The Haunting Read online

  The Haunting

  The Haunting

  by

  Nicole Garcia

  ©2014 Nicole Garcia

  Cover Design: Nicole Garcia

  Editor: Patty Hanson

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my beautiful daughters Jasmine and Destiny, who share my love of horror stories and movies. They make me laugh every day and life would be dull without them. They are kind, considerate, and warm-hearted girls. I couldn’t be more proud to be their mom.

  Acknowledgements

  To my best friend and critique partner Dawn Sullivan. Your support and encouragement mean the world to me. I love you.

  To Patty Hanson, my proof-reader, I greatly appreciate all the hard work you put into making my work my own vision. I can’t thank you enough for all the countless hours spent on helping me revise this book.

  To my author friends and who are always there when I have a question or need any advice. Claudy Conn, Melanie James, Tina Folsom, Krystal Shannan, CL Pardington, Lily Ann Johnson, and E.L.R. Jones, your friendship and reading your books keep me motivated.

  A huge thank you to my beta group for taking time out of your busy schedules to help me. Rosemary Hendry, Betty Olsen, Jeannie Platt, Jean Cantor, Jacklynn Sizemore, Lance Smith, Jody Rhoton, Michael Vannoy, Tina Harrison, E.L.R. Jones, Cherime McFarlane, Shane North, Brandy Davis-Moss, Sydney Hopke, Alice Smith, and Anna Salamatin

  I would like to take this time to thank my wonderful street team Nicole’s Naughty Nymphs & Satyrs for their continued support and all the hard work they put into helping me share my work. I love you all to pieces.

  I want to thank my team members Kelly Fallon Sloane, Felicia Wright, Lance Smith, Amber McCarty, and Catherine Bates for allowing me to use their names in my story.

  Prologue

  Ever wonder how much your life would change if you won a million dollars? Well, that fantasy is about to become a reality for one lucky winner of a new game show called The Haunting. Six people will enter the contest, but not everyone will win. In fact, there can only be one winner. Entrants include a drug dealer, an exotic dancer, a drug addict, an entrepreneur, a district attorney, and a rich kid, all desperate in some way. Whether they need the money, or are looking for something different and need a break from their boring everyday lives. It may seem that these contestants have nothing in common, but that's not the case. They have one very important thing in common, their desperation to win the prize.

  But, winning the money will be anything but easy. Not only will they have to spend a full twenty-four hours together in a haunted mansion, but each will have to overcome their own weaknesses and make alliances with their competitors if they want to survive.

  There are two rules of the game. Rule number one, you must stay inside the house for twenty-four hours. Rule number two, no one would be allowed to leave under any circumstance. If you leave you are disqualified.

  If more than one person is still standing after the twenty-fours has passed the contest will then be extended another twenty-four hours. This process will be repeated until there is only one contestant remaining. That one person will win one million tax free dollars and have their lives changed forever.

  All of the people who have visited Waverly Mansion have disappeared never to return home to their loved ones. Are these contestants so desperate that they would risk their lives just to win money?

  A million dollars can mean the difference between life and death to some people, but there are important questions you need to ask yourself. Is this money worth the torment and anguish you will have to endure in order to win? What about your life? Is dying the price you are willing to pay for a chance to win that amount of money?

  Chapter One

  The sound of the faucet dripping woke Kelly up a little too early for her liking. She couldn't lay there and listen to it any longer. If there was one thing she hated, it was the sound of dripping water. She threw a light gray fleece blanket over her head to quiet the sound hoping she could sleep for another hour. After hearing a few more drips fall into the empty stainless steel sink she'd had enough. She kicked the blanket off her body and stomped across the hardwood floors of her bedroom and into the living room. She made her way across the linoleum tiled kitchen floor and grabbed the needle nose pliers next to the sink. She squeezed and turned the loose screw tightening it as much as she could. Since there were no knobs to turn the faucet on and off this was her only option. The superintendent in the building was useless with maintenance and she wondered how he ever got the job in the first place.

  The water was still dripping after all her effort. Extremely upset she gathered her long black curly hair and wrapped it up in a messy bun. Kelly opened the cabinet underneath the sink and turned the cold water valve off so no water would come out of the faucet.

  "Fucking sink!" Kelly stood up and slammed the pliers on top of the kitchen counter. How could she go to sleep now that she was so aggravated?

  The thought of going to work annoyed her. While most people were going to sleep for the night, Kelly had to get ready for work. Her job was anything but enjoyable. In fact, it was outright terrible. Well, who the hell would think that working at the Hits N' Tits Sports Strip Club would be fun. It was the first and only club of its kind. What was the owner thinking when he came up with the idea of that place? What an idiot! And I'm an even bigger idiot for working there. Obviously, men didn't bother watching the games on the televisions in the lounge. Why would they when there were beautiful young women taking their clothes off on stage across from the bar.

