Odd Prompts: Bring Home The Dead Snippet

A snip of the ongoing Chloe story, where a simple research trip is going sideways. 

***

“Back to the hotel.” Chloe stared at Satya with narrowed eyes. “Where you ran in with scissors.” 

“Yes?” He backed up a little and wavered. “I think there’s something you need to see.” 

Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose. What swayed her was the thought that the coffee shop had chocolate croissants. “Ok. But then, I have to take all this back to my boss.” She started to collect the printouts she’d added to the clippings, based on the dates Mark had fed her.

“I’m coming along.” Mark folded his arms over his chest. The effect was a little spoiled by his being mostly translucent. 

“Can you?” Chloe paused and looked at him. “I mean, you’re fading.” 

“I’m trying not to pull from you.” He looked embarrassed. “I shouldn’t have been doing it as much as I was, I just...” 

“You wanted to look real and not spook me.” She shoved papers in her bag. “Spoopy boi, you can’t scare me, you’re my fren.” 

He blinked. “Some of those words were not words.” “I’ll explain later. No, I mean, can you go that far?” She picked up the bag and slung it over her shoulder, then waved at Satya. “Obviously, he can.” 

“Let’s find out.” Mark shot Satya a look. “Lead on.” 

Satya moved toward the wall. 

“Meet you there.” Chloe headed for the door, Mark behind her. “I can’t do walls, I have to take the stairs.” 

Or, she mused a few minutes later, watching for the light, an elevator. The stairs were nowhere to be found, although she supposed they must exist for fire regulations. Satya popped into existence in her peripheral vision and she started a little. 

“This is why I use manners.” Mark commented acerbically. 

“Press the buttons like this: Four, then five, then four again.” Satya told her. 

Chloe didn’t respond to either of them. Talking to oneself in the era of bluetooth headsets no longer made you look crazy. But these two were going to drive her there, and it was a short trip. The bell dinged, and the doors slid open to reveal an empty car. She stepped in, both ghosts flanking her so they weren’t too close to one another. As Chloe followed the directions on the button pushing she wondered what would happen if the ghosts occupied the same space. 

The doors slid closed before anyone else could get on, to her relief. 

The elevator started upward with a slight jerk. She faced the doors, which were not particularly clean. A glance at the floor revealed that it was covered in a thin threadbare rug, which was worn almost through right in front of the doors. The elevator car jerked, making her throw her hands out for balance. Then it stopped, with both the four and five numerals lit up over the door. 

The doors slid open, and Chloe took an involuntary step backwards.

***

This week's prompt came from Leigh Kimmel, with "The elevator stopped between floors four and five. When the doors opened, they revealed a completely unknown floor." 

I Prompted Becky Jones with "The skull-faced cat graciously offered a slender, silky paw." 

To read prompt responses, play along, or simply offer encouragement, visit More Odds Than Ends.