Paranormal Melodies ~ Chapter 3

The Stanley Hotel

Some weeks after their meeting, Alena was finally going to be going to her first lockdown. Unknown to the guys, she had made arrangements with the hotel to reserve the exact same room that Stephen King had stayed in, a visit which later inspired his novel The Shining. With it being one of her favorite books, she couldn't resist the temptation to stay in that room. The guys had mentioned that there were certain rooms they intended to investigate, but they were not confident they would be able to gain access to room 217. Hearing this, Alena immediately contacted the hotel and made the arrangements, deciding to leave it a surprise for when the guys arrived.

Alena packed up and flew out from California to Colorado. Her flight got in sooner than the one Zak, Nick and Aaron were taking, so they decided to rendezvous at the hotel. One thing Alena appreciated about not being as famous as many other singers was that she wasn't always recognized by fans and the press didn't always follow her. She didn't mind the occasional photo op with her fans or signing autographs, but in this situation she wanted to avoid that as much as possible. She did not want to draw more attention to the lockdown than necessary.

Getting her room key, Alena went right up to the second floor where the room was. Stepping off the elevator she found room 217 and walked toward it. Her heart beat harder in anticipation, wondering what it would be like to stay there, but her nerves outweighed her excitement to experience it. Unlocking the door, she stepped inside finding a nice, tidy room just like any other hotel would offer. She placed her luggage on the bed and sat down, looking at everything around her. Even if nothing occurred while she stayed there, she knew she would have a great time. Not many people could say that they stayed in this particular room.

Sometime later, Alena received a text from Zak.

We've just arrived.

Alena smiled and headed downstairs to see them. Outside she found them getting out of their van. "Hello boys," she said.

"Hey, there she is!" Aaron said as he hugged her.

"How was the trip?" she asked.

"Not bad, super excited to be here," Nick replied.

She smiled and helped them unload their gear. "Me too. I've been here just for a while, but already I am pumped for the investigation."

Zak smiled. "Well you're going to have to wait a day or two since we have to do interviews before the lockdown."

"Oh I know, I remember you telling me that. Still I am really excited for the night of the lockdown. Hopefully something will happen that I can experience."

Once the guys got settled into their rooms, Alena met them in the lobby before they went to grab lunch together.

"So what is the plan for today?" she asked.

"Well we've got interviews scheduled for today and we also want to get some extra footage of the hotel and the grounds," Nick explained. "We really want to get footage outside of room 217 since that's the room where Stephen King stayed and we couldn't manage to get it for the lockdown."

Aaron groaned a bit. "Man I so wanted to see that room since Jim Carrey stayed there only for like three hours before leaving the hotel. That would've been awesome to check out."

Alena grinned. "Not to mention the fact that when Stephen King stayed in that room poltergeist activity occurred. When he and his wife left their luggage in that room they left for a while and came back to find it all neatly put away for them."

Zak looked at her. "Where did you hear that?"

"Oh I did my own research. You really think I would be a part of this and not even do my own research to prepare? I'm disappointed in you," she said with a smile.

The guys laughed at that.

"Well it's good to know that you came prepared. Still wish we could have secured the room for the lockdown," Zak commented.

Alena nodded. "Well it's a popular room and I knew it would get snatched up right away. So I took the liberty of calling in and reserving it while we're here."

Three pairs of widened eyes fell upon her, clearly not believing what they just heard her say.

"You reserved room 217?" Nick asked.

She nodded again. "Of course. You really think I would've let that chance slide by? Nope.
I made arrangements after you guys told me when you planned to be here and decided to surprise you."

Aaron was grinning. "Oh my God, that is the most awesome thing ever!"

Zak put his arm around her and hugged her. "You're officially our new best friend, Alena."

She giggled. "You're welcome."

"Can we see that room after we eat?" Nick asked.

"Of course. We can see if the spirits put away my luggage for me. I deliberately left it out to see what would happen."

After they had lunch, Alena led the guys up to room 217 to check and see if her luggage had been moved in addition to checking out the room itself. Opening the door Alena found that her bag was still where she left it with all of the contents still as they were before she left. Everything was still where it should be, so nothing had come and moved her stuff around. At least not yet.

"Hmm, nope everything is as it was," she said.

