Ashes to Ashes (Experiment in Terror #8)

by Karina Halle

  I tried to sit up without edging Dex off the bed. We had been plunged into darkness.

  “Did the power go out?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said quietly. “But I’d really appreciate it if you kept your arms around me.”

  “Don’t worry, kiddo,” he assured me. “It’s probably just the storm. It will come back on.”

  “You do realize where we are, right?”

  I felt him smile against my cheek. “I do. A haunted school. And look who said she could only come in this place if I had two dicks. Well, guess what, baby. You came three times on just one cock. You should never underestimate my penis again.”

  “Believe me, I won’t,” I said. While it was obvious the power was out, we also weren’t alone in the school. I could hear people in the halls walking, chattering loudly, their voices high and anxious. Through the frosted glass of the door to the nurse’s office I could see a scarce amount of light shining in, just a dull glow.

  “You’d think their generator would be coming on,” I said to him, picking up on the anxiety of the staff and students in the halls.

  Suddenly we heard the door to the office open and saw the moving beam of a flashlight. A wide silhouette paused outside our door.

  “Hello?” Davenport’s shrill voice shot through us. “Anyone in there?”

  Shit.

  “Just a minute!” I yelped. Dex and I both tried to get off the bed at the same time, resulting in both of us tumbling to the floor. I landed half on his back and half on my side. “Fucker!”

  I scrambled to my feet, trying to figure out where my clothes were. They were clear across the room with Dex’s clothes. No way we could find them in the dark without injuring ourselves.

  “Kiddo,” Dex said, and suddenly I was enveloped with a blanket. “Cover up.” I felt him stand behind me, holding my shoulders. “Come on in!” he yelled.

  The door opened and I automatically winced from the flashlight Davenport was holding in her hands and aiming right at us. Her mouth dropped open before she quickly snapped it shut and gave us an unimpressed once-over.

  “I came to tell you that the power in the school is out,” she said. ”You may or may not have noticed.”

  “We noticed,” I said, holding the blanket tighter around my boobs, hoping that naked Dex was well hidden behind me. Thank god for my wide hips.

  Just then, Rebecca came inside, holding the camera and our own light.

  “Oh,” she cried out softly when she saw us. She raised her thin brow. “I see.”

  Just claiming back my man, I thought, which was totally petty. But whatever, I was still pretty miffed at her for telling me about her and Dex the way she did.

  Davenport shook her head and clucked her tongue. “At any rate, I’m glad you three are here. The power has gone out because of the storm. We’re sending everyone home. We do have a generator here, but it’s not enough to power everything we need. Carl can keep it running for you, but it would just be in the cafeteria so the food doesn’t spoil. You’d have to move yourselves down there—keep in mind I don’t want anyone sleeping in the kitchen. That’s unhygienic.”

  The cafeteria was one of the few places on this floor we hadn’t really been in; we just had a little look when Kelly was taking us around. It also wasn’t a place I felt like holing up in. Though it wasn’t a big space, there was something extremely unsettling about empty cafeterias and kitchens at night. I think I developed a healthy fear of them after Jurassic Park.

  “Well,” Dex said slowly, “what do you think?”

  “I find it hard to talk to you when you’re naked, Dex,” Rebecca said.

  I kept my mouth shut, biting my lip hard. I looked over at Davenport. “Will Carl be staying to clean up?”

  “No,” she said with that patented brand of disdain. “He’s being sent home as well, which is why I need to know now what your plans are. The generator will be going on for the fridges and freezers but he needs to know if it will go to the heat and lights in the cafeteria as well.”

  I looked over my shoulder and up at Dex. “It’s up to you.”

  I didn’t quite feel like staying in that place with the power all out, and I definitely didn’t like the idea of the cafeteria. But it was our last show and it was our last night. No doubt we could stay at a motel tonight and come back tomorrow to film, but I knew once I was out of here, I wasn’t coming back.

  He nodded as if he understood what I was thinking. He looked to Rebecca. “How about it? Give it a shot?”

