Hotel California
After winning a trip to star on The Price Is Right, the Fenton family check in to the Hotel Cortez, not knowing the dangers that lie within the walls. But Danny knows. He and Valerie must work together to not only get to the bottom of the spirits' unrest, but make it through the night alive.
Chapter One
"I can't believe it! We won as contestants to be on the Price is Right!" Maddie Fenton's shrill voice snaps Danny out of his concentration. He groans. His parents had been talking about it since last week; after a contestant didn't show up for the showings, the Fenton's won by default as a chance to play. It was a good thing they're in California; a long trip from Amity Park to Los Angeles through the Fenton Ghost Mobile on short notice sounds impossible. They've been sleeping from hotel to Fenton Ghost Mobile for the past three weeks; it's been part of the family vacation and tradition to hunt ghosts all over the country. They've (unsuccessfully) cleared out Wisconsin, made friends in Virginia, been kicked out of Pennsylvania (don't ask), and don't even get them started on what happened in Delaware. They've stumbled upon Los Angeles after checking out the Most Haunted website column and there it was, Los Angeles: The City of Angels…and a cesspool of broken dreams, shattered promises, the tears of unpaid/unrecognized actors and…ghosts.
Ever since they set foot in this city, their equipment has been going crazy from the amount of ghost activity. These weren't the goofy, borderline comical ghosts that they've encountered in Danny's hometown; these spirits have a darker edge, with grim personalities and horrific backstories. These ghosts don't engage in witty banter, have whimsical powers that Danny can easily maneuver through and defeat; they are angry, quick to grab the nearest object and impale him with it. They want to be left alone to brood and haunt, but from the Fenton's line of work, that's a no-go. Danny successfully got them into the Fenton Thermos and tossed them into the Ghost World in hopes of them finding peace, but their stories still grate on his conscience like a gnawing guilt trip.
How many heroin addicts did he have to go through? How many tragic stories of actors who thought suicide was a better option does Danny have to hear before it's enough? How many victims of mysterious deaths and accidents must he encounter before he's eager to call it quits and tell his family to keep packing?
Not nearly enough.
Everyone has a backstory, but that doesn't excuse them from being a menace to the living.
Hotels are packed to the brim with spirits, all of them dying in bizarre or gruesome ways. They haunt the walls and miraculously (with the help of his alter-ego) the family barely make it out alive when certain spirits try to make sure they never check out. As per usual, his family becomes none the wiser that their son saved their lives for the umpteenth time and try to go to yet another hotel, the next one more dangerous than the other. It's on the fifteenth day that Danny insists he sleeps in the hotels while his parents are safely nestled in their Fenton Ghost Mobile, where they're protected from ectoplasmic danger.
"Look, Jack! A nice looking hotel!" Maddie Fenton coos. They stop right in front of a large, badly decaying hotel with the words 'Hotel Cortez' in sleazy red and a vintage font.
"Let's look…"
Out of nowhere, the Fenton Ghost Mobile starts going crazy. Loud beeps, whirring technology, the whines of ectoplasmic weapons pointing directly at the hotel.
"WARNING! WARNING! DANGEROUS ECTOPLASMIC ENERGY CONTAINED WITHIN THOSE WALLS. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK." The mobile booms.
"The thing must be broken," Jack pounds the alarm, "This hotel doesn't look haunted."
"The reviews on Yelp says it's an amazing hotel! Five-star meals, antique décor, amazing guests!" Maddie grins. "And you just might meet a few locals who'd love to have us for dinner!"
Danny groans.
"Mom, it's a hotel in the rough side of Los Angeles. There's no way they'd give out five-star meals in a place that looks like the set of a porno."
"Danny!" Maddie chastises.
"I'm going to go check it out. See if the inside looks better than its…outside." Danny hops out into the sidewalk.
"Okay, dearie. Your father and I will start tinkering away at the alarm system to see if it has any kinks. If it is dangerous ectoplasmic energy, call us. Okay?"
"Yeah, Mom."
"Alright. Don't check in until you clear it with us, okay?"
"Alright, mom!" he hollers over his shoulder. He opens the walls, and his mouth drops. Okay, this hotel's front looks pretty impressive, but why aren't there people coming and going from the hotel?
"Danny?"
He whips his head. Valerie is sitting in one of the chairs, flipping through a magazine.
"Val? What are you doing here?"
"Staying the night while Daddy is working out something at the other hotel. You?"
"Won to be on The Price Is Right. We're…or I…am staying in the hotel until we can hit the road again and make it to the show. It's a fifteen-minute drive from here."
"Oh," Valerie nods her head, "Sounds like fun."
His ghost senses sparked. This time it's the strongest one he's sensed in a while. That's a bad sign. He looks around and sees three ominous looking ghosts staring right at them. He stiffens.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Let's…share a room together. it's cheaper and we get to catch up on some things." He beams at her. Valerie smirks.
"Are you trying to put the moves on me like in Junior High? Fenton, I'm a big girl now. I can handle myself." She holds her head high.
