HAUNT DAWGZ STORIES

THE HOTEL

Emma and Michael ran out of the old Bonita Hacienda Hotel only wearing their pajamas. The cold ground was uncomfortable under their bare feet, and in his panic, Michael forgot to grab the car keys on their way out of their room. Once at the far reaches of the parking lot the two stopped running, put their hands on their knees, and tried to catch their breath. "You, you...you have to go back in and get the keys out of our room Michael," said Emma as she struggled to catch her breath. Michael glanced at her. "This is some wedding anniversary we will never forget." Michael caught his breath and turned to walk back to the Bonita Hacienda Hotel, an old three story Spanish style hotel built in 1904. Before Michael could take his second step Emma grabbed his upper arm. "Wait. We go back together." A smile replaced a look of worry on Michael's face. Although not a very strong girl, at least Emma could call 9-1-1 if needed. But who would respond to a call of ghosts physically and mentally abusing a living couple? Who would believe their stories of windows closing, a cold presence suddenly felt, or the sound of humming to the song, Yankee Doodle Dandy from within their room.

Michael and Emily went back into the lobby and told the front desk clerk about their nerve racking, ghostly experience. The clerk, a man in his forties, whose work outfit was like the rest of the staff, a white long sleeved button shirt and black bow tie, listened to the couple's story. The clerk smirked and replied, "Oh wow! We at the Bonita Hacienda had no idea of any such activity regarding that room." Michael looked at the clerk with his mouth open and eyes wide. "Really? No reports from other guests?"
The clerk shook his head. "No. Nothing."
"We were so freaked out we ran out and left our car keys in the room along with a couple of suit cases. We need another key to that scary, haunted room to get my car keys and luggage." The clerk smiled and said, "Well, you know, they say sometimes spirits hang around. You never know where they are or when they will appear, but they are amongst us." The clerk broke into a mild short laugh then remarked, "Sorry if you experienced anything negative. Here's the key and I'll take fifty per cent off your bill." "Well, thanks for that!" replied a sarcastic Michael. Michael and Emma walked back up the old wooden stairs that creaked below their feet. As Michael put the key in the door of room 307, Emma grabbed his upper arm. Michael opened the door and immediately felt a freezing cold in the room, despite it being mid August.

The two entered the room and stepped inside. The door mysteriously slammed behind them, the startle caused them to flinch, and quickly turn around. They felt even more chills as they saw the deadbolt lock turn to the lock position on its own. Their arms displayed goosebumps as they started to shiver. Emma grabbed Michael's arm even harder and they moved quickly to the dresser where the keys were. Emma grabbed the keys and Michael grabbed the luggage. As Emma turned towards the door she felt something tugging at the bottom of her tee shirt. Michael was standing by the door, trying to turn the deadbolt to unlock it. The dead bolt was not moving, stuck in the locked position. They were trapped. The bathroom sink turned on, with water flowing from the faucet. Michael looked at the sink in amazement and with even more fear.

Emma's legs began shaking, and Michael stood frozen. He said, "We should have left the keys and luggage!"

Emma tried to walk towards the door. "Mike, something is still holding my shirt! I can't move!" "Michael!" she screamed. On shaky legs Michael approached Emma in order to free her shirt. After three unsuccessful attempts he was able to do so by violently pulling the bottom of the shirt away from the invisible thing that was holding it. As the couple was about fifteen feet from the door, the chair that was at the desk flew across the room by itself, landing in front of the door, blocking the route to freedom.

Michael moved the chair to the side and reached for the deadbolt. The deadbolt still would not move. No matter how much force Michael used to turn it, the strong gripped construction worker Michael could not move it. Emma screamed again, "Michael! Come on! We have got to get out of here!" Michael broke off one of the wooden chair legs from the chair that had been blocking the door, and used it like a hammer which is a tool Michael uses daily. He struck one side of the deadbolt knob and after eight strikes, the deadbolt turned open. Michael quickly grabbed the doorknob and jerked the door open, exposing their way out. Michael ran into the hall yelling, "Emma, let's go!" As Emma crossed the threshold, she felt that familiar hold on her shirt. However, this time, it not only stopped her forward motion, it pulled her back into the room as she screamed, "Michael!"

