Be Careful of what You Wish For
By: Snapplelinz
This had to officially be the worst Halloween ever. Cody entered the Martin's suite at the Tipton and let the door slam shut with a resounding bang. A confused Carey and bemused Zack (who had just entered the suite after Cody) stared at Cody's appearance. His hair was dishevelled while his favourite sweater vest and cargo pants were splattered with mud.
"Rough day, honey?" Carey asked sympathetically.
"You could say that." Zack smirked.
"A rough day would've just stopped at Zack using all of my low yield bond savings for Tipton arcade tokens. But no, my Chemistry teacher gave me an A-minus on our latest pop quiz. Bailey hasn't replied to any of my emails. Then a cab stopped right in front of the hotel and sprayed mud all over me. This is officially the worst Halloween ever." Cody snapped angrily.
"Well, I hope it's about to get better. You're making duck for dinner, remember?" Carey asked quickly.
"That's another thing, I'm sick of making dinner every night when I'm exhausted from school in the afternoons. I'm tired, I'm gonna go take a nap."
And with that, Cody stalked into his and Zack's room and shut the door.
Cody collapsed onto his bed in his mud-sodden clothes, his mind whirring. Everything seemed to be going wrong lately. Cody felt the worst about how things were going with Bailey. Things hadn't gone according to plan aboard the S.S. Tipton during the Seven Seas High sea school programme. Needless to say, his '6-month plan' to get Bailey to date him hadn't panned out. Right before his and Zack's departure back to Boston, Cody had told Bailey in so many words about his feelings for her. Bailey in turn said that she needed time to think and had promised Cody that she'd email him. But there hadn't been any word from her yet, not a one. And it that had been weeks ago. Cody had tried to get a response out of her in an array of emails, but to no avail. Cody was tired of everyone taking advantage of him. If only things could be different. That's when he dozed off.
When Cody woke up later, it was nearly 7pm. He hopped off his bed and changed out of his dirty clothes into a pair of jeans, a polo shirt and his favourite sneakers. After brushing his teeth and washing his hands, he exited his and Zack's room to find Carey busy cleaning the kitchen counter.
"Hey, you're finally awake. Did you have a good nap?" Carey asked cheerfully.
"Yeah, it was okay. Listen mom, about what I said earlier–"
"It's alright Cody-"
"No, Mom, it's not. I was way out of line. I've just got a lot on my mind. I shouldn't have taken it out on you and Zack. I'm sorry." Cody answered meekly.
"Cody, it's okay. I understand that you're going through a lot of stuff right now. Your brother and I could've been a bit more sensitive." Carey responded sincerely.
"Sometimes I just wish that things could be different, simpler in my life." Cody stated wistfully.
"Be careful what you wish for, Cody. You might just get it." Carey warned in that paternal tone of hers.
"Where's Zack?" Cody asked curiously while glancing around the living room.
"You just missed him. He said he was going trick-or-treating with Bob. You can probably still catch him." Carey advised quickly.
"Nah, it's okay. I'm just gonna take a walk downstairs. Be back in a few."
Cody exited the suite and took the lift downstairs to the lobby. There were a few adults present and a couple of kids dressed in costume trick-or-treating. Mr. Moseby was tending to a few guests at the check-in-counter and kept throwing a few subtle expressions of revulsion in the direction of the kids. Smirking to himself, Cody took the lift back up to the 23rd floor. He decided to swing by London's suite and see if she was in. After knocking a few times, Cody remembered that London had said she'd be out for the evening. Something about having a ruby polished. While taking a detour back towards his own suite, he passed one of the hotel room doors and stopped dead in his tracks.
He got the strangest tingling sensation in his bones. That made him think about the dream he'd had earlier. Where the dream began and reality ended, Cody wasn't sure; he'd had a sense of dejavu in his dream. The setting had been 2 years prior. Muriel had been babysitting him and Zack in their suite while Carey was doing a show downstairs. As usual, Muriel had fallen asleep the instant she stepped into the living room. But right before Carey had gotten home, Muriel had awoken for a few minutes and told Cody a strange tale while he was watching TV. She told him that besides not liking to clean up after other people, she was adamant that since she begun working at the Tipton, she had never once cleaned up in room 2366.
"Why not?" Cody asked curiously, turning the volume down on the TV.
"Some say that a young girl used to live in that suite, long before Mr. Moseby became the manager at the Tipton. She died under very unusual circumstances. She was rumoured to be gifted with special powers, like some kind of sorceress." Muriel explained casually.
"What kind of powers?" Cody asked eagerly.
