Dick Hallorann was sitting on the empty chair opposite side of the phone, thinking. The rain was starting to get heavy and Dick presumed it would turn into a storm in the next half an hour. Not that he would have to worry. The phone lines in Florida only ever went down in a cyclone or massive electrical storm. If that was the case, then the electricity workers would go down once the storm was over and fix the wires. Electricity workers! That was it! The ranger station in Sidewinder always had power regardless of the weather. And their phone lines worked terrifically. He stood up and walked to the phone. He dialled the ranger station, remembering the number by heart as he did with The Overlook Hotel. The ranger station usually came up to The Overlook if there was a dangerous creature in the hotel grounds or a storm had turned off the power or if there was a disruptive guest in the hotel. Ullman, Watson and himself had the number in their offices and they had all memorized it by heart. He dialled the ranger station and found the lines were working. A ranger picked up the phone.
"Evening, Forest Rangers," spoke the ranger. He sounded positively tired.
"Hello," said Dick, taking great care not to sound nervous. He was shaking badly. "My name is Dick Hallorann. I'm the head chef at The Overlook Hotel."
"Evening, Mr Hallorann," said the ranger, sounding a bit more cheerful. Maybe he knew there wasn't an emergency at this point. But there is, my friend, thought Dick. A bad one. "What can I do for you?" asked the ranger.
"I've been trying to make an urgent phone call to The Overlook Hotel, but the operator says the phone lines are down," answered Dick.
"Yeah, I'm afraid a lot of lines are down due to the storm," said the ranger, a bit pained.
"Well, look Sir," said Dick. "I hate to put you through any trouble, but there's a family all up there with a young kid and with a storm and everything, I'd be glad if you could give them a call just to see if they're okay."
"I'd be glad to do that, Sir," said the ranger. "Why don't you call me back in about 20 minutes?"
"Thank you very much," smiled Dick. He felt better. "I'll do that." And he hung up the phone. He sat on a lounge opposite the coffee table and lit a cigarette. He felt dreadfully nervous inside.
***
Jack walked closer to The Gold Ballroom entrance. The hall leading down to it was misty and Jack smelt cigarette smoke. He walked into the entrance and saw The Gold Ballroom was chock full with heaps of ghosts. Some were sitting, some were dancing, some were standing and chatting with glasses of alcohol. An orchestra played music. Almost everyone was wearing masquerade masks. A doorman stood by the door.
"Good evening Mr Torrance," he said calmly.
"Good evening," smiled Jack, as if all these ghosts in this deserted hotel wasn't at all strange. He walked to the bar. Almost every bar stool was occupied, except for about two. Jack sat on one, right next to a man in a black suit, flirting with a woman in a long fur coat, smoking a long, thin pipe. Lloyd was serving drinks.
"Hi Lloyd!" grinned Jack. "I've been away but now I'm back!"
"Good evening, Mr Torrance," smiled Lloyd, showing great pleasure at seeing Jack. "It's good to see you."
"It's good to be back, Lloyd," grinned Jack.
"What'll it be?" asked Lloyd.
"Hair of the dog that bit me," laughed Jack.
"Bourbon on the rocks," grinned Lloyd.
"That'll do," smiled Jack. He reached into his pocket to fish out his wallet while Lloyd made the drink. He handed over a $20 bill, but Lloyd declined it.
YOU ARE READING
The Shining (Kubrick Version)
HorrorA written version of Stanley Kubrick's 1980 movie, based on Stephen King's 1977 novel. Please note that this is written in my words and that the story is originally written by Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick, along with the team who helped to write...
