Ghost Town (9 page)

“What?” Katani said distractedly, poking through some of the drawers and cabinets.

The bellboy pushed a button and the drapes that lined the windows opened electronically.

The girls looked up as the light poured in and were completely awestruck at the scene in front of them. Both of them hurried downstairs to get the full top-to-bottom view out the giant window. Framed by the window, the lawn of the ranch stretched out expansively. Lone Mountain was crowned with purple clouds, and the sky sparkled with snowflakes falling in the golden glow of the late afternoon sun.

“It looks like a painting,” Isabel whispered.

French doors opened onto a deck that ran the length
of the room. Sitting on the deck was a huge, inviting hot tub.

“We could all fit in here,” Katani said, walking outside to peek in the tub.

The bellboy showed them how to turn the spa on and off before he left them to settle in.

“I wish we had our luggage,” Katani said. “If I had my swimsuit, I'd jump into the hot tub right now.”

“Look, the snow's getting pretty heavy,” Isabel observed, pointing out the window.

“Yikes!” Katani said, looking out at the steady flurry of flakes. “I wonder where the others are. They must be almost here by now. I hope the snow isn't a problem for them.”

Katani flipped open her cell phone and dialed Charlotte at the touch of a button.

“It went right to voicemail,” she told Isabel. “They're probably not getting cell reception on the road.”

“I bet they got delayed at the airport,” Isabel mused. “Maybe the van wasn't ready on time.”

“Maeve is going to flip when she finds out that we're on the same floor as Nik and Sam,” Katani said with a grin. “She is
definitely
going to flip.”

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.

Katani looked through the peephole and unlocked the door to welcome Sam, who had changed into a vintage T-shirt and jeans.

“Hey!” Sam said, peeking in the room. “Cool room! Nik and I have some free time now. They have a big game room downstairs. Wanna go check it out?”

Katani and Isabel looked at each other.

“Well, uh,” Katani stammered. “I'm not sure we should leave the room.”

Nik joined her sister at the door. “Hey, where is everyone else? Shouldn't they be here already?”

“They haven't arrived yet,” Isabel said with a shrug.

“They were only supposed to be about thirty minutes behind us,” Sam said, checking her watch. Nik disappeared down the hall and returned with her parents.

“Mr. Ramsey and the other girls haven't gotten here yet?” Nik and Sam's mom asked, looking a little concerned.

Isabel shook her head.

“Look, why don't you girls hang out with us until the rest of the group gets here?” Sam suggested again.

“You have your room keys?” Nik and Sam's mom asked the girls.

Both girls nodded, showing her the keys they had stuck in their pockets.

“Okay,” she said. “I think it's all right for you to leave the room, as long as you're not wandering around aimlessly. If I know where you are, that will be just fine. Why don't you give me your cell phone numbers?” she said. “We'll stop by the front desk and let them know that I'm responsible for you until the rest of the group arrives.”

Downstairs in the lobby, Katani asked the woman at the front desk if she had heard anything from Mr. Ramsey.

“The group must have stopped somewhere. I'm sure there's no need to worry,” the concierge explained to them.

Katani nodded. “Where
are
they?” she wondered. It
was obvious to Nik and Sam that both girls were worried. “We were supposed to spend the whole week together.”

“I have an idea,” Sam piped in. “Why don't we have a sleepover in our suite? We have lots of room and it'd be so fun. We can watch movies and have snacks and everything. And you girls can get your minds off worrying about your friends. I bet they'll even get here in time to join us.”

“That's a great idea,” Nik and Sam's mom said. “I'll organize the snacks. How do pizza and salad sound, and maybe some nachos to start with and brownies for dessert? The room service menu looked pretty good. You girls run along to the game room and I'll see about getting this party started.”

Katani and Isabel smiled gratefully at their new friends.

“Don't worry, we won't leave you guys alone,” Nik promised, throwing her arm around Katani's shoulder.

Katani felt a little better. Still, she couldn't help worrying about Charlotte, Maeve, Avery, and Mr. Ramsey. The snow was beginning to come down hard. She hoped they were okay and not buried in a snowdrift somewhere out there in the wilds of Montana.

“Are you worried, too?” Katani asked Isabel.

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I'm actually mostly worried that Maeve is going to kill us when she gets here. Imagine spending all this time doing normal, fun stuff with her favorite singers while she's stuck in a snowstorm.”

They both couldn't help giggling at that.

A very cold group reached the old ghost town. Protected from the snow by an overhang on one of the buildings, they were grateful for the worn, gray wood, curved with age at the edges.

Everyone huddled together by the doorway, relieved to be out of the storm at last. They watched as the wind continued to blow and the snow skimmed over the surface of the road.

The only traffic on the street was tumbleweeds and driving snow. The fact that there were no tracks at all was alarming. No one had come into the town since they had passed through.

As the tired group moved down the street, doors and shutters banged with such ferocity that it made them all jump. It was almost as if the town was trying to scare them away.

“It's just the wind,” Charlotte whispered to herself.

“Look in here,” Avery shouted as she darted through
the open door of the Dry Gulch Barbershop. Avery jumped into one of the barber chairs and began spinning.

“YEEE HAW!” she cried out as if she were back on the bucking bronco and not just in an old barber chair. “This chair is cool and actually pretty comfortable. I want it for my bedroom!”

“Come on, Avery. It's getting dark. We should find someplace with beds or at least blankets,” Charlotte said. “As comfortable as that chair is, it won't be fun to sleep in.”

