Haunted Hotel

"They are all gone now, mommy and daddy had a fight" Rose whirled round, trying to find the source of the child's voice. It sounded like a young girl, maybe 5 years old.

"The fight called the shadow man, it took their souls. You should run, he is after me now. But he will get you" What was it about children's voice's that was so scary? Other than the fact she couldn't tell where is was coming from. Outside the wind howled, almost sounding like it was calling her between the rolls of thunder. Strange shapes moved across her vision, only to disappear when she turned to look at them, like flowing curtains. She tried to run once more down the hallway, ignoring the blood stained wood, the drag marks leading into a room she dare not tread. Coming to the top of the grand staircase, seeing the chandelier sway from side to side as blood dripped from the fixing. The whole place seamed to shiver in fear, but she could see nothing, only the trails of death, and the splatter of blood on the flowery wallpaper in some kind of sick mockery.

"Doctor!" she shouted, they had been separated not long after they had landed; he had been there one minute and gone the next.

"He can't help you. He is coming, the shadow man is coming!" there was the patter of tiny shoe clad feet as the child's voice faded away. Rose stood there in fear, looking wildly around for some sign of this Shadow man. But she could see nothing, which did not stop the sound of heavy footsteps on the wooden floor. They came closer and closer, as the fear inside her grew more intense. She fled down the stairs away from the sound. But it never left, it only followed. Before she realised she saw brick flashing past and she was in the cellar. It was huge with more rooms, she saw what locked to be an elevator to her right, but there was no life to it, no power. She ran on as the footsteps came down the stairs, she looked to her right, as a doorway flashed past, it was what seemed to be a laundry room, washing machines lining each wall.

Finally she came to a door, which led into a dead end room. It seemed to be some kind of boiler room, there were pips obscuring her view of the back of the room. She moved forward, having to weave through the pipes to reach the back here there was a small emergency light on. In the corner was a chicken wire cage with what looked to be the fuse and power box, she flipped the switch to on. There was a roar; drowning out the footsteps as the generator started up and the lights flickered on. In that moment she wished she hadn't.

There in-between 2 huge pipes that came horizontally from the wall to the left and curled downwards to disappear into the floor, was the midsection of what she assumed was a man, she could not see his bottom half or the top, only the waist. In his hands he held a huge fireman's axe, and he was walking towards the pipe. Then he turned right threading through the pipes like she had done. She waited with shallow breaths for him to appear around the pipe…..but he never came. She swallowed, trying to hear a breath, a footstep, anything..But all there was now was the whine of the generator, and the hum of the lights above her. With trepidation she walked forward towards the end of the pipe, and looked round. There was nothing there, only a clear path between the pipes she had hidden behind and some similar to her right.

"What the hell?" she murmured, then spun round at the sound of a dragged foot behind her and screamed…….

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He was in what appeared a child's bedroom, on the floor were some wax drawings, the first showing a happy family, a mother, father and two children a boy and a girl. In the background was the building he and Rose had entered, they had soon found out it was a hotel, with a small reception desk on the right as you entered. Inside were some photos but they seemed to have been defaced. There was several; layers of dust about the place, and a musky scent heavy in the air. He had turned back to say something to Rose…but she had gone.

"Rose?" he had looked around, called out.. But found no trace of her. He had travelled up the stairs and ended up in this room, looking at the pictures. He glanced at another. This showed the Father killing the young boy with an axe…..the next showed the girl shoved into a washing machine. Blood dripping from the closed washing machine door. The last one showed the mother dead in her room, trails of blood leading out of it, and the father hanging from the rafter above the staircase in the entrance hall.

He walked out from the room on the second floor, it looked out over the balcony that was the staircase, looking out on the entrance hall. As he began to walk the large grandfather clock began to chime. Which was odd, because when he had looked at it before it hadn't been working. He walked across, past the archway, which led to the back of the house and to more floors. He assumed held more rooms for the hotel guests. As he came to the top of the stairs the lights flickered on, to illuminate a piece of paper that lay upon a small round table at the head of the stairs. It was what appeared to be a news paper clipping..

" Horror in the ocean view hotel.

