Written By: KariGorsuch

"Be back in a few hours, don't get smashed!" I called after my best friend, Eve, as she ducked out of the car. We shared some laughter as Eve held up her middle finger and waved me away. I smiled after her as I slid the car back into gear and flipped the turn signal on. Easing out into traffic, I turned up the volume dial as The Eagles' classic, "Hotel California" jammed through the speakers as I navigated traffic towards the large library I had seen on the way in.

I noted the Centennial Park Library didn't look like much from the outside as I turned into the parking lot. I mean, who the hell builds a library right next to waterpark, for fucks sake? Mentally cringing at having to park so close to another vehicle, I slipped the shifter out of first and into reverse.

After parking, I reached into the backseat and grabbed my jacket before reaching across to lock the passenger door. Exiting the vehicle and locking my own door, I scanned the parking lot as I tied my jacket around my waist. Noting nothing looking out of place, I crossed the parking lot and pulled open the heavy library door.

"Welcome to Centennial Library! Let me know if you need help finding anything!" The receptionist parroted as I stepped into the building.

"Where's your history section, Miss.." I stepped up to the front desk and checked her name tag, "Cindy?"

"Local history is in the back left corner. State history starts on the second shelf," Cindy replied, beaming up at me.

"Thanks," I grabbed a few sheets of scrap paper from the pile on the desk and headed deeper into the library. I was hopeful that the library was going to hold a decent amount of information regarding The Grande Hotel.

Apparently everything was going to go against me in my quest for information. Rounding the last bookcase before the history section, I froze. It's not uncommon that some towns don't keep up with their local history... But the two sagging paperback books on the top shelf were just... pitiful. Shaking my head as I slowly approached the shelf, I gently took both local history books down. Both books were falling apart, badly in need of at least a rebinding.

Settling down in one of the leather clad chairs loitering the library, I placed the scrap paper and books on the small side table separating my chosen chair from the others before drawing the first book into my lap. Brushing the dust from the cover, I cracked open the book and began pouring over the pages, looking for any scrap of information on the Grande Hotel.

The hour crawled by, scrap paper pages slowly filling with what I thought might be important information like deaths or disappearances, along with the names of those individuals. Both the local history books contradicted each other, while the state history books didn't mention a damn thing. Sighing in frustration, I stared at my notes trying to connect the dots. Nothing made sense- three people were killed in one book- seven in the other. Or, rather- they were assumed to be killed, as no bodies were ever found.

Groaning to myself, I stretched over the back of the chair, closing my eyes. Rubbing my temples, I tried to relieve some of the tension while piecing together the information.

"Burning the midnight oil?" A deep, calm voice asked, causing me to flinch. Suppressing the urge to jump out of the chair and reach for my pistol, I cracked my eyes open and glanced at the speaker. Standing a few feet away was a tall man wearing a plaid shirt covered by a leather jacket, and blue jeans. Shaggy brown hair framed a gorgeous face, with eyes that seemed to have seen too much for how young he looked.

"Who are you?" I demanded, my guarding rising the longer he stood in front of me.

"Oh- sorry- I'm Sam," he replied, holding his hands up slightly in a gesture of harmlessness that didn't exactly fit his character. "I was looking for the history books for Greeley and the surrounding areas and noticed you had them."

My cheeks turned red as I set the book in my lap on the table next to me. "They weren't as helpful to me as I was hoping. Hopefully they're more helpful to y0u."

Sam stepped closer, then sat in the chair on the other side of the table while pulling my notes over to him. "The Grande Hotel huh? Looking into the disappearances from the 1920's? And the fires in the 40's?"

My gaze sharpened on Sam and I sat up, torn between annoyance and curiosity. "How do you know all of that? None of that is in the history books. How do you know what happened to these people?"

"I've read up on the Grande," Sam replied, leaning forwards to study some of my notes closer. "And let's just say I've dealt with places like this before."

"Places like this?" I snorted, "You don't seriously believe it's haunted, do you?"

Sam and I stared at each other, total disbelief on my face while indecisiveness swirled in his eyes. "I think that if you're digging into the Grande, you might find things that you wish you didn't know."