Charlotte peered into the abandoned building next door. One of the swinging doors hung by only one hinge, and Charlotte didn't dare push it in for fear it would crash down onto her toes. As the wind blew the doors open with a loud howl, Charlotte caught sight of the dark, dank interior. The emptiness of the place seemed to suck the breath out of her, and something about it sent chills down her spine.

“Look, Char! A jail!” Avery pointed into the window of the next building on the street.

Charlotte snapped out of the chills and followed Avery inside the jail.

“Look! Wanted posters. Yup, Sheriff. He's a right orn'ry cuss!” Avery joked in her best western drawl.

Charlotte gazed back through the sole narrow window of the jail at the gray light of the street. “Come on, Avery. It's getting dark and the snow's not letting up one bit. We'd better find shelter before it's pitch black.”

“Let's go, girls,” Mr. Ramsey called, poking his head into the jail.

“Can we explore later? Please?!” Avery asked

“We'll see,” Mr. Ramsey said, ushering both girls out into the snowy street.

“There it is,” he pointed out after they had walked another block. “The Hotel de Paris.”

“
C'est magnifique
,” Charlotte said. “
Quelle surprise!
To find a slice of Paris here in the Old West . . .”

“Parisian culture was very popular back when this old town was founded,” Lissie told them.

“Hope this hotel has some vacancies,” Maeve kidded.

“The whole town is vacancy central,” Avery marveled.

Something's odd about this place
, Charlotte thought as she looked up at the gilded letters painted on the semicircular window above the door of the hotel. Then it hit her—it was quiet. There were no shutters crashing against the side of the building, no doors banging in the wind. The hotel seemed oddly secure and intact compared to the run-down condition of the buildings nearby.

Charlotte half-expected the door to be locked when her father tried it, but it opened right away. Quiet surrounded them as they entered the hotel. Mr. Ramsey shut the door behind them.

It was still cold, even inside. They could see their breath as they talked, but at least it was warmer than being in the wind outdoors.

Mr. Ramsey fished around in his backpack and pulled out a flashlight. The old chairs in the lobby were covered with sheets, making them look like squat, fat ghosts.

“This place looks like someone's been here recently,”
Lissie remarked to Mr. Ramsey, pointing to a kerosene lantern on the check-in desk. “Look,” she gestured to a box of kitchen matches beside the lantern.

“Do you know how to light one of those things?” Avery asked.

“I do,” Lissie said, taking a match and striking it on the side of the box. She lifted the glass shade of the lamp and carefully lit the wick inside.

It glowed dimly at first, then lit up with a cheery brightness in the gloom.

Lissie cranked the small wheel on the side of the lamp and trimmed the wick back to create a pleasant glow.

“Look,” Lissie said as she lifted the lamp from the desk. As Charlotte leaned over to see what Lissie was talking about, she could see distinct handprints and fingerprints on the dusty desk top.

“Eeeek!” Maeve said, pointing at some tiny footprints in the dust next to dark, rice-shaped droppings. “Is that what I think it is?”

“What?” Avery leaned forward to get a closer look.

“What do you think?!” Maeve looked like she wanted to jump on the closest chair or couch she could find. “It's mouse prints! There's no way I'm staying in any mouse-infested place!”

“You want to stay out there?” Avery asked, pointing to the blowing snow outside.

The thick, wavy panes of glass made it seem as if the snow was already piled up to the windows.

“There has to be somewhere else,” Maeve pondered, putting a hand to her forehead.

“This is the most solid structure I saw in town,” Mr. Ramsey said.

“I'm
sure
someone has been here recently,” Lissie repeated. “All the shutters are intact and the handprints . . .” she gestured toward the desk again. “This place is secure and definitely not abandoned.”

“I can't imagine anyone living so removed from civilization. That would be a terribly lonely life,” Mr. Ramsey said as he shut off the flashlight and took the lantern from Lissie. He walked toward the stairs that curved gracefully behind the desk. “Hello? Is anyone here?” he called out into the darkness of the second floor. “Our car broke down and we're looking for shelter from the storm.”

Only the moan of the wind replied.

The girls huddled together as Mr. Ramsey called upstairs again. “Hello?” Before he could get out another word, a loud bang came from the second floor, followed by a gust of frigid wind swirling down the stairs.

The giant gust blew out the flame of the lantern and the group was plunged into darkness.

Charlotte grabbed her father's arm and Avery grabbed Lissie's. Maeve put a hand to her mouth and let out a blood-curdling scream.

Okay, everybody. Let's all stay calm. Most likely the howling is just a draft from an open window somewhere,” Mr. Ramsey assured the girls as he rubbed his hands together to keep warm.

“Doesn't it always get colder in scary movies right before a ghost shows up?” Avery asked, eyes wide.

“Let's step over here so I can relight the lantern,” Mr. Ramsey directed. The group shuffled in one huddled mass to the front desk. Charlotte noticed her father's hands shaking slightly as he tried to strike the match.
Is he cold or afraid?
wondered Charlotte.

“You girls stay here with the lantern. Make sure you keep it out of that draft, away from the stairs. We don't want to use up all the matches,” Mr. Ramsey instructed. He took the flashlight out of his pocket and clicked it on. “I'll go upstairs to investigate.”

“Dad, don't go up there alone!” Charlotte pleaded.

“Yeah,” Avery said with an attempt at bravado. “It's
like when you're watching a scary movie and you want to yell, ‘No, don't do it!'”

Just then the howling became louder, and the girls, including Avery, moved closer together.

“I'll go with you,” Lissie offered.