The Haunting of Silver Creek Lodge Read online

  The emptiness returned, this time accompanied by the weight of dread in my lower abdomen. “Not yet. The doctor prescribed them yesterday, but I haven’t had the chance to pick them up.”

  Lily gripped the prescription so tightly it wrinkled in her grasp. “What do you need them for?”

  In my head, I saw her body drop from the tree again. Swinging from the branch with dead eyes and a broken neck. I drove the image from my head.

  “Ever since we got to the Lodge, I’ve seen strange things,” I admitted. “People in the hallways that aren’t really there. Shadows on the walls that don’t match the things in a room. I feel whispers on the back of my neck I can’t understand.”

  The pink blush around Lily’s cheeks went white. “Have these things happened to you before? Outside the Lodge?”

  “Not like this or to such an extent,” I said. “I’d have flashbacks of the fire, but I’ve never seen…”

  I trailed off, staring absentmindedly into the distance. Part of me didn’t want to tell Lily what horrific images had been presented to me last night. It would only scare her.

  “You’ve never seen what?” came the inevitable question.

  I looked her in the eyes to remind myself she was okay. She wasn’t hanging from the tree outside. She was sitting right here in front of me, alive and well.

  “I was sleepwalking again last night,” I began. “Somehow, I ended up on the roof outside one of the rooms on the second floor. There’s a tree near the Lodge. It’s dead and decaying. Something drew me toward it like a magnetic force. When I was close enough, a body dropped from the branches.” My lower lip trembled. “Your body.”

  If this surprised or shocked Lily, she didn’t show it. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. It must have been terrible.” She paused to reread the medication script. “But I don’t think you should take these pills.”

  “I don’t want to,” I said, “but this stuff is negatively impacting my relationship with Simon. If I don’t get it under control—”

  “It’s not you,” Lily said, yet again.

  “No offense, but I’m pretty sure it is.” I took the prescription back from her. “No one else is having hallucinations of dead people.”

  Lily gnawed on her lower lip, much like the quiet girl at a slumber party who knows something she shouldn’t. “I don’t think you should take it.”

  I sighed and tucked the paper into my pocket. “I’m still deciding. I think I’ll go for a walk. I need to clear my head.”

  The snow showed no signs of letting up, but I didn’t let that stop me from getting outside. If Simon could go off with his new friends, I could certainly leave the house for a quick stroll through the woods. I bundled up in several layers, including a scarf to wrap around my nose and mouth and two pairs of socks. I chose my waterproof boots with the sherpa lining to keep my feet as warm as possible. It had been over a month since my last jog, and I missed the clarity that exercise brought.

  Behind the Lodge, a myriad of hiking trails led to different parts of Silver Creek. One led to the slopes if you wanted to walk that far. Another led into the center of town, again if you up for a forty-five-minute walk. In the summer, it would be a lovely hike, but with the snow up to my shins, I decided to stick to shorter paths.

  The air was different in the woods. Cleaner. The trees acted as natural purifiers, blocking out exhaust smells from the road and food smells from the restaurants in town. It was quiet, too. Most of the animals were gone, though I did spot a white fox before it bounded off to its den. The only sound was the crunch of my boots through the snow. I reveled in it, feeling peaceful for the first time in days.

  As the effort of hiking set in, my legs burning from lifting them so high with each step, the barrage of thoughts leaked from my head. I thought of nothing but the next tree or bend in the path. It was like being underwater. The whole world was put on mute, and for the time I was in the forest, I was separate from everything else. Lily was right. I didn’t need antidepressants. I needed to get away from the Lodge and all the problems it represented for me, including my relationship with Simon.

  Before long, I heard voices and glanced up to see the nearby ski spot not far off through the trees. It was my first glimpse of it, and it flooded me with jealousy. It was a collection of cozy, cabin-like buildings: one with a restaurant and café for skiers and snowboarders to warm up, one to rent, buy, or maintenance gear, and one with locker rooms and saunas to warm and clean up after your day in the snow. It was everything I wanted the Silver Creek Lodge to be, but we were so far from this level of comfort, it seemed impossible to ever get there.

