Midnight at the Spectral Motel

THE ENGAGED LOCK

The sound of the click was loud in the corridor. It was a sound that seemed to have a finality to it. The click did not sound like a door was being unlocked it sounded like a deadbolt was being locked into place. Every single door, including doors 3 5 7 the doors that were not marked with numbers and the door, to Room 8 seemed to become more solid. The doors looked like they were made of heavy wood like they were carved out of one big piece of old wood.

The resonators pulse stopped working all of a. It was a sound that was too quiet to hear but now it was gone. The machine started making a humming noise and it sounded really confused. The resonator was not working right. The machine did not know what to do.

Leo looked at the waveform display, on his laptop. The lines that were once clean and easy to understand were now all messy and confusing. He turned one knob and then another. "This is impossible " he said to himself and for a moment he did not sound like a person. "The sound is bouncing back. It is making a lot of interference patterns from many sources that are working together. How is the acoustic rebound doing this?"

He looked up from his screen. His eyes were not the eyes of a researcher anymore. They were the eyes of a hunter. He had found something he did not expect. His eyes moved over Silas. Then they stopped on Maya. "What did you do?" he asked Maya. He was looking right at Maya.

Maya said "I did not do anything" and that was mostly true. She had been working on keeping everyone safe. The motel was reacting to that. Now she could feel something a low and strong humming noise in the floor it was like the motel was saying we are all, in this together. The people who were staying there the walls of the motel were all coming together to stand up for themselves. Maya could feel the motel and the guests working as one they were all united and ready to defend themselves.

"This place is not just sitting here doing nothing " Leo said, his voice was full of excitement. "It does things. It is alive in a way. Do you know what that means? This is not a house where people think they see ghosts. It is like a system. The house is like a machine that uses the energy from peoples spirits. Leo took a step closer, to her. Did not even look at Silas. "Your uncle knew something about it. Your mother thought something was going on.. You you are actually working with the house."

Silas moved fast he was wearing a grey suit and he put himself right, between Leo and Maya. He said "You cannot talk to the keeper like that Mr. Vance. Your survey is finished. The things you are using are not working properly. You are bothering people at this place."

Leo laughed,. It was a short laugh that did not sound very happy. He said "The peace". Then he started to think about what that really means. Leo is trying to figure out how it all works. He waved his arms around at the doors. He said that the people in charge just protected an important part of the system. Leo thinks that important part is probably behind the desk in a weird looking room. Maybe it is downstairs in a basement that is closed off from the rest of the building. Maybe it is, in a room that is sealed tight.

Mayas blood ran cold. The man was really close, to Maya. Maya could feel it.

Silas told me that I had stayed long. His voice was really low. It made the lobby feel even colder. The big neon sign outside was flashing on and off in a way.

Leo said this with a sneer "I have paid for my welcome and it is good for six nights." He will use this time to listen to everything this place is saying. Leo leaned around Silas. Looked straight at Maya. "The notes your mother left behind were not complete. She was on the right path, with her ideas. She called this place The Listening Room. Your mother thought that if she could just hear the first story she could set everyone free. Maya your mother was a person who felt things deeply. I do not want to free anything.

He turned back to his machine and shut it down fast he was clearly upset. "I want to be, in control" he said. "Just think about being able to direct all that energy. Making some sounds louder. Others quieter. You could. Choose what stories get told. You could even make them say what you want to be true." He started putting his equipment in a big hurry. "This changes everything now. The first scan did not work like I wanted it to. It still gave me the information I needed. The heart is what I am looking for. It is here.. I will find the key to make it work."

He pulled his resonator towards the hallway going to his room. When he walked by the door to Room 5 he stopped. The crazy pretty tune that Maya had listened to the night before was coming through the door really. Loud. It was a happy song that was all, about one simple perfect note. The music of the song was really something it sounded like the song was built around that one perfect note the resonator music was beautiful.

Leo put his ear against the door his eyes were really wide. He said "This is fascinating…"

From inside Room 5 the music came to a stop. Then a new sound started: a loud deep BONG sound, like when you hit a really big bell that you cannot see. The BONG sound was very deep. It sounded like a huge gong was struck. The music. The BONG sound took its place.

The force of the blow knocked Leo back a step. He blinked slowly feeling really disoriented. There was a trickle of blood coming from his ear. Leo touched his ear. When he looked at his fingers he saw that they were red, with blood. This sight filled Leo with shock and then it hit him. He was getting really angry. He knew exactly what was happening to him. Leos understanding of the situation was making him furious.

The motel had drawn a line. The motel had actually spoken back, to me.

Leo just walked away. Went into Room 8. He slammed the door shut behind him. The lock made a noise when it closed it sounded like a gunshot.

Silas let out a breath. This made the people, in the lobby feel a little better so the tension was not as bad as it was before.

Maya said it quietly "He is bleeding." She looked totally horrified.

Silas said that the composer works with sound. He seemed happy about it. The composer was given something to use. The -rung bell. He used the unrung bell to show where things stop. It was, like a warning shot across the bow. The composer used the unrung bell to send a message.

Maya looked at the doors. The feeling that everyone was together against something was going away. Now it was quiet again.. Maya could tell that something had changed. The feeling she had gotten in the stone room was still, with Maya it was a feeling but it was there. Maya could feel that the motel was watching her the motel was waiting for her to do something.

She said that he is right the weight of it is really crushing her. He is right, about her mother. Her mother was looking for the story so that she could free them. She looked at Silas. Is that what they are supposed to do Alistair Ford?

Silas was quiet for a long time. "That is what your mother thought it meant.. Your uncle and I had a different idea. We did not want to set people free. We wanted to resolve things. We wanted each story to end the way it was supposed to whether that meant moving on or staying where they were. The motel is a place, not a place that traps people.. For it to stay safe the first story has to be strong like a lock, on a door. The motel is a sanctuary. It needs the first lock, the first story to keep everything in place.

If we actually solve the problem. If we give Alistair Ford the justice that Alistair Ford deserves.

Then the foundation is complete. The door that connects the worlds closes on its own. The motel will just be a motel again. The people who are still there will be really at peace. No one new can come. He looked at her. The motel and everything about it will be over. The foundation and the door, between worlds will be. The motel will just be a motel.

The thought of it being over hung in the air. This would mean no scratching sounds, no more notes and no more phones ringing all the time. There would be no fear.. At the same time there would be no more of Jimmys happy smile and no more of Eleanors bright personality. The music school would be. She would not have a reason to get up in the morning. Her whole purpose, in life would be gone. The music school was her purpose.

A new note came out of the brass message slot. The note was really new. It came from the brass message slot.

This one was not written on paper. It was a page of old sheet music that was yellow. This page was, from the year 1872. At the top of the page someone had written a title in looking writing: Ford’s Lament.. Below the first few lines of music there was a sentence that was scribbled down:

The man does not want justice. The man wants his name back.

The thing was signed with a looping letter: A. It was the letter A, written in a big loop.

Alistair Ford was speaking. And he had given them a clue.