Come Play with Us
Pitch Perfect Horror Week 2021 - Day Four
#HW2104
Emily was sitting at the counter in the kitchen of the Bellas house, doing some homework. She often came here so she had a quiet place to study.
"Hey, CR," Emily said as CR entered the kitchen. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"
"Um, nope," CR said. "Why? What's up?"
"I want to do some urban exploration," Emily said. "I saw online that there's an abandoned hospital about twenty miles from her. I was going to check it out tomorrow. I thought you might like to go with me."
"Nope, no way," CR said, waving her hands in front of her. "I heard about that place. It's supposed to be haunted."
"I know," Emily said, practically vibrating with excitement. "That's why I want to check it out. Why won't you go with me?"
CR furrowed her brow and stared at Emily. "Do you not pay attention whenever we watch a horror movie? The black character, that would be me, is always the first to die. I personally like living so I'm giving this a hard pass. Sorry, Em. Why don't you ask Flo to go with you?"
"I already did," Emily said, sadly. "I think she put a curse on me while she told me I was crazy to want to go somewhere that's haunted. But, I really want to go."
"Go where?" Stacie asked as she came into the kitchen.
"Emily wants to do some urban exploration at an old abandoned hospital not too far from here," CR said.
"Ooo," Stacie said. "Sounds like fun. When are you going?"
"Tomorrow," Emily said. "Would you want to go with me?"
"I'll go with you," Stacie said. "What time do you want to leave?"
"White girls are crazy," CR said, shaking her head as she left the kitchen.
Stacie and Emily stayed behind to talk about their adventure.
~~ Pitch Perfect Horror Week 2021 - Day Four ~~
Emily made her way to the Bellas House the next morning and was surprised to see not only Stacie but Jessica and Ashley up and moving about the kitchen.
"Hey, girls," Emily said as she entered the kitchen.
"Hi, Emily," Jessica said as she placed some bottles of water in a backpack. "I hope you don't mind if Ash and I join you guys. We've been wanting to check out that abandoned hospital for a while now."
"That's great," Emily said, smiling at the two new explorers. "Do you have everything you'll need?"
Jessica and Ashley both held up their loaded backpacks. "I've got flashlights and extra batteries," Ashley said. "Plus, matches and candles in case the flashlights don't work."
"Why would the flashlights not work?" Emily asked.
Jessica and Ashley both looked at Emily.
"If the place has any sort of paranormal activity, such as ghosts, flashlights tend to not work for long," Jessica said.
"Oh," Emily said, her face showing some fear.
"It's okay, Em," Stacie said. "It's just precautionary. And we can use the candles for light if needed."
"Anyway," Ashley said. "We also packed some snacks and bottles of water."
"I feel so underprepared," Emily said. "All I brought was my phone so I could get pictures and maybe video. Oh, I have a flashlight app on it, too."
"That's good, Emily," Jessica said, chuckling. "And, don't worry. We have plenty of stuff for all of us."
"Thanks!" Emily said, her excitement returning. "So, are we ready to go then?"
Jessica, Ashley, and Stacie grabbed their packs and followed Emily out of the house.
"I'm driving," Stacie said, walking to her car.
The other girls followed; Jessica and Ashley got in the back, while Emily took the shotgun position.
"I have the address already input into my phone's GPS," Emily said, pulling up the correct app.
Head north on Barden Drive for three miles the computerized voice instructed.
"Let's go," Stacie said as she pulled away from the curb.
~~ Pitch Perfect Horror Week 2021 - Day Four ~~
"Okay," Emily said, turning slightly in her seat to be able to see Jessica and Ashley as she spoke. "I did some research on the hospital. It used to be called Barden Hospital, but then around 1926 it was sold to a man named Joshua Foster. Foster renamed it The Foster's Barden Memorial Hospital and that's the name it is still known by. When Foster died in 1968, the hospital was closed down. He left everything to his two sons but neither of them wanted to deal with it so they closed it down. The property and building are still owned by the Foster family. It has been reported that many people died because they were kicked out of the hospital when the Foster boys just shut it down one day and kicked everyone out. Some of those people were very sick and had no place to go, and a lot of them ended up dying at home due to the lack of medical care."
