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Shannon Trevor

One Thousand Club
1. The Hotel Coronado


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Now this is creepy, Rachel thought to herself as she climbed from the driver's seat of her Mercedes saloon and took in the sight before her. The Hotel Coronado stood at the end of a long, winding gravel driveway far away from the main road and now loomed ominously ahead of her.

She could hear the waves lapping gently against the cliff the hotel was perched on. Whilst the building itself still retained some of its rustic allure, closer inspection was enough to tell Rachel about its current state of dis-repair. Even in the fading light she could see the chipped paint on the facade, a least two cracked windows and a low roof with several slates missing.

"I can see why it went for so much money," she said over her shoulder as Miles joined her. Her son hadn't been keen on accompanying her and it was only a last minute change of heart that meant she wasn't here alone. "Get it spruced up and people will flock to it. Great location and it has its own special kind of ambience." Amongst other things, she reminded herself. Rachel looked the building over once more. A few lights on the ground floor shone dimly but the upper floors of the hotel stood in complete darkness.

As with any old building, certain stories had stuck to the hotel since before Rachel was born. Thinking it would make an ideal setting for a few chapters in her next book, she had wrote to the local conservation society in the hopes of arranging a tour. To her surprise, a month later an invitation came in the mail to a ghost hunt at the hotel.

It had been a mild night and she was dressed casually, a navy sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans didn't stop the sudden chill in the sea breeze. A two tone Rolex clasped tightly to her left wrist and a pair of brown boots completed the look of Hopefield's most well known journalist and author.

"Well," Rachel said to her son. "Shall we?"
 
She was lucky to have caught the last bus like Gloria told her to do. Having to walk from the main road to the hotel was far better than running the whole way to arrive on time. Lily liked to exercise, but that would have been a bit much.

Once the breeze became wind, her red cropped sweatshirt wasn't enough to keep her warm anymore, so she retrieved an oversized white windbreaker from her backpack.
While she was at it, she also took out her videocamera and started filming. First, she recorded a panoramic view of the whole building, doing her best to keep her pulse still. Then, she started walking towards it, filming whatever she felt like while explaining when, where and why she was here with an excited tone, making sure that the camcorder could catch her voice.

"...since I couldn't find any sort of interview with a witness in The Hopefield Sentinel, I decided to become one myself!" Lily jumped a little, she was now filming herself. "If I'm lucky enough, I'll even be able to catch the ghost on came-WOAH!"

She quickly dodged the child and turned the camera, walking backwards in front of him. "Sorry buddy, didn't see you there! name's Lily, what's yours?" Her apologetic smile turning into a friendly one.
 
Will

Will stopped at the main road in his reliable ford and admittedly, found the sight of The Hotel Coronoda in the distance much more menacing than it had first seemed on the brochure; which had been hanging on the forgotten bulletin board of Hopefield Medical for some time.

It had actually been a light-hearted arrangement for himself and his colleagues to attend a tour; laugh at some historical ghost stories, maybe get a little freaked out, and then decompress at a local bar with some drinks afterwards. It sounded like a good plan. Only, Will had been absent-minded enough to book himself on the wrong tour slot, sending everyone but himself into hysterics. It was only in good humour that he decided to stick with it - and maybe have a laugh alone, at the very least.

With a sigh Will killed the engine and got out of the car, bracing against the wind. He wore a mustard-coloured wool hat and a long padded coat over his usual jumper-and-jeans, and joined the slow trickling of people moving towards the frail-looking hotel. Will got his phone out, and scoped his camera phone around the area, taking grainy photographs, and thinking about how this could have been a more quiet and warm evening spent at home.

----

OOC: Morning guys :) didn't want to make my part too long as I almost did last night! Hope this is enough to work with!
 
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Aside from Rachel and Miles, two other tour guests stood in front of the imposing Hotel. A pretty blonde girl was narrating the sights through her camcorder. So lost in her filming exploits, she only just managed to avoid bumping into Miles as she walked herself backwards, attempting to get the perfect shot of the Coronado.

She apologised quickly and asked Miles his name. Even in the murk of the poorly lit driveway, Rachel could see her son's cheeks redden as he mumbled an answer. Tall and lanky, still growing into his body, Miles was as awkward as only a fourteen year old boy could be. Bright, funny and intelligent, Rachel could only smile at how tongue tied he had suddenly become.

