Trapped in Room 217

by Thomas Kingsley Troupe

  Jayla exhaled loudly and twisted her mouth in disappointment. She glanced at the descriptions for both the hotel and ghost tour, but realized she probably wouldn’t get much out of the hotel tour anyway. She really wanted to learn more about the ghosts, and maybe something more about Elizabeth.

  She also didn’t want to wait two hours.

  “Do they talk about ghost stuff on the regular tour?” Jayla asked.

  Natalie scrunched up her nose. “Not really,” she said. “It’s more of a family-type tour, so there’s nothing really scary. They talk about the horror book inspired by the author’s stay here, but that’s about it.”

  Forget it, Jayla thought.

  “All right, Jay,” Dion said, tugging at her arm. “C’mon. Let’s go find something else to do.”

  “Hey,” Natalie said. “Wait a second. Where are you guys from?”

  “Chicago,” Jayla replied. “We’re staying here for the week while our dad does some landscaping at the parks or trails or whatever.”

  “I thought I recognized the Chicago accent,” Natalie said with a smile.

  We have an accent? Natalie wondered.

  “My aunt lives out there,” Natalie continued. “So you guys are stuck in the hotel all week?”

  “Pretty much,” Dion said.

  “Which room?” Natalie asked.

  “217,” Jayla replied.

  “Oh, wow,” Natalie replied. “Did you see Elizabeth?”

  Jayla nodded. “We both did.”

  “You’re lucky,” Natalie replied. “She doesn’t show up for everybody. I’ve never even seen her.”

  Jayla pulled her phone out of her back pocket.

  “I caught her on video,” she said. “I can show you.”

  She touched the HOME button on her phone and nothing happened. After a moment, she tried it again. Still nothing.

  “Is it dead again?” Dion asked, looking over her arm.

  “Yeah,” Jayla said. “I don’t get it.”

  Natalie nodded. “I’m not too surprised,” she said. “Spirits can pull energy from things.”

  Jayla didn’t understand. Why would Elizabeth or the ghosts in the tunnel try to drain her phone? Did it give them strength somehow? Or maybe they didn’t want anyone to see them.

  “Weird,” Jayla said and pocketed her phone. “It looked like she was looking for something both times I’ve seen her.”

  Natalie nodded. “I’ve heard other guests say the same thing,” she said. “Some people think that ghosts are attached to places or objects. In Elizabeth’s case, paranormal investigators think she’s sort of imprinted herself into the place, following her routine and doing her old job.”

  “She straightens up our room,” Dion said. “It’s kind of spooky.”

  “Well, she worked here most of her life,” Natalie said. “Elizabeth must think she’s still on the job.”

  “It looked like she dropped something though,” Jayla said. “And she’s trying to find it.”

  Natalie shrugged. “Maybe she did when she worked here, or maybe she found a spot on the floor that she’s trying to clean up. There’s really no way to know.”

  Jayla was quiet for a second. It was hard to tell, but it didn’t seem like Elizabeth was cleaning something. Her hand grasped something that Jayla hadn’t been able to see, and then she went on her way.

  “Okay, well, thanks,” Jayla said. “Maybe we’ll come back for the other tour.”

  Natalie grabbed the phone from her pocket to look at the time.

  “My break starts in a few minutes,” she said. “How about I take you two on a mini-ghost tour?”

  “Seriously?” Dion cried. He looked up at Jayla as if the two girls were in on a joke together.

  “Sure,” Natalie said. “We won’t hit all the places, but I could show you a few things.”

  “Great,” Jayla said. “Here’s the money for—”

  Natalie waved her hand. “Keep it,” she said, interrupting her. “I like you guys.”

  __________________

  “Let’s start in the east wing,” Natalie said.

  Within minutes, Natalie was leading them through the hallways of the hotel. Along the way, she talked about how the children of the guests were cared for during the evenings on one floor while the adults danced and ate fancy meals in the ballroom.

