Mary was running at him. Would he end up like his father, Brutus or Greg? Would he be her next victim? The knife was almost going into his gut, he had to do something. Edmund jumped to the side as the knife plunged into his skin.
He was bleeding but the knife did not go deep. He was still alive – still alive to get his revenge.
Edmund began chasing after Mary, she was not going to live much longer. She had failed to kill him and that was a mistake that would cost her life. She had killed Greg in cold blood, he had only been nice to her.
He followed her, he ran as fast as he could, but Mary did the same. She had to become tired at one point, she could not run forever. Where was she running? Was she running to a place where she had the upper hand? He had to find a weapon to fight with, he was not good at martial arts and she had a knife.
As he ran, he picked up a vase, he was going to throw it at her, knock her to the ground, knock the knife out of her hand and stab her with it. Stab her in the neck; he had no desire to torture her, and he was not going to sink to her level.
He looked down and saw blood dripping down from his wound, parts of his T-shirt were blood-soaked. Every step he took was painful; every time he moved his legs, it felt like he was being stabbed in the same spot with a bigger knife.
The vase fell out of his hand, he tripped over it and plunged to the ground. He landed on his head wound, it felt like someone hit him with a hammer. He moaned in agony as he tried to get up from the floor. It felt like someone was sitting on top of him, and his muscles were not strong enough to carry the weight. Every time his arms lifted up his upper body, they gave in, and he fell to the floor once again. He could not give in now, he had to fight. Mary was getting away, and he could not let that happen.
He staggered himself up on his feet, he was not going to let his father die without seeking revenge. He looked down and saw a massive pool of blood on the floor; he was bleeding heavier than he had thought he did. That was a problem for another time, first, he had to beat Mary and then he had to escape the hotel. He could break a window of his father’s car, grab his phone and call an ambulance. If there was no service then he would walk until he found it.
Where had Mary gone? He had to find her. He began walking as fast as he could, his stomach was hurting, and he could not run anymore.
He heard a door opening and closing. Was it Mary? It had to be. Which door was it? It would not be too hard to figure out. He began opening doors and looking inside, all of them were empty, then he heard someone talking. Was it Mary? It did not sound like it, but maybe someone else had caught her. He grabbed the doorknob and slowly opened the door.
There was sobbing coming from inside. What was going on? he wondered. Edmund entered the room and the first thing he saw was Greg standing up straight. Was he a ghost? Edmund opened the door fully up and looked inside. They were all in the library – the twins, Greg, Logan and Bella. They were all looking upwards except Bella was sitting down sobbing loudly.
Edmund looked up and saw Mary hanging by her neck, hanging from the flimsy staircase. What was going on? She was alive a few seconds ago, he had seen her. Greg looked at Edmund and asked him where the doctor was. Edmund did not know what to say so he just shook his head and asked, “Have you been here long?”
“Half an hour maybe, we found her like this.” Edmund could see tears going down the faces of the twins.
He looked down at his stomach and saw that there was no wound, there was no blood on his shirt, and there was no pain. Dorian was inside his mind making him see things that were not real. Was any of this real? Was Mary really dead and Greg actually alive?
All their lights went out but Edmund could still see everyone, and it seemed like they could see him. Dorian appeared in the staircase; he was tugging on the rope holding Mary up. “How is the orphan Eddy doing? Better than Mary, am I right?” Dorian laughed as he made Mary’s corpse swing from side to side. “Oh, Bella, you poor old crow, only two disappointments left now.” Dorian laughed and disappeared. Then he reappeared in front of Greg and punched him in his bloody face and knocked him to the ground. Dorian vanished, and their flashlights went back on, feeding the library with light.
Edmund got their attention by clapping his hands together. “He is the reason Mary is dead, and he is the reason everything bad has happened. He killed my father and he will kill us if we don’t get out of here now.”
“I WANT HIM DEAD!” screamed Bella, to which Logan replied with,
“How do you kill a ghost, or undead or whatever that weirdo is?”
“I don’t think he will let us leave, at least, not all of us,” said Greg.
“We need to burn his body,” said Ben.
“There is oil in the kitchen, we burn his corpse and this creepy house down,” said Barry.
