Chapter Three.
Callie
I’d added Cherry to Connor’s team and Liv to Jack’s.
Sunny would give himself an aneurysm if he tried to protect the three women in his life at once.
Jack’s team was staying in the dining room to check if they found any more activity from Janie.
Connor was on route to cabin thirteen, and we were making our way to nineteen.
After dinner, we’d swap accommodations and see if we could confirm what the other team had or hadn’t received.
Sunny kept glancing over his shoulder as if he were going to rush back to Liv.
“She’ll be fine with Jack,” I said, and Sunny nodded curtly. I knew this wasn’t the time to push him.
The two teams split as we hit the cabins, and we headed into ours.
“What’s been recorded here?” Sunny asked.
“Knick-knacks moving on their own accord, the doors opening and shutting, and cold hands making contact with people,” I replied.
“Slapping or touching?” Sunny demanded.
“Touching. There’ve also been reports of laughter,” I added.
“Children or adults?” Ashford asked.
“Undetermined.”
“Okay. Callie will lead, Phil will film. Ashford, you and I are her eyes in the other rooms,” Sunny said.
Ashford nodded. “No probs. I’ll take the second bedroom and bathroom.”
“I’ll take the main,” Sunny stated.
“Okay. Is anyone here?” I called out and started my usual introduction to the team.
There was no reply for a good hour. Then, all of a sudden, Ashford yelped as the bedroom door he was in slammed shut.
“Ashford, are you okay?” I shouted, startled.
“Yeah, just made me jump,” he replied as he opened the door.
“Think you need to see this,” Phil called, laughter warring with shock in his voice.
I headed to the window Phil had been peering out of, and my jaw dropped. I raced to open the chalet door with Phil on my heels.
“What the ever-loving hell?” Sunny exclaimed as he and Ashford gazed out of the window.
Laughter floated in the air, not a child’s but an adult’s, as I stared at the area in front of the cabin.
Fiona and Simon had decorated the outside of the village with Santas, baubles, presents, penguins, candy canes, small Christmas trees, robins, and so on. I was stunned speechless by the scene in front of me.
Each path leading to a cabin was lined with something.
In this instance, we had Santas all holding little lanterns to light the way to the door.
Rude Santas. To music only they could hear, the Santas were dancing.
Not just normal dancing; no, it seemed the ghosts here had a sense of humour.
On the right, they were twerking, rounded little butts stuck outwards—and they were giving it all they could.
On the left, they were belly dancing. Their red jackets pulled up, bellies hanging out, hips swivelling, and hands in motion. They even twirled their white beards.
“Oh, my God!” I exclaimed as a ghostly chuckle sounded beside me.
“I’m filming this, but can’t quite believe it,” Phil muttered.
The Santas seemed to see us as they all turned to face us as one, which was really creepy as they continued dancing. The one closest to me winked and jiggled his belly harder.
A laugh escaped me as Sunny hauled me back. Really? A plastic belly-dancing Santa threatened him? Silly man.
Ashford pushed past me and picked up the nearest Santa, which stopped moving and stared at him. Unfazed, Ashford checked it over on camera before turning to us.
“These aren’t animated. There’s nothing to make them move. The limbs can be moved manually, but otherwise they’re just dolls,” he said.
The Santa took offence at his words and bit his finger. Ashford dropped him with a yell as Sunny raced forward and grabbed another one. As Sunny held him aloft to check him for any electronics, the damn thing reached out and bit Sunny right on his nose.
Shit, it almost killed me not to laugh at the insulted and shocked looks on Ashford and Sunny’s faces. The Santas scurried back to their places and then took up their earnest ministrations again.
“Fun!”
“Hello!” I replied.
“Good fun.”
“Yes. This is. Are you doing it?”
“Several.”
“Several of you are doing this?” I asked.
“Amuses… children.”
I considered that. “Do you mean the kids who are in the spirit world or the living ones?”
“Our children.”
“Why are you here?”
“Died.”
“You died here? What is your name?”
“Ernest Sikes.”
“I’m Callie, Ernest. It’s nice to meet you. You said others were doing this?”
“Yes.”
“Did you die here?”
“Yes, forgotten.”
I frowned. Did he mean the town had been forgotten or himself? The Santas all stopped moving and returned to their normal postures.
“Tired.” A different voice spoke. Several whispers of disgruntlement floated through the air, so I cocked my head. They sounded like children.
“Do you realise we just had a conversation without any equipment helping us? That’s a powerful spirit,” Phil said to me.
I inclined my head in agreement as my mind raced. I’d heard several children, and Ernest had claimed they’d moved the Santas for the ghost children. An idea was forming that was far different from my usual theories.