  You could see she was less than thrilled as well and probably not for the paranormal reasons. Dex and I had very obviously made up, but things between her and me and her and Dex were still strained, leading to one awkward night.

  Still, she was a trooper. Either that or terribly stubborn. Probably both. She smiled tightly. “I’m game if you are.”

  Davenport made an unimpressed noise. “Suit yourself.” She walked over to the counter where we had made a mess and put down her flashlight. “You might need this to find your pants, Mr. Foray.” She pivoted on her heel and left the room.

  “I’ll give you a moment,” Rebecca said as she followed Davenport out into the hall. I shut the door then propped the flashlight up so it lit the room, putting my jeans and my Master of Puppets sweatshirt back on while Dex quickly slipped on his clothes.

  “So how are you feeling about this?” he asked as he slipped into his jacket.

  “About the hot sex?” I asked as I gathered my hair back into a ponytail.

  He smiled. “About staying the night. You sure that’s what you want?”

  I nodded and rubbed my lips together. “Yeah. But I mean, if one thing goes wrong, I’m leaving and I’m not coming back. We’re done here. Once I set foot outside, I never want to return to this place ever again.”

  “Right with ya, baby. And you won’t ever have to do this show again.”

  My face fell slightly. I couldn’t help it. “You know, I will miss it.”

  “So will I,” he said, coming over to me and wrapping me into his arms. “But you’re the best part of it. As long as I have you, I don’t care what I’m doing.”

  “Same.” I pulled away and looked at him carefully. “Except amateur porn.”

  “Aww,” he said. “You’re killing all my dreams here.”

  I punched him in the chest then quickly kissed him. “We should go see the ruckus.”

  We gathered up the flashlight and went out into the hall. There were only a handful of teachers loitering in the marble-tiled foyer and a few kids holding hands and being led by a teacher out onto the front lawn. Brenna was there on the front steps, typing something into her phone, Jody hanging by her side, while the wind blew violently, shaking the pine trees. Once Jody spotted us, her eyes lit up and she ran back inside.

  “The power went out!” Jody exclaimed.

  “We know,” I said. “Were you scared?”

  She shook her head. “Nah. It’s just nature.”

  “Hey,” Brenna said as she came over. “I just talked to Rebecca,” she said, motioning that Rebecca was somewhere out in the parking lot. “She said you guys are actually staying the night.”

  “Squatting in the cafeteria,” Dex told her. “At least we will have an endless supply of those really tiny ice cream cups. The ones with the tiny wooden spoon.” He made the spoon motion with his hand.

  “Nice try,” Brenna said gleefully. “Our school has a gluten-free, non-dairy menu. Hope you like frozen soy milk.”

  He made a face. “Soy milk. Ugh. Tastes like jizz.”

  I gave him a curious look. “And how do you know that?”

  “I have bad aim sometimes,” he said. He looked back to Brenna and smiled lightly. “We might be gone by morning so we just wanted to say good luck and thank you for showing us around.”

  Brenna was still blushing red at Dex’s bad aim comment but she smiled. “Thank you. And good luck to both of you. I’m sorry I couldn’t be as much help as I wanted. W
hen Rebecca and I figured you weren’t coming back, the only thing we captured was the rubber ball moving slightly, but I think it was the wind. That’s what she thinks anyway. Sorry the tour was a dud.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said, and thanked her. She gave us a wave and headed out the door, holding out her hand for Jody. “Come on, Jody.”

  Jody looked back at Dex and I. “Bye.” Then she looked at Dex and raised her little arms for a hug. Dex crouched down, smiling broad enough that his dimples stuck out, and let Jody put her arms around him.

  God damn it if my uterus didn’t swoon. I’m sorry, but I needed to have that man’s babies.

  Then as Jody pulled away, I could have sworn she whispered something in Dex’s ear, enough to make him frown momentarily. Then she grinned up at me and waved. “Bye, Perry. Bye, Elliot!” I followed her gaze which shifted to a spot behind me. Elliot was standing at the foot of the stairs, hat in hand, staring at us meekly. “Take care of them,” Jody added before she turned and skipped away, joining Brenna.