  Just getting to work was a pain in the ass. She had to take two buses to get there, and the club was located in the worst neighborhood in town. Not that where she lived was the best, but it sure was better than where she worked. Today had its good points and its bad points. A good point was the fact that it was the last day she had to work before she could rest on the weekend. Bad point, it was Friday. Friday was the worse day of the week to have to work in the bar. Most men didn't have to work on the weekends so they spent most of the night at the bar getting drunk and becoming rowdy. Most of them had wives and children at home, but they didn't seem to care.

  Kelly squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was getting a headache and her night hadn't even started yet. She walked to her bedroom and grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. She took a quick shower and got dressed. Her costumes, or lack thereof, were at the club. She kept some make-up and all her costumes at work. After all, she would look pretty ridiculous sitting on a city bus in a bra and thong.

  She grabbed her sweater and purse off of the couch and walked out the door. It was a chilly October day, she wrapped her sweater tighter around her slender body. It had started to rain,
luckily Kelly had a small umbrella in her bag for just such an occasion. It was a quiet night thus far. The only sound breaking the silence was the cars passing by on the wet street.

  The bus arrived at the stop fifteen minutes behind its scheduled time, but she was expecting that. The bus was never on time. The bus came to a stop and its doors opened. Kelly got in and shivered, it felt like she had walked into a walk in freezer.

  "Isn't there any heat on this bus?" She asked the driver through chattering teeth.

  "Nope, sorry. It went out a few hours ago. I'm scheduled to take it in for repairs after this run."

  "Fabulous." Kelly dumped her change in the fare box and got on the bus, she walked to the back where she could sit by herself.

  Kelly arrived at Hits N' Tits feeling like a frozen popsicle and a half hour earlier than she was expected to be there. When she walked in her boss Frank yelled at her from across the room. "I hope you don't think you're getting paid extra for being here early."

  "Of course not Frank. Why would I ever think you could be a nice and decent human being?" She rolled her eyes at him and continued to walk backstage. She couldn't stand the sight of him. He was a short stocky man who always had a cigar in his mouth. But, what irritated her the most was that he was practically bald and he was still trying to hold onto what hair he had left by combing it from one side of his head to the other. Many a time she really wanted to take a pair of scissors and cut it off. She would be doing him a favor- really.

  She was about to turn the corner into the back hallway she heard Frank call out to her. "Don't you sass me young lady or you'll be looking for a new job by this time tomorrow."

  Kelly stopped and turned to face him. "Oooo, I'm shakin' in my boots." She knew he was only bluffing. She was the best dancer in the club and brought in the most money. A lot of men asked for her. Although they referred to her by her stage name, Kitty. She earned that name because of her slow cat-like moves strutting through the audience during her performances. Her trademark outfit was a leopard print bra and thong and a headband with ears. At the end of her show the headband would be the only piece of clothing she had left on.

  The door to the dressing room was slightly ajar, she peeked in to see if anyone was in there. It was kind of creepy in the club at night. Mostly because Frank was too damn cheap to put any lighting in the hallway. A quick glance into the room and she saw one of the other girls had already arrived. Tina Turner, who had become one of her best friends, was starting to get dressed into her costume. And yes that was actually her name. When they first met, Kelly didn't believe that was her real name. Tina had shown Kelly her driver's license but she still didn't believe her. Kelly demanded she see her birth certificate.

  Tina had come in the very next day with her birth certificate and proved to Kelly that was her name. Kelly laughed hysterically when she saw it. Tina had explained to Kelly that her mother had been a big fan of the singer and since their last name was Turner she thought it would be cute to name her daughter Tina.

  Kelly felt bad for her though. Tina told her about how all through her childhood people would break out in song when they heard her name. It must have been embarrassing for the child.

  The door creaked as she opened it, her friend turned around to greet her. "Hey Kel! You're here early."

  "Don't remind me."

  "What happened? You look like you've been run over by a truck."

  "I didn't get enough sleep today. The fucking construction workers were drilling all day and when I did finally go to sleep the damned started leaking again."

  "Oh no, I'm sorry Kel. Why don't you come to my place tonight after work so you can get some sleep?"

  "That would be great, thanks."

  "Yay, sleepover!"

  Kelly plopped onto the red leather couch and leaned her head back against the squeaky fabric. She closed her eyes for a moment. Tina turned on the television that was mounted on the wall and started flipping through the channels.

  Kelly only heard a fraction of each channel because Tina kept changing them so fast. Her eyes popped open and she sat straight up. "Wait Tina, go back."

  "What, this?"

  "No, go back again"

  "This?"

  "Yes, make it louder."

  "Oh, look! They're making a new reality game show."

  Kelly waved her hand at Tina and grabbed the remote control. "Shhh!"

  "Well....excuse me for living."

