The Oak Hotel - Watty Awards 2013 Finalist

Chapter Three - The Oak Hotel

Chapter Three

The Oak Hotel

They awoke to the haunting sound of children singing.

Sitting up, Lincoln’s head brushed against something and he panicked, hands flying up to push away at whatever was there.

“I think we're in a tent,” Kayleigh whispered, feeling around for an opening.

A moment later, they were outside and standing in a pine forest at the base of a small mountain. A steep path about twenty feet from the tent curved upward into darkness. At the top of the hill, they watched in amazement as a glowing strip of light danced in the sky. The hazy ribbon undulated through a spectrum of colors, swimming like a ghostly fish. The singing that accompanied this event was equally as strange, as if a hundred young voices were telling the same story, but in different languages. The tones and harmonies were bent and warped by the swimming nature of the light. It was awesome and eerie at the same instant.

And then it was gone. As if someone had switched off the bizarre effect with an idle finger, all was dark and silent.

Standing shoulder to shoulder in the thickening darkness, the spell broken, they moved back into the tent and discovered two thick blankets and two flat, but soft pillows.

“Where’s the book?” Lincoln asked.

“It’s not here. I already looked for it. I don’t think it came with us.”

“Those people in the house probably have it. Are you okay?” Lincoln whispered.

“I feel like I’m dreaming. Is this real?”

“I think so. It feels real. This isn’t Autumn Harbor, though, is it?”

“No, but we can’t do much about anything right now. We should probably just go back to sleep.”

Yawning, Lincoln did not argue. They snuggled back down into the heavy blankets and wondered again if it wasn’t all just a dream. Five minutes later, they were both asleep.

*     *     *

The morning sunlight and the sound of chatting birds made the weird episode last night seem even more unreal. Standing outside the ball-shaped tent, Kayleigh and Lincoln surveyed their surroundings and decided they were definitely not in Autumn Harbor. For one thing, nearly all the trees in their home-town were oaks. It was one of those funny things that made Autumn Harbor famous and attracted tourists each year from September to early November. Here, they were surrounded entirely by fragrant, wispy pine trees. The forest floor, carpeted in soft pine needles, was more sand based than soil. Another strange thing they noted was that the trees were no taller than around five or six feet. A young forest, Lincoln mused.

They agreed they needed to be careful exploring their new surroundings. Climbing the upward slanting path, they hoped the view at the top offered a better idea of where they were. The climb wasn’t too bad, but the crest of the path above never seemed to get any closer. It wasn’t until slightly after noon when they reached the summit.

Lincoln gasped. “It’s just like the drawing in that book.” Pushing past the final few pines, they stood near the back side of an enormous building. Constructed entirely of wood, the it swelled six or seven stories into the sky. A nearby cloud appeared to have caught temporarily against the steep, imposing roof. Moving closer, they both felt a palpable awe at this sight, but weren’t sure why. Of course, they had seen buildings much taller, but none with as much character or demanding presence.

Against the back of the building, an evenly spaced zigzag of stairs coursed upward, terminating at a door. There were many darkened windows, but no apparent watchful eyes. Kayleigh arrived at the wooden stairway first and gently set a sneaker upon it. She turned to look at Lincoln, who was still staring up at the windows.