  Brenna gave us a wary look to say that she had seen Elliot too, then she turned and they both disappeared out into the storm.

  I looked back behind me at Elliot, but he was gone.

  “Did you see him?” I asked Dex.

  He nodded. “Yep.”

  “What did Jody say to you?”

  “Just now?”

  “Yeah.”

  His expression became darker. “She said watch out for the ones that look like you.”

  “What?”

  A teacher walked past us and both Dex and I smiled politely and moved ourselves away from the front door. He leaned into me, lowering his voice. “I think she might mean doppelgängers, even though she doesn’t really know what they are.”

  “Doppelgängers?” I whispered back. “Why would there be doppelgängers here?”

  He shrugged, eyes still dark. “Why not? This is a genuine house of horror, Perry. There are ghost kids and demons and who knows what else. Doppelgängers make sense. This amount of sadness and death and pain is going to bring in a lot of very bad things.”

  “I think I saw one last night,” I admitted.

  He shot me a sharp look. “When? Who?”

  “When I left the break room and came back to you guys. I saw Rebecca in the hallway, heading to the bathroom. She even turned and looked at me. But when I got in the room, I saw Rebecca in bed.”

  “Are you sure it was the real Rebecca in bed?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t think you could interact with doppelgängers. You just see them.”

  “Did she talk to you? The one in bed?”

  “Yes. She said she was sorry. You were awake. Didn’t you hear her?”

  “Yeah.” He scratched his head. “She was probably legit.”

  I almost laughed at how blasé he sounded. “How else can you tell though?”

  “I have no idea,” he said. “I suppose the doppelgänger wouldn’t know the real you, wouldn’t know your thoughts. They’re an imposter as much as they’re a double. Funny that it took us this long to encounter one, don’t you think?”

  “Better never than late,” I said just as Rebecca came back in the building, her normally coiffed hair in a mess around her face, the camera light in her hand.

  “Stormy,” Dex commented, pointing out the obvious.

  Woo boy. The awkward evening had already begun.

  Rebecca pushed her hair away from her eyes. “It’s a real ripper. Maybe we should start moving everything into the cafeteria now. In fact, perhaps we should start filming as soon as possible. It’s still light outside, which means there’s at least some light coming in through all the windows. It’ll be easier to see that way.”

  And less scary, I added to myself. With the last of the staff heading out of the building and into the storm, we headed down the hall to move our belongings and prepare for one last night.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Our new headquarters were just as creepy as I imagined. Seriously, school cafeterias are unsettling in the daytime when students are beating each other up under bad fluorescent lighting, and disgruntled lunch ladies are throwing down sloppy joes. Although in this school it was apparently wild salmon filets with quinoa. Whatever. Give me sloppy joes any day.

  We picked three tables near the far end of the cafeteria, ensuring we had a full view of the door in case anyone (or anything) came in. Of course, there were the windows just above us that were enduring the wrath of the wind, rain, and flying pine needles, and I knew that if anything really wanted us in here, it would get us. But it was the little things that made you feel safe, even if you weren’t.

  Once we got everything sorted and Dex passed around the last of the bottle of Jack Daniels—no shock as to why Rebecca wasn’t partaking—we took our pre-EIT shots for the last time. If I wasn’t so damn freaked out, I would have shed a tear.

  “Raise your cup and let’s propose a toast.” He sang a line from one of our favorite Faith No More songs.

  I raised my plastic cup. “To the thing that hurts you most. To the paranormal and to never being normal.”

  He winked at me. “To us.”

  Then we gathered up the equipment and set off on our last shoot. Though the late afternoon light was coming in through the windows, there was a sense of urgency and dread with every step we took. It didn’t help that we were starting with the fourth floor.

  The worst floor.

  The floor where they used to have a gate to keep out the terminally and mentally ill.

  I understood why Dex and Rebecca thought it was a good idea to go up there. In the dim light of day, it was easier to stomach. Daylight had this way of making things less scary, though we all knew that monsters didn’t care what time of day it was. I was all too aware of that.

