Status: Rated R cos the swearing within turns the air blue :P
The Mocha Music TV Challenge
Chapter 3
“Shit!” Lars exclaimed. “We better be going in. The last thing we want is to be late. OK, come on guys! Wait, did I just say shit on TV?”
“Well that’s it for now, viewers!” said Harold. “As you can see, Metallica and Flotsam and Jetsam are just on their way inside Walter Towers. We’re not allowed to film inside, unfortunately, so we’ll be back tomorrow evening with all the news from our bands’ adventures in the most haunted hotel in California!”
“Goodnight music fans” said Bettina. “And happy Halloween!”
***********************
Metallica and Flotsam and Jetsam approached the entrance door, where they found an old knocker in the shape of a dragon’s head and a more modern doorbell. James’ hands twitched towards the knocker but Lars gave him a stern gaze and rung the bell.
“Aw” said James. “What if the bell’s broke and the hotel staff don’t hear it?”
“Of course it won’t be broke” said Lars. “Listen, I can hear footsteps coming”.
A second later, the door opened and the lads were greeted by a kindly old man. He was dressed in a smart suit; his hair neatly brushed back and a friendly smile on his face. He didn’t look like the sort of chap who would be running a haunted establishment at all.
“Good evening gentlemen” he said. “You’re here for the television show challenge, yes?”
Lars shook hands with him. “Yeah, that’s us. Good evening, sir”.
“Excellent. Welcome to Walter Towers. My name is Mr Terrys and I am the hotel manager. Do come inside, won’t you?”
The guys trooped in over the threshold, peering round at their new surroundings. The reception was large but rather dark. Round ball lamps, that looked like relics from the 1920s, lit up the area by the desk, the entrance and an ancient, flowery settee opposite. The carpet was thick and soft, so much that hardly any footsteps could be heard. The wallpaper was faded and peeling in places. Kirk sighed as he drank in his new surroundings. To him, it all looked romantic. He wanted to tell Lars this but Lars was speaking to Mr Terrys.
“Yes, you and Mr Hammett have a room with an en-suite and a four poster bed” the manger was saying. Kirk blushed and when he saw Jason grinning, gave him a stern look.
“Well now, if you’ll all just sign your names here in the guest book, I’ll give you a quick tour of the hotel” Mr Terrys said. The guys all quickly lined up, eager to begin their adventure. (Well, most of them were). Once they had all signed, Mr Terrys gave them the keys to their various rooms.
“There you go” he said, handing the last key to Eric. “OK, you’re all up on the third floor so follow me and we‘ll end up there eventually”.
“Come on Kirky” Lars called to Kirk, who was admiring an old painting of a knight.
“OK” Kirk said, hurrying after Lars. They followed Mr Terrys and the others through a large door to their right. A long corridor stretched out in front of them; doors leading off it to the left and right and a wide staircase at the far end. Old fashioned lamps hung from the ceiling, casting pools of light here and there.
“Here we have the dining room” said Mr Terrys, pointing to a door with a brass plaque on, which read Dining Room. He opened the door and showed his guests inside. It was a large room, filled with heavy wooden tables and chairs. Still life paintings of food adorned the walls.
“Breakfast will be served here in between 7:00 and 9:00 tomorrow morning” said Mr Terrys. “And you have a choice of traditional English breakfast or continental breakfast. That is, if you stay that long…”…
Kirk caught James’ eye and saw that he was listening intently. Mr Terrys nodded and closed the dining room door softly behind him.
“Here’s the bar” said Mr Terrys, pushing open the door opposite the dining room. (James’ eyes lit up and he was the first inside). The room was done out in 1920s Art Deco style. Dull lights shone out from under red lampshades, reflected in the wide mirrors behind the actual bar area. Tables and chairs had been dusted and the whole area looked spotless but it was completely deserted.
“Nobody’s in here, having a drink?” said Kelly David-Smith, mainly to break the silence, which suddenly seemed to have become oppressive.
“Good! All the more beer for me” said James.
“We don’t have any other guests at the moment” said Mr Terrys. “Many aren’t up to the more frightening challenge of staying here over Halloween”.
“But there’s no bar staff either” said Kelly David-Smith.
“Well, no” Mr Terrys admitted. “We’ve hired staff before in the past but they’ve all been too terrified to stay long. “I think the longest was the janitor, who managed three days back in 1980. He had an unfortunate encounter with a haunted broom cupboard…”…
Mr Terrys left the sentence hanging, leaving his guests to wonder about the janitor’s encounter. James was more interested in the beer.