"People say she had the power to grant a person any wish they desired." Muriel answered cryptically.
"Any wish? But Muriel, that's impossible. No one has that kind of power. There's no such as magic." Cody retorted scathingly.
"You laugh now, kid. But soon you'll understand."
And just like that, Muriel had fallen asleep without any further explanation. Cody had never told anyone about this conversation he'd had with Muriel, mostly because he hadn't believed it himself at the time. But as he stood outside Room 2366, his hands began trembling violently. He ached to open the door, but his feet just wouldn't move. He could hear what sounded like a low humming and the thudding of a faint heart beat. Right when he decided to leave, the door opened slowly and silently.
Cody was met with the strangest sight before him. The room was decorated just like every other suite on the floor. But the entire living room was bathed in a strangely glowing blue light. And all the furniture was rotating on the spot. What made the picture even stranger was a lone figure standing amongst it all. As far as Cody could tell, she was a young girl, possibly in her late teens, bathed in the same blue light filling the entire room. She was so breathtakingly beautiful that Cody was finding it hard to breathe at that precise moment. She was unlike any other girl he'd ever laid eyes on. For a few seconds, Cody could barely remember the existence of any other girl in the world, let alone Bailey. She was humming softly to herself.
"This door isn't supposed to be open." Cody stated stupidly. Just then, the door slammed shut, as if a gust of wind had just flown through the room.
"The room is always open to those who seek it out," the young girl replied softly.
"Seek it out for what?" Cody asked dumbly.
"Only the seeker knows what they want," the young girl responded slowly.
"Now that you're here, what is it that you wish?" she asked seriously.
"My wish? Then it's true, you do grant wishes." Cody stated slowly.
"Any wish that you like," the young girl answered simply.
"What's the catch?" Cody asked suspiciously.
"There's no catch. My only goal is to grant one wish to those brave enough to seek me out. I can see that you are weary. Let me ease your troubled mind," she stated soothingly.
Cody couldn't imagine that anyone before him had ever said no to this vision of loveliness. And he was weary.
"One wish?" he asked slowly.
"Any wish you like," she replied.
"I want the girl I'm in love with to love me back. I want my brother to actually pay back the money he loaned from me in the first place. And I want my mom to actually do some cooking for a change. So basically, that all falls under the heading of not wanting everyone to take advantage of me." Cody said breathlessly.
The young girl nodded once before answering.
"Very well, your wish is granted."
The door opened swiftly of its own accord. Once again, Cody found himself outside Room 2366 in the empty hallway. The lights were slightly dimmer than they were a few minutes ago. Feeling a sudden urge to go downstairs, he ran towards the elevator and pushed the button for the lobby. As the elevator doors opened with a resounding ding, Cody was shocked to find that the lobby was completely empty. Not a single person stirred anywhere; not even Norman the Doorman was in his usual spot by the revolving doors. Amidst the elegant furniture and brightly lit chandeliers, there was a strange tension in the air. It was as if the very air was being squeezed and captured in a vacuum, creating a noiseless siren. What was going on? Where was everyone?
Cody whipped around and she was suddenly there, the girl he'd been thinking about for months. She was wearing a simple white dress and pumps. She looked beautiful as always. But something was terribly wrong. She wasn't the same vivacious girl he was used to. This was a very different girl indeed: desperate and frail.
"Bailey? B-b-ut, how? What are you doing here?" Cody asked blankly.
"I came to see you, Cody. I came to tell you that I love you," Bailey replied by way of introduction as she stepped towards him.
Cody had to fight the urge to take a step back from her.
"How did you get here? Where is everyone?" Cody asked wildly, glancing around the room again for any sign of life.
"That's not important. No one else matters but the two of us. I need you to know exactly how I feel."
And with that, Bailey wrapped her arms around Cody's neck and kissed him. Cody had always hoped his first kiss with Bailey would be sweet, tender and blissful. This kiss was none of those things. It was passionate, certainly, but desperate and pleading. Cody felt as if he were being suffocated by Bailey's firm grasp on his arm, as if he could drown at any moment. When he finally pulled away, he was even more disturbed by the look in her eyes. They were forlorn and hollow.
"Bailey, what's going on?" Cody asked anxiously.
"Please, Cody, I love you. I want us to be together, I need you." Bailey murmured breathlessly.
"Bailey, I have to go find my Mom. Just stay here for a moment," Cody advised quickly.
"No, Cody, wait! Don't go, you can't leave me!" Bailey pleaded painstakingly.
Cody was suddenly struck by the red smudge marks on Bailey's fingers as they reached for him. His eyes widened in horror as he gazed down at her arms. They were stained with red, several lacerations gouged into her forearms.