"And I'm Rachel," she said extending a hand to the young woman, saving her son from any further awkwardness. "Nice to meet you Lily. You an aspiring reporter?" Rachel asked as she nodded toward the camera.

A few yards away, the fourth latecomer was snapping photos of the hotel on his phone. It was only when he drew closer that Rachel recognised him, the young Doctor who had the surgery in town. "It's Doctor Hurley isn't it?" Rachel called over. He was a handsome man, a number of years younger than Rachel. From watching him she got the impression he didn't quite know what he was doing there, as if he had been roped into the tour and was now making the best of it.
 
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She nodded at Miles and shook Rachel's hand. "Nice to meet you too, Rachel! And not exactly," she put the camera back in her backpack "I think my friends called it "vlogging" or something?" she looked confused while making quotation marks with her fingers.

She moved to get a better look of the person that Rachel was calling. It was a young man she didn't know taking pictures, but the name sounded familiar though, maybe her grandma had mentioned him at some point.

She watched the conversation between the two adults develop. She started getting bored, so she looked around for something else to do, yet she noticed that there was no one else here. Then, Lily remembered the silent Miles and decided to strike up a conversation with him.

"So, Miles, why are you here? Came to face your fears? Meet your friends? Your mom forced you to? Haveyouseenaghost?" She added in a whisper, clearly eager to hear the answer to that one.
 
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Will was taking photographs - figured, maybe they'd make a good update or conversation point with his family at some later date. They contacted him often, but Will suspected it was more for medical advice than anything.

When Will was called, he looked straight over at the woman, and smiled. "You caught me," he admitted, with a lop-sided smile. It was funny, he swore he could have placed her somewhere. She had sharp features and dark hair, which was currently being lapped up by the wind, along with everything else perched on the hill of the hotel. Perhaps she'd been to the surgery a few times; Will couldn't be sure.

Putting his phone away, Will felt glad to have a vague familiarity of someone else attending the tour. He couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation, but perhaps nothing was funny, and he was just anxious . "Would you happen to be here for a family trip? I was kinda roped into this one myself. Not sure whether you can tell," he joked.

Behind her were two kids; one of which was tall boy, who seemed on the quieter side. The other was a bouncy, blonde girl with a camera that only could have been LIly. Will recognised her and gave her a friendly wave of acknowledgement as she talked to the taller boy, not quite sure whether she would recognise him back. Will knew her grandmother, Gloria, quite well. She had a reputation at the surgery for being a very sweet woman - and for talking about her niece.

Will made note to ask about Gloria at some point. He hadn't seen her come in for a while... which was probably a good thing, he supposed. As Lily went to talk with her friend, Will turned back to his own conversation, still trying to place the woman's face somewhere.
 
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Miles laughed, Lily's joking questions putting him more at ease. "Let's go with mom made me," he said, jerking his head in Rachel's direction. "She's a reporter for the Sentinel. And an author too. You heard of Milo Harvey? She wrote that."

"A family trip of sorts," Rachel said, answering Will's questions "If you can count dragging my son along, kicking and screaming as a family trip." She glanced back over to Miles, talking excitedly to the young girl. "Mind you," she said, lowering her voice, "He doesn't seem nearly as bothered all of a sudden. Funny that."

She smiled as she extended her hand. "Rachel Porter. We haven't met professionally but I have a few friends who were all talk about the dashing new Doctor who had come to town."

Her attention turned back to the hotel. "You know anything about the building, Doctor? I've driven past the place plenty but this is the first time I'll have seen inside it."

“Very interesting history actually,” a voice spoke up behind the pair. Rachel wheeled around to face whoever had spoken, hoping the darkness could cover her momentary jump. A smiling dark haired woman, somewhere in her late twenties and of a similar height to Rachel stood a couple of feet away. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you. Either of you.”

"It's fine," Rachel chuckled, slightly embarrassed at her jumpiness. "You just caught us unawares."

"Moira Lane,” the woman said as he extended her hand. “Chair of the Hotel Coronado Conservation Society. You’re here for the tour I take it?”

