed her bloody steak at every meal.
“What?” Chloe asked. She reached up to touch her own neck. “Of course not.”
“We’d better hurry,” Matt told me. “Whoever stuffed her in that coffin is going to be back soon.”
“Is it time for the party?” Chloe asked us. “Mr. Wampir promised he’d dance with me.”
“Of course he did,” I said sarcastically. I’d let her out of the hug, but I was still holding her hand. “Let’s go!” I carried the Scaremaster’s book in my other hand.
We went down the narrow steps, through the hall toward the main staircase. Chloe tugged me to a stop at room 18.
“Wanna go in?” she asked with a mischievous glint in her eye.
“We’ve been there,” I told her.
“Scary, right?” She smiled and then pulled her hand away from mine. “Squeak, squeak,” she cried, flapping her hands and running in circles around me.
“Are you sure a vampire didn’t bite you?” Matt asked her, looking baffled by her behavior.
“Are you sure zombies didn’t really eat your brains?” Chloe shot back. “You’re acting so weird.” She looked at me. “Both of you are nuts.” She flapped around me one more time.
We reached the top of the large staircase. The lobby was still run-down. “Be careful,” I told Chloe, who was jumping down two stairs at a time.
“When did you become such a scaredy-cat?” my sister asked me, landing on a creaky board with a bang.
“When did you become so brave?” I countered.
“Mr. Wampir told me there’s nothing to be afraid of,” she answered. Then, hearing music from the grand ballroom, she ran before I could stop her. “And I don’t feel afraid anymore. Not of anything.”
“Of course that’s what Wampir told her,” Matt said as he rushed to catch up. He spoke in the bellman’s accent. “You von’t be afraid when I turn you into a vampire….”
“We have to get her out of here!” I said, now realizing that the only one of us who wasn’t afraid was my sister.
The party in the ballroom was more crowded than when we’d first come into the old lodge. There were people at the tables, enjoying dessert. And people on the dance floor, spinning to the strange music.
“Where is she?” I scanned the room.
“There.” Matt found her first. Chloe was running around the room, excitedly checking everything out.
I’d never seen Chloe misbehave like this. She’d reach out toward waiters to touch trays of food, then pull back her hand without taking anything. But no one seemed to mind her there, even when she was poking at the dancers or cutting between couples.
When she saw me and Matt, Chloe ran back to us.
“We almost missed the party!” Chloe exclaimed. “I was tired from skiing and snow angels and wanted a rest, so Mr. Wampir let me stay upstairs for a nap. It was just supposed to be five minutes. I almost slept through the whole thing. I’m so glad you came to find me.”
I cast a nervous glance at Matt. “Chloe, the thing is, Mom and Dad will be back from dinner soon. We need to go to the cabin.”
“Just a few more minutes,” she begged me. “I want you to meet Mr. Wampir.”
“Where is he?” I asked, though I’d really prefer to leave right away. But something told me this wouldn’t be over until we faced him.
“I’ll find him,” Chloe said, then dashed off into a crowded part of the room.
“Wait!”
She disappeared into a sea of dancing guests.
I didn’t know what to do. The Scaremaster’s journal felt strangely heavy in my hands. I gave it to Matt.
“I think he’s ready to tell us more,” I said, keeping an eye pinned to the spot where I saw Chloe disappear.
“I’ll read it,” Matt said, opening the book. “But I’m with you—this feels all wrong. We should go.”
Where was Chloe?
Matt read from the journal. The first few sentences weren’t anything we didn’t know. They caught us up to now.
Matt and Zoe found Chloe on
the third floor in the Wampirs’
home. She was napping in a coffin
exactly her size.
Chloe was happy to see them.
She wanted to go to the party.
When she entered the ballroom,
Chloe disappeared into the
crowd of ageless guests.
“Hmmm, ageless guests is an interesting way to describe them,” Matt said.
“They do seem ageless,” I replied. “Interesting.” I again noticed that the dresses the women were wearing seemed from another time. The men were wearing coats and ties and hats that also looked pretty old-fashioned to me… but I certainly wasn’t an expert.
“My bad feeling is getting worse.” Matt raised his eyes from the page. “Do you see her?”
“No. What do you think is taking her so long?”
“Hang on,” Matt said. “More words are appearing.”
Matt took a heavy breath before continuing.
The scene was set, the same as
it had been more than a hundred
years ago. Mr. Wampir was
outside, searching for his missing
guests.
The band was playing “happy”
tunes, and the waiters wer
e serving dessert.
I stopped Matt there. “Oh! I should have remembered.” I turned around just as the doors to the grand hall shut. I could hear them lock tight. “We’re too late. We’re trapped!”
“Should I break down the door?” Matt asked me.
“You’re kidding, right?” I ran over to the doors to check. Sure enough, they were locked. I turned around and called, “Chloe!” but the music was too loud. She’d never hear me.
“I think we should keep reading,” Matt said, pointing at the page.
I was scared. Matt was clearly scared too. This was the worst, scariest story ever!
I was about to run around and look for Chloe, but Matt started reading, so I stayed.
The music suddenly changed.
Instead of the happy dance tunes
Count Frederic had requested,
the band was playing a slow
march with a steady rhythm
and clashing chords. It was a
Romanian song that he hadn’t
heard in many, many years. Not
since the disastrous party, all
those years ago.
“It’s happening,” I said as the music in the room changed.
Matt read the passage again and said, “If this is right, Mr. Wampir should be here.”
“Yes!” I said, finding an older man, about my grandfather’s age, walking into the room. He was wearing a tuxedo with long tails and a tall hat. With his short beard and brass-topped cane, he looked like he’d stepped out of my history book from school.
He was dancing with Chloe.
He turned her around so that he was facing me. Our eyes met. And then Mr. Wampir raised his hand. He had Chloe’s small palm tucked into his. The old man smiled. He seemed happy, and yet, there was something in that smile that set off a red flag.
“He wants to keep her!” I told Matt. “I swear that’s what his facial expression means. He’s never going to let Chloe go home.”
“Calm down,” Matt told me. “If what the Scaremaster says in his story comes true, then Chloe’s not staying here. That’s not in the story.”
“Not yet,” I protested. “We aren’t at the end!” I was in a panic. Every nerve in my body was tingling and sweat broke out on my forehead. “I have to save my sister.”
I took off across the room, running past dancers who didn’t look at me as I bumped them or… wait. Why didn’t they look at me? I forced myself to stumble forward, falling pretty hard on a man’s toe. But the man didn’t say a word. In fact, he just kept on dancing, moving away from me as he led his partner into a dip.
What was going on?
I was almost to Mr. Wampir when I slowed. I put my hand out toward a young couple dancing nearby and was shocked when I touched them and they didn’t react.
“Bizarre,” I said out loud, my fear temporarily replaced by confusion.
“Yes. Strange, but also amazing,” Mr. Wampir responded to me, as if I’d spoken to him. He and Chloe stopped dancing. We all stood together in the middle of the dance floor. “They are holograms.”
“I thought holograms were tricks of light,” I told Mr. Wampir. “The dancers feel solid.”
Mr. Wampir laughed, warm and friendly. “Isn’t the modern world wonderful? They are created from ultrasonic waves that, when used with holographic projections, create something that can be touched. It’s so incredible that all this is right at our fingertips. You saw the front hall was exactly as it was the day of the grand opening. The beauty of this room is created from visual effects. The band doesn’t exist at all. And everyone you see is one of these new types of solid holograms.” He smiled. “Except for you, Matt, Chloe, and, of course, me.”
