1314.”
“Right, same room.”
“Thanks, but I'll come get the keys when we're ready.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
The band rejoined and sat down in a quiet corner of the lobby to share their information.
“My grandmother warned me about this. All doors are dangerous,” Isabella said. “In the mundane world, if you can go in a door, something can follow you in.”
“That's cheery,” Leah said.
“But in the mundane world, doors always work the same way. They open and they close and sometimes they need a key but lock doesn't spontaneously change. Magical doors are more dangerous still. Sometimes they don't open to the same place every time. Sometimes they don't open except at certain times or in certain places. Sometimes they only open from one direction. Sometimes you need a different key to lock it than you do to open it. You don't know what kind of door you're dealing with until you've opened and shut it again. And then it may be too late.”
“What did we enter?” Nora asked.
“I don't know.”
“We need to call the resident physicist,” Leah said.
They all gave her a blank look.
“Honestly, do you guys watch classic television? Science-fiction? It's a reference to a Twilight Zone episode. Anyone? Maryann, you should know this.”
“Oh, Mom and Dad liked that show but I never watched it. I thought it was creepy and depressing.”
“Is this really the best time to make jokes?” Nora snapped.
“It's not a joke; it's a pop culture reference. Anyway, it's not entirely irrelevant. Are we in a pocket dimension with only one door that may or may not still be open or some other world entirely? How close is another world, like the spirit world?”
“Usually very close. But this isn't like any other world I've been in,” Isabella said.
“Well, that makes four of us,” Nora said. “What do all these people have in common? Maybe if we know what brought them here, we can figure out a way back.”
“We've got an elderly man, two little boys, a little girl, a frustrated waitress, and whatever the desk clerk is,” Leah said. “And us. What do we all have in common besides this place?”
“And why do you have that toy?” Nora asked.
“This was my Mr. Snufflenose. I lost it at a mall when I was a kid and it got here.”
“And I found a lost sock in my luggage this morning,” Maryann said.
“And I found an earring I thought I lost,” Nora said.
“That's it!” Isabella said. “We're all lost. Items we lost have been found here. Those little boys were lost. The waitress's dream of being a movie star was lost. And that elderly man...well, I'm not sure.”
“His mind,” Nora said. “Some elderly man lost his mind. That's why the man here is doing crossword puzzles in ink.”
“So we're in the place where lost things go?” Maryann asked. “That doesn't sound good. How did we get here?”
“The thirteenth floor,” Isabella said. “We ended up on the thirteenth floor after all.”
“Well, we were always on the thirteenth floor,” Leah said. “The hotel just called it fourteen.”
“No, that's the world we're in. The lost floor. The thirteenth floor.”
“Does that help us get out of here?” Leah asked.
“What's lost can be found,” Nora said.
“But it isn't always or this place wouldn't even exist,” Maryann replied, looking forlorn.
“The cat!” Leah said.
“What cat?” the others asked in unison.
“I've seen this black cat wandering around the hotel. It walked right through the wall, so I didn't say anything about it. I thought I was crazy.”
“You may be anyway,” Nora said wryly.
“Look, everyone and everything here plays by the laws of physics except that cat. Maybe the cat is the clue.”
“Or maybe it's just wandering around lost like the rest of us,” she retorted.
“'Not all of those who wander are lost,'” Leah shot back.
“Ladies, please,” Isabella interrupted. “We'll look for the cat. It's our only lead, and if it doesn't pan out, we're no worse than before.”
“Anyway, when I was younger, we had a black cat named Tomas. I know, not very original. I thought we lost him but then he came back.”
“Wouldn't Tomas have died by now?” Maryann asked gently.
“Well, yes, but I can't think of anything better. Now, he had a habit of hiding behind the couches in the living room, so let's start looking around the lobby,” Leah said.
“But this isn't your cat,” Nora countered.
“We're looking for the cat,” Isabella said firmly. “It doesn't really matter where we start as long as we start looking.” She tucked the elephant doll into her luggage.
The band split up and looked for the cat, although Nora felt very foolish for doing so. Leah caught sight of the black tail heading into the elevator.
“Guys, this way,” she called.
They followed but the elevator door had shut. When it opened, there was no sign of the cat.
“Great,” Nora said.
“Well, it's not like the cat could have pushed the button,” Maryann said. “It must have walked through.”
“What, are we chasing down the Cheshire Cat?” Nora asked.
Leah looked up. “Maybe,” she said, pointing up.
There was a black cat tail clearly dangling through the roof.
“Everyone get in,” she said.
They all jammed in the elevator and as soon as the door shut, it started to move up, although the buttons still didn't light up. The tail twitched back and forth through the roof until the elevator stopped at the top floor and the doors opened. The cat fell right to the floor and walked between them into the hallway.
“Is that your cat?” Maryann asked.
“No, Tomas was not that big,” she said.
They walked off the elevator.
The cat proceeded straight to the end of the hallway.
They followed.
Then it turned around and stared at them.
“Oh, whoa, now that is really weird,” Maryann said.
The pupils of the cat's eyes were silver and reflective, like mirrors. The slit pupils made its eyes look like broken mirrors.
“Um, nice kitty?” Leah ventured.
“You do not belong here,” it replied in an odd, echoing human voice. They couldn't tell if it was a male or female voice. “You are not lost, or at least not yet. Fortunately, you did not check in.”
“What are you?” Isabella asked.
“I am a traveler, forgotten and remembered, lost and found, always alone and one of legion. I come and go as I will, because I will. I did not want to speak to you in front of the...desk clerk... as he calls himself.”
“Why not?”