  “And right here,” Natalie said, spreading her arms wide, “is the hallway where a lot of the little kids played.”

  “Huh,” Dion said.

  “They say if you stand still, you can feel little hands pushing you along,” Natalie said. “Want to try it?”

  “Sure,” Dion said.

  Jayla stopped too. They all waited in silence on the fancy carpeting. She listened to try and hear if there were voices or anything. When she closed her eyes, she remembered the voices in the dark tunnels.

  “Anything?” Natalie asked.

  “No,” Dion admitted. “But it’s kind of creepy.”

  “Yeah,” Natalie admitted. “It happens sometimes. Freaks people out when it does.”

  They followed their guide out through the front of the hotel. “This way,” Natalie said, pointing to a path to the left that led to a smaller building separate from the main building. “Brrr,” she said, starting to jog. Jayla did too. Dion sprinted ahead of them, slipped on the ice but caught himself.

  “Hey, did a ghost kid push you, D?” Jayla called.

  “Very funny,” Dion replied. “Still left you in the dust.”

  Once inside, Natalie gave them a quick tour of the concert hall. She showed them the large ballroom where banquets were held and orchestras played. She brought them downstairs and into a room and had both of them sit down.

  “There’s a ghost that lives in here,” Natalie said, sitting down across from them. “Her name is Lucy. She was a young, runaway girl.”

  Natalie went on to tell them that for a while, The Stanley Hotel was closed and fell into disrepair. People broke in and stole things from inside the property.

  “Others snuck into the music hall and squatted here,” Natalie said.

  “Squatted?” Dion asked. “That’s weird.”

  Jayla chuckled, sure Dion was imagining people crouching down inside the hall.

  “That means they tried to live here,” Jayla said. “Like people sometimes do in the old, abandoned buildings back home.”

  “That’s right,” Natalie said. “One of the squatters was Lucy. She was maybe thirteen years old and had nowhere else to live.”

  “Sad,” Dion said.

  “It gets even sadder,” Natalie said. “Lucy found her way in and lived here for a while. Some maintenance workers came into the music hall one day and found her. They forced her to leave and she had to go out into the freezing cold.”

  Jayla felt a pit grow in her stomach.

  Natalie continued, whispering. “That night, Lucy froze to death outside. They think her spirit has been here ever since.”

  Before Jayla could say a word, the door to her right creaked and slammed shut. It nearly made her jump out of her skin.

  “Hi, Lucy,” Natalie said.

  Jayla caught her breath and glanced over at the door. There was no one there.

  “Is she mad at us?” Jayla asked. “For talking about her?”

  “I don’t think so,” Natalie said. “But she does like to let us know this is her space.”

  Jayla looked around. “So this . . .” she started.

  “Yep,” Natalie said, standing up. “This was her room back then. And it still is now.”

  Dion stood up too. “Yeah,” he said, drawing out the word. “We probably shouldn’t be here. We should go.”

  Natalie looked at her phone. “You’re right. My break’s over!”

  As they walked out of the conc
ert hall, Jayla looked back over her shoulder. She glanced up at the fancy window frames, sure she was going to see a ghostly face looking back at her.

  “What should I do about Elizabeth?” Jayla asked as Natalie led them back to the main hotel. “Is there any way to help her?”

  “Besides keeping your room neat?” Natalie said with a smile. “I don’t think so. The best thing to do is leave her alone.”

  This poor woman’s spirit is stuck here, and no one wants to help her, Jayla thought. If I don’t do something, she’s going to be trapped forever!

  Once they were all back inside, Jayla and Dion thanked Natalie for the tour.

  “You’re welcome,” Natalie said. “But don’t blame me if you get nightmares. Remember, the tour was supposed to be for ages ten and up!”

  “Yeah, whatever,” Dion said, waving her off and puffing up his chest. “I’ll be fine.”

  Jayla just rolled her eyes.

  As Jayla and Dion walked back to their room, they passed another not far from theirs, with a big tray on the floor with dirty plates, glasses, and some uneaten breakfast. There was a chunk of steak near a small pile of eggs. Lying across the plate was a steak knife.

