The 3rd Floor

Chapter 1

For months, Danielle and Kurstin have been planning their birthday party which Emily and I were invited to. It was at a hotel that was right next to Gander Mountain where Kurstin's mom worked.

I arrived exactly at 3 o'clock just like the invitation said. Low and behold, the other three were already there. I figured Kurstin and Danielle would be there before us, but I knew nothing about Emily arriving early.

It took us a few minutes to get checked in, but after that, everything seemed to go by pretty quick. Danielle was dying to go swimming so we all put on our bathing suits and headed down to the hotel pool.

I was the first to get in. Most hotels in this area don't heat their pools so it was a little on the cooler side. Emily jumped in next and soon after came Danielle. Kurstin was the last to get in of course. Considering she was on her period, Kurstin was extremely moody and, in this case, not in the mood to go in the pool.

"Come on Kurstin! You always do this!" I whined.

"She's got a point." Danielle mumbled under her breath.

"Whatever." Kurstin said, moving down to the second step on the latter to get in. The water wasn't even past the middle of her thigh and she was already complaining.

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After all four of us were in, we started playing a game. It was called Navy Seals and was a little like Marco Polo except you stayed completely silent.

Everybody was having fun until Kurstin came up from being under the water, choking.

"OVER THE SIDE!" I yelled, "OVER THE SIDE!"

She choked and gasped for air. Emily was whacking her back, trying to get the water out of her lungs. Finally Kurstin stop choking after about 3 consecutive minutes.

"For a minute there, I thought I was going to die." Kurstin said, completely out of breath.

"That's what you get for being so moody." I said.

"And stubborn." Emily added. Kurstin just rolled her eyes and began to swim around again.

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After about 2 more hours of swimming, we were starving. The six of us, including Danielle and Kurstin's mom, headed back up to the room for pizza and cake. After talking for a couple minutes, we all piled into the elevator.

"The 2nd Floor, Emily." Kurstin's mom, Laura, said.

Emily pushed the button and we were all brought up to the second floor.

"What's on the 3rd floor?" Danielle asked, "Since it hasn't been used as guest rooms for over a decade, what is it used for?"

"Nobody knows. Everyone that works at the hotel keeps it a secret. While we were waiting in line to check in, the lady in front of us asked. The employee didn't even respond. It was like the question wasn't even asked." Danielle's mom, Trina, exclaimed.

"We should really check it out. Its better than sitting in the hotel room all night." Kurstin suggested.

Everyone just ignored her suggestion and headed back to the room. We were starving!

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After eating, Danielle, Emily, Kurstin and I headed back down to the hotel lobby. We sat on the couch and immediately connected to the hotel's free wifi.

"I was serious about the whole 'checking out the 3rd floor' thing." Kurstin said out of nowhere.

"If we go up there, we will probably end up like all those people in those scary horror movies who get eaten by demons and stuff." Danielle said, looking up from her iPhone.

"I agree with Danielle. Bad things always happen to me."

"I think we should check it out. It could be fun too you know." Emily persuaded.

Just then, a cold breeze blew through the hotel lobby, leaving the four of us speechless.

"D-Did you feel that?" I asked the worker behind the counter.

"Feel what?" she replied.