"If they died at home," Jessica said. "Why would they be haunting the hospital? Don't most ghosts or spirits haunt the place they died?"
"That's what happens in a lot of movies," Ashley said.
"I don't know," Emily said. "What I just told you is all the information I could find."
In ΒΌ mile turn right onto Foster Road the GPS's robotic voice instructed. Your destination will be on the left
"This is so exciting," Emily said, turning to face the front. "I'm kind of hoping we'll see some ghosts or spirits."
Jessica and Ashley sat up straighter in their seats as Stacie made the right turn onto Foster Road. They all looked to the left and saw a decrepit old building.
"I'm surprised it's still standing," Stacie said as she maneuvered the car to park in front of the building.
"It looks like it might have been a beautiful building at one time," Jessica said.
The four girls exited the car, grabbing their backpacks. They stood together looking up at the building.
Something caught Emily's eye and she quickly turned to look up at one of the windows.
"Did you guys see that?" Emily asked.
"See what?" Stacie asked, looking around.
"I didn't see anything," Ashley said.
"I thought I saw something in the window," Emily said, pointing up. "Second floor, third window from the left."
"What was it?" Jessica asked, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked up at the window Emily indicated.
"I don't know," Emily said. "It might not have been anything. Maybe just my imagination playing tricks on me."
"There's a door," Ashley said, pointing to the right. "Let's see if we can get in that way."
The four girls started walking toward the door. Jessica reached the door first and put her hand on the doorknob. It screeched as she turned the knob.
"It's not locked," Jessica said.
"Wait," Ashley said, stopping Jessica. "Take these."
Ashley handed each of them a flashlight. They all turned theirs on to make sure they worked.
"Go ahead, Jess," Ashley said. "Open the door."
Jessica turned the knob again, and gently pushed against it; the door didn't open. She shoved her shoulder against it, tumbling inside as the door flung open. She landed on her hands and knees.
"Are you okay?" Stacie asked, reaching down to help Jessica up.
Jessica took Stacie's proffered hand and stood up. She brushed off her jeans and looked around.
"I'm good," Jessica said. "Thanks."
The girls looked around to see they were in a rather large space.
"This must be the lobby," Stacie said.
"That makes sense," Ashley said. "The door we came in looked like the main entrance."
"Let's go this way," Emily said, looking off to the left and then walking in that direction.
The girls followed Emily and suddenly froze when eerie sounds echoed around the large empty room. The sounds were of moaning and chains rattling.
Ashley chuckled as she pulled out her phone and turned it off.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I downloaded some scary ringtones for Halloween."
Emily and Stacie chuckled as they started walking again.
"Here's some sort of a directory," Jessica said, shining her light on the wall next to another door. "It's faded and some letters are missing."
Emily shivered and looked around. "Did you guys feel that?"
"I didn't feel anything," Stacie said.
"It felt like cold air blowing in from a window or something," Emily said, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. "It's gotten really cold."
"You're imagining things," Jessica said. "It's just as warm as when we walked in here."
"Let's keep going," Stacie said. "Stay close, we don't want anyone getting lost."
"Let's split up," Jessica suggested. "If we find anything worth our attention, we'll call out to each other and can explore it together."
"That's a good idea," Ashley said. "We'll be partners and Stacie, you and Emily can buddy up."
"Okay," Emily said.
Stacie walked off behind Jessica and Ashley. Emily stayed where she was and looked around, not realizing the others had moved to the next room.
"Come on, Stacie," Emily said, reaching back to take her hand.
Emily grasped Stacie's hand and screamed as she quickly dropped the hand from her grasp.
"What's wrong?" Jessica asked as she, Ashley, and Stacie came rushing back into the room.
"I, I," Emily stammered. "There was a-. I thought. It wasn't."