“That’s right,” Rachel replied replied as she shook her hand. “Rachel Porter. This is my son-"

“-Oh of course, Miss Porter!" Moira clapped her hands together excitedly, cutting off any further introductions. “I was hoping you would come. I keep my eye on The Hopefield Sentinel every week just on the off-chance there’s a write-up about your latest adventure. It’s not too often something exciting happens in our little city.”

“I understand,” Rachel smiled. “Interesting stories are hard to come by,” she said, looking once more at the looming Hotel.
 
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"Huh, that's pretty cool." Lily nodded "Of course I've heard of Milo Harvey, grandma just won't stop talking about it..." she chuckled at the memory.


Suddenly, she heard a distant voice behind her and quickly took her camera out as she turned towards the source. As Lily stepped closer to join the conversation, the mysterious woman greeted Rachel with a handshake, convincing the young blonde that she was, in fact, not a ghost.

She lowered her camera, disappointed, but when she heard that Moira was the Chair of the HCCS she raised the camcorder once again, listening and expectantly waiting for them to finish talking (she had some manners).


"On the topic of interesting stories, hi, I'm Lily," she peeked from behind the camera, grinning "I'd like to ask you more about those ghost sightings Miss Lane! I'm absolutely-positive that there's a lot of exciting things going on here in Hopefield, so do not worry, I'll make it my duty to capture them on video for you".
 
"Ah--Milo Harvey. Now I know." Will chuckled, holding out his hand and shaking Rachel's heartily. "Great to meet you - finally. I'm sure you're a busy woman being a journalist on top of everything else. I might need to take a leaf from your book."

"The hotel?" Will turned to look at the tall building that seemed to canopy over them both. It was haunting. "Afraid not. I'm figuring maybe I should have done some research. I was wondering how a place like this could even be fit for entry."

That was when Moira appeared out of nowhere sending a temporary panic through Will. She wasn't scary looking but she did exude a certain over-powering friendliness. Will stood aside while Rachel and Moira re-acquainted and then plugged an opportunity to introduce himself properly. "Hi Moira. I'm WIll, from Hopefield Medical." He shook her hand. "I look forward to learning more about the hotel--out of personal interest, of course. The Cordona has always been a sight to see."

Will fell back while the group unified, with the tour drawing closer. "Seems like it might be just a few a of us." He said aloud. Maybe from not quite liking the idea or the cold--he couldn't tell--but he shivered. "Well. It's bound to be an interesting night anyway. We might all have a story to tell."

--
ooc: so sorry for the length/quality of this one guys. hope it's okay and workable D:
 
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Moira smiled at Lily. "Please, feel free to ask away. As I was saying to Miss Porter, the Coronado has a interesting history.”

“Oh?" Rachel asked, inviting Moira to continue with a sideways glance to Miles who smiled back, both enjoying Moira's enthusiasm. "The building was abandoned not long after I was born. Always heard the stories growing about it being haunted but never believed them.”

“It was built a few years before the start of the Civil War and was actually used as a field hospital by Union Forces at one point,” Moira said, as she began leading the group towards the front door.

“And that’s where the ghosts come in?” Miles guessed.

Moira shrugged. “Perhaps. The main story I’ve heard from the local paranormal society is about a woman who threw herself from the cliffs. Her parents owned the hotel and she was in love with another girl, one of the staff. A scandal in less enlightened times. Her parents put an end to their relationship the moment they found out, fired the girl and arranged to have their daughter live with family across the country. The poor girl threw herself into the sea the night she was due to depart.”

“And now she haunts this place?” Rachel ventured. The story was a familiar one. And cliche in the extreme. She hoped her plot for the next Milo Harvey book wasn't so derivative.

“Apparently so," Moira continued. "Quite the presence too, or so Doctor Foster tells me anyway.”

“What do you mean, presence?” Miles asked.

“Well from what I’m told, most paranormal encounters are quite mild; odd noises, strange breezes, maybe someone claiming to have actually seen some sort of ghostly figure. Here the results are much more….intense. Such experiences are magnified, objects are thrown, people too. Recently at least one person has claimed he was physically attacked by a woman in a black lace dress.”

Rachel shot Will a look that Moira caught. She managed a smile before dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “Between the five of us, I don’t believe in all this ghost nonsense.”

“But you organized the tour?"

Moira nodded. “ I thought the tours were a good way to raise money to fund the conservation efforts. We had hoped we had raised enough to to buy the deed and restore the place but we couldn’t match the price the Halliday Group were offering.”

