Chapter 23
Carolyn (October 1957, Halloween)
...
In the early morning of Halloween day, Carolyn was woken up by a hand on her shoulder. She was shaken awake and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust.
"Carolyn?" Nancy's voice whispered.
She blinked several times before the features of Nancy's face became clear and then her eyes had adjusted to the darkness in the room.
"Why is it so dark in here?" Carolyn groaned.
"The lightbulb of the small lamp burned out," Nancy said.
"What time is it?"
"Two forty-six."
"What are you waking me up for?" Carolyn tossed and turned and put her head under her pillow.
"It's Halloween."
"And?"
"I have something," Nancy said. "A present from Roger."
Carolyn leaned up in bed and rubbed her eyes. She reached over to her nightstand and grabbed the glass of water that waited for her. She brought the glass to her lips, gulped the water down and then she set the glass back on the nightstand and the sound broke the silence in the room.
"What did you get from Roger?"
"He knocked on our door a few minutes ago and gave me this. Said someone left it behind. He thought we would like it."
Carolyn felt Nancy shove something into her blanket-covered lap. She placed her fingers on it and it felt rectangular in shape. It also felt cold and wooden. When she looked down and focused her eyes on the object, her vision readjusted and she began to see letters arranged on the board.
"What is this? A board game?" Carolyn asked.
"It's a Ouija board," Nancy whispered in excitement.
Carolyn realized what was sitting in her lap and she shoved it away from her. Nancy gripped onto it, making sure it didn't fall off of the bed.
"No," Carolyn said. "I don't want to mess with that thing."
"Oh, come on!" Nancy replied. "Please? It's not going to hurt us. It's just for fun."
Carolyn was nervous about being in the presence of the spirit board. "Do you know how to use it?"
Nancy giggled. "Roger told me how."
"I don't know."
"Please?" Nancy placed her hand on Carolyn's shoulder. "If anything goes wrong I'll sacrifice myself to keep you safe."
"Don't say that!" Carolyn pulled Nancy into a hug. She was warm and smelled like her lilac perfume. "We can play with it. But not here. I don't want it in our room."
Nancy squealed in excitement and hopped off of Carolyn's bed. "I know where we can go."
Carolyn couldn't shake the tired feeling that overwhelmed her as she followed Nancy down the hallway of floor C. They were being as quiet as they could and tried their best to keep the stairwell door from creaking when they opened it. She noticed that Nancy seemed wide awake as she held the board and planchette in her hands. Nancy started going up the stairs to floor D.
"Where are we going?" Carolyn whispered.
"I know there's a room up here that isn't being used," Nancy replied. "Roger told me."
"I'm going to kill Roger."
Nancy laughed at her comment.
The girls made it to floor D and Nancy pushed the stairwell door open carefully. This door did not make noise which Carolyn was thankful for. They carefully stepped down the main hallway of the unfamiliar floor. The layout was completely different from floor C. It was like they were visiting a strange new world.
"I think it's just up ahead," Nancy whispered and pointed.
Carolyn began to hear a faint sound. She couldn't tell what the sound was and then realized that it was rain. Heavy rain began to downpour outside and she grew worried that it would turn into a thunderstorm.
"A dark and stormy night?" Carolyn scoffed. "How fitting."
Nancy shushed her as they came up to a door. Carolyn watched as Nancy pressed her ear to the door, making sure that no one was inside. Then, Nancy reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a key.
"Where did you get that?" Carolyn asked.
"Roger."
"Of course."
Nancy put the key into the keyhole of the door and turned it. It made a loud clicking sound to announce that it was no longer locked and Nancy looked back to smile at Carolyn. She pushed the door open and they were met with a dark room. There were no lights, the windows were covered with heavy curtains, and the furniture was covered with sheets. Carolyn looked around as she followed Nancy into the room. She closed the door behind them and the two girls were now shut inside of an unfamiliar hotel room on an unfamiliar floor of the building.
"Why does it look like this room isn't in use anymore?" Carolyn asked. "It's like it's been abandoned." Carolyn reached for the floor lamp that stood in the corner. She turned it on and it made a small glow in the room, not enough to light everything completely, but enough to be able to see.
Nancy turned around and sat in the middle of the floor with her legs crossed. She placed the Ouija board down and straightened it in front of her.
"Roger told me that someone had died here," Nancy said.
"What are you talking about?" Carolyn shivered.
"It's true!" Nancy said. "Roger said that a politician was staying here. The man was said to be a cheater and didn't care for his wife. So one night she followed him to this very hotel room and she killed him!"
Carolyn scoffed. "That did not happen."
"Well, I believe Roger." Nancy motioned for Carolyn to come sit on the floor with her. She reluctantly went over and sat in the middle of the room with Nancy. Carolyn felt the chill in the room and wanted to return to bed. Nancy took Carolyn's hands and placed her fingers on the planchette that rested on the board. Nancy then gently placed her fingers onto the board as well. Carolyn watched Nancy close her eyes. It looked like she was praying, mumbling something under her breath.
"Is there anyone here that would like to speak with us?" Nancy said and her voice echoed in the mostly empty room.
Carolyn closed her eyes and took in the silence. The rain pelted the windows lightly, the storm was calming down. She could've fallen back asleep right then and there but then she heard Nancy gasp and felt movement under her fingertips. Carolyn opened her eyes and looked down at the planchette. It was gliding across the board, moving from the center and inching its way to one of the corners. It stopped once it reached the word 'hello'.