Logan shook his head. “No one knows where he is, no one found his body.”
Greg smiled, it seemed as if he had an idea. “Edmund, we know where he is, he is buried down below with Nails.”
They argued for a bit, Logan did not want anyone to go down below with what he called a madman on the loose. Bella wanted to burn Dorian’s skeleton herself, but Greg insisted that he and Edmund should do it.
Finally, they agreed. The twins, Greg and Edmund should find oil in the kitchen while Bella and Logan packed the things they needed to get home, like car keys and such. The twins were going to pour oil around the hotel and Edmund and Greg were going to burn Dorian Black’s remains.
The four of them started running towards the kitchen, Edmund still had the feeling of being watched. He was certain that Dorian was watching them. He was playing a game with them – he was the cat and they were the mice.
They ran down the narrow stairs through the small hallway and into the kitchen. Barry gave Greg a full bottle of oil while he and Ben grabbed two each. They hurried back up and then they parted ways. Edmund and Greg ran to the painting of the staircase and Greg crawled into the elevator when Edmund said, “We need a lighter…to make the fire.”
“GO!” shouted Greg impatiently.
Edmund went back running. Where could he find a lighter? The first thing that popped up in his head was the game room.
He felt sweat dripping from his forehead into his eyes, it stung but he didn’t have time to stop. He ran through the hallways; he was close to the game room. Then he saw someone standing by the game room, it was not a man it was armour, steel armour, which had not always been there. Without thinking, Edmund raised the helmet and looked inside. It was empty, and he hoped it would remain empty.
He opened the door to the game room and went straight for the drawers. He found a box of cigars and next to it was a box of matches. He smiled, finally some good luck.
The sound of rattling metal filled the room and the armour came wandering into the game room with an arming sword in one hand.
The armour matched towards Edmund slowly. Edmund pressed his back against the wall. This could not be real, Dorian made him see it. There was nothing to be afraid of, he told himself, even though he did not believe it at all. His heart was pounding in his chest and he could not move. He wanted to run but it was like his shoes were glued to the floor.
The knight lifted his sword and swung it towards Edmund’s throat. Edmund sank down and tried to duck the fatal blow, but the sword ended up slicing him across the face and nose. Edmund screamed and pushed the knight away. The armour fell apart and crashed down on the floor, some of the pieces bounced up and down as if they had a mind of their own.
Edmund put the matches in his pocket and made a run for it, he could hear the pieces bouncing after him. He felt blood pouring into his mouth, it tasted of iron. It felt like the pain was a part of him, but it did not feel like it consumed him.
The hallway he was in started to shake and swing from side to side, it was as if it had a mind of its own. He could hear the pieces of armour bouncing after him. He had to hurry up. The hallway fell on its side and Edmund crashed into the wall. The hallway tumbled over once again and what was once the ceiling became the floor.
Edmund fell on his back, he looked up at the floor and saw the pieces of armour jumping higher and higher. Edmund got on all fours and began crawling towards the door. He could not reach the doorknob; it was too high up. He carefully stood up and tried to reach it. He could feel his fingertips brushing against it, but he did not manage to turn it.
The hallway tumbled to its side and threw Edmund off his feet and tossed him to the wall. The hallway started spinning around throwing Edmund from the wall to floor, from wall to ceiling and from ceiling to floor. He felt his head and body smash against the hard surfaces.
He’s making me see stuff that is not real; he is in my head, thought Edmund. He told himself over and over that it wasn’t real.
He got tossed to the floor and then he started floating. He could not breathe; he could see his blood floating up above him. He tried to wave his arms around and felt that there was resistance. He felt hard pressure on his ears, it felt like they were about to pop any moment.
He floated up and his head crashed in the ceiling then he fell to the floor. Edmund coughed and gasped for air, it felt like he needed to throw up, but nothing would come up. Edmund got on his knees and leaned against a small table with a vase and iron candlestick.
His flashlight went off and Dorian appeared, he was standing over Edmund smiling. “You are truly superb. As you know, I am a collector and I wish to collect you and as I am released from my prison, I shall have your soul on a leash to keep me company…dear Edmund boy, resisting is useless.”