  Somewhere on that slope, Simon skied with Keith, Boyce, and the other members of the Gentlemen’s Club. I imagined him scooting along the snow, far behind the others. Bless his heart, Simon had never been an expert skier. He was too timid, unable to trust himself enough to gain the speed that made it easier to balance. On one of our first dates, I’d taken him to the bunny slopes near my old apartment, and it was a solid twenty minutes before he managed to stand up.

  A smile touched my lips as the memories came and went. It should have been Simon and me out there on the slopes for the first time. I promised myself to redo our first date once the Lodge was completed. It would be a celebration of our new adventure and to remind us why we ended up married in the first place.

  Behind the cabin rentals, a quarrel broke out. A group of five kids surrounded someone smaller than them. They shoved the kid in the middle like a hot potato, passing her from one person to the next. I squinted and recognized the victim. Bubbles—the fan I’d met in the cafe. I headed over.

  “Don’t spread lies about my mom!” one of the bigger kids was shouting as he pushed Bubbles across the circle.

  Bubbles bounced easily off someone else. “Then tell your mom to stop being such a slut.”

  I raised an eyebrow. That was not the kind of language I’d ever expected to come out of Bubbles’s mouth. The first time I’d met her, she had been so polite. Pushy, but polite.

  “You’re dead now,” said the other kid. He pulled back his fist.

  “Hey—” I shouted, surging forward.

  It was too late. Bubbles turned to the side, and the punch landed square on her right ear. I yanked the larger kid away as she tumbled to the ground.

  “That’s enough,” I growled, stepping into the center of the circle. “Get out of here before I call your parents.”

  “She started it!” the other kid claimed.

  “I’m ending it,” I replied dangerously. “Go.”

  The kids exchanged dubious glances before taking my advice. Once they were out of sight, I helped Bubbles up and wiped off the snow from her coat and pants. Like the other kids, she was decked out in designer products. Her boots alone probably cost more than my entire outfit.

  “Let me see,” I ordered, taking her chin to turn her head so I could look at her ear. It was bright red and bleeding, but upon closer inspection, an older scab had opened up. The bruise there was at least a day old, fully formed, and purple. “This isn’t from today’s fight. What happened to you?”

  Bubbles pulled her chin out of my grasp. “It’s nothing. What are you doing here?”

  “It’s not nothing.” I held her by the sleeves of her coat. “Why were you provoking those kids? Do you pick fights on purpose?”

  “No,” she answered stubbornly.

  Thankfully, I had a travel pack of tissues in my pocket. I took one out, folded it over, and used it to blot the blood on her ear. “You can’t say stuff like that. It won’t make you any friends.”

  “I don’t want friends,” she said, her lip quivering.

  “From what you said at the cafe, I would have thought differently,” I told her. I got her a fresh tissue. “Keep that on your ear and put pressure on it. It should stop bleeding soon.”

  She did as I said, looking me up and down. “Did you walk here from the Lodge?”

  I looked behind me, where my footst
eps led out of the woods. “I guess I did. I didn’t realize how far I’d gone.”

  “I saw your guy on the slopes,” she said.

  I brightened. “Simon? Did he look okay?”

  “He’s like a newborn doe. Even Keith was doing better than him.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, he’s not the best skier.”

  Bubbles wrinkled her nose and looked up at the slope. “What’s he doing with Boyce Driscoll? You guys planning something for the town?”

  “He might give us some money to finish the Lodge,” I said. This time around, it didn’t sound like such a horrible idea coming out of my mouth. Apparently, being sick and cooped up inside affect more than my mental health. It affected my judgment, too. “How do you know Boyce?”

  “He’s the unofficial mayor of Silver Creek,” she said, echoing Boyce’s own words when he first introduced himself to us. “Everyone knows him.”

  “Right, I keep forgetting. Let me see that ear again.”

  This time, Bubbles turned voluntarily for me to inspect the injury.