"Bailey, who did this to you?" Cody asked in blank horror.
"I was just so lonely, Cody. I can't live without you. Please don't leave me." Bailey pleaded earnestly.
Cody backed away from her and began sprinting towards the elevator. The doors shut with a clang as he frantically tried to press the number '23'. He had to get help; something was terribly wrong with Bailey. But where was everyone? He had to find Carey and fast. She seemed to be the only one left in the hotel.
Cody was wrong on that last account when the elevators opened onto the 23rd floor and he collided headlong with Zack. Zack seemed highly excitable, his entire body tingling with giddy fervour.
"Zack, when did you get back from trick-or-treating? Listen to me, we have to go get Mom. Bailey's here and there's something wrong with her-" Cody spluttered before Zack cut in.
"That's not important, Cody. I have great news: I got your money back." Zack announced gleefully.
"What money?" Cody demanded impatiently.
"Your low yield bond savings, stupid. Look, I felt really bad about spending it all on arcade tokens. So I found a way to pay you back. Here," Zack offered, handing Cody a hefty object.
Cody examined the object with confusion. It was a ruby the size of a baseball. It belonged to London; how did Zack get it?
"Zack, this is London's ruby. How did you get this?" Cody demanded apprehensively.
"I took it from her. First she wouldn't get with the programme, but I found a way to convince her…"
Cody zoned out and stared at Zack. His brother was talking animatedly like always when he was in the midst of telling a story. But something was wrong. He was literally shaking from head to toe and his eyes kept darting around, like he was looking for something. That's when Cody noticed that Zack's white T-shirt was smudged with streaks of red. It looked like blood. Then he saw the knife clutched tightly in Zack's fist.
"Zack, what have you done?" Cody asked in alarm.
"Like I said, she didn't want to give it to me at first. But I took care of it," Zack answered, nonplussed.
That's when Cody looked past Zack and saw what looked like two bejewelled shoes sticking out past the wall leading towards London's suite. Cody sprinted forward and rounded the corner. He nearly stumbled right over London, sprawled out before him. She was dressed quite fashionably, like she'd just been to a tasteful and luxurious social gathering. She laid spreadeagled across the carpet, exposing her bloodied torso. Instead of her usual lofty demeanour and wide smile, the corners of her mouth were stretched wide in a silent scream.
"Oh my God," Cody muttered hoarsely, backing away from both London and Zack.
"I had to do it, Cody. I couldn't let you down again. I had to give back what I owed. Mom always says: never a borrower, nor a lender be," Zack murmured painstakingly, coming towards Cody with the blade still in hand.
Cody turned away and sprinted towards his suite. Something very disturbing was happening right under his nose. First Bailey, now Zack. Cody couldn't shake the image of London's maimed body from his mind as he swiped his card key frantically at the door. Cody had to get help somehow. He needed his mother now more than ever. Cody found Carey with her back to him, busy at the kitchen sink.
"Mom, thank God! You have to help me, something really terrible is happening to everyone! First I ran into Bailey downstairs and she's got these marks on her arms like she's been cutting herself. Then Zack shows up in the hallway covered in blood and carrying London's ruby, saying he owes me for my low yield bond. And then I find London just outside her suite, covered in blood. Mom, I think Zack killed her. I don't know what's going on, you have to help me." Cody pleaded frantically, the tears running profusely down his face.
"Mom, are you even listening to me?"
His panic changed to rage when he realised that Carey hadn't even turned around once since he'd come in. Cursing aloud, he walked rapidly towards her and yanked her arm to make her face him. Carey's eyes were glazed over and her hands were saturated with blood. Cody gasped at the knife in her hand and the bloodied vegetables on the cutting board behind her.
"Mom, what the-" Cody breathed in horror.
"I worked so ** cutting up the vegetables. I can't stop now, I have to make you a special dinner." Carey droned on in a dull tone, the hollowness of her eyes becoming more pronounced.
Cody screamed and started sprinting away from Carey and headed for the door. He was starting to piece the eerie events of the night together as his mind went back to that strange encounter in Room 2633. He had made a wish and it came true. But at what twisted cost?
Once again, the hallway outside Room 2633 was empty. Cody shuddered at the fact that Zack and London were now both missing from the 23rd floor. But he pushed those morbid thoughts aside as he focused on the scene ahead of him. The room was just as it had been nearly 20 minutes ago. The same blue light was glowing ominously against the walls. But the furniture previously rotating on the spot were now swirling around the room in a continuous rotation. Cody found the young girl standing exactly where he left her before. Her beauty was even more terrifying, now that Cody knew the truth.
