Shadowfire

Chapter 8: Haunted

Nickolai and I stood outside of the Blair Hotel with serious expressions. Not a word was spoken between us. Nickolai excused the driver, who quickly drove off into the sunset. We remained in place staring up at the massive abandoned hotel before us.

"You first," he said. I glanced towards Nickolai but ignored his comment. The building had been boarded up long ago to ensure that no one would enter its premises. Around the entire property was a six-foot-tall chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. The Blair Hotel was nine stories tall and built with what appeared to sandstone and red granite. It had a strange triangular shape making it different from the rest of the downtown buildings that were built around it. 

Then each window on the bottom floor had a green shade screen overhead to protect it from the rare Colorado sun. There was no way that I was going to be able to climb over that fence. It had been years since I had attempted something so physical. The last time I had exercised was at a Step Aerobics class in New York over a year ago and I couldn't even find the energy to finish that.

 "I'm not Houdini. I can't just float on over there," I said sarcastically. Nickolai growled and pushed past me roughly as he made his way to the gate. The lock was already broken and it took approximately half a second for Nickolai to rip it off.

"Listen, I'm a nice person alright. So if I'm a bitch to you, you need to ask yourself why," I scowled at the back of Nickolai's head as he spoke but when he decided to turn around to face me my attention appeared to be already elsewhere.  When I didn't say anything in response he started to talk again.

"I can't deal with this today," he sighed. He swiftly opened up the front door of the hotel and a cool breeze rushed past. My body instinctively shivered. As soon as it happened I knew. I could sense the presence of a ghost behind me and it was getting closer. I closed my eyes tightly and prayed that this terrible feeling would soon be over. A hand firmly planted itself on my shoulder and I opened my eyes to see that Nickolai was staring at me worriedly. In an instant, the concerned look was replaced with a blank one and my attention was diverted back towards the main lobby. 

"This place looks incredible," I said. The doors closed with a bang behind us and I went to let out a scream. Nickolai covered my mouth with his hand and we stood there surveying the surroundings. When it seemed like all was clear he released his hand from my mouth and I glared at him.

"Vega, do you copy? Over" The distant voice of a female came. Nickolai flipped the Bluetooth switch on his headset.

"Loud and clear, Astrid," he responded. I started towards the old wooden front desk as Nickolai exchanged words with a woman back at the Vega mansion. Surprisingly nothing here looked like it had been vandalized. The extent of the damage was done from water that appeared to be leaking in from the eight-story atrium ceiling. But other than a leaky roof, a couple of years worth of dust and the typical creepy crawlies, it could easily be mistaken for a hotel that had been closed for only a matter of months. 

The front desk area looked like something out of an old horror film. Old unread pieces of mail were stuffed into hundreds of open mail slots and a single antique-looking call bell was placed beside a dusty old lamp that looked to be from the late seventies. 

"We've lost all signal from William," Astrid said. I wiped the front desk with my hand as Astrid spoke. A thick layer of dust now floated into the air, almost causing me to sneeze.

"You heard anything from Reagan?" Nickolai asked. There was no reply to his question and I turned around to see that the abandoned lobby was now sparkling as if it was brand new. My eyes widened and tons of people appeared before me dressed in formal attire. It was as if I had traveled back in time. Nickolai was nowhere in sight.