Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 3: Pursuit

THIRTY

The Ghost Hotel definitely lived up to its name. A total creepfest, if you ask me. Red and I had emerged in the middle of this fake but eerie graveyard, bouncing up off a lift at the end of the passageway we'd been following and landing in the cemetery. A circle of headstones had signs for each area of the park, and a set of curving stone stairs wound up to the hotel itself, a big lighted castle off to our left that looked as if it had come straight out of some cheesy horror movie.

"Interesting décor," Red quipped as we made our way up the stairs. "Does it frighten you, Yuffie?"

I snorted. "As if! Makes me wanna laugh, more like."

He chuckled. "I know the feeling."

When we went inside, a guy dressed up like a zombie greeted us in the lobby. "Uuuuuugh... welcome to the Ghost Hotel. For reservations, please step up to the counter. Uuuuuugh..."

"Well, there's an example of acting that won't be winning awards," I quipped as we headed over there. "Jessie could probably give him some lessons. If she doesn't die laughing first, that is."

"It was a bit overdone," Red agreed.

The registration desk was tucked in the back of the lobby next to a curving wooden staircase covered in bright red carpet same as the rest of the room. Behind it stood another guy in a weird monster costume. He was shorter, and like that zombie fellow, the makeup effects on him were pretty good. I sauntered up to the counter.

"Hi! We're looking to—"

I was interrupted by a loud, howling shriek as a third guy suddenly dropped down from a trapdoor in the ceiling right in front of me, and I jumped back and shouted in surprise as my heart leaped right up into my throat. Not that I was scared, mind you. A guy in makeup and rags with an obviously fake noose around his neck just dropping in without warning isn't enough to frighten a ninja.

"Shit!" I swore. "Thanks for the heads up!"

Red laughed. "Scared now, Yuffie?"

I rolled my eyes and grinned. "In your dreams, fuzzball! I saw that one coming a mile away! Pretty obvious, actually."

"Sure..." he snickered. "If you say so."

The clerk smiled pleasantly at us. "This is Mr. Hangman, our most popular employee. He's always hanging around."

I groaned. "Seriously? Oh, gawd..."

"Welcome!" Mr. Hangman said. "How can we help you?"

"Three rooms, please," Red answered.

Once we'd paid, we took a look around the lobby while we thought about what to do next. There were spooky paintings on the walls along with what looked like a giant monster skull. Wasn't sure I really wanted to know if it was real or not. A large archway to our left led into the gift shop and a restaurant, and at a round wooden table on our right, a pair of holographic ghosts flickered in and out, seemingly playing chess. At least, that's how it was supposed to look. There were also several doors on the upstairs landing leading to the bedrooms.

"'Scuse me," I quipped, finding the hologram controls and turning off the ghosts before having a seat at the table. "Time for the real pro to play! Wanna try your luck against me, Red?"

He pushed aside the other chair and sat down. "It would be a good way to pass the time until the others return. Grandpa and I would play chess often back home. He is a master."

I surveyed the board. "And you? How good are ya?"

"Good enough," Red smirked.

Didn't take long for me to see he wasn't kidding. But my dad, when we'd still gotten along, had taught me well. So it was a pretty even game for the most part. I hoped to go out and see more of the Gold Saucer in a bit, but I didn't wanna do that 'till I'd given the room keys to Cloud or Jessie or one of the others. I also wanted to find Barret. Somebody had to keep that big lug outta trouble, after all.