Zak nodded. "Alright, well maybe something will happen later on."

Aaron grinned as he looked around the room. "Man, I'm standing in the room where Jim Carrey stayed for only a few hours. This is too cool. I call this room the night of the lockdown!"

Alena's brow furrowed. "Hey! Who said that we were swapping rooms? This is going on my bill, so I get to stay in here!"

"Children!" Nick called out with a laugh. "Alena has a point, she did manage to get this room so she probably should stay in here."

Alena playfully stuck her tongue out at Aaron, who only laughed.

"However," Nick continued. "Depending on what we find out about the other rooms might dictate where we all sleep, so we might want to keep an open mind here."

Alena laughed. "Okay fine. I can't wait to hear about what the history of the rooms are."

Zak smiled. "In that case, we should probably get to our interviews and find out about the paranormal claims. Besides, Alena has to do her work for her lyrics."

She smiled and pulled out her notebook. "I'm set. Lead the way."

******************

Alena listened attentively to the interviews which Zak conducted. She didn't want to be seen on camera just yet, the idea was that the night of the lockdown she would be properly introduced to the viewers. Instead she stood behind Nick and Aaron as they filmed the interviews and took notes about the activity experienced over the years. She couldn't believe just how haunted this hotel seemed to be, with so many documented experiences happening to different people, it really seemed to convince her that something really was roaming the halls. Something she never experienced before, but really wanted to. Careful to take as detailed of notes as she could, Alena would later use them as inspiration for themes and possible basis for specific songs on her album.

Later that day when the interviews were complete, Alena broke off from the group to review her notes and begin outlining ideas as the guys went to film. Sitting outside and watching the elk which were roaming the grounds Alena went through her handwritten notes and started her brainstorming. The one paranormal claim which really got her thinking was the story of the couple who woke to find what looked like a cowboy in their room, one who kissed the woman on the forehead and vanished. That claim rolled around in her head a few times as she tried to break it down and find elements which might work well into a song. She specifically looked to parts of the story which matched well with emotions and thoughts which she felt after her breakup. It took a while, but a few ideas were finally conceived.

Flipping to a blank page, Alena began making separate notes which she felt would translate well into a song. Her idea was to create lyrics which would be an invitation for her past to visit her while she sat in darkness. Those memories would be of her exes, ones which would appear like apparitions before her, looking so real but would cease to be anything more than a vivid memory. These memories were meant to be comforting as she would be alone, but they would only do more harm than good even if they were not threatening her.

As she made these notes, Alena tried to visualize the scenario as if it were a music video. Seeing her exes come out of the darkness as she called them, recalling the happy moments of their relationships and the emotions it stirred up helped to fuel her inspiration. Alena continued making notes for this particular song, knowing they might be revised later on, but she was very pleased by the progress she was making and in such a short amount of time. She had no lyrics noted yet, but having a clearly mapped out scenario and mindset to work with, Alena knew that it was a matter of time before words would string together to create those lyrics. Another thing she was sure of was that she wanted a lot of string accompaniment for this song. Piano was her preferred instrument, and the first instrument she ever learned as a child before learning guitar. She was immensely fond of the sound of sting instruments, and with the somber theme in this song, she had a feeling that these instruments would only aid in conveying the deep emotions which would be presented.

Soon the sun began to set and Alena knew that the guys would be heading somewhere for dinner. Alena checked her phone but she had not missed any calls or texts. Often times if she was really wrapped up in a project or task, she would not catch her phone alerts. With this project demanding so much of her attention, she had a feeling that she might miss some of her calls. Luckily this time she had not. Closing her notebook she sighed and relaxed, giving her mind a well deserved break from all the planning she had been doing. Watching the sunset, Alena knew that nightfall was coming, the stereotypical time when ghosts and spirits materialized. With this being her first night in the famous hotel, she felt a bit anxious about it. She would be alone in one of the most haunted rooms of the Stanley trying to sleep when spirits could be there with her and she might never know. Part of her wondered just what that night had in store for her.

"You wanted to be a part of this, Alena," she murmured to herself. "You have to take risks if this is how you planned to make this work."

As she pondered what might occur during the night, Alena never noticed the approaching footsteps.

"Alena," Zak called.

Snapping out of her deep thought, Alena turned and saw him approach. "Oh, hey."

