Gridlocked Guesthouse (Locked House Hauntings Book 1) by Mixi J Applebottom Page A

tool, whatever it was, revved softly.
    And she turned to run up the dim wooden steps and her shoe gushed underneath her. As she looked down, she saw she was standing in blood, copious amounts of gushing, dripping blood. She screamed, oh she screamed so good , and charged up the stairs one gushy sneaker after another. She was still screaming when she made it to the safe room.
    Beezer awoke with a start. "Fuck, Beth. What the fuck?" He was bewildered, mid-sleep. His eyes were bloodshot and he clearly had no idea what was going on. She collapsed in his arms and sobbed.
    She heard the sound of a drill or some tool again and she let out a frightened squeal, deep into Beezer's chest. Beezer was kind of a gruff asshat, but even he could melt at the tears of a frightened girl.
    He wrapped her up even tighter in his arms. She shuddered as the tool kept going and she wildly looked around in fright. But they were in the safe room, and they were indeed safe. Jenny stepped down the stairs and said, "Zane's almost got the door off. What happened to her?"
    Beezer shrugged and the little motorized drill whirred again.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
     
    Safe to say, nobody believed Beth. Not even a little. Maybe they thought that she was delusional, hearing voices. Maybe not.
    But her sneakers were full of (I do hate to say this) her own urine. She got frightened enough to pee herself. It wasn't blood.
    And the voices? Well, who could say? She's Beth, socially awkward, and once they started ganging up on her, she stopped trying to defend what she saw and what she heard. Mike went down to the basement door, and found that, yes, there was a suspicious door with lots of locks, but no sounds. And nothing other than a bit of urine.
    But! She was right: when they revved the drill up there on the top floor, as they were working to remove the hinges from the door, it was loud down here at the basement door. Really loud. Must be a vent connecting those two spots. That was the only explanation, truly.
    They had not successfully removed the door yet. Zane was trying desperately, but two of the screws were so damn stripped that he couldn't quite get a grip on them. John still hadn't made a sound from inside yet.
    Everyone was worried, but it was Jenny who finally suggested a solution. She was, after all, the handiest of them all. She had built and torn down more old sheds than anyone else. "Did you try the rubber band method? Anyone got a rubber band?"
    They found one looped around a leaf of papers in the library where Amelia was killed. They put the rubber band over the screw and then jabbed the drill onto the screw. It worked okay, as long as they didn't rush it. Both screws came loose and the door finally came off its frame. Finally.
    Inside, ice was still coating the entire room. A confused Zane and shocked Ricky stepped into the room. John wasn't anywhere. They called his name but heard nothing. They started searching the room, Tiffany following after them, not saying anything at all, her nervous eyes flickering back and forth. Where was he?
    Mike touched the door handle to open to the master bathroom, and his fingertip stuck instantly from the cold. "Guys don't touch anything metal; we need some gloves." He gingerly tried to remove his fingers.
    "Can you open it?" Tiffany said. "I'll get some water and pour it over your hand." He nodded and twisted the handle. It opened the door and Tiffany stepped in. The bathroom was empty and she didn't see any way to carry water. She opened the cabinet under the sink and let out a scream.
    There John was, wrapped in towels, his eyes wide open, his skin frosty. There he was indeed.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
     
    Now, now, is finally the time to talk about Tiffany. She did, abort the baby, and she was showing off her perfect smooth and slim stomach with that crop top and low cut jeans just to prove to John that she had