"You tricked me!" Cody spat furiously.
"I didn't trick you. I gave you what you wanted," the young girl responded coldly, the whites of her eyes gleaming amidst the blue light.
"I don't want this, any of it! Change it back!" Cody ordered savagely.
"It's not in my power to change what you have wished for," the young girl answered morosely.
"There has to be a way. Please, I'll do anything," Cody pleaded, the tears running down his face once more.
"Only the seeker can change the outcome of their wish. But in order to do this, the seeker must be genuinely content to revert back to the way things were before they entered this room. This penance can only be achieved with contentment of spirit and remorse." The young girl responded calmly.
Cody didn't have to think twice about it.
"Okay, I'll do it. I want things to go back to the way they were, no matter how bad the circumstances were. I want my family and friends back, just the way they are." Cody pleaded earnestly.
The young girl bowed her head as the furniture continued twirling haphazardly around her.
"Very well," she murmured reluctantly.
Just as the door opened, Cody was blown back viciously into the hallway once more by some unknown force. He hit the back wall with a loud bang and crumbled onto the floor. While watching the door of Room 2366 slowly swing back into place, Cody's vision became blurry and he collapsed into unconsciousness.
Cody found himself being roused back to consciousness by an insistent tugging on his arm and slapping on his chest. He turned his hazy eyes onto Bailey, who was kneeling over him, her eyes filled with concern and worry. Cody did a double-take: Bailey was here, in Boston? He checked her attire apprehensively. She was wearing blue jeans with her favourite golden boots and a long-sleeved emerald-green blouse. That seemed normal enough. But that still didn't explain what she was doing here.
"Bailey?" Cody asked in surprise, forcing his eyes to focus.
"Cody, oh my God, are you okay? I found you unconscious outside this room. What happened to you?" Bailey demanded anxiously while checking Cody's forehead.
"I, uh–" Cody began as he tried to get up.
They were outside Room 2366. The hallway lights were back on, making the corridor less ominous. But the door was definitely shut this time. What had just happened?
"I was uh, looking for Zack, he went trick-or-treating earlier. I was running back to my suite. I must've hit my head and knocked myself unconscious. I definitely remember tripping." Cody explained lamely with a nervous chuckle.
"Bailey, what are you doing here?" Cody asked pointedly when he'd finally risen successfully to his feet without her help.
Bailey stuck her thumbs into the loops of her jeans as she looked downwards for a split second.
"I came to see you, to apologise for not replying to your emails." Bailey began nervously, finally looking Cody in the eye.
"Well, then you're a few weeks late on that apology." Cody replied coldly.
"Cody, I'm really sorry, you have to believe me. I never wanted to leave things the way I did back on the boat. It's just that you kinda caught me off guard. I needed time to think about what you told me, about your feelings." Bailey replied earnestly, coming to stand closer to Cody.
"You could've just replied to my emails. You didn't have to visit me in person just to twist the knife, Bailey." Cody spat angrily.
"That's not what I came to do. I came to tell you that I'm sorry for giving you mixed signals. I know my timing sucks and Halloween's really not the best night to make this kind of declaration, but I do have feelings for you, Cody. I'm sorry it took me this long to figure it out." Bailey stated sincerely.
"What kind of feelings?" Cody asked suspiciously.
Bailey finally closed the distance between the two of them and pressed her lips gently against his.
"Does that answer your question?" she asked quietly while caressing his cheek.
"Pretty much." Cody replied gleefully, smiling genuinely for the first time all day.
"Come on, your mom's waiting for us. She's trying to cook a special dinner. Zack and London should be back soon. Then we can talk afterwards." Bailey announced and held out her arm.
Just as Cody linked his arm with Bailey's, she winced ever so slightly.
"What's wrong?" Cody asked in concern.
"Nothing, it's just that I had a little accident yesterday. I cut my arm while I was helping my mom chop up carrots." Bailey explained with a shrug.
Before asking for Bailey's permission, Cody gently slid the sleeve of her blouse upwards, exposing the skin. There was a semi-healed laceration on Bailey's forearm, bruised around the edges and still slightly enflamed.
"Hey, it was just a little bit of blood. You worry too much." Bailey remarked with a teasing grin.
Cody returned her grin and took her hand instead. As they walked towards the Martin's suite, Cody couldn't stop himself from peering back at Room 2366. The door was still shut, but he could make out the traces of a faint blue light creeping out from underneath, shining onto the hallway carpet. Gripping Bailey close to him, Cody turned away swiftly and tried to ignore the soft humming.
THE END.