  “Room service,” Dion mumbled. “Man, I could eat.”

  It was then that Jayla had an idea. She glanced back and forth to check that the coast was clear. A moment later, she crouched down to pick up the knife.

  “What are you doing?” Dion asked.

  “I have an idea,” Jayla replied. “And maybe a way to help Elizabeth.”

  Chapter 9

  Face from

  the Past

  “You can’t steal a knife like that, Jayla,” Dion said as they entered their room.

  “Keep your voice down,” she hissed, shutting the door behind them. She tossed the key card down onto the nearby table. “I’m not stealing it, anyway. I’m borrowing it.”

  Dion looked uneasy with the sudden “idea” his sister had. He kicked his shoes off. As an afterthought, he bent down and lined them neatly against the wall. Jayla smiled to see him “help” Elizabeth out.

  “What are you going to do with it?” Dion asked, his arms crossed and eyebrows low.

  “I’m going to make a little cut,” Jayla answered.

  “What? On who?” Dion backed away like he thought his sister was going to hurt him.

  “Are you serious right now?” Jayla said, shaking her head. “I’m not going to cut you. Just the carpet.”

  Dion seemed to relax, but then suddenly shook himself out of it. “Wait. You can’t do that, Jay,” Dion cried. “That’s vandalism or something, isn’t it?”

  Jayla walked around to the side of the bed where Elizabeth had trod the last few nights. She crouched down to touch the carpet. It wasn’t cool like whenever the ghost maid was around.

  “A tiny little cut,” Jayla said.

  She wanted to watch the video she’d taken the night before, but her phone’s battery was still drained. Seeing that it wasn’t going to help her pinpoint where she wanted to make her cut, she tossed the phone onto the bed. She’d have to charge it later. Just then, Jayla had more important things to do.

  Dion came out of the bathroom with a small washcloth.

  “At least wipe the grease off that knife first,” he said, handing it to her.

  “Good call,” Jayla said. She carefully slid the blade between a fold in the towel, then tossed it back to Dion.

  She got down onto her knees and felt around the floor for anything out of the ordinary. A big part of her hoped that she wouldn’t find anything. Jayla didn’t want to have to cut the carpet if she didn’t have to.

  After a few minutes of pressing on the floor, Jayla realized there wasn’t anything there. She sighed and put her hand down to push herself up to her feet. She felt something under her hand. Jayla gasped.

  “What is it?” Dion asked.

  “I think I found something,” Jayla whispered.

  She pressed her finger into the carpet, to keep track of the spot on the floor. Whatever it was, it felt flat and small, but there was definitely something there.

  Jayla took a deep breath and pressed the sharp point of the steak knife into the carpet with one hand. With the other, she pulled some of the thick fibers, so that the carpet was slightly off the floor.

  With a sawing motion, she made a very small cut in the carpet, popping through the mesh that held it together. Each thick strand broke slightly as the knife’s teeth tore through it.

  “Don’t make it too big!” Dion hissed. He looked at the door to their room as if he expected the carpet security squad to come through at any moment. Jayla wondered if Elizabeth was watching them right now.

  Once Jayla had cut a small slit of about an inch, she fished her finger into the hole. She groaned.

  “What?” Dion asked.

  “There’s some foam stuff under the carpet,” Jayla replied.

  “Let me guess, you’re going to cut that too?”

  Jayla poked the padding a bit. She could still feel whatever was under there. “I have to,” she replied.

  Pinching the foam between two fingers, Jayla made her final cut. Almost immediately, she got a whiff of something musty and old.

  “Phew,” Dion gasped, waving his hand in front of his nose.

  Jayla set the knife aside and watched as Dion knelt down beside her. She looked at her little brother, now questioning whether this really was a good idea.

  “Well, c’mon,” Dion said, nodding toward the slash in the carpet. “Do it.”

