Free The Haunted Halls by Glenn Rolfe Page B

shh. You have a higher purpose. I promise,” she said.
    Kurt’s last fragment of life wheezed from his open mouth and into the white sterile room in a cloud of vapor.
    …..
     
    Rhiannon walked into Kurt’s icebox of a hospital room, and screamed.
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
    Christmas Eve, 1983
    On Christmas Eve, sitting in a darkened movie theater with her psychotic roommate lost in Tony Montana’s drug-crazed bloodbath in Scarface , Christina was mentally preparing to do what had to be done.  If she was going to get away from this wicked girl, she was going to have to lower herself to the bitch’s level.
    After the three-hour movie came to its ultimately depressing climax, they walked arm in arm to the little powder-blue Volkswagen Bug that Sarah had acquired. As they drove the 40 minutes back to the hotel, the local rock station played an array of new songs that she normally would have enjoyed. But under the circumstances, Def Leppard could just as well be the Carpenters.
    As far as she knew, Sarah didn’t have a clue about her true feelings. Since the night of Jason’s death, Christina had shoved the burning rage and complete hatred for her down deep. She had tried her best to appear as the desperate friend she’d been when they met. She knew she’d have to catch Sarah off guard.
    They pulled into the near-empty lot of the Bruton Inn and headed in through the back entrance.
    “I think I’m gonna go for a swim.”
    “Cool,” Sarah said.
    Christina was certain Sarah would find her way down once she got bored with the TV. Sarah Ford may have had a tough and confident exterior, but it was one predicated on having to project it upon someone.
    Minutes later, Christina entered the large pool room. It was empty, as it should be–pool hours were posted stating a firm ten o’clock closing time. Christina and Sarah had yet to adhere to this rule, even after being caught by the old pervert at the desk that ran the night shift. He could care less. They let him watch them swim, which made Christina’s skin crawl, but it afforded the girls the freedom to do whatever they wanted within the hotel walls.  
    She didn’t bother using the changing room, deciding to drop her clothes in a pile at her feet, baring her naked body to the empty room that smelled of chlorine. At the moment, the odor also represented the smell of something else–her impending freedom. Slipping into the navy blue one-piece that Sarah had picked out for her, she stepped to the pool’s edge and dove in. She slid through the water, skimming mere inches above the pool’s concrete floor, before heading back up toward the light and air above. She broke the surface, bringing her hands up to clear the water from her eyes, and nearly jumped out of her gooseflesh skin under Sarah’s heavy sparkling gaze.
     

 
     
    Chapter Five
     
    Timothy’s new shadow tailed him. Whether the big guy with the fucked up grin was actually following him or just had the same plans for the evening was still up in the air. Paranoia had always been a Timothy-staple.
    He made his way down the first floor hall feeling eyes upon him the whole way, but he wasn’t about to let the weaknesses of his past ruin the promise of this night. He reached the pool room, grabbed the door handle and turned–the big guy was no longer there.
    Where the hell did he go?
    He stepped into the pool area, his dress shoes slapping against the granite tile, and was reminded of a study he read about how confined spaces with high humidity were perfect breeding grounds for bacteria and disease. This thought evaporated as Timothy took in the primal scene set out before him. Beautiful young ladies jiggled about everywhere. They filled the pool, they relaxed or texted in lounge chairs. They drank, they giggled, and at least a few of them were looking in his direction.
    Two scantily clad blondes in matching red and white-striped bikinis approached him. They smiled and offered him a Bud Light. He