  We didn’t need to use the flashlights much, which was a relief, since the windows that lined the staircase and the ones on the floors were letting in just enough gray light. I was nervous and on edge as we climbed the stairs, passing the second floor and the third until we rounded the corner where Gary Oldman had stopped. Everything after that was unknown territory for me.

  I took in a deep breath and walked in front of Dex and Rebecca. Even though they were the last two to visit the floor, there was no sign they had ever been up there. The shattered windows had blown away the dust and covered the floor with pine needles and leaves. Up here, it was about ten degrees colder, and the difference hit you like a sledgehammer.

  “Was it this fucking cold when you were up here earlier?” I asked, the air hurting my lungs, my breath frozen in a cloud.

  Dex shook his head. “No, not at all.” His teeth started chattering. “You know what, you ladies hold tight and I’ll be right back.” He thrust the camera into my hands and started running down the stairs.

  “Dex!” I yelled after him. “Where the hell are you going?”

  “Getting you guys your jackets,” he yelled back as he rounded the landing on the third floor.

  I looked over at Rebecca, expecting her to say she was fine. Instead, she was slightly hunched over, holding her arms close to her, her face like ivory snow.

  “Are you okay?” I asked her.

  She swallowed hard and nodded. “I’m fine. I’m just cold too.” The she straightened up and walked down the hall, peering into the rooms, illuminating them with her light.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, following her.

  “Taking another look,” she said, her eyes darting from doorway to doorway as she walked. “When I was up here earlier I thought I saw something in one of the rooms.”

  Of course only someone who never saw a ghost in her life—only weird lights, abnormal sounds, and strange music—would be brave enough to investigate this.

  “What was it?’ I asked, keeping right behind her.

  “A painting or a drawing on the wall,” she said. She aimed the light into one of the rooms and said, “Ah hah.” She went in and stood by the mi
ssing door, and I watched her as she ran her fingers over the wall. She was right, there was something. It looked like a mess of black and red, like someone was painting with charcoal and blood. Given the fact that the floor was where a lot of the mental patients were, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

  “What does it say?” I asked, not wanting to get any closer.

  “Help me,” she said grimly. “Help me, they’re going to kill me.” Her words put a block of ice in my chest. She slowly turned to look at me. “Who are they?”

  I took a step into the room. “I think they are the nurses.”

  She straightened up. “How do you know that?”

  “Because,” I said, looking down at my sneakers, “last night, when I was sleeping in the break room, I saw Shawna again. She told me that she was killed, that though she had TB, she didn’t even have a chance to die from it. She said that many were thrown into the incinerator or smothered with pillows to make room.”

  I could feel her eyes on me, deciding if I was telling the truth, if I were crazy or not. I finally looked up and saw in the weak light that she was wiping away a tear. “I’m sorry,” she said with a sniff. It took me a moment to understand what she was apologizing for. “I’m sorry for telling you the way I did. I’m sorry for not taking your feelings into consideration…”

  My grudge evaporated on impact. “Rebecca,” I started.

  “No, Perry, let me say this,” she said. “Please. I’m angry, alright? I was angry before I even got here. And then when I got here, I started feeling sick. Started feeling like this was real, I was actually bloody pregnant. Then I got scared and I got angry all over again. Because there you and Dex go, deciding you aren’t doing the show anymore. You’ve made me jobless.”

  I felt like she punched me in the gut. “I’m sorry. It’s not that we weren’t thinking of you…”

  “I know,” she said quickly, her eyes flashing, her liner spilled under her eyes in dark pools. “I know. You and Dex are the show, you are each other’s show, and what you say goes. I know that. I also know I wouldn’t have a job if it weren’t for you. But there you are, in love with each other, about to start a new chapter of your life together, and here I am. I’m pregnant. Joblesss. Alone. I’m bloody alone, Perry.” She started to sob but caught herself quickly. “I am so scared. So, so scared. I’m so good at so many things, so good at pretending. And yet I can’t deal with this imperfection. I am so fucking scared!” she sobbed.