The Haunted Hotel

Second Floor

I was breathing heavy, as I looked around, surveying the second floor. I had to be ready for anything. It was more than likely that someone was going to die on this floor. On the ground we now walked upon, death would soon spring.

Adley snuck her hand into mine, intertwining our fingers. My heart pounded in my ears, but it felt good. Nothing in normal life could scare me. I had faced one floor of the haunted hotel and survived, and I intended to do it again and again. There were still five of us left. I believed that the majority of that five could make it out.

The only thing in this hallway, was a wooden table, with an old phone on it, you know, the kind you had to spin. I started towards it. Maybe we could call for help.

I took one step forward, a sudden surge of confidence ripping its way through me. A click sounded. I stopped all movement, even held my breath.

"Dude, did you just step on a bomb?" Trey asked.

I slowly turned my head to look at them. "I don't know, but that noise didn't sound promising."

"Just take your foot off and see what happens," Kelley rolled her eyes in annoyance, as she spoke.

"What if it blows us up?" Adley asked.

"Then we die sooner than planned. We're most likely going to die anyways, whether it's not or later doesn't really matter to me. Just step off it," Jonah huffed.

I slowly moved my foot of off it, easing the pressure. Nothing happened, for a second. Then, just when I thought it was fine, when I thought we were going to live, a bang sounded, and thick, black ropes flew out of the walls, wrapping around our necks, chests, legs, and arms. They were tight enough to make it hard to breathe, but not tight enough to kill us. Kelley screamed and thrashed, but that did nothing but tighten the rope.

"Stop moving!" I commanded.

She screamed again, trying desperately to get out. "Kelley, stop. You're making it worse. It's going to be okay. Just calm down," Jonah said, in a voice I had never heard before. It sounded as if he actually cared for the girl. He was trying to calm her down, for her safety. He was doing something selfless. I had never seen that side of Jonah before, but you know what they say, a horrible situation brings out the best in people. Just kidding, I don't think anyone says that.

The ropes tugged us back. For a second, I thought we were going to shoot into the wall, like they had come out, but then I smashed into the hard surface. I had never been so happy to bang into something. I looked to my right. Adley was next to me. She gave me a small, forced smile, when I caught her eye. Next to her, was Trey, then Kelley, then Jonah, closest to the stairwell door.

A screen dropped down from the ceiling. A TV screen, in the middle of this ancient building. It flickered on. Then, the scary video from the ring came on. I averted my eyes, knowing what came next. I had seen he movie.

"Don't watch it! It's The Ring!" I yelled. Everyone followed my advice, but Jonah.

Jonah was a horror movie buff. He couldn't not watch a part of one of his favorite movies. He had to witness it. So, he watched it. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for it to be over.

Finally, what felt like eons later, the TV screen went back up, and the ropes released us. We fell onto the floor, clutching at our necks, finally able to breathe normal again.

Then, the phone rang. The shadows seemed to whisper 'Jonah'. He took a step closer to the phone.

"Jonah! No!" Kelley pleaded, screaming, covering her ears, to try to block out the horror of it all.