"Hey. We're done filming for the day, so we were planning to drive out to this pizza place we passed on the way up here and wondered if you wanted to come with."

She smiled. "That sounds great."

Alena stood up from her seat and walked with him to meet the guys.

"So how's the album coming along?" he inquired.

Alena laughed a little. "Hardly an album yet, but I did begin outlining a song for the album. Just ideas to help me write the lyrics later. I definitely was inspired from what I heard during the interviews, you have no idea how much this is helping me. I doubt I would have come up with the scenario I had if not for hearing the paranormal claims."

Zak smiled. "I'm really glad to hear that. I was curious whether or not the claims you heard today might help or not. Sounds like you're right on track."

Smiling back she nodded. "Yes, I never anticipated that I would get through as much as I had this evening. I can't thank you and the others enough for letting me come with, Zak. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Please, to have you here is a real pleasure. Heck you booked room 217 when we couldn't, do you know how grateful we are to you for that?"

Snorting she shrugged. "I would imagine that you might say that you guys are in my debt."

Zak nodded. "You pretty much nailed it."

"You're welcome," she said.

Just then the guys showed up and they headed out to grab dinner.

*************

During her fun evening with the GAC, Alena had managed to abandon her concerns about sleeping in 217 that night. She also relax her brain when it came to her active thoughts regarding her album. While having dinner she joined in the conversations regarding the lockdown and whatever else was brought up. For her, it was just what she needed to just be at ease and have a good time with the guys who were quickly becoming her friends.

But the moment the guys pulled up to the hotel again, Alena's anxiety came back knowing that very soon she would have to say goodnight and head off to sleep. That is, if she could. In the lobby they all said their goodnights to one another and one by one the guys departed. Nick and Aaron had already taken off, Zak was the last one with her. He had noticed what looked to be an expression of worry on Alena's face, and he had a feeling he knew exactly what was causing it.

"You're nervous, aren't you?" he asked.

She looked into his blue eyes and nodded slightly. "Kinda."

He smiled and put his arm around her as he walked her to her room. "I can understand. This is your first location and you've never dealt with the paranormal before."

Alena nodded. "I said I wanted to experience a haunted location, I got what I asked for, and look at me now."

Zak chuckled. "Look it's totally understandable that you would be nervous about this. I've been nervous about locations before, but the more you do it the easier it seems. Well depending on what you're up against."

She sighed. "I know. I'm not frightened, I just have no idea what might happen tonight. I mean, it's a complete mystery. While that should excite me, it also feels a bit alarming."

He patted her on the back reassuringly. "You'll be fine, Alena. And know this, if anything happens tonight which scares you, you can either call me, or come to my room and I'll be there for you. That goes for Nick and Aaron as well. We're not going to allow anything bad happen to you and just let you deal with it by yourself."

That made her smile a little. "Thanks, that does help a bit."

"Good," he said as they stood outside her room. "Try to get some rest tonight. Tomorrow night is the big lockdown, and we want you ready for it."

Nodding she smiled wider. "Thanks, Zak. I'll see you in the morning."

"Sweet dreams, Alena," he said before leaving her.

Alena watched him leave, thinking of how sweet he was to her. Nick and Aaron were wonderful to her too, but Zak seemed to be going the extra step in trying to keep her feeling at ease. She would not forget that. Entering her room, she found everything still in place with no signs of any poltergeist activity. Changing into her pajamas and cleaning up for bed, Alena tried to tell herself that everything would be fine and reminded herself that Zak, Nick and Aaron were not far away if she needed them. Slipping under the covers of her bed, Alena pulled out her book she was reading to try and aid her in falling asleep. She had made a mental note to keep her cell phone on the night table beside her just in case she had to get in touch with the guys. It sat just a small reach away from her. Soon her eyelids felt heavy and Alena knew it was only a matter of minutes before she would fall asleep. Putting her book aside, Alena reached over to the lamp and turned out the light, allowing darkness to pour into the room. She closed her eyes and only tried to concentrate on sleeping and hopefully staying asleep. Focusing on what might happen that night would only keep her awake and waiting for something to happen. With the lockdown being the next night, she hoped the spirits might wait to do something when the cameras were rolling. Soon Alena's mind slipped off into slumber for the night.