Free The Haunted Halls by Glenn Rolfe

her.
    “I wouldn’t try to go anywhere if I were you,” Sarah said. “You’ve probably got a concussion.”  Sarah turned her corrupt eyes toward her. “And don’t worry about your admirer–I disposed of him myself. Every last bit of him .”
    The psychotic look in the girl’s eyes confirmed Christina’s worst fear–she was stuck in an unholy union with this devil in the land of blood and murder. She knew what she had to do.
     
    Present Day
    Dressed more for a party than a man heading for a dip, Timothy Laymon strutted down the hallway like he was Brad Fucking Pitt. He wasn’t sure where his newfound confidence was coming from, but he liked the way it fit. He stepped up to the elevator and hit the down arrow before turning to check his look one last time in the floor length mirror on the wall across from the elevator doors. Dressed in a dark blue button up shirt, and a pair of black jeans, he double-checked his freshly shaven scalp. There were already fresh sprouts of hair growing where such a thing shouldn’t be possible. The elevator arrived with a bing . He finished tying his canvas shoes and stepped in.
    The interior of the elevator, although quite warm and a bit too stuffy, was a very appealing blend of stainless steel and mahogany–it was beautiful. Before the doors slid shut, a large hand appeared in the dying crack of light. Timothy stepped back, allowing room for the guest to enter as the stainless steel door slid open. This man stood well over six feet tall and must have weighed around two hundred and fifty pounds. He was dressed in plain black shorts, a black t-shirt, and bare feet. It wasn’t just his size that was intimidating, it was his eyes. There was darkness in them. Darkness that made Timothy drop his own nervous gaze down to the maroon carpeting sporadically patterned with gold lobsters. He dared a glance out of the corner of his eye, and wished that he hadn’t. The towering figure flashed a crooked grin.
    The elevator descended to the ground floor, and the bing sounded again. Timothy felt swallowed by the dark shadow cast, both figuratively and literally, by his companion. He stepped out of the too-cramped space, alleviating the heaviness of the moment then headed left, toward the pool area. His new shadow followed.
     

 
    Chapter Three
    “Do you like what you see?”
    Kurt tried to open his eyes to match the face with the sultry voice, but was greeted with blinding light and black dots. It felt like he was lying on a sheet of cool metal. His head weighed a thousand pounds and he couldn’t stop shivering. “I-I…I can’t see anything,” he said. “W-w-where am I?” An icy cold hand clasped his bare shoulder.
    “Don’t worry that pretty little head of yours,” she said.
    He could feel the cool touch move through his body as the fingers ran through his hair. “What…what are you doing? W-wh-what’s happening to me?”
    She gripped her fingers into his hair, pulling so hard he was sure she would rip the follicles out. He cried out then tried to move his arms to protect himself, and couldn’t. The woman continued to pull on his hair. His scalp was threatening to rip. He tried lifting his arms once more, straining with all the force he could muster in his weakened state, and was met with intense white heat where his right arm ripped free. His screams filled the small room. “What are you d-d-doing to m-m-me?”
    “I’m going to let you in on a secret,” she said. Her cold breath spread over his mouth like a second skin. “You’re dead.”
    …..
     
    Rhiannon drove her Ford Escort into the parking lot of the Hollis Oaks General Hospital. She didn’t like hospitals; they reminded her of sickness, of death. Her Grammy Lilly had passed from cancer last fall in this very building. Rhiannon had gone to see her three times a week until the very end. Even now, looking at the large building, she could sense the ghost of the monster with no cure hanging around, waiting for its