After a quick encounter with the fire department, we finally pulled up to the Saratoga County Homestead. The gates were ripped to the sides from trespassers coming and going, and Steve and Dylan from Haunted Nights were out front. They didn't wait long before approaching us.
"Hey guys." Steve began. "Glad you didn't get lost!"
"No kidding." Colby said as he swung out of the car. "It was a mess trying to get out here."
"Who's this?" Dylan asked as I stepped out.
"This is my girlfriend Maddie." Colby slid his arm around my waist, making me blush a little.
"My sister." Sam added, making me roll my eyes. As my gaze fluttered up, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.
"Colbs?" I asked, looking up.
"What is it?" He replied, following my line of sight.
"Do you see that too?"
"No."
"It's a ghost then. She's wearing a white dress."
"What is she talking about?" Steve asked.
"I'm a medium. I can see some ghosts."
"This'll be fun. Let's head inside and get started."
I took one last look at the lady in the window before taking Colby's hand and following them into the building. The busted out windows in the front proved to be the entrance. We all had a hard time getting in, especially Colby and I, the two wearing skinny jeans. Seth immediately threw his hoodie on as a cold chill swept the room.
"Do you think we'll see any trespassers tonight?" I asked, taking in all of the rubble and destruction.
"It's likely. We see a few each night." Dylan replied, passing flashlights out.
"Damn."
"Why, is something wrong?"
"She can't tell the difference between ghosts and humans sometimes." Colby explained. The white part of the half and half sweater he'd worn was the only part visible. That and his face, but mostly his sweater.
"Are there a lot of ghosts active around here?" Seth pried, looking around.
"Define 'a lot.'" I sighed.
"More than twenty."
"I'd say there's about ten in this room. They're all adult ghosts, too."
"Oh that's not freaky." Sam teased.
"Like Colby earlier." I muttered under my breath. Colby chuckled lightly but held my hand tighter nonetheless.
We wandered around, listening to Steve explain the history of the sanitorium. When we reached the patient hallways, I had an idea.
"There's something I'd like to try, if you're up for it." I began. "Since I'm the only girl and the rest of you are men, I'd like to see if we can get some sort of reaction by sending us down the halls."
"I'm game." Steve replied.
"Colby, head down the female hall and I'll go down the male hall. Take a music box with you." He did as I said, placing the music box at the beginning of the hall and pointing his flashlight ahead. I did the same, keeping my eyes out for ghosts. Or movement at all. Music flooded the air and I turned around to see mine deathly silent, the crank on Colby's music box winding frantically. The nurse from before had come down the stairs and she was waving heavily at Colby, trying to get his attention.
"Colby!" I yelled, running down the hall back towards the group. He whirled around and began making his way back. He didn't have to be told twice.
We tried different combinations to get a reaction from the ghosts, all of us going down hallways, just me in the girl's hallway, and a few others. The only reaction we ever got was when any of the boys entered the female halls. Then the nurse would re-appear, a distressed look on her face. As soon as they left, she would smile and disappear. Steve and Dylan eventually led us up the stairs and around the halls up there. The further we went into the darkened building, the heavier my chest got. I coughed a few times, the sounds echoing through the empty expanse of the structure.
"Colbs?" I wheezed, bending over and placing my hands on my knees. His hand was on my back in a second.
"What is it, Maddie? What's wrong?" He asked, fear lining his tone.
"I can't breathe. My chest is heavy."
"Those are two of the symptoms of TB." Dylan chimed in.
"Again?" I groaned. Sam pulled out a water bottle and handed it to me.
"What do you mean, 'again?' Have you had TB?"
"We went to Yorktown hospital." Seth explained. We were in the maternity ward when she got a cramp. We think she had a contraction."
"We think that, since she's a medium, she can feel and have things happen to her because of the ghosts around her." Sam continued. "She might be feeling what a TB patient went through."
"That's cool and freaky at the same time." Steve added.
"I think I'm okay now." I stood back up, gulping air into my lungs.
"Do you think you can press on?" Colby asked, his hand still on my back.
"I think so."
We gently pushed forwards into the cinema. When we did, there were a few kids sitting on the floor of the empty room, looking up at what had once been the movie screen, I'm sure.
"There's a few kids in here." I said softly. "I think they're watching a movie."
"Have they noticed us yet?" Seth asked. "One or two of them. Not all."
"Let's break out the Ovilus." Sam suggested.
The boys did just that, holding the device out. They took turns asking questions and as they did, a young boy walked up to the box and answered them. I stood in awe as the boy's genuine curiosity led him to continue answering. When they were done, he returned to his spot on the floor to watch the movie. The next stops were X-ray and the O.R. Both rooms were eerily empty as if ghosts avoided those rooms. It made sense. Many of these patients found out if they were going to live or die in the X-Ray room. Many patients died in the O.R. We were getting ready to continue on when we heard rustling downstairs. Colby and Seth immediately flicked off the lights and pointed the cameras down.
We weren't alone anymore.
YOU ARE READING
Surprise Me.
FanfictionMadelyn Golbach walked into her childhood home, intent on visiting her family since she was home from college. She barely crossed the threshold when her brother texted her. The next day, she was in L.A. filming a video with Sam and Colby. Her biolog...
