CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Jess collected her hairbrush, a few toiletries and a fresh change of clothes. Allison hadn’t taken part in Jess’s earlier explorations and wasn’t comfortable showering in a strange room. And at this point, neither was Jess. She promised herself she’d hurry—she would just shower and change. She would dry her hair when she got back to the room.
Allison was already in the shower.
“I’ll be back,” Jess shouted into the bathroom.
“Okay,” Allison shouted back. “Hurry, will you?”
“I will.” Taking a deep breath for courage, Jess padded down the hall quickly. She chose the room at the end of the hall, the one she was most familiar with. Not that it would make any difference. By now, Siler House knew exactly where they were at any given time.
Stop thinking about stuff like that.
Her hand paused as she reached for the doorknob. With a quick glance back to her own room, Jess opened the door and let herself in, leaving the door open—just in case.
As if it would do any good if Siler House or anyone in it decided to come after them. The room was empty. No sign of ghosts of any sort. No demons. No Riley. Just a normal room.
Keep thinking that. Normal. Everything’s normal.
Jess made sure the towel in the bathroom covered the mirror before undressing. After waiting for the water temp to adjust, she stepped into the shower. She washed in what she thought was record time. Grabbing the towel, Jess ran it over her body and then over her hair. She dressed, tugging her short-sleeved shirt over her head and resisting the urge to bolt from the room.
Normal, normal, normal. Everything’s just fine, Jess.
Heart pounding, she quickly scooped up her things and hurried from the bathroom.
Don’t look behind you. Just keep moving. There’s nothing there. Nothing there.
The door was still open, but it felt as though it were a hundred yards away. In her mind, she pictured the door slamming shut in front of her.
Stay casual, Jess.
Her eyes focused on the door as she crossed the room, letting out a sigh of relief once she was back in the hallway.
Exploring Siler House used to excite her. She’d loved to go from room to room, taking in the furnishings and atmosphere. Now, everything about the place made her uneasy. Very uneasy. The sooner they did this, the sooner Riley was gone, the better. Of course, what about afterward? Would the experiment be over? Or would EPAC have more in store for them?
You’d better hope you’ll get out of here at all.
The hall was as empty as she’d hoped. Still, the eeriness of it made her break into a run to her room. She opened the door and stepped inside.
Allison gave her a smile of relief. “Glad you’re back.”
“Something happen?” Jess asked, trying to sound composed.
She was back in her room. Allison was here. Yeah, like that was a whole lot better—the girl who could become possessed at any moment.
She’s not. It’s Allison. Just Allison.
“Everything’s fine. If you’re going to dry your hair, you’d better hurry. You can use my dryer. I left it plugged in.”
Jess nodded. “Thanks.”
Why did it feel as though something was about to go wrong? Terribly, horribly wrong? And how had Allison suddenly become the calm one?
Jess closed the door to the bathroom as she dried her hair, leaving it slightly damp to save time. She unplugged the dryer and walked back into the bedroom. Allison was sitting on the edge of her bed facing the doorway.
“Sshhh!” she said turning her head back to Jess.
Jess crept over to Allison. Outside the door, someone paced the hallway.
“It’s like the other night,” Allison whispered. She scooted back on the bed and wrapped her arms around herself.
The pacing continued and Allison’s fear was escalating. She buried her head in her palms and began to whimper. Which was why Jess had to go and open the door. By now, she believed there were things that wanted to hurt them in Siler House. But, realistically, it could also be Gage or Bryan, or Dr. Brandt.
Or someone else entirely.
Each creak of the boards set Jess’s nerves on edge.
She went across the room. They couldn’t jump at every shadow. They’d be a wreck by the time they had to do the séance.
“Don’t!” Allison pled. “It’ll know which room we’re in.”
More footfalls sounded outside the door.
“Whatever it is, it already knows which room we’re in.”
The doorknob turned back and forth, but no one entered. Jess held her breath, but Allison…Allison was curled up on the bed whimpering.
Enough of this! It’s scaring the shit out of her.
And me!
But it’s going to make Allison crack completely.
The pacing resumed. Jess took a final step forward and the pacing stopped.
Open it. It’s right on the other side of the door. Just open it!
As Gage had put it, if they weren’t calm, they weren’t thinking. Right now, Allison wasn’t thinking. They’d need her for later. They couldn’t afford for her to make any mistakes in telling them how to guide Riley over into their realm.
What if it’s Riley?
It’s not.
If he were free of the mirrors, he wouldn’t be walking the hallway waiting for an invitation. Her hand hesitated only once. Gathering up every ounce of courage she had, Jess grabbed the knob and flung the door open.
No one was there. There should have been. There should have been someone standing right outside the door. For some reason, part of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven came to mind—the part where Poe kept hearing the tapping on his chamber door, but when he answered, quoth the raven, nevermore.
Stop it! You’re freaking yourself out even more because Allison is on the edge, and she’s going to take you with her.
Jess scanned the hallway and gasped. Mrs. Hirsch walked from one of the rooms. She switched the key ring from one hand to the other before looking in Jess’s direction, then raised the chain around her neck—the one with the pendant she always wore. She held it as though showing it to Jess, then tucked it back inside her uniform and walked off toward the stairs. Without a single word.
Jess exhaled and leaned against the doorway.
When had Mrs. Hirsch returned?
Jess stepped out of the room in time to see the woman’s shadow on the landing wall.
“Mrs. Hirsch!”
The first step creaked and the shadow on the wall headed downstairs.
Jess jogged down the hall.
“Mrs. Hirsch!” Jess shouted. “Wait!”
What was with her, anyway? Jess came to the top of the stairs.
And came to a complete stop.
The stairwell was empty. Mrs. Hirsch couldn’t have gone down the steps that fast. Jess ran halfway down the stairs before a few things occurred to her. The ghosts at Siler House were becoming less and less transparent or glitchy as they’d once been. In fact, the last time she’d seen Gracie and Emma, they hadn’t been transparent at all. The only other explanation was that Jess was getting better at seeing ghosts. Probably a combination of both.
The hallway behind her seemed too open, the stairwell too treacherous. All Jess wanted was to get back to her room. She raised a trembling hand to her mouth. Dr. Brandt had lied to them.
Something had happened to Mrs. Hirsch, because what Jess had seen was her ghost.