Justin had interviewed so many criminals and had talked to many sick minds that it was easy for him to spot one. When he saw the way Tristan grinned when he talked about death, Justin felt like he was suddenly yanked, like his heart was suddenly squeezed.

Tristan was still grinning as he continued on talking. “It’s… freeing.” He said.

“Something is wrong with you.” Justin told him straightly. “You can’t talk about death like that.”

“I understand your apprehension, you’ve seen a lot of it.” Tristan told him. “But I… experienced it. So, between the two of us, I’m the one who can talk about it with more authority. 

“You sound like you enjoy death.” Justin continued. “Don’t cross the line, Tristan. You might end up seeking it one day, maybe not just for yourself even.”

“Enjoy it? Dying was painful. I did not enjoy it at all.” Tristan replied. “All I’m saying is; there’s more to death than being the ending of one’s life. You can say that I don’t find it frightening at all.”

“What a wonderful privilege you have. For most people, their fear of death is what makes them treasure their life more.” Justin replied as he finished unpacking. He got a call from Yvonne and looked at Tristan while pressing his finger on his lips. “I just got here. What do you have for me?”

“None of Leila’s family and friends seemed suspicious, but they were all surprised that she joined that tour, all by herself. She’s a very frightful person they say, hates horror and thriller.” Yvonne told him.

“Then what made her join this tour?”

“I’m already looking into that.” Denver said on the other line. “Hey, Justin, how is the haunted house?”

“Creepy as hell.” Justin replied. “Can you also send me details about the missing person case from a year ago, also look if there are other similar cases within the vicinity.” 

“Roger that.” Denver replied.

“What do you think?” Yvonne asked. “Do you think she really just got lost in the mountains?”

“I can’t say yet.” Justin admitted. “But this place seemed to be the perfect place for a crime.” He added as he looked at Tristan.

With a proud smile, Tristan fell back on the bed and closed his eyes. 

Drizzling rain poured from the sky moments later and it threw the tour’s schedule off. They were supposed to have an early start and climb up the supposedly haunted mountain, but that plan was quickly scratched off.

Tristan dozed off quite quickly and was quickly visited by a disturbing vision during his sleep. He was in a dark a cold place and the only thing illuminated by a dim light was a throne chair made of silver frame and black leather.

As he walked towards the chair, Tristan could hear the sound of metal chains echoing around him. It was followed by a muffled noise made by an unseen woman. She sounded like she was in pain. The unseen woman continued on whimpering until her voice became muffled, and then it stopped completely.

Hearing slow footsteps behind him, Tristan turned back and saw someone in the shadows. The only thing visible was the dagger it was holding, dripping with blood.

Meanwhile, Justin started surveying the inside of the hotel, as Tristan was left in the room. There was something odd about that hotel, and it wasn’t just the creepy decorations. The halls were winding and it was easy to get lost, and there were so many rooms that don’t seem to be ins use at all.

One door in particular elevated Justin’s suspicion. It was located on the first floor and it had so many locks on it. Slowly, Justin reached for the knob, only to stopped by a calloused hand. 

“You’re not allowed there.” It was an older woman wearing a chambermaid uniform.

“I’m sorry, I just got curious by the countless locks. What’s in there?” Justin asked politely.

“That’s the hotel’s utility room.” The woman said. “It’s the most haunted place in this hotel, and the spirits there tends to be very violent, so we keep it locked. For everyone’s safety.”

During lunch, Justin finally met everyone on the tour. The tour was managed by Eyes of the Night, a local paranormal group. The lead investigator was a man in his thirties, named Wendell Hilario, the one in charge of the equipment was a young man named Ronald Taft, and their medium was a woman named Bethany Jones.

Justin also met the four friends who signed up for the tour, but more importantly, the current owner of the Crowley Hotel, Isiah Crowley, welcomed everyone. He was a middle-aged man with a polite demeanor.

His tone was filled with skepticism as he spoke about the tour. He must’ve been only interested in the money that brings in. And with a few exchanges of sharp glares between him and Wendell, Justin was convinced that the two weren’t in such good terms.

The tour would officially begin after lunch, and they would first visit the foot of the mountain. Because of the gloomy weather and the wet soil, the group can’t go any further than the foot of the mountain.

“Oh, thank god.” Tristan said as Bethany informed the group about the change in plans. “I don’t think I can survive climbing that thing.” Tristan whispered to Justin. 

“I thought you didn’t want to be involved in this tour?” Justin asked him.

“I still don’t, but it’s better than staying in that creepy room all day. This is the first time in two weeks that I get to go out, I’m not wasting it.” Tristan replied.

As the group walked out of the hotel, Justin took a good look at the structure. Nothing much had changed as compared to the old photos. 

Their first stop was a locked steel grate on the ground, located at the back area of the hotel. “This used to be a well, but it’s all dried up now. It is believed that during the 1900s, when the hotel was still an orphanage, a young lady who was never adopted jumped inside the well because of depression. Up to this day, her wails of agony could still be heard during the night.” Wendell said. 

Almost everyone peered down the dried-up well, expecting to hear the wailing orphan, only to be greeted by dead silence. Justin had a different agenda, though. The well wasn’t that deep and although it wasn’t that clear, he could see the bottom, it was empty. He also couldn’t smell anything odd.