"Let's just…" he leans in, "There's dangerous amounts of ectoplasmic energy in this hotel. I'm going to need someone with me to keep guard."
"You asking for a bodyguard?" Valerie whispers back.
Danny mentally rolls his eyes. But for her safety, he strokes her ego.
"Yeah, I'm a little scared, is all. I wouldn't mind having someone with me to keep my nerves at bay. The technology I have may be good, but I don't know how to use it."
That seems to be a good enough answer for the ghost huntress. She grins.
"Well, anything for an old friend." She holds his hand.
They march to the counter where a masculine looking elderly woman and a plump one with glasses and greying hair.
"Hello, welcome to the Hotel Cortez. Are you two lovebirds looking for a hotel room?" The masculine one deadpans, flipping through another page of her novel.
"Yeah." Danny answers sheepishly. He looks out at the door. The Mobile is parked on the opposite side, the alarms calmer and inconspicuous.
He'll scope out the place, assess the danger levels, keep Valerie protected and take down some ghosts. His backpack stuffed with Fenton gear, ghost powers primed and ready, and his senses peaked for any ghost encounters, he's ready.
"Here's your key."
There, in Valerie's palm, is the hotel room number 64.
"It's the best room in the house." The plump woman grins. Something isn't right.
"Thanks." Danny pulls out his cell phone and dials his mother's number.
"Is it alright in there?"
"Yeah. Your alarm system must be busted. Rest easy, guys. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
"Okay, hon. Love you."
"Love you too, Mom." He hangs up.
"Mama's boy?" The sarcastic one asks.
"Yeah. Something like that." He smiles back at her. The clerk purses her lips into an all-knowing smirk before putting her nose back into her book.
"Let me guide you up to your room. My name is Iris."
"Danny."
"Valerie."
"Such nice names. How old are you guys? You look no older than…"
"We've just finished high school. We're celebrating the holidays together. It's our 3rd anniversary." Valerie wraps her arms around Danny's waist. Heat spreads across his cheeks. Iris laughs.
"Ah, to be young again." Iris muses, unlocking the room and turning on the light. The room looks plush, old-timey, and…unique, to put it nicely. It's safe to say the room has seen better days. It looks so…dingy. They couldn't afford a proper cleaning service?
Valerie's watch starts beeping at a rapid pace. Her eyes narrow.
"Are you…sure, there isn't any other room available, Iris?"
"Yeah. Everything's booked out the wazoo. This is the only one available that isn't heavily renovated."
"I see." Valerie's eyes flit back and forth.
"Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. Call me if you need anything."
"Duly noted." Danny replies. Once the door shuts, Danny's calm demeanor fades. There's some heavy ghost energy in this room, overwhelmingly malicious. He's going to have to be on full alert if he wants to eradicate the threat.
"Fenton, what you got in the bag?"
"What?"
"Your family is a group of ghost-hunters, right? I'm sure you have some technology on you regarding ghosts."
"Oh!" Danny digs through his backpack and pulls out the classics. "Fenton Thermos, Fenton Ghost Gauntlets, and my favorite," he holds up his prize "Fenton Ghost Peeler. We'll use these for emergencies."
"Alright." Valerie yawns.
"I think it's time we catch some Z's. I have to meet up with my dad tomorrow. We're having brunch."
"Okay. But before you do, I'm going down the hall I want to get a look around. Stay alert." Danny warns.
"Don't need to tell me twice, Fenton. I know what I'm doing."
"If you say so."
Danny leaves the hotel room, looking back and forth between the halls. Seeing the coast is clear, he changes into his ghost form.
"Ectoplasmic signature is through the roof. I'm going to have my hands full." He groans.
"Why couldn't we just have a normal vacation, like a normal family?"
He flies off.
Meanwhile, Valerie was coaxed into a deep sleep when her wrist watch beeped erratically.
"GHOST DETECTED. GHOST DETECTED. GHOST IS WITHIN A 5 FOOT RADIUS." The wrist watch warns. Valerie jumps into action, her battle suit on and her gun cocked. There, at the foot of the bed, is a menacing figure, cloaked in the shadows.
"State your purpose or be blast into oblivion, ghost!" Valerie snarls.
The figure laughs.
"Why, you're in my bedchambers. I always enjoy a fresh kill in the evening. Bonus points if I have to work for it."
"You think you're going to kill me? Don't make me laugh." Valerie bites back. Mr. March takes his hat off, places it on the bedside table, looks her in the eye and pulls out his gun. Before he could fire, Valerie flips out of his aim and fires her gun, the impact knocking Mr. March into a wall, shock washing over him.
"You better think twice before underestimating me, ghost. I'm not going down without a fight."
Mr. March chuckles, wiping the splotch of blood from his lip. Ms. Evers appears behind Valerie and before she could react Valerie's pinned by her.
"I got her, Mr. March. I got her! What glorious stains she'll make on the linens!" she boasts. As Valerie squirms in her battle suit, Mr. March walks over to her, amusement clear on his face. His knife glides over her suit before resting on her jugular.
"My, my, my," he muses with a smirk, "aren't you a delight?"