DO
YOU BELIEVE IN THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT?
Does your relationship have more
cracks than a witch’s cauldron?
Want to put the magic back into the
bedroom? It’s couples therapy weekend at hotel BJ, a vacation resort that’s so
far South that you can’t help but hear the banjos dueling! And it’s Halloween
weekend…
Will more than damaged relationships
be brought back from the dead? Anything’s possible on this magic night! Let the
authors of the Haunted Hotel anthology show you how it’s done!
A Multi-author M/M anthology from the
writers of Wednesday Briefs, who bring you prompt induced Flash fiction every
Wednesday. Bigger Briefs is an anthology we began to showcase our slightly
bigger briefs. Er, flash fiction. We invite you to take the journey with us!
Hey guys! Guess what’s out in time
for Halloween? That’s right, the Bigger Brief anthology Haunted Hotel. And
guess who’s returned this time too… Zane and Neil! Yay, my boys are back for
another story.
CONTEST TIME:
Now for the fun part, lol. I’m giving
away an ebook copy of the anthology. The contest ends Sunday evening.
~Leave me a comment with an email. Please remember to do this!
~Tell me if you believe in ghosts.
Bwauuuahhhhha.
A Ghostly Whisper
By M.A. Church
“Surely you’re not saying you think
this place is haunted? There’s no such thing as—”
“Oh my God, don’t you dare say it!”
Neil shrugged as he walked back to
the kitchen.
“All this can be explained, babe. The
lights flickering from the wind, faulty wiring on the hot tub—and isn’t that a
nice thought—plus this is Halloween
weekend. Maybe the owners of this place thought it would be funny to rig up one
of the cabins. Did you check those brochures to see if they planned any
activities for the holiday? Maybe a haunted cabin type thing? Bet this is
nothing more than that. It’s all for fun, a joke.”
“Do I look like I’m fucking
laughing?”
“That’s not your happy face?” Neil
held up a hand. “Sorry. How about we go back to the lobby and ask to be moved.
Would that help?”
“I’m all for leaving.”
“Come on, babe. We’re on vacation.
Let’s just ask for another cabin.”
“Fine. Whatever. I’m still not
laughing.”
“So I see. And babe? There’s no such
things as ghosts.
Before Zane could open his mouth the
lights flickered in the cabin, flashed back on, then went out. Off in the woods
something howled—a long mournful cry of loneliness that was answered by another
call. Zane was across the room, flinging himself at Neil before the last wail
ended. A soft laugh echoed through the cabin.
“Stop laughing at me!” Zane reared
back to glare at Neil.
“Um, that wasn’t me—”
A sharp, low mournful cry echoed
around them.
“Shit! Shit a brick! Fuck this, I’m
out of here!” With a screech, Zane flung himself away from Neil. “Explain that!
That was some sort of ghostly laugh!”
Neil grabbed at Zane’s wrist. “Would
you just wait a minute? Dammit, Zane. You can string fishing line, strum it,
and it’ll make that exact type of noise. Trust me, I pulled that stunt on my
roomies in the past.
“I… am…. leaving.” Zane jerked his
hand away from Neil. “Right fucking now. If you care for me at all you’ll get
your ass in the truck.”
“Damn.” Neil rubbed his hands over his face.
“All right, babe. Let’s go upstairs and pack—”
“Only place I’m going is to the
truck. Leave the damn clothes... They’re just clothes. We’ll buy more damn
clothes, tons of clothes, but I’m out of here.” Zane glowered at Neil, then
turned and left the cabin. The truck was close enough he could see Zane clearly
in the moonlight as he opened the door and sat down.
“Well, alrighty then. Guess I’m doing
the packing and then we’ll be leaving. And I didn’t even get to finish my
sandwich.” Neil shook his head at how Zane had reacted. He spied a rechargeable
flashlight hung nearby and clicked it on.
“Ah well, as long as there’s a bed somewhere
along the way we can still have a nice vacation.”
Neil turned back to the kitchen. He
placed the flashlight by the sink and picked up their plates. He’d clean up
then go upstairs to pack. He’d just finished dumping his food when the air
temperature dropped suddenly. The air turned frigid—he could actually see his
breath.
“What the hell?”
As he reached for the flashlight, the
battery went dead.