  Kelly turned the volume up on the T.V. while the executive producer Alec Sanders was being interviewed on the late night talk show. The new reality game show was to take place at Waverly Mansion, a century old estate that had been abandoned for more than twenty years. It was a place that no one dare to enter. Those who had entered were never seen again. When she was a child she remembered her friends telling her it was haunted. Kelly never believed in such things.

  As Kelly listened to the producer her interest in calling in to audition for the show was building. "That sounds so cool Tina. We should call and audition."

  "No, thank you. I want to live."

  “No one has ever died there Tina."

  "Not that we know of."

  "Stop being ridiculous. Those people are only missing."

  "Well, I don't want to go missing either. Anyway, don't you find it odd that nobody ever came back from visiting that house?"

  "I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation for it."

  "Yeah, they're all dead."

  Kelly turned the television volume up higher to drown out Tina's preposterous notions. "Quiet!"

  Tina grabbed a pen and paper and wrote down the number so Kelly could audition for the show. "Here" She then took the remote back and shut the T.V. off.

  "Hey!"

  Tina held the paper to Kelly again. "Here"

  "What's this?"

  "I wrote down the number so you can call. I strongly disagree with this but go ahead. Maybe they'll pick you as a contestant. You deserve to win that money. You don't belong in this place. If you won that money you would be able to go to medical school. It would take you forever to earn that amount of money here."

  "Maybe you're right. You should call in too."

  "What? And leave this grand place. No. Besides I was meant to use my body not my head. You go and make me proud." Kelly smiled softly and took the paper out of Tina's hand. She stood and put it in her pocket. She undressed and put on her costume. Fifteen minutes later she was ready to go stage.

  Frank pounded on the door and poked his nosey head in. "Kitty, you're up."

  Kelly walked over to the door and turned to face Tina. "Well, here goes nothing."

  Chapter Two

  An ambulance sped down the street and whizzed past Jace Dalton. Its siren blared through the quiet city street. That wasn't anything out of the ordinary. In fact, it was a regular occurrence. As soon as the sun went down every sick and twisted person would come out of hiding. Women were afraid to come out of their apartment buildings alone after dark. There were a series of unsolved rapes in the area, and the shootings were a whole other story on its own. It wasn't safe for anyone to take a simple walk to the store anymore.

  So, why would Jace Dalton be out at this time of night on his own? Well, it was a simple. People in the neighborhood feared him. He had nothing to be afraid of. He was a well-known drug dealer and the right hand man to the city's Kingpin, Cesar Gonzales. Jace started working for Cesar when he turned sixteen. The drug lord needed a reckless and fearless kid to do his collecting for him. Someone who was expendable. Over time Cesar grew to like Jace and offered him bigger and better jobs until the time came that the only person he would trust was Jace. It wasn’t long before Jace was overseeing all of Cesar's affairs.

  When Cesar sent Jace to your house to pick up payment, you paid, or you would suffer the consequences. A broken leg, a broken arm, or a severe beating would be punishment enough that no one dared to stiff Cesar out of his money again, not without suffering.

  Jace was known o
n the street as The Flame. Rumors circulated around the small neighborhood. It was said he had set a man's apartment on fire with him in it. He used the man as an example to everyone. The man survived but he had suffered third degree burns on fifty percent of his body, he would be scarred for life. He spent several months in the hospital recovering.

  It was never proven that Jace was responsible, but after the incident he saw the power it gave him in the neighborhood so he built on that fear the people had of him. He even got a tattoo which adorned his entire right forearm with red and orange flames. A symbol of his capabilities.

  Jace stood on the corner waiting for a customer who owed him money. He had been ignoring Jace's calls. After having left numerous voice mails Jace had had enough. He’d made a visit to the guy's house earlier that night. But, an elderly woman answered the door. He apologized for bothering her and left immediately.

  Hours had passed before he finally gave up waiting in front of the apartment building. He walked across the street to watch for the latest victim to feel his wrath. With only one street light working it was easy for him to hide among the shadows. Around three in the morning Jace saw a skinny figure slinking out of the shadows and into the building he was watching. Jace covertly moved off the step he had been sitting on and made his way over to the other side of the street.

  He followed the man into the building and called his name as he was halfway up the stairwell. "Louis!"

  Louis turned around and stood motionless. Shock written all over his face. As Jace took another step in his direction, Louis made a run for it up the stairs.

  Jace darted up the stairs and caught Louis by the ankle causing him to fall on his face. Louis tried desperately to break free of Jace's hold but it was to no avail. Jace was too strong for him. Jace stood tall and began to drag his victim down the staircase by his feet. His head hitting every step on the way down. "Did you think you would be able to avoid me?" Jace picked Louis up by his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "Did you?!" Jace punched him in the face hard and blood spewed out of Louis' mouth. "Did you think you are so much more special than any other asshole that you wouldn’t have to pay me?" He punched him once more sending Louis to the floor in a heap.