“The building firm?” Rachel asked.

Moira sighed. “Most of the building will get torn down to make way for seaview condos or the like.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Rachel.

Moira said nothing further as she led them into the entrance foyer. A mahogany reception desk stood to their left. A couple of pitchers of water and a few glasses were its only feature. A grand staircase dominated the room. The landing at its peak was pitch black. "I'll go find Doctor Foster," Moira said before scooting away.

Rachel had thought they had been running late but judging by the deserted foyer, they were the only guests. "Looks like we're a little early to the party," she said, glancing at her Rolex.
 
She had been quietly filming Moira as she spoke, but while listening to the ghost's tragic story, she couldn't help but sob a little, believing every word the woman said. "That's so sad..." she commented softly, wiping a tear off her face. Even so, her sadness was gone as soon as it arrived.

These intensified reactions made Lily really excited, but her smile became a pout when Moira denied believing in such things. Ghost or not, it was going to be a fun trip anyways, but she wanted the magic to last a little longer.

It was a real shame that the place would get demolished, but there was nothing they could do. At least she got to visit it.

When she entered, she felt like a kid stepping into a candy store. Moving her head slowly as if to inspect every corner with her eyes, she whistled, enjoying the little bit of echo.
"If I was a ghost I wouldn't want to leave either." Sure, it could really use some maintenance, but it must have been a beautiful place at some point.

She turned on the flashlight that was rigorously taped to her video camera and pointed it towards the stairs, trying to get a good view of whatever was at the end of it. "Yeah, isn't it weird? I was expecting a whooole more people" she adjusted the lenses, slowly stepping forward "but the lack of living things around adds to the athmosphere, like a horror movie!" she turned around to look at them with a big smile on her face, expecting them to be as thrilled about the idea.
 
Miles returned Lily's smile. The girl was very pretty he thought to himself. "Just like a horror movie," he agreed, a little too enthusiastically. He tried to hide his embarrassment by clearing his throat. "So Lily, have you done this sort of thing before? A ghost hunt, I mean."

"Doctor Foster, this is Crissy Porter and her son, Miles. I'm afraid I didn't catch your names yet," she said, indicating to Adian and Mike.

A few seconds later Doctor, Moira returned with a man who Rachel assumed was Doctor Foster. He sniffed as he looked Rachel over. “The Heroine of Hidden Harbour’, that’s what the papers called you, isn’t it?” Foster said by way of introduction.

“Uh, yes," Rachel said with a tight smile as Miles giggled beside her. "Something like that.” She hadn't expected one of her old journalistic adventures to be brought up.

“Well, glad you could make it. All for a good cause, eh?”

“It is,” Rachel agreed as she looked about the room, keen to move the conversation to another topic. “If you don't mind me asking, is this everyone, Moira?”

"Yes," Moira answered, with a sigh. "We're hoping a decent report from yourself will increase interest for future tours."

“I’m afraid our own numbers have been dwindling too,” Foster said, cutting back in to the conversation. “My research society, I mean. We look for the Paranormal and then when confronted with real evidence of what we are actually seeking they piss themselves and never come back.”

“Yes, I understand there’s quite a bit of activity here lately,” Rachel replied. Foster took this as a signal to outline all the recent experiences of the hotel thst had already been covered by Moira.

The group listened politely as Moira let Foster continue for a couple of minutes before taking the chance to cut-in. “Doctor, I’m sure everyone would like a chance to look around before we begin. She favoured Rachel and the others with a final smile as she ushered Foster away.

Turning back to Will, Rachel nudged him gently. "Scared yet, Doctor?" She asked with a mischevious wink.
 
"Not really, nope." She went back to looking at the stairs "I tried to use a ouija board with my classmates once, but after calling out the guy that was moving the planchette, they suddenly didn't want to play anymore..."


When she heard the Doctor's voice, she pointed at him and filmed their conversation. She shaked her head in disappointment, why would they turn such an opportunity away?

Moira's words brought a big smile to her face "DOES THIS MEAN WE ARE FREE TO ROAM THE MANSION?!?" Lily asked, a second, then a third Lily copying her. The camcorder had been tucked away already, sure, she wanted some good shots, but the most important part was experiencing it herself.
 

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