  “It stopped bleeding,” I reported, collecting the soiled tissues from her. “Go to first aid, and get a bandage for it. You don’t want it getting infected. And stop picking fights. No one ever benefits from having a chip on their shoulder.”

  “I don’t have a chip on my shoulder,” she replied. “I’m just trying to get by.”

  “Aren’t we all, kid.”

  When Bubbles disappeared, I considered sticking around the ski resort to see if I could catch up with Simon when he finally made it to the bottom of the slope. The hot chocolate was enticing, and all I wanted was to greet Simon with a steaming mug of the stuff when he stumbled in from the cold.

  Because this was a business thing with the Gentlemen’s Club, I got a hot chocolate to-go and forced myself to march home the way I had come. I didn’t look back at the slope. I didn’t want to see Simon and Boyce chatting and laughing with the ease that hadn’t come to my relationship with Simon in weeks.

  The return hike to the Lodge felt much longer than the first one. Despite my warm boots and fuzzy socks, my feet were frozen. The petroleum jelly I’d smeared across my face before I’d left the Lodge had all rubbed off. My face was dry, cold, and burning in the wind. At last, I spotted our new home through the trees. Almost at once, dread dropped a weight on my shoulders. I didn’t want to go inside.

  Steam rose from the surface of the hot springs. Delaying my inevitable return to the Lodge, I knelt near the biggest pool, plucked off my glove, and tentatively dipped my cold fingers in the water. I moaned with relief. Though the drastic temperature change almost burned my skin, I couldn’t help but want to submerge my entire body in the pool.

  I glanced around. The woods were thick here, and with Simon and Keith gone, there was no one around the Lodge to spy on me. Before sense changed my mind, I stripped off my coat, boots, and many layers until I was bare. Then I slid into the hot pool.

  A joyous yelp made its way out of my throat and echoed through the woods. I laughed without holding back, letting myself feel the full shock of the hot water against my skin. The pool was a clear, natural green. I skimmed my hands over the surface, enjoying the feel of ripples beneath my fingers. With my bare feet, I explored the shape of the rocks below and found one shaped perfectly to sit in. I cleared a patch of snow from the ground behind me, reclined, and let my head rest back.

  It was heaven. I wondered why I hadn’t come out here before. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so relaxed. The minutes ticked by without notice, and I remained in the pool until the skin on my fingers and toes shriveled.

  An hour or so later, a cloud passed over the sun, and the breeze picked up. Not even the warm water could stop the goose bumps rising on my neck and scalp. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and considered my options for getting out of the pool. I hadn’t thought to go inside and get a towel before jumping in. All I had to dry off with were my clothes. It was going to be freezing run to the Lodge’s back door. I counted to three, braced myself, and lifted myself from the deep pool.

  Something grasped my ankle and pulled. I glanced over my shoulder and screamed. Deathly white fingers had emerged from the pool, wrapped tightly around my foot. When I pulled harder to get away, another hand appeared and clawed at my calf. Desperate, I grabbed for anything on shore that might serve as a handhold, but it was all snow. The fingers pulled me deeper. I struggled to keep hold of the bank, but with a final yank, my head dipped underwater.

  The hot springs had gone cold. Every bone in my body was frozen from the inside out. Before, I’d been able to stand on the rocks below. Now I couldn’t see the bottom of the pool. I kicked for the surface, desperate to break through for a fresh breath, but it was all darkness.

  Something rose before me. A white face in the darkness. Dead. Always dead. A scream ripped from my throat and rose in innocent bubbles. The hands reached out to encircle me. I backpedaled and hit the wall of the pool behind me. A sharp rock dug into my back, and the pain seemed to awake reality. A beam of sunlight struck the water, and without another look at the corpse, I struck hard for the surface.

  I exploded from the water, yelling for my life. Without worry of the cold, I scrambled out of the pool and onto the snowy bank. Naked and shivering, I huddled in a ball, unable to move.

  “Max?”

  Lily rushed out of the Lodge and ran over to me, but I pushed myself away from her.