Dorian caressed Edmund’s face and jammed his fingers into Edmund’s wound. Edmund screamed and tried to push Dorian away, but his arms went straight through him and all he pushed was just air. He grabbed the iron candlestick and smacked it on top of Dorian’s head. Dorian screamed, and Edmund could see smoke coming from the place he had stuck, then Dorian vanished, and the light went back on.
Edmund smiled and breathed out relieved. He had managed to hurt Dorian; he had actually hurt him. Edmund looked at the candlestick, there was nothing special about it other than the fact that it was made of iron. Did iron hurt ghosts? It had to, didn’t it?
He got back up on his feet, he had the candlestick tight, and he was not going to lose it. He walked back to Greg who looked both shocked and disgusted when he saw Edmund’s face. It looked like Greg was going to ask, but he refrained from it.
They both climbed into the elevator and Greg made it go downwards to the mass grave below.
The elevator was loud, it screeched as it went down. They could hear loud moaning and laughing as they came close to the crypt. Edmund could feel that Nails had been waiting for them, he probably hadn’t eaten human in ages. The elevator stopped, and the sour smell of death hit them in the face like a golf club.
They used their lights to look inside but Nails were nowhere to be seen. However, they could hear him groaning and giggling somewhere in the darkness.
The two of them climbed out of the elevator, they could hear bone cracking under their feet, and the sound of rats squeaking made the hairs on Edmund’s back stand up. He did not have a problem with rats as long as they kept their distance, or he kept his. They hurried along towards the steel coffin.
Edmund started lifting the lid and Greg helped once there was space enough for his fingers. They managed to open the coffin, and Edmund looked inside. There were two skeletons, one big and one small. There were scratch marks in the lid, it seemed as if Dorian had locked himself inside with his child by his feet. It seemed as if he had curled his child’s skeleton by his feet as if his child was a dog.
They both were wearing black suits and Dorian had his top hat on. In the corner, by the child, were a bunch of jewellery even the silver necklace. Greg grabbed the necklace and then they both grabbed the rest.
They heard a hissing noise, the noise was close, too close. Greg poured oil in the coffin just as their lights went off.
Edmund heard a wild screaming noise, then he heard Greg screaming and landing on the corpse covered ground.
Greg screamed and screamed, and Nails growled, howled and hissed. Edmund thought that he was going to help Greg but first he needed to set the coffin on fire.
Edmund pulled out the box of matches as he put his flashlight in his pocket. Edmund took out a match, made a fire and throw it away but missed the coffin. The fire died the moment it hit the ground.
He felt Nails push him to the ground and the box of matches flew out of his hand. He could hear them hitting the ground.
Nails jumped back to Greg and continued his growling. Edmund began crawling around searching franticly for the box of matches. His hand touched people’s skulls, legs and ribs; he even felt a twisted spine.
Something wet and hairy brushed up against his hand, he jerked it back. Was it a rat? How many rats were watching? Did they think he was a meal, a giant feast? He felt something climb up on his back, then he felt something crawl up his trouser leg. He tried to shake the rat in his jeans out, but it dig its claws into his skin and continued its journey. He felt the rat’s wet back brush up against his thigh. He felt it climbing over his buttocks and into his T-shirt.
Its claws scratched his back as the rat ran around brushing its wet stomach up against Edmund’s skin. He could feel the rat sniffing around, then it crawled out of his collar and onto his head. Edmund crawled around searching for the matches as he tried to shake the rats off him.
A rat bit his finger, he jerked his arm away and jumped up throwing off all the rats except the one clinging onto his hair.
He went on all fours and continued his search, then he felt something on his fingertips it was the box. He quickly grabbed it and got back on his feet. He felt his way around trying to find the coffin. There he found it, now he needed to light it on fire.
He lit a match up, touched the rim of the coffin and threw the match inside. The oil quickly caught fire lighting up Dorian’s skeleton.
Edmund looked down on Greg and Nails, he kicked Nails in his ribcage before he picked up his candlestick. The flashlights turned back on and pointed it at Nails and all the rats scattered. Edmund looked down on Greg, he had a huge gaping hole in both his cheeks as well as the tip of his nose was missing. Edmund helped him up and they watched the flames.
