The Mocha Music TV Challenge

It was a quarter to twelve. Kirk and Lars had had great fun, first in the bath and then making out in their gorgeous four poster. Kirk was sleepy but Lars seemed quite hyper and he had been talking away for ages. It was only in the last few minutes that he had quietened down and Kirk, cuddled under the covers and with his curly head sunk into his soft pillow, was hoping to get some sleep at last.

“Kirk, it’s eleven forty five” Lars whispered. Kirk rolled over in bed to face Lars and jumped, startled. There was an eerie green light hovering in the bed. Then as Kirks’ eyes adjusted to it, he realised that it was the light from Lars’ wristwatch; he had illuminated it to check the time.

“Lars!” Kirk exclaimed in a cross whisper. “Your watch scared me”.

“Sorry” said Lars, trying not to giggle. “I was just showing you the time”.

“Well next time, warn me”.

“Next time? Are we planning to stay in another haunted hotel at some point in the future then?” Lars chuckled.

“Shush! You know what I mean” said Kirk. He snuggled up closer to Lars. “Beside, I don’t think Walter Towers is haunted anyway”.

“No?”

“No, not at all. We haven’t seen any ghosts yet”. Kirk huffed a little. “We haven’t ever heard one”.

“Well, it’s not midnight yet”. Lars checked his watch again. “Ghosts usually come out at midnight so maybe well see some then”.

“I hope so, well sort of” Kirk said. “It’d be kind of a let down if this place isn’t haunted after all”.

Lars suddenly pricked his ears. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“Hush a min, Kirk. Listen!”

Kirk listened. He couldn’t hear anything unusual. Then, his ears picked up the faint but unmistakable sound of footsteps.

“Hear that?” Lars whispered. “Something’s out on the gallery!”

“It can’t be a ghost” Kirk whispered back. “They wouldn’t make footstep sounds”.

“Maybe it’s one of the other guys, going to take a leak” Lars suggested. Then there was a soft clunk sound. Both Kirk and Lars jumped.

“What was that then?”

“I dunno. That sounded weird”.

“Shall we go take a look?”

Lars hesitated. “I will if you will”.

Kirk nodded and patted Lars shoulder. “Sure. We’ll stick together. It’s honestly probably one of the guys, like you said”.

“OK then”. Lars pushed back the eiderdown, reluctant to get out of their warm bed. He and Kirk crept across to the door. Lars was just about to open it when another sound split the air…the sound of metal clanking.

“Shit!” Lars breathed, grabbing Kirk and holding him tight. “What the hell was that?”

“It-it sounded like a chain of some sort” Kirk stammered.

“A chain? Fuck, what if it’s a ghost with chains, like Marley from a Christmas Carol?”

“Y-yeah, maybe” Kirk whimpered. He stared at the door, half expecting a spirit to float through it. Lars hugged Kirk, ears quivering for any more sounds.

There was silence, apart from Kirk and Lars’ panicked breathing. After a moment, Kirk patted Lars back gently and spoke again.

“Shall we go and investigate?”

“I will if you will”.

“Of course I will, that’s why I asked you, silly”.

Lars nodded, even though Kirk could barely see him in the dark room. He released one arm from around Kirk and opened the bedroom door. There, the gallery stood in front of them, stretching away into the darkness. There was a slight glow from the moonlight, which made everything look twice as eerie.

“Maybe we should get the camera?” Lars suggested. “Then if we see a ghost, we can photograph it”.

“It’s in James’ room though” Kirk replied.

“Ohh, yeah” said Lars disappointed.

“Come on” Kirk nudged his buddy. “Let’s look for the source of the noises”.

The guys stepped out onto the gallery and moved forwards slowly. As they passed Room 6, Lars stood on a squeaky floorboard. He jumped, startled and backed into Kirk.

“Shit! Geez Lars, you’re like a rabbit” Kirk groaned.

“Sorry! Stupid floor” muttered Lars. They set off again, all senses on alert for supernatural happenings.

**************************

Jason awoke suddenly, again. What was that? He was sure he’d heard another noise. A creaking noise, this time.

Ah, I probably just dreamed it Jason thought to himself. He reached out for his watch, which was on the bedside cabinet. Pressing the light button, the face illuminated and Jason saw that it was 23:58.

Two Minutes to Midnight. The thought of the Iron Maiden song made him smile but the thought that he’d only been asleep a few minutes didn’t.

Ah, shit! I was hoping it was nearly morning. The dark and creaky old hotel was beginning to bug Jason. And then, to make things worse, he heard more noises. The sounds of footsteps out on the gallery. Two sets of footsteps.

Now that’s not a ghost. I bet it’s my band mates, trying to prank me. Jason sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed. Well, if it is, I’m gonna go give them a piece of my mind. We’re meant to be taking this challenge seriously, not goofing around!

**************************

Meanwhile, Lars and Kirk had made it to the end of the gallery and were standing close, holding hands. Nothing odd seemed to be happening at all and they were beginning to relax a little.

“Maybe that clank was a water pipe rattling somewhere” Lars said.

“Yeah” agreed Kirk. “After all, the hotel is over 200 years old. Old places always have creaky, clangy, whistly, bumpy noises”.

“Shush Kirk, you’re making me nervous again” Lars muttered.

“Sorry” said Kirk, petting Lars hair.

“It’s OK” said Lars. “So, if there’s nothing weird going on, shall we go back to bed”.

“Yeah, I think so”. Kirk yawned suddenly. “Let’s try and get some sleep”.

Suddenly, there was a loud, deep chiming sound as a church clock somewhere began to strike midnight. Kirk and Lars spun round, scared and as they did, they came face to face with a pale figure. Kirk screamed. Lars screamed. And Jason, coming face to face with two pale figures, screamed too!