  “Why?” I asked her, my voice hoarse and shrill. I pointed to the pool, which showed no signs of harboring bodies and endless darkness beneath its steaming, peaceful surface. “Tell me why I keep seeing you like that!”

  Lily’s lower lip wobbled. Here came the secret she’d been holding on to all this time.

  “Because I’m dead,” she said.

  11

  Lily picked up my coat from the ground and wrapped it around me. She made me step into my boots and led me to the house, guiding me with a firm arm. All the while, I gaped, unable to find appropriate words to join together in a sentence.

  She ran me a hot bath in the single bathroom we’d finished renovating and waited politely outside the door while I warmed up from my adventures outside. When I finished, she brought me a set of clothes—a cozy sweater and sweatpants—to get dressed. After I pulled on a fresh pair of fuzzy socks, I ventured out of the bathroom and found her tending to a pot of soup on the new kitchen stove.

  “Did you say…?” I began, but the absurdity of the thought in my head stopped me from completing the question.

  “I said I was dead,” she replied, stirring the canned soup to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

  “But you’re here,” I said stupidly. “You’re talking to me, walking around the Lodge, warming up soup. You can’t be dead.”

  Lily’s familiar smirk appeared. “You’re taking it better than I thought you would, to be honest.”

  I hoisted myself onto the counter. “That’s because I don’t believe you.” I reached out and touched her shoulder. She was solid. “How can I touch a dead person?”

  “It’s hard to explain,” she said. “Even I don’t know all the details.”

  “You never eat,” I remembered suddenly. “All the times I’ve brought you food or offered to buy you lunch. You always refused.”

  “Dead people don’t eat,” she replied matter-of-factly.

  “You don’t leave the Lodge, either.” I stared at her, open-mouthed. “I’ve never seen you off the property.”

  The soup bubbled and popped, plopping over the edge of the pot and spraying the counter with a mess. Lily wiped it away with a dishtowel. “This lodge is special. Or cursed, depending on the way you look at things. I can’t leave here. Believe me, I’ve tried, but I don’t always have control over what happens to me here. Every time I’ve gotten close to stepping over the border of the property, everything goes black and I—” She cut herself off, and her grip on the wooden spoon tightened. “Let’s just say I h
ave to relive a moment that I don’t like to think about.”

  “How did you die?” I asked. “Is that insensitive of me? I’m sorry, I just don’t understand how this could be happening.”

  “I got into—”

  My phone rang, interrupting her reply. I glanced at the screen and ignored the call. “Don’t worry. It’s only Simon. He’s probably calling to tell me Boyce’s new offer. Keep going.”

  Lily took a single mug—we didn’t have any soup bowls yet—from the pantry and spooned soup into it. “I got into a car accident. I don’t remember much about it. It was snowing that night. I was in a hurry. I think I was in trouble for some reason. Anyway, I saw the road for the Lodge and turned that way. The pavement was covered in ice. I hit a patch of it, lost control of the car, and rammed into a tree.”

  “That’s how we found you.” I steadied myself with a deep breath as I recalled our first night at the Lodge. The smoke billowing out of the woods as we ran down to find Lily’s car mangled on the road. “That gash on your head. I knew it wasn’t superficial. You died from it, didn’t you?”

  She shrugged, indifferent to the details of her death. “I guess so.”

  “The paramedics thought we were lying!” I gasped as everything began to make sense. “Your car disappeared before they could find it. You disappeared before they could take you to the hospital because you were already dead!”

  “I’m sorry,” Lily said as she handed me the mug of soup and a piece of cheesy toast. “I put you through so much strife that first night, and my presence is only stressing you out more. If I could leave, I would, but I don’t have that option.”

  I blew across the hot soup to cool it off. “Why not? Why are you still here?”

  She leaned against the counter and shrugged. “All I know is anyone who dies on this property doesn’t leave. I’m not the only one here.”

  “But why don’t the others come out like you do?”

  “I’m one of the newest,” Lily explained. “I died more recently than most of the others, so my spirit—or whatever you call this version of me—is stronger. You’ve seen some of the others too. You just didn’t realize it.”