The fire was nice and warm, but the horrible stench was still poisoning the air.
Nails ran towards them, but Greg quickly shone his light in Nails’ face.
“Let’s go,” said Edmund as he gestured towards the elevator. They could hear Nails screaming in the background, but it did not sound as if he moved closer towards them.
Edmund hoped it was over, he hoped Dorian was dead. They burnt his skeleton and the twins were about to burn down the hotel, there would be nothing left for him to haunt.
Greg climbed into the elevator and Edmund followed him inside, then they pulled the lever and the elevator started going upwards. It went slowly but Edmund did not care as long as it took them up, everything was fine. The only thing left to do was leave the hotel behind, leave all memories of it behind and start a new chapter in his life. His father was dead, but he wasn’t, and his father would have wanted that. He still had his mother; she would not shun him and he hoped she would give him a big hug when he got home even though he didn’t really like hugs. The smell of smoke went up their nostrils as the elevator went up. It stopped in a smoke-infested room.
Both of them coughed loudly, Edmund’s eyes filled with water as he climbed out of the elevator. Had they already put the hotel on fire? They were supposed to wait until everyone was out safely.
It was almost impossible to see because of the thick cloud of smoke. They barged out of the storeroom. “We have to get out of here!” shouted Greg. Greg grabbed hold of Edmund as they began running so that neither of them would get lost.
They ran through smoke-infested hallways where the walls had caught fire. Embers were flying through the air. Edmund felt blood and sweat drip down from his face, his back was drenched in sweat and it felt like his arms were on fire.
They ran into the main hall when Edmund felt someone grab a hold of his other arm and toss him into the wall. Edmund felt the wall burn his flesh, and then he saw a shadow walk towards him. “Dear Edmund, I told you resisting would be useless. You have been a very naughty boy and naughty boys like you deserve to be punished,” said Dorian Black in a light but serious tone.
Edmund felt Dorian grab a hold of him and toss him to the side. “Edmund boy, are you not even trying to defend yourself? Have you finally given up?” Dorian laughed. “I know, I would give up if I were up against me.”
Dorian lifted Edmund up from the floor and sniffed his neck. “Won’t be long before your flesh starts cooking, Nails would like that.” Edmund tried to kick Dorian with legs, but they went straight through. “You thought that you could burn me? Well, I know you tried…I suppose you are quite upset since it didn’t work. I myself am joyous.”
Edmund could see someone else coming towards him. Was it Greg? Was Greg going to save him? Whatever it was, it was coming quickly, and it knocked Dorian to the ground. It was his father; it was the doctor. “RUN!” the doctor shouted.
Edmund began running further into the hotel, he had gone the wrong way now he was even more trapped.
He ran into the dining room where there was less smoke. Someone was standing by the narrow stairs it was Mary. Her face was covered in blood and her neck was bent to the side. “I am sorry!” she cried. “I am sorry!” Tears were running down her face, but it didn’t wash the blood away.
He was angry when he saw her but felt that it was rude to be, she was just another victim, a toy for Dorian Black to use and throw away. He wanted to comfort her but did not know how he could do it.
“There is an iron knife in the kitchen. You need it if you are going to escape,” sobbed Mary.
Edmund nodded but didn’t say anything. As he walked towards the narrow staircase, the perfect sentence popped into his head. “It’s not your fault.” He thought it was a lie but he also thought it was what she needed to hear. However, he didn’t think it was what he needed to say but right now, her needs came before his own.
She gave him a faint smile of appreciation, but he thought that she also knew that it was her fault.
Edmund walked down the narrow stairs; the further down he walked, the less smoke filled his lungs. The air was still bad but just bad in a different way. There was no fire in the kitchen, it seemed just as dark and lonely as it always had.
He put on his flashlight since there were no fires lighting up the dark corners.
Edmund smiled that his father protected him, he knew his father had always loved him in a unique way, but this was the first time Edmund could remember that his father had fought for him. It was certainly the first time his father had fought an evil ghost for him.