  Jayla nodded and nudged her fingers in past the carpet and padding. Her fingertips brushed against something with a slightly scuffed surface. It felt like metal.

  “I think it’s a coin, or . . .” She stopped as she got a grip on it. Whatever it was, it felt much thicker than a coin. When she pulled it out, she knew exactly what she’d found.

  “It’s a locket,” Jayla whispered.

  Dion scooted closer to look at the small, tarnished piece of jewelry in his sister’s palm. It was in the shape of an oval and had a small metal hoop at the top where it could be hung from a chain. Jayla turned it over to look at the back of it. She hoped there were some initials or something engraved on it, but couldn’t find any.

  “Is that a hinge along the side?” Dion asked.

  He squinted and pointed at the locket until Jayla turned it another way. Without saying anything, she slipped her thumbnail into the crease that ran around the locket’s edge. It popped open.

  “Well, hello,” Jayla whispered and took a deep breath.

  Inside the locket was a fading black-and-white portrait of a woman with white hair. She wore a black dress with a collar that almost completely covered her neck. A black bonnet covered the top of her head.

  “She looks crabby,” Dion said, leaning in. “Doesn’t she look crabby?”

  “Yeah,” Jayla said. “I wonder why. Aren’t you supposed to smile for pictures?”

  “Is that Elizabeth?” Dion asked, peering even closer.

  “I don’t think so,” Jayla said. “But I’m not sure who this lady is.”

  Was this what Elizabeth was looking for? Jayla wondered. Would finding this locket help free her soul so she can move on?

  “What are you going to do with it?” Dion asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Jayla said, and stood up. “Maybe I should bring it to the front desk.”

  “Are you going to tell them about the carpet?” Dion asked. He licked his lips nervously. “We’re totally going to get into trouble.”

  Jayla looked down at the small cut in the carpet. She made a few passes over the spot with her socked foot. After a few swipes, it was almost impossible to see.

  “I don’t think so, D,” Jayla said. “I think we’re good.”

  As Dion grabbed onto the bed to p
ull himself up to his feet, the floor rumbled slightly. One of the pictures on the wall shifted. There was a slight humming noise in the room. And then as quickly as it had started, it stopped.

  Jayla and Dion stood motionless, staring at the wall where the picture had moved.

  “What. Was. That?” Dion finally managed to say.

  “I’m not sure,” Jayla said.

  She looked around the room, prepared for something else to move. Though she’d never experienced one, she thought maybe it was an earthquake or a tremor. The room remained calm, but a cold rush of air passed by her.

  “Did you feel that?” Jayla asked. She turned as if she spotted someone out of the corner of her eye.

  “Yeah,” Dion said, still frozen in place. “It got cold in here for a second.”

  Jayla glanced down at her hand, then carefully closed the locket. She didn’t like the picture of the woman from the past looking at her anymore.

  “I think finding this locket is going to help Elizabeth,” Jayla said. “Maybe this is what was keeping her stuck in this room.”

  “How would that be?”

  “Think about it,” Jayla said. “Every night, she lights the lamps that aren’t there once the lights go out. Then she stops and tries to get this locket.”

  “So?”

  “So,” Jayla said, trying to be patient with her little brother. “It was under the carpet and she couldn’t get it. Now we have it and she doesn’t have to keep doing the same thing over and over every night.”

  Dion was quiet and Jayla could tell he was thinking.

  “What if she wants to stay here?” he asked. “What if this is her home? You know, like Lucy lived in the concert hall?”

  Jayla shook her head.

  “She’s stuck,” she replied. “Like when Natalie said ghosts can get stuck to objects and places. Maybe this will get her spirit unstuck.”

  Dion glanced at the crooked picture on the wall.

  “I don’t know, Jay.”

  __________________

  Jayla and Dion left Room 217 to head down to the front desk. As they walked down the first hallway, they felt the rumbling sensation again. Both of them froze in place and glanced back at their room. Jayla half expected to see Elizabeth come through the door to thank them for finding the locket.