I headed to Bea's house late the next morning. Visions on murderous ghosts had plagued my dreams all night, and I had overslept. Bea had already told her parents and they immediately came to my rescue. They helped me figure out the bus route that I needed to take and what stations to get off at and everything. They also had decided to come with me. I protested that I could do it and that they didn't need to go to all that trouble, but they waved all that aside.

"It gives us an excuse to make use of the holiday and get out on St. George." Mrs. Jones said "No trouble at all."

We ate breakfast and then started of the long journey. Throughout the whole trip Bea kept trying to convince me that the hotel was haunted. She had also tried to convince me to go to a different hotel. I was of a different mindset however. I did not feel like convincing my mother and the hotel that I didn't want to stay there because it was haunted. That would go over really well. The reason that I was even able to stay in Ogden, was because the hotel was allowing me to stay for a lower price.

I wanted to walk to the hospital that mom was staying at, but I was out voted. Bea and her parents held their ground. As nice as they are I'm quite sure that Mr and Mrs Jones also thought that I was a treehugger. I had said that it would be cheaper and healthier to walk, but they didn't listen.

"Bea, I really think we should walk. We'd save money."

"I am not walking 5 miles to the hospital. It's not that much, Alex"

"Easy to say when you have a well paying job" I grumbled, but I gave in.

I worked at the local library which was an awesome job, I will admit, but it just did not pay the same as a dance teacher, which is what Bea was. My mom and I were pretty well off in terms of money but I was expected to hold a job and to earn money that way. I also wouldn't accept money from Mr. and Mrs. Jones. They had already done so much for me and I didn't want to take advantage of their kindness.

After painstakingly paying my $2.50, we rode the bus to the hospital to see my mother. Unfortunately they were only allowing family to visit for the first few days, so Bea and her family agreed to meet up with me later. I hurried up to see my mother. She was sitting up in her bed and she looked exhausted. I wanted to let her rest but then she saw me.

"Oh Alex," she sobbed "Alex." She pulled me into a hug and started crying. I started to tear up too.

"Mom, it's okay. You're okay. Honestly, you'd think that I was the one that almost died."

"Honey-" She broke off crying again.

"Mom," I said softly "We're okay. Nobody died. It's okay."

I whispered softly. We stayed there for a while, with me hugging her and stroking her hair. When she was calm enough I asked the question that had been preying of my mind since Bea's comment last night: What had happened to her last night. She looked up at me with a thoughtful look of her face.

"The last thing I remember was..." She paused

"Go on" I prompted

"Oh, it's silly. The last thing I remember is being surrounded ghosts. That's why I screamed. I was a little spooked last night being all alone in the haunted hotel room, I kept hearing noises, like creaking and I got the feeling that I was being watched. I was up working late and I ordered room service. I went to use the restroom and I got that creepy feeling again. I got a splitting headache, so I took some advil and went to go to bed. When I got to the bedroom there were two ghosts there. They were giving off light. One was a girl in a white dress with glowing red eyes, The other was a old man by the closet. I screamed and then blacked out."

"So you have no idea how or who strangled you?" I asked

"Not a clue. I have a concussion so that would explain the hallucinations,but that doesn't explain how I was found being strangulated."

"Someone must have been there and tried to kill you." I said horrified by the thought.

"The police have checked the room and can't find any evidence that anyone was there. No fingerprints or anything. Thats the only thing keeping them from reporting this as a murder."

"Very mysterious. I'd ask Bea but she'd only say that this proves her point. She thinks the hotel is haunted." I added. My mom laughed

"That sounds like Beatris. Is she here as well?"

"Yeah." I said " With her family. They'd be up here too, but family visitations only until you're stronger. I'm meeting up with them later"

My mom relaxed. She worries less when I'm with someone, but I somehow doubt that extra people in the room will make that much of a difference to a murderer. He'll probably think 'Goodie, bonus points.' I had enough sense though to not worry my mother with this thought in her condition.

"She'll be staying in a different hotel though. One as far away from Ben Lomond as possible. She's convinced that if she even goes near it she'll have nightly visitors." Mom rolled her eyes and I felt better. She seemed to be doing okay.

"Oh, that's not the only strange thing." She said "I was taking notes at that mornings session for the symposium. I'm missing some pages. The police have checked the entire room, but it's not there."

"Stranger and stranger" I shook my head. We talked for a while longer, but the doctors came in and insisted that mom rest. We said our goodbye's and I headed downstairs. I found the Jones's and we went to go eat dinner. Mom had given me some money for food for the next few days so I wasn't quite as stingy as I might have been. I told Bea everything and as predicted Bea was now firmly convinced that the hotel was haunted. I still didn't believe that the hotel had seen any kind of paranormal activity, but I did have to admit that this was no fluke. Something was going on here.

We spent the rest of the evening exploring Ogden. It would have been one of my top favorite weekends... if my mother hadn't almost died. I decided to head back to the hotel at eight, so we said goodnight and headed our separate ways. The first thing that I wanted to do was look for my mother's notes. I asked the manager if I could check my mothers room for her missing property. The hotel manager was reluctant and it was a while before he relented. I think he only did it because he was afraid that if he didn't the hotel's reputation would sink even lower. There had been a mass exodus from the hotel because of the attempted murder.

I went up and started searching the room. I was on my third time around when I noticed something odd. A piece of paper was sticking out of the wall in the back of the closet. It was almost invisible and I would have missed it completely if I bumped my head around there.

On closer inspection, it was sticking out of a crack in the wall. It looked like a door masquerading as the back on the closet. When the door was shut properly it would be invisible, but whoever had closed it had left in a hurry and had dropped something on the way out. After a very long half hour, I managed to get it open. Beyond it was a long hallway. Now looking back I probably should have gotten the hotel manager or even better, the police. But being the impulsive, spur of the moment person that I am, I stupidly went into the hallway. Alone, following an unfamiliar hallway that may or may not belong to a potential murderer. That was my first mistake. My second was coming to an old fashioned elevator and deciding to ride it. Overall not some of my best decisions.

The elevator ride was jerky and was one of the most frightening experiences on my life. I'm not scared easily. Bea will scream at almost anything that can be thought to be scary. I pride myself on being tough. I will freely admit that I was scared and that I screamed. The thought of falling however many feet it was down to the basement, in a large metal box and smashing in the ground was a little disconcerting.

With one last heart-stopping jerk, the elevator shuttered to a hault. Weak-kneed, I stumbled out and then my jaw dropped.What I saw looked like a cross between a blast from the past and a trip to the future. That may sound like an oxymoron, but that's the first thing that came to mind. It looked like a science lab from the World War Two era, but the machines looked like they were designed for modern uses. On closer inspection it also looked like a medieval torture chamber. I carefully looked around. I accidentally banged into a pitcher and upset it. Oh well. I found my mother's notes on a desk. I paused and also grabbed a little book, that was near my mother's stuff. I figured that I needed evidence that this place existed.

I turned to leave but froze when I heard footsteps.