“Well, that’s disappointing.” Tristan said.

“It’s still early. Usually, the activities start at night.” Bethany said.

“Alright, let’s move on.” Wendell said.

On their way to the mountain, they passed by a small shed, still in the vicinity of the hotel. The door was opened and Justin saw a laundry cart, wheeled garbage bins, and a cleaning cart stashed inside.

They reached the foot of the mountain and Justin instantly noticed a makeshift altar on the roots of a huge tree. “What is this?” One of the tourists asked as she and her three friends took pictures near it.

“It’s an offering to the spirits lost in the mountain.” Wendell said. “Everyone who climbs this mountain must leave a small token as a sign of respect. The spirits here are very sensitive, they see everyone as intruders to their domain, and the offering is to show them that we mean no harm.” Wendell explained. “Many who angered the spirits have been lost to this mountain.”

“The accident last year, was that true?” One of the four friends asked.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Wendell replied.

“The girl is still missing, am I right?” Justin asked carefully as he gauged the paranormal team’s reaction.

“They searched for her for weeks, but she was never found, not even her remains. They angered the spirits, the man was lead to his death, and the woman was taken by the spirits.” Wendell replied.

“That’s ridiculous.” Tristan said with a scoff. “Are you really trying to say that ghosts killed the man and then abducted the woman?” He asked.

“You don’t believe in ghosts?” Wendell asked him with a stern look and tone.

“Don’t get me wrong. What I find incredibly ridiculous is your claim that the dead are responsible for the accident.” Tristan added. 

“You would be surprised what the dead are capable of.” Bethany replied. “They are far more dangerous than you think.”

“The living are far more dangerous than the dead.” Tristan replied and for once, Justin agrees with him. “You know what you should be careful of? The psychopaths hiding among us. They could snap and kill anytime.” Tristan continued with a small provoking smirk.

Justin watched carefully for the reaction of the paranormal team. He was suspicious of them, but he had nothing to base that suspicion on besides his own guts.

“You’re a skeptic.” Wendell replied. “Just like the couple from a year ago.” He added. “The spirits do not like being doubted, you should be careful.”

“Or what? They’re going to kill me too?” Tristan replied with a smile. “I would like to see them try.” 

“Okay…” Justin took Tristan’s hand “Just give us a minute.” He said and then pulled Tristan away from the group. “What are you doing? Why are you provoking them.” Justin reprimanded Tristan.

“I could sense death in them. And it’s not just because they’re paranormal investigators.” He told Justin straightly as he looked down on their hands, still holding. “They’re hiding something, I could tell.” Tristan said as he snatched away his hand from Justin.

Justin had no idea what Tristan was talking about. He looked at him, confused, as they walked back to the group.

On their way back to the hotel, Justin received an email from Denver. “There had been several cases of people getting lost in the mountains, some are found dead a few weeks later, some are still missing.” The email read. “It’s a common occurrence, but the case from a year ago and Leila’s are a bit different. I attached the case file from a year ago, you’ll know what I mean after reading it.”

Melissa Gates and Toby Sanchez joined the same paranormal tour a year ago. They were both skeptical about the haunting in the area. Witnesses from the same tour group said that Toby constantly questioned the authenticity of the paranormal activities in the area and was very critical to the Eyes of the Night. Melissa, on the other hand, was more curious about the hotel itself and its history.

All of the other recorded missing persons were lost while still in the mountain. Most of them strayed from the group or climbed the mountain alone, but Melissa, Toby, and Leila’s cases were different.

They all came back to the hotel to participate in the night tour and were captured in the CCTV leaving the premises minutes before three in the morning.

One thing doesn’t make sense for Justin, though. How did Toby end up in the mountain? How was he able to climb it at night without any proper gear? Some may argue that it was the reason why he got lost and fell on the cliff in the first place, but he was said to fall of a cliff high up in the mountain, he couldn’t have gotten there without proper gears, especially not in the dark.

If he really did try to climb the mountain at night without the proper gear, then he would’ve been involved in an accident in a much lower area.

They got back to the hotel and had free time, the night tour would start after dinner and they were told that it would be a full-on paranormal investigation. It was the highlight of the tour.

“I don’t like this place.” Tristan said as he sat on his bed while playing with the phone Justin bought for him.

“What?” Justin asked him.

“There’s death all over the place.” He added.

“Can you really sense death?”

“Yeah, ever since I got out of your apartment for the first time, I started sensing it. Maybe because I already experienced it so I’m more in-tuned to it.”

Justin was confused by what Tristan told him. He wasn’t sure if Tristan was messing with him or not. “You felt death here? Maybe the stories are true, maybe this hotel is haunted. Maybe you’re sensing the deaths of the spirits here.” Justin said.

“I didn’t mean like that.” Tristan continued. “It’s hard to explain, but I felt pain and agony, and death, and…” Tristan trailed off.

“And what?”

“It felt recent.” Tristan said as he sat up and looked at Justin.

“You mean you think someone died in there recently?” Justin asked him. He just couldn’t dismiss what Tristan was telling him, especially since he saw him come back from the dead with his own eyes.

“Yes and there’s something more.” Tristan said. “It felt like someone would die there soon. Again.”