> Chapter Twenty Seven <

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Paige

Two hours pass, and I finally doze off.
          The clearing. I'm in that clearing again.
          And there's a woman.
          She's ghostly pale, with eyes of ebony and hair of glimmering silver. She smiles at me devilishly, watching my every move with those spheres of darkness.
          "Who are you?" I ask her, scooting backwards slowly. I'm not gonna lie, she scares me.
          "When you arrive tonight, I will tell you. You're lucky I even let you see me." she responds with a smooth voice.
          "Arrive tonight? Arrive where?"
          "Fellhollow Forest. You will visit me tonight," she clasps her hands together, "I will make sure of it."
          "You...you're the ghost lady!"
          "Why, I'm not a ghost. You did get close, though." she giggles.
          "Leave me and my friends alone." I say firmly.
          "I will, once you've done something for me."
          "I don't want to."
          "Then your little boyfriend is next. He'll come if I ask. I know he will. All I have to do is show my face and he's mine."
          "All boys aren't like that. He would never desert me for some pretty demon lady."
          "Ding ding ding!" she exclaims, startling me.
          "What does that mean?"
          "Correct. I'm a demon."
          I've had enough of this. "Wake me up. Now."
          "Alright. We can talk later."
          Before I can object, I'm back in the car. We seem to be parked outside a large building—it must be the hotel.
          Straightening up, I grip the handles of my bag beside me. I push the car door open and hop out, heaving the bag with me. Struggling with the weight of a week's worth of items, I stagger my way to the glass doors of the hotel. Mom and Dad walk in after me, carrying their bags with ease; I guess what I consider essential is not exactly what they consider essential; a laptop, an iPad, a sketchbook, various different chargers for various different electronic devices, and other such things.
          After checking in, we ride the elevator to the fifth floor, where our room awaits. Bursting through the door with a swipe of the key card, I launch my bag onto the closest bed before pouncing onto the fluffy blanket. I make an imaginary snow angel on the comforter, then spring up to inspect the large bathroom. Flashing silly faces into the mirror, I forget my worries, my creepy dream, the ghost lady.
          I just love hotels.
          "Paige, just calm down and connect to the WiFi or something." Dad sighs as I explore the comfiness of the armchair in the corner.
          Standing to fetch my iPad, I smile. "Sorry. I'm excited."
          "We all are, but you don't see us bouncing off the walls." he retorts with a joking grin.
          I lean back on the pillows atop the bed I've chosen, hooking to the WiFi and opening the YouTube app. New video from PewDiePie, episode six of Daz Games' Resident Evil 7 series, Jacksepticeye's new episode of the same game...
          I watch videos until Mom asks if I want to go to the pool, to which I reply, "Of course!"
          Time to wash any remaining stress away.

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