Police were stunned today to find a massacre in the Ocean view hotel; staff had been hacked to ribbons in a bloody scene through the house. Only one family was known to be staying at the hotel at the time. A third of the Roberts family were also found slain. Young Tomas Roberts was found in the boiler room, hands chopped off, and had been stabbed repeatedly in the stomach. 5-year-old Emily Roberts was found throat cut and stuffed into one of the Hotels washing machines. Mrs Edna Roberts was found in the family's hotel room, she seems to have been attacked at the top of the stairs then had been dragged to her room. Her wrists had been cut, as had been her throat.
Mr Alex Roberts was found covered in blood and hanging from the entranceway rafters. He had died from asphyxiation. It is now thought that Mr Roberts committed this atrocity then committed suicide. It is not yet known what would have caused him to do so; remaining family members say he was a doting father and loving husband. The Hotel will be closed, until it is sold on as the owner one Michel Grant was also killed."

The Doctor placed the clipping down with a chill, running his hand through his brown hair in frustration. He continued to walk down the stairs to look at the clock, his brown jacked that covered his brown pin stripe suit billowing out behind him. He walked up to the clock seeing it as before, the clock face smashed, inside the door the pendulum had fallen off, as well as some cogs joining it where it laid covered in dust. So what had chimed?

"Time has run out" he looked around, trying to see the owner of the voice.

"Hello?"

"Time has run out Time Lord" it was a voice of a young child..a girl.

"Who are you? How do you know what I am?" he asked squinting, looking in the dark places.

"Doesn't matter who I am anymore. And the shadow man told me"

"Shadow man?"

"He's the shadow man, time has run out Time Lord" he then heard child like footsteps walking away.

"What do you mean time has run out? It feels fine to me"

"I never said it has run out for you" The he heard Rose's scream. High pitch full of terror, which became pained and gargled.

"Rose!"

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He ran, following the echo of the scream. Down into the pits of the hotel, his keen sense picking up the metallic smell of blood he ran faster. The dark brickwork flashing past him. He ran into what must have been the laundry room. The clipping becoming fresh in his mind as he saw one washing machine had blood dripping form it's closed door. It dripped down staining the white machine to collect in a pool on the concrete floor. He gingerly walked forward to open the door, afraid of what he might find. But inside was nothing.

"Rose?" he called, as he walked to the exit. He nearly fell backwards as a women in a white dress streaked past him, her hair was black..that was all he could see other than the white dress she screamed as it echoed down the small hallway.

"Oh my god, no! Help me!" he made to follow the woman, calling out…to be met with a dead end.

"What in the name of Rassilon is going on?"

The Doctor walked away from the dead end, noticing the sound of some kind of machine, a low rumble. He also realised the smell of blood was growing stronger. In front of him was a metal door, the sign on it proclaiming it to be the "Generator room" he tuned the handle and stepped inside, the smell overpowering. There were pipes blocking his view of the back of the room. He walked towards one set of pipes that came from his left as he faced the back and disappeared into the floor. A little why behind that were pipes of the same size coming out of the wall to the right and also bending to disappear into the floor. So there was a small alleyway in-between. Behind him as the Generator, rattling as it hummed away, steam now hissing from the pipes. To the rear through the gap of the pipes on the right he could see an illuminated area and what looked to be chicken wire.

He made his way forward to walk between the ally..but stopped at the sight before him.

"Rose!" she laid upon the cold ground, hands on her stomach doing nothing to stop the blood that spilled from the multiple stab wounds there. He collapsed beside her, hand hovering as he stuttered at the enormity of this. He moved her hands to see the damage, seeing the ragged remains of what was left. She must have massive internal injuries. Her pulse was very weak. He went to pick her up but she gasped in pain. He needed to get her back to the TARDIS, but when they had entered the hotel he had found, when she went missing, that he could not open the door to the outside. But he would break the door down if he had to.

"Doc…tor?" he heard her pain filed gasp of his name.

"I'm here Rose, hang on. I've got you. Soon get you back to the TARDIS no worries."

"The…Sha…dow….Man"

"Shh Rose don't talk" he was shaking; he had to get her up.

"Be…care…ful….my…Doctor…….love…yo.." he heard the air expel form her lung in on long exhale as she went limp against him.

"Rose? Rose!…….ROSE!" he shouted at her, but as he checked her pulse to find no reassuring thrum, he knew she was dead. He felt his hearts break….felt tears fall from his eyes…how? How could she be dead?…she had survived Daleks and the time vortex.

"Rose….no…." he kissed her on her lips, already feeling the chill of death enter them "I love you" he held her against him as he cried, rocking back and fourth. So lost in his grief he did not her the shuffle of feet behind him…neither did he feel the blow that sent him into darkness……….

TBC>>>>

KITG: Oooh scary. well tell me what you think. am writing the next bit right now. see you in time.