Hub City Horrors (Diary of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs)

Sebastian Aho's Diary: Friday, August 14, 2020

Toronto, Canada

Eastern Conference, Royal York Hotel

After game one ended on Wednesday in second overtime not like how we wanted and then we came back and barely won game two with a 3-2 win against the Bruins, we're spending the whole day chilling in the hotel or around the bubble.

I'm staying in my hotel room, because the past few days there's been some strange things happening. Just yesterday night, I heard a bizarre tapping sound on the wall. My roommate, Svechy, didn't hear it.

So I borrowed a video camera from our media people and I'm sitting on my bed, looking around, holding the camera out.

"Welcome to Sebastian Aho's haunted room, episode one. I've borrowed a camera and I'm going to show you documented evidence of my room being haunted. Last night, I fell asleep to a strange tapping noise on the wall that I can't describe...it--" I cut off as I hear a thudding noise coming from behind me.

"Oh. my. God. SEE?! Did you hear that?!" I blurt out.

The handle jiggles noisily and I jump off the bed, gripping tightly to the camera. I can feel my heart pound fiercely in my chest and my mouth runs dry. Then goosebumps soar up my arms.

"Ohhhhh noooo, go away!" I struggle to get out.

"Sebastian...Sebastian Antero Aho," a voice breathes out.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW MY MIDDLE NAME?!" I scream out at the voice. It seems to be coming between the sharp noisy handle jiggles.

Silence floods the room right after my shout and then a thunderous single knock comes and I jump, yelping in fright.

"I-I-I don't do sp-sp-spooky..." I shutter out, stepping backward and accidentally bang the back of my knee into one of the chairs. I let out a squeaking noise and lose my footing and fall backward into it.

"Sebastian Antero Aho," the voice breathes out again.

"Leave me alone!"

"Put...camera...down," the voice instructs.

I wish I had one of those voice box thingies, but thankfully the voice is clear enough. Then the door handle jerks down and the door creaks open.

"NO! GO AWAY!" I shout out as a figure stands in the door frame.

I throw myself backward and the chair topples over with me. I crash to the ground and find myself looking upward into the curiously, perplexed eyes of Andrei Svechnikov. He puts his hands on his hips and cocks an eyebrow at me.

"What the hell's wrong with you? Why do you have a camera?" Svechy asks me.

I slowly pick myself back up and grab the camera from the ground, which is still rolling. "I, uh, I was documenting the hauntings that have been occurring in this room. Was that you outside the door?"

"No. I just got here and I already told you, you're imagining crap. This room isn't haunted and you need to stop it, right now."

"But-but..."

"Sebby, please," he sighs.

"What's my middle name?" I demand of him.

He sighs again and faces me. "I don't know, why?"

"So you don't know it?" I question, with a stunned shock. I move the camera from me to him.

"You have never told me!" Svechy remarks with a laugh. "Look, just stop this crap and let's go explore the hotel and find out who's messing with you. I bet you anything, all of it is just someone picking on you."

"My money would be on an Islander, if anyone," I say, nodding. "But I'm still not sold that it isn't not haunted."

"Well, we'll see, c'mon," Svechy says.

I follow him, still holding the camera out before me.

"Turn the camera off though and put it down!" he snaps at me.   

"Fine," I sigh and turn it off and put it down on the desk. Then I follow him out of the room. 

To be continued...