Slowly, we headed back inside the cabin as Phil positioned himself by the window.
“What are you thinking?” Sunny asked.
“I don’t know. I’m a bit bemused by that scene outside,” I admitted as I sat on the couch. “They said they were tired, so maybe there won’t be much more activity.”
“I’m with them. I’m tired of this place, too,” Sunny grumbled, and I sent him a dark look. God, he was becoming a real misery.
“We get it, Sunny, you hate Christmas,” I snapped, my temper fraying a little. “Stop ruining it for those of us who’re enjoying this.”
Sunny had the grace to look a tiny bit guilty, but his grumpiness overruled it. In sheer defiance, Sunny folded his arms across his chest.
“I can’t deal with you right now. Go swap yourself out with Freddie,” I finally snapped.
“I’m not leaving you alone,” Sunny retorted.
“Go away, Sunny. This is a joyous place, and you’ve done nothing but bitch. I mean it, go away,” I ordered.
Sunny looked like he was going to argue, but he turned on his heel and walked off.
“What crawled up his ass?” Phil asked.
“I don’t know. Ashford, was he always like this?” I asked the man.
Ashford looked torn. He and Sunny had been friends for a long time. “It’s hard, Callie, celebrating Christmas in a foreign land when your family’s back here. Christmas doesn’t mean the same because we missed out on so much.”
“But why can’t he embrace it now? We’ve got the baby coming, Sunny doesn’t need to miss out on the magic anymore,” I asked.
“Callie, most people on Christmas Day are tucking into hams and turkeys. They’re not watching for a sniper or taking bullets under fire. Sure, the armed forces try to celebrate Christmas, but honestly, it’s not the same,” Ashford said.
“But Sunny has had Christmas since leaving the armed forces. I understand what you’re saying, but he’s being a total Grinch. Are you feeling grumpy, Ashford?”
“No. I can see the magic that Fiona and Simon have created,” he admitted.
“Which means Sunny’s being a miserable asshole,” I stated.
“Oh, he’s being that, alright. He’s just kicked a reindeer over and stomped into the main hotel declaring he hates Christmas,” Freddie said, entering the cabin with a chuckle.
“He kicked a reindeer!” I exclaimed.
“An ornamental one, Callie. Don’t panic,” Freddie explained, hands up.
“Damn, I thought you meant he’d kicked a real one,” I gasped, and everyone laughed.
“Sunny would have gotten his own ass kicked if he had!” Phil drawled.
“Okay, so where are we with activity?” Freddie asked.
While Ashford brought her up to speed, I wondered how I could help Sunny see the magic of Christmas again.
Connor
Cabin thirteen was quiet, but there was definitely a presence.
By the reports we’d been given, people heard voices here, felt like they were being watched, and things moved of their own accord.
I was unsure if what I was watching was benign or malicious yet.
Despite our best efforts, the entity hadn’t yet spoken to us.
The readings showed us something was close, but the SLS camera hadn’t picked anything up either.
“Temperature dropping,” Merrick said, checking his thermometer. Solace had the camera, content to hide behind that.
“I’ll put the REM Pod down and the REMBuddie bear. If it’s a child, they might play with it,” Cherry stated as she emerged from the bedroom.
I nodded and called out again, hoping to get a reply. There was a shuffling noise, and we all turned. Cherry’s eyes went wide as we took in the REMBuddie now sitting in the doorway.
“Someone moved that!” Cherry exclaimed.
The REMBuddie lit up. “Strangers.”
“Hi. My name’s Connor. And yes, I guess we’re strangers.” I replied and introduced the rest of the team.
“Want?” REMBuddie said.
“What do we want or you?” I asked.
“You.”
“We’d like to talk to you.”
“Why?”
“That’s a good question. We’d like to know why you’re here and who you are. Why do you stay here?” I said as examples.
“Home.”
“This is your home?” Cherry inquired.
There was no response.
“Weren’t some of these cabins originals?” Merrick asked.
“Yeah. You’re thinking this was a previous tenant?” I mused.
“Could be. We know this was a mining town, and that there had been multiple deaths here. Could this have been someone’s home?”
“That’s possible,” I agreed. I turned on the radio. “Harry, do we know which part of cabin thirteen was the original building?”
“Hold on,” Harry replied, and we heard a rustle. “Cabin thirteen. The living area and kitchenette were original build. It had been a one-room cabin according to the report I have here.”
“And this part is the bit that’s mainly haunted? Not the two bedrooms at the back?” I asked.
“Fiona stated that it’s just the living room and kitchenette in thirteen, yes,” Harry responded.
“Thanks, buddy,” I replied.
“A previous owner may be haunting here then, as it’s centred around the older part of the building,” Cherry said.