Edmund wandered around. Where would the knife be? Would it just be in one of the drawers? That would be too simple, he thought. It had to be hidden somewhere but the kitchen was a large place with lots of hiding spots. He would be a fool if he didn’t check the easiest place first.
The pain in his face had almost vanished, he thought the reason was that he wasn’t thinking about it. The pain was not a priority, the priority was to make it out alive and if he was going to do that, he could not just sit down and cry.
He began opening drawers and rummaging around in them to search for the knife.
“I know what you are searching for. The iron knife,” said a warm and friendly voice. Edmund turned around and saw the chef. “I know you want to kill him, and right now, the iron knife is your best shot.”
“Where is the knife?”
“It is in my bedroom in my suit jacket above my dead son…I hope you make him pay,” said the chef.
Edmund nodded before he ran towards the chef’s room.
He looked down on the skeleton in the wooden wardrobe, it felt wrong to take something from it but he needed to. He started searching the jackets for the knife. He found it, the knife looked very old, it had dents on it and did not look like it could cut anything at all. Edmund sighed; he hoped the iron kitchen knife would do the trick.
He nodded at the boy’s remains before he ran back to the kitchen and through the tiny hallway up the narrow stair into the smoke-infested dining room.
His father was standing next to the door. “Why did you run deeper into the hotel? I needed you to go out of it…for once in your life, listen to me and get out while you still can.”
Edmund nodded and said, “I will…and I am sorry.”
“Better I, then you. Besides I am the fool that brought us to this morbid hotel. NOW GET OUT!” said the doctor before he vanished into thin air.
Morbid laughter filled the dining room. Dorian was watching. “How nice, a purebred tried to save his half-bred son. Say what you will about him, at least, he had class.”
Edmund began running. “Where are you going, boy? You think you can escape? Edmund…Edmund…don’t leave me alone, Edmund,” said Dorian.
He ran through a hallway; he ran and ran but never got to the door. Every time he took a step, the door went further away. Edmund shook his head and continued running but the door went further and further away until he crashed into it. He plunged to the ground, he looked up and saw the door was right in front of him.
Edmund opened the door and looked inside, it was a black hole. There didn’t seem to be any floor any walls or anything. His light didn’t light up anything in the room.
He counted to three before he stepped inside, he had stepped on something that held him up. He started walking hoping that whatever kept him up did not disappear.
He crashed into something, it was a wall, but he could not see it. He felt for a doorknob and found it but wondered what the next room would contain.
It was just a normal hallway, there was nothing special about it at all. “Don’t leave, Edmund. You know you will die, why do you continue with blasted hope?” said Dorian’s voice.
Edmund coughed, the hallway was filled with smoke, and parts of the walls and floor where covered in flames. He ran at them, hoping he would not get burnt. He grabbed a doorknob; it burnt his flesh as he screamed in agony.
He opened the door and tore his hand away from the door handle, it felt like his skin was stuck.
He had done it; he was in the main hall and the exit was right in front of him. He felt a cold finger poke his back, he turned around but there was no one there. His light went off and he began running towards the door. Something pulled him back. “You will not be safe out there, Edmund. The world is full of kidnappers, rapists and burglars. You are much safer with me.”
Dorian lifted Edmund off and tossed him to the burning hot ground, then he grabbed hold of Edmund’s foot and twisted it. Edmund heard something snap and then pain shot up his leg. He screamed as Dorian continued to twist and rotate his ankle. “If you were a horse, I would have to kill you…well I suppose, we can play make-believe. Although I don’t really want to be the farmer, but you certainly are my horse,” said Dorian as he lifted Edmund up by his neck.
Edmund tried to punch Dorian’s hand but his fist went straight through, then he remembered the knife in his pocket. Edmund shoved the knife into Dorian’s chest right where his heart should have been. Dorian screamed as smoke started coming out of his chest. The smoke turned into a small fire and the small fire grew bigger and bigger.
Dorian dropped Edmund on his feet, and Edmund screamed in agony, “HELP! HELP!” He could hear a door opening, he heard footsteps coming closer then he felt someone grabbing hold of his waist and shoulders. He looked up and saw Ben and Barry carrying him out of the hotel.