“Um, if there’s no staff, do we just help ourselves to the booze? Like as in self-service?”
“No, young man. My wife will be manning the bar from 20:30 until it’s closing time at 23:00” Mr Terrys replied.
“Shouldn’t that be womanning the bar?” Kirk said to Lars.
Mr Terrys ushered James out of the bar and continued down the corridor, beckoning for the lads to follow him. He pointed out other doors but didn’t enter beyond them.
“Here we have the kitchen, but that’s off limits, even to me. My wife doesn’t like me underfoot when I’m cooking. This door leads to the stairs to the scullery and laundry room. Here’s the fire exit. And finally, the back door, which leads to the flower and vegetable gardens”. Mr Terrys pointed to a huge wooden door that resembled something out of a castle. There was a colossal knocker in the shape of a lion’s head. James’ eyes shone at the sight of it.
“No James, you can’t knock it” said Lars at once.
“Awww” protested James. “Just one little tap?”
“No!” said Lars. He glanced round; the others were already making their way back up the corridor. “Come on buddy, we’re getting left behind”.
James hurried after Lars, grumbling. “Aw, I really wanted a go with that knocker”.
“You’re obsessed with knockers! Hey, I think we’re going up the stairs”.
“We’ll take the stairs to your rooms, I’m sorry there isn’t a lift” Mr Terrys was saying. “It’s a little old timey, here. When I inherited the place from my Grandfather, about 30 years ago, his last dying wish was that my wife and I didn’t turn the hotel into some newfangled, flashy contraption. Apart from general maintenance, Grandfather never had the place modernised so it’s very similar to how it was when it was originally built”.
They had reached the third floor landing at last. A gallery ran all around, with many doors leading off it. Long windows reached down nearly to the floor, giving a splendid view over the rear gardens. More paintings decorated the walls; looking at them, Lars was certain that many were over 200 years old.
“Here we are, then” Mr Terrys said. “Rooms 3 to 7 are all yours for the night. Rooms 6 and 7 have en-suites and there are bathrooms available for the other rooms at the far end of the gallery”.
Lars nudged Kirk and pointed to Room 7. “Our luxury honeymoon suite” he whispered and Kirk giggled and blushed.
“Well, I’ll leave you boys to unpack and the bar will be open shortly” said Mr Terrys. “I’ll be in the reception until 23:00, so if any of you want anything, just come along and find me”.
“Well that’s it for now, viewers!” said Harold. “As you can see, Metallica and Flotsam and Jetsam are just on their way inside Walter Towers. We’re not allowed to film inside, unfortunately, so we’ll be back tomorrow evening with all the news from our bands’ adventures in the most haunted hotel in California!”
“Goodnight music fans” said Bettina. “And happy Halloween!”
***********************
Metallica and Flotsam and Jetsam approached the entrance door, where they found an old knocker in the shape of a dragon’s head and a more modern doorbell. James’ hands twitched towards the knocker but Lars gave him a stern gaze and rung the bell.
“Aw” said James. “What if the bell’s broke and the hotel staff don’t hear it?”
“Of course it won’t be broke” said Lars. “Listen, I can hear footsteps coming”.
A second later, the door opened and the lads were greeted by a kindly old man. He was dressed in a smart suit; his hair neatly brushed back and a friendly smile on his face. He didn’t look like the sort of chap who would be running a haunted establishment at all.
“Good evening gentlemen” he said. “You’re here for the television show challenge, yes?”
Lars shook hands with him. “Yeah, that’s us. Good evening, sir”.
“Excellent. Welcome to Walter Towers. My name is Mr Terrys and I am the hotel manager. Do come inside, won’t you?”
The guys trooped in over the threshold, peering round at their new surroundings. The reception was large but rather dark. Round ball lamps, that looked like relics from the 1920s, lit up the area by the desk, the entrance and an ancient, flowery settee opposite. The carpet was thick and soft, so much that hardly any footsteps could be heard. The wallpaper was faded and peeling in places. Kirk sighed as he drank in his new surroundings. To him, it all looked romantic. He wanted to tell Lars this but Lars was speaking to Mr Terrys.
“Yes, you and Mr Hammett have a room with an en-suite and a four poster bed” the manger was saying. Kirk blushed and when he saw Jason grinning, gave him a stern look.
“Well now, if you’ll all just sign your names here in the guest book, I’ll give you a quick tour of the hotel” Mr Terrys said. The guys all quickly lined up, eager to begin their adventure. (Well, most of them were). Once they had all signed, Mr Terrys gave them the keys to their various rooms.