Michael ran for the door as it slammed shut right in front of him. He reached for the key in his pocket. "No! I left it inside!"
"Michael!" Emma screamed from the other side of the door.
Michael lowered his shoulder and rammed the door, breaking it off its frame. He ran in the room. "Emma! Emma!" He received no response. The room was calm and Michael did not feel that freezing cold sensation he did earlier. "Emma," he called out again. Emma could not be located. The only window was a very small bathroom window, about ten inches by eight inches in which not even a child could fit through. Michael's stomach began to ache as he had an overwhelming feeling of despair, and dropped to his knees trembling. Had he seen his young wife for the last time? After a thorough search, including looking under the bed, desk, and in the closet, Michael left the room and walked slowly down the hall, and down the stairs to the front desk, hoping to find clues to Emma's whereabouts.

Michael ran down the stairs with worry in his heart, a sweaty head, and the pain in his stomach growing sharper each minute. "How could she just vanish like that?" he nervously thought to himself. When he got down to the first floor he felt a lot better, but still wondered as he saw his beloved Emma.

There she was, behind the front desk, talking to the clerk. She saw Michael as he approached and ran to him, giving him the strongest hug she has ever given. "But, but...How? How did you get down here? I heard you in room 307, and when I entered, you weren't there!" "Michael," Emma said, continuing, "The spirit was able to vaporize

my cells then replace them, but only after the entity moved me out of the room and to the front desk. I didn't even walk down the stairs."
"Sir, perhaps I can explain," said the strange clerk wearing his white shirt and black bow tie. "I was just offering Emma a position here at Bonita Hacienda. There is only one catch, she has to be one of us." Michael responded, "Well she is a team player and a great worker, but she has a great job already. Besides, it would be a very long commute, and I don't think she would like to wear those little bow ties the staff here wears." Emma shouted, "Michael! The ghost in 307 captured me, faded me into thin air, and had me disappear with him, reappearing only when I was behind the front desk! I am NOT working here! We have got to leave!" Michael's mouth hung open and his eyebrows raised, as he looked at the clerk. The clerk started fading, and before he disappeared he smiled and said, "You see, I told you. You never know when or where you will encounter a ghost." The clerk vanished, and Michael and Emma just stood frozen, with goosebumps re-appearing on their arms.

The two turned and ran on legs that were weak and shaky with the shock of what they just saw. As they made it to the parking lot and to their car they suddenly stopped walking and froze again. The front desk clerk was standing there, leaning against the trunk of their car. The clerk looked at Emma and Michael and said with a smirk, "You see, we could be anywhere!" He added, "You will work here too one day Emma, one day."

"Not today!" Emma shouted at the ghost, right before he disappeared.
Michael threw the luggage in the back seat area, slammed the door, and entered the driver's seat. Nerves caused his hands to shake, and he dropped the car key on the floorboard as he tried to start the car. Michael got the car started, backed up rapidly, with the right tail light striking a tree, causing the lens to shatter. Michael accelerated out of the parking lot.

Since their stay at the haunted hotel, Emma and Michael only vacationed in newer hotels, and have been on many cruise ships, truly enjoying their vacation time. They have been able to put the haunted memories of that scary night out of their mind. It has been forty-three years since staying at the haunted, Bonita Hacienda.

It was a chili November night, with a light falling on Emma's windshield as she drove home with a car load of groceries. She planned to make a nice dinner for herself, Michael, and her two grandchildren, who were staying with them for the weekend. "This is going to be a great meal," she thought as she was pulled onto her street. The car traveling in the opposite direction began to slide onthe wet road. The impact from being struck head on was like a bomb going off, with broken glass, metal, and vehicle fluid thrown across the entire road. The traffic collision would have killed pretty much anyone, but Emma did not die that night.

The next day Emma was in the Intensive Care Unit, and looked in a mirror to see how bad her injuries were, particularly the gash above her left eye from hitting the driver's side window. What she saw startled her. It wasn't so much the shock of seeing her injuries. It was the shock of seeing herself wearing a white button shirt with a black bow tie. She shook her head and whispered to herself, "Okay, I guess it's time to go to work."