The door swung open, though no one had touched it. I exchanged looks with Adley. She gulped and took a half of a step closer to the group.

"Well, it looks like they really want us here," Jonah said, leading the group into the hotel. Everyone reluctantly followed.

The doors slammed shut behind us, as soon as the last person, Trey, stepped over the threshold. I heard a gulp and a little shriek. I, myself, was scared.

It was dark in the hotel, no windows, just a crickety, old lamp in the corner, shedding barely any light in the room.

Everyone scrunched together more, standing in a tight circle. Social differences didn't matter then. We had the most popular cheerleader and the silent bottom of the totem pole all together in one pile, stuck together because of a dire situation.

The lights blacked out, just for a second or two, before flashing back on, just as a crack of lightning and thunder exploded across the sky, shaking the whole building.

More screams, not just girl's, in fact, I think I heard a Jonah scream, but we all know that he would never admit it. I jumped a little, muffling my scream. Adley grabbed my arm. To be honest, my heart beat faster at her touch, then at the scare.

I looked around. There was nobody behind the front desk, where we would check in.

"Uh, where do we check in?" Trey asked.

"Yeah, Mrs. Rodman?" Adley asked.

No answer. We all looked around. No Mrs. Rodman. Not a trace of her.

"Mrs. Rodman?" I called out, scanning every corner of the room for her. No one could find her.

"Maybe she is still outside?" Jonah asked.

"No, she was right in front of me, before the lights went out," Trey recalled.

"Doesn't hurt to check," Shay whispered, then tried to open the door. "It's locked. I can't open it."

"What do you mean it's locked?" Jonah demanded.

"I mean that it's locked. It doesn't open."

"Move. Let me try."

Jonah barged straight through Shay, knocking her off balance and into Trey. Trey pushed her back onto her feet. Jonah grabbed the handle and pulled. When it didn't budge, he slammed his fist into it, swearing like he just lost his job. He tried again, yanking at the handle with all his might, so hard, the handle flew off in his hand. He stumbled backwards, staring at the thing in his hand in shock.

"What the hell, man? We kind of needed that," Trey said.

"Shut up, Trey. I didn't mean to."

"Well, if we can't go backwards, we have to go forwards," Adley amended.

"That is true. What do we do?" Trey said.

"We explore," I answered.

"Sure, we're locked in a creepy hotel, and Tucker wants to explore the thing deeper. Makes perfect sense," Trey said.

"What, are you scared?" Jonah teased, pushing Trey.

"Yes, a bit."

I lead the group forward. Shay looked back at the unmoving Trey.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," she whispered, a creepy look on her face. She had no idea how right she would be.

"So now she talks," Trey said, reluctantly following the group. That's peer pressure for you. Maybe if Trey didn't follow us, he would have had a chance. Maybe if none of us left that spot, more would have survived, but that's not how it happened. I'm only telling you the facts here. Well, and some of my opinions.

I would like to tell you that I didn't lead the group forward, but I did. I blame myself for everything that happened in that hotel. Every last thing. I have to live with that guilt everyday of my life. Sometimes I can't take it. Sometimes I can.

That's how my life is now. So, yes, I did survive. But I'm drastically different. I was some naïve football player, worrying about everyday teenage things. I'm different now. But let's not get into that. I'm too busy recalling my past for you guys, to focus on here and now. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe it's not. Who's to say?

Anyways, we were over cockily trapezing through the building. I was in the front, Adley by my side, with Trey, once again, reluctantly bringing up the rear.

We came to a door, claiming to lead to the stairs, and an old elevator beside it.

"Elevator or stairs?" I asked.

"Stairs," Adley said.

"Elevator," Trey argued.

"Elevator," Jonah agreed.

"I say stairs," I replied.

"Don't look at me. I don't give a crap," Kelley rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

We all turned to Shay, tucked away in the corner.

"What do you say, tie breaker?" Jonah taunted.

"Um, how about the elevator?" She spoke quietly, almost ashamed of her answer.

"Elevator it is! Let's go!" Trey was the first to step into the elevator. The only problem was that the elevator wasn't there. Trey dropped straight down, plummeting through the elevator shaft.

Adley screamed and covered her mouth in shock. I put my arm in front of everyone, making sure they didn't step over.

"Oh god, he's dead!" Kelley shrieked.

"What? No, I'm not. I fell like one foot. The elevator is just longer than the doorway. Just get in here already," Trey called.

We stepped closer and peered over the edge. Trey was laying on his stomach, just out of sight from where we were originally standing. He was completely unharmed.

"Oh thank god," Adley said. She jumped into the elevator beside him. "Well come on guys, let's go."

We all piled into the shaft with her.

"Which floor?" Kelley asked, her finger lingering over the buttons.

"How about the first?" I suggested. "It's as good a place to start as any."

There were no protests, so Kelley punched the button in. The elevator trickled up, moving slower than any other elevator I had ever been in. Then it stopped. Halfway to the first floor, it stopped.

"What now?" Jonah groaned.

"It stopped," Adley said.

I reached over and pressed the emergency button. Guess what, it didn't do anything. It didn't even light up, but then again, the other button hadn't either.

"We could do the classic move and try to squeeze out of the shaft above us," Trey suggested, pointing to a small covered hole in the ceiling.

"Good idea," Adley said.

"I got this guys," Jonah said, before stepping to the middle, right underneath the bars. He raised his arm, ready to punch it in.

"Leaving so soon, children?" A voice echoed. Everyone froze.

"What was that?" Shay whispered.

"I don't know," I answered.

"Um, was that picture always there?" Kelley asked, pointing to the left side of the elevator. There, was a picture of a bloody clown, smiling creepily at us. Suddenly, a hand reached out from the picture frame, grabbing Jonah's arm. He shrieked like a girl, but so did he rest of us. I swear, I almost peed.

"Let's get out of here!" Trey yelled.

Jonah quickly punched the thing in, after wrapping his arm from the devil's clutch. He and I lifted Adley up first, who cleared the way for Kelley, then Shay. The five of us worked together to shove Trey into the shaft, then Jonah gave me a boost, and I pulled myself up, with little aid from the girls and Trey. Jonah, being the tallest by far, was able to jump, then pull himself up, with some help from us.

Now we were in the shaft, standing on top of the elevator. The entrance for the first floor wasn't too far away and there was a rusted old ladder leading straight up.

"Hope everyone has their tetanus shots," Trey joked.

"I'll go first," I said.

I latched on to the ladder, and started to climb. I got about half way, then the step my feet had been on, snapped. I fell down a step, then caught myself with one hand. I regripped the bar and tugged myself back up.

"Be careful, Tucker!" Adley called. That fueled me, so I went faster. Everyone followed behind me. I finally rolled onto the safety of the first floor. Or what I thought was safety. I had another thing coming, unfortunately.

The picture is of Trey, or Jake T. Austin. Thanks for reading.