George Karim

2

Chapter Two

“I’ve heard all about it V. We are moving to the land of the dead.” My older sister tells me in an attempt to scare me.
“Stop it Victoria. You know it’s all lies and special effects.”
“No, I promise. There are no special effects. Their country still lives in the dinosaur age. Their T.V.s still have a box attached, and they have bricks for cellphones.”
I just stare at her with a face of annoyance as she gets the hint and leaves the room. I go through my checklist for the last time making sure I hadn’t forgotten anything before the move. My dad had a job offer that requires us to move from our home in California, USA to London, England. Everyone has heard the stories of England having “visitors” from the other side. I, however, have always been skeptical of these so-called “visitors”. I pride myself on being an academic and won’t believe anything without evidence.
The moment we stepped off the plane and out of the airport I had this unsettling feeling, as if death was lingering around every corner. I simply chalked it up to Victoria’s attempts to spook me finally working.
The Grey Lady Inn would be my home for the next 48 hours. This meant sharing a room with my gullible sister who was eating this “ghost town” concept up like a buffet, while my dad was away to confirm our permanent living arrangements. Anywhere my dad went Victoria begged to go with him. Luckily, jetlag was the best excuse not to get dragged along with. I had slept over 13 straight hours before finally waking. Studying the room I noticed the absence of family members it contained. I wasn’t bothered much by it. Victoria was probably sightseeing and demanded my father follow. It must have been late afternoon about now. My plans of an innocent trip to the café and a stroll around the city; became quickly spoiled after my old friend anxiety decided to show up accompanied by overthinking. No one had called or messaged and numerous hours have passed already. This was out of character for them. This worry would be soon knocked down to second place after the event of later that night.