“It is rude to interfere in another's domain, especially when it is not their domain by their own will. But that is not your concern. Very rarely does a direct door open to this world such that whole beings can enter. Such doors do not stay open long and yours long since closed.”
“Can we go home?” Maryann asked.
“Yes.”
“But what about those children?”
“They are lost, and they cannot leave.”
“But they're children!”
“I cannot break the rules of the realm for those who came here through the right doors,” the cat replied. “They are as well taken care of as you could hope for.”
“Maryann, we can't help them,” Isabella said. “I'm sorry, but this is beyond us.”
“Unless you want to stay here and become lost yourself, follow me,” the cat said.
“We've followed you this far,” Leah said.
“You may find it easier if you close your eyes,” the cat said, turning around with what appeared to be every intention of walking through the
wall.
The four took a deep breath almost in unison.
The cat started to walk.
They followed, and all four of them closed their eyes right before they hit the wall.
Isabella, Nora, Leah, and Maryann all sat up in their respective beds. In both rooms, there was an obnoxious beeping sound, which turned out to be the alarms. Leah and Nora slapped the respective alarms off.
Nora immediately turned on her phone. In a moment, it found signal and confirmed it was the morning after the show. “Was that real?” she asked.
Isabella went to her suitcase and lifted the lid. She pulled out a tattered elephant doll. “It was real.”
Nora found the pearl earring in her jewelry box.
In the other room, Maryann had pulled out the lost sock. “It was real,” she said to Leah.
They dressed in a hurry and met in the common area.
“So what happened?” Nora asked.
“We went through a door that wasn't supposed to be opened,” Isabella said. “And luckily for us, we were rescued. I don't know what rescued us, but I'm glad it did.”
“So we really don't know what happened?”
“No. But it's over.”
“For us, anyway,” Maryann said.
“Let's just count our blessings,” Leah said. “And let's go get some breakfast and make sure the world is back to normal.”
“Do you always think about food?” Nora asked.
“No, but it's a good excuse to get us out of the hotel.”
“I think it's a good idea,” Isabella said. “Let's go.”
They successfully exited the hotel onto the streets of New York City.
“So, the world is normal. At least as normal as this world ever is,” Nora said dryly.
“And I see a deli,” Maryann said.
“Deli nothing. After all that, I want doughnuts,” Leah said. “Come on.”
And they walked off on a quest for breakfast.
The Lyrics:
The elevator buttons go
From twelve to fourteen
Do they think we really don't know
What comes in between?
We all love weekends
And all like Friday
Except on the thirteenth
We want it to go away
Refrain: Triskaidekaphobia
What does it mean?
Triskaidekaphobia
Fear of the number thirteen.
An infinity of numbers
That barely get a mention
So why the fear of thirteen?
It's a silly superstition.
Like broken mirrors
Or paths crossed by black cats
Why do we fear such things
What makes us think that?
Refrain
Not spilling the salt
Nor walking under ladders
If these things happen
Why should it matter?
But maybe once upon a time
Somewhere in the past
Something caused these fears
And caused them to last
Refrain x2
The Wrap-Up
Brad: Well, ladies, I'm glad you took this time to talk with me.
Lee: It was fun.
Brad: I think you have an interesting take on rock and I'm impressed you're trying to cover so many genres. I hope you don't burn out.
Lenore: We wouldn't have tried this band if we thought we couldn't handle it.
Anna: And inspiration is everywhere. Sometimes in the least likely places.
Brad: So you're saying you don't want to be normal?
Belle: We're saying we don't want to be boring. We like our music, and we hope other people will like our music, and we'll see where this road takes us. Maybe we'll crash and burn, or maybe we'll get all the way to the top and stay there for a long, long time.
Lenore: We're hoping for the second outcome.
Brad: [laughs] Doesn't everyone? So, now that we've covered your current album, what are your plans for the future?
Anna: Keep playing, keep writing, and keep releasing albums.
Brad: Are you already working on a new album?
Lenore: Of course. This is business, and a really fickle business, so we need to capitalize on our success.
Brad: Would you like to plug it? And give the readers a time frame on when it'll come out?
Belle: Well, we can't make any promises, but we're hoping for the second album in about a year. We haven't quite worked out a title yet, though.
Anna: So, what nice things are you going to tell your readers about our album?
Brad: I'll tell them that it's as creative as it is weird.
Lee: Is that nice? I can't tell.
Brad: I'll also tell them I enjoyed your album and I'm looking forward to hearing more from Nevermore and the Ravens.
Lenore: Now that's an endorsement.
Anna: Thanks!
Brad: Okay, readers, I hope you enjoyed this opportunity to learn about the newest up and coming rock band. Stay tuned for their next album.
###
Second - Thanks to the lawyers GH and AJ and the art history major KH and the crazy night we came up with this crazy idea for Nevermore and the Ravens. Special thanks to GH for inspiring the songs “MMORPG and Me (My True Love)” and “Pet Rattlesnake.” Special thanks to AJ for inspiring the songs “Tango at the End of Pompeii” and “Quantum Butterfly” and helping with the lyrics. Special thanks to KH for just being KH (you're awesome!).
Third - Thanks to David Heath, a fellow aspiring author and writer of dark fiction and poetry. Dave is the inspiration for the character of “Dave Rafel” and wrote all the lyrics for “Tricks O'Pedia,” which I can assure you is one of his lighter poem-style pieces. Please check out Dave's book of real-life inspired poetry titled Life, Love, and Regrets which can be found at www.authorhouse.com.
Finally - all trademarked and copyrighted characters references in this novel/collection of short stories are the intellectual property of their respective parent companies and corporations.
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