The Monsters of the Mind

Part 22

There would be little to no sleep for either of us.

I took a deep sigh. My heart ached for Jimmy - but it also ached for little Amy, who never got a chance to live out her life, for Dr. Bose, whose career was cut short by the lies resulting in him taking his own life, for Harvey, who had done his best to raise Jimmy and still lost him to the darkness that lived in the Hall family. It also ached for Rose, who I had just met - even though I didn't know everything that had entailed after Harvey's death, but knew that she had also taken her life some time later.

Helping the spirits to rest in peace was just a part of the large puzzle that made up the Sea View Hotel. But did the puzzle include helping Jimmy find that balance? Or was it a lost cause to save a man who had become much like his demon counterpart in the past twenty-four hours?

I could give no answer to myself or my mind.

***

It had taken me a while to prepare something halfway decent to eat. Every time I thought I heard a creak of the floor or a rustle of paper, I jumped out of my skin out of fear that Jimmy - Hugo - had snuck up behind me and would hit me on the back of the head with a cricket bat again. With the paranoia at its height, I had actually burned several eggs and slices of bread while trying to make "eggie in a basket."

I finally was able to make two of them - slightly overdone - but was grateful not to have burned anything more. 

Talk about trying to explain that to Jimmy in the morning if I survived the night.

I scooped the two successes onto a plate with slices of apples and a large glass of water before standing at the cutting island in the center of the kitchen and working on my meal. The hunger that was now roaring in my belly over took my wish to remain quiet, my hands shaking as I scarfed down the food like a starving man who hadn't eaten in weeks. The hot egg yoke dripped from the center of the toasted bread, spreading onto the plate and apples like a river of gold, loud crunching noises echoed in the still silent room as my teeth clashed together with each bite. Sweet apple juice remained caught on my chin until I forced myself to wipe at my lips with the back of my hands, feeling little regret at my lack of manners.

"Hey, there, slow down!" a voice called, "You'll get a stomach ache if you swallow everything whole like that!"

My head shot up, my eyes wild with the fear that Jimmy had snuck in on me.

To my surprise, however, the ghost of Dr. Bose was standing in the doorway - his shirt still ruffled and the noose still hanging around his neck. His hands were tucked into the deep pockets of his trousers as his tired lifeless eyes watched me.

I swallowed hard, "Dr. Bose?"

The spirit smiled, "Surprised to see me again?"

"Well, yes... Of course! I thought you had gone back to your haunting on the second floor."

"Rose made contact with all of us," Dr. Bose explained, pulling his ghostly body from the door frame and entering the kitchen, "She told us that tonight was the night - the last chance for any of us to see the other side instead of being trapped here. We're all taking precautions tonight - one wrong step or course of action could be lethal."

I set the food in my hands down, the fear no evident, "What do you mean that tonight is your last chance? The last chance to see the other side?"

"I'll be blunt, since Rose wants to keep secrets from all of us," Dr. Bose said, "and I doubt little Amy understands the gravity of our current predicament - but Harvey and I know that tonight is the last chance for us to escape. The hotel itself has started to collapse with the four of us spirits living in these walls, danger lurks in every corner of this place - even deep under the ground. Rose fears that if the mistakes of the past are not resolved soon, the hotel will bury us and our stories in the dust - each of us forgotten by the world until we are forced to walk among the human race without any hope of being seen or heard any longer. Our voices will disappear on the wind and we will remain on the earth until the end of days."