“There you go” he said, handing the last key to Eric. “OK, you’re all up on the third floor so follow me and we‘ll end up there eventually”.
“Come on Kirky” Lars called to Kirk, who was admiring an old painting of a knight.
“OK” Kirk said, hurrying after Lars. They followed Mr Terrys and the others through a large door to their right. A long corridor stretched out in front of them; doors leading off it to the left and right and a wide staircase at the far end. Old fashioned lamps hung from the ceiling, casting pools of light here and there.
“Here we have the dining room” said Mr Terrys, pointing to a door with a brass plaque on, which read Dining Room. He opened the door and showed his guests inside. It was a large room, filled with heavy wooden tables and chairs. Still life paintings of food adorned the walls.
“Breakfast will be served here in between 7:00 and 9:00 tomorrow morning” said Mr Terrys. “And you have a choice of traditional English breakfast or continental breakfast. That is, if you stay that long…”…
Kirk caught James’ eye and saw that he was listening intently. Mr Terrys nodded and closed the dining room door softly behind him.
“Here’s the bar” said Mr Terrys, pushing open the door opposite the dining room. (James’ eyes lit up and he was the first inside). The room was done out in 1920s Art Deco style. Dull lights shone out from under red lampshades, reflected in the wide mirrors behind the actual bar area. Tables and chairs had been dusted and the whole area looked spotless but it was completely deserted.
“Nobody’s in here, having a drink?” said Kelly David-Smith, mainly to break the silence, which suddenly seemed to have become oppressive.
“Good! All the more beer for me” said James.
“We don’t have any other guests at the moment” said Mr Terrys. “Many aren’t up to the more frightening challenge of staying here over Halloween”.
“But there’s no bar staff either” said Kelly David-Smith.
“Well, no” Mr Terrys admitted. “We’ve hired staff before in the past but they’ve all been too terrified to stay long. “I think the longest was the janitor, who managed three days back in 1980. He had an unfortunate encounter with a haunted broom cupboard…”…
Mr Terrys left the sentence hanging, leaving his guests to wonder about the janitor’s encounter. James was more interested in the beer.
“Um, if there’s no staff, do we just help ourselves to the booze? Like as in self-service?”
“No, young man. My wife will be manning the bar from 20:30 until it’s closing time at 23:00” Mr Terrys replied.
“Shouldn’t that be womanning the bar?” Kirk said to Lars.
Mr Terrys ushered James out of the bar and continued down the corridor, beckoning for the lads to follow him. He pointed out other doors but didn’t enter beyond them.
“Here we have the kitchen, but that’s off limits, even to me. My wife doesn’t like me underfoot when I’m cooking. This door leads to the stairs to the scullery and laundry room. Here’s the fire exit. And finally, the back door, which leads to the flower and vegetable gardens”. Mr Terrys pointed to a huge wooden door that resembled something out of a castle. There was a colossal knocker in the shape of a lion’s head. James’ eyes shone at the sight of it.
“No James, you can’t knock it” said Lars at once.
“Awww” protested James. “Just one little tap?”
“No!” said Lars. He glanced round; the others were already making their way back up the corridor. “Come on buddy, we’re getting left behind”.
James hurried after Lars, grumbling. “Aw, I really wanted a go with that knocker”.
“You’re obsessed with knockers! Hey, I think we’re going up the stairs”.
“We’ll take the stairs to your rooms, I’m sorry there isn’t a lift” Mr Terrys was saying. “It’s a little old timey, here. When I inherited the place from my Grandfather, about 30 years ago, his last dying wish was that my wife and I didn’t turn the hotel into some newfangled, flashy contraption. Apart from general maintenance, Grandfather never had the place modernised so it’s very similar to how it was when it was originally built”.
They had reached the third floor landing at last. A gallery ran all around, with many doors leading off it. Long windows reached down nearly to the floor, giving a splendid view over the rear gardens. More paintings decorated the walls; looking at them, Lars was certain that many were over 200 years old.
“Here we are, then” Mr Terrys said. “Rooms 3 to 7 are all yours for the night. Rooms 6 and 7 have en-suites and there are bathrooms available for the other rooms at the far end of the gallery”.
Lars nudged Kirk and pointed to Room 7. “Our luxury honeymoon suite” he whispered and Kirk giggled and blushed.
“Well, I’ll leave you boys to unpack and the bar will be open shortly” said Mr Terrys. “I’ll be in the reception until 23:00, so if any of you want anything, just come along and find me”.