"Emily, you're not making any sense," Stacie said. "Take a deep breath and tell us what happened."
"I thought you were behind me," Emily said. "I was a little scared, so I reached back to take your hand. But it wasn't you. The hand was small like a child's and cold. Very cold."
Jessica, Ashley, and Stacie swung their flashlights around searching the room. Ashley's light fell on what looked like a little girl near the door the three had just come through. The girl was motioning for them to follow her.
"Let's just leave," Emily said. "I don't like it here."
"Let's see where she wants to take us," Ashley said.
"Come on, Em," Stacie said. "You wanted to explore, let's explore. There are four of us and we have each other's backs so nothing bad will happen to you. Okay?"
"I don't know," Emily said, her voice quivering with fright.
"We got you," Jessica said. "We'll stay together so you'll feel safer."
Come on! Come play with us! The little girl called out, motioning again for them to follow her.
The four were startled when the sound of several children's laughter suddenly rang out and echoed around the room. Emily's face went white as she looked around, turning in circles as she did. Ashley and Jessica searched the room but didn't see anything or anyone.
"I'm really scared, you guys," Emily said, stopping to focus her gaze on them. "I just want to go back to Barden."
"Guys," Jessica whispered, looking at Ashley and Stacie. "I think we should go. Emily looks like she's about to pass out."
Stacie and Ashley looked at Emily.
"You're right," Stacie said as she walked over to Emily. "Maybe we should call it a day and head back. You can stay at the house with us and we'll order some lunch. How does that sound?"
Emily started nodding her head. "I like that idea. A lot!"
"Let's go then," Ashley said.
The four girls made their way back out and got into Stacie's car. Emily took one last look back and was surprised to see several children waving goodbye to them. Without thinking she lifted her hand and gave a short wave back.
~~ Pitch Perfect Horror Week 2021 - Day Four ~~
"You girls are back already?" CR asked when the four entered the Bellas house. "I wasn't expecting to see you until sometime tonight. What happened to your urban exploration adventure?"
"We decided to cut it short," Ashley said quickly. She put a fake smile on her face and asked, "Who wants to order pizza for lunch?"
"Wait, hold up," CR said. "You decided to cut it short? What happened? Emily seemed gung-ho about it last night."
"I, um, we saw," Emily stuttered as a frustrated sigh escaped her lips. "I got scared, okay? I got scared and didn't want to see any more than I already did, so we left."
"What did you see?" Chloe asked.
"It was the ghost of a little girl," Emily said. "She wanted us to follow her and play." She ran a hand through her hair. "Then we heard what sounded like a bunch of kids laughing. I didn't say anything before, but I saw a bunch of kids waving goodbye to us as we drove off."
"Why didn't you tell us that, Em?" Stacie asked.
"I thought maybe I was imagining it," Emily said.
"I saw them, too," Ashley said. "I didn't say anything because I didn't want to frighten Emily any more than she already was."
"Do you think they died at that hospital?" Chloe asked. "And that's why they were there?"
"I believe so," Jessica said. "The place was cold and seeing the ghost of that little girl was-. She looked alive."
Jessica shook her head as if to clear it and sat down. Emily started fidgeting where she stood and Jessica looked over at her. Emily started wringing her hands.
"Are you okay, Emily?" Jessica asked.
"I don't want to be alone tonight," Emily said. "Do you mind if I crash here?"
"That's fine, Emily," Chloe said. "I'm sure we can find something for you to sleep in."
~~ Pitch Perfect Horror Week 2021 - Day Four ~~
Later that night, the girls decided to have a slumber party and slept in the living room with Emily. The movie they had been watching had ended and the tv was casting a soft blue glow over the sleeping girls.
Emily stirred on the sofa where she had been sleeping and immediately settled down, her eyes never opening.
CR suddenly sat up, swatting at something around her head. Flo, Beca, Jessica, and Stacie followed suit, one by one. Chloe did the same and looked at the others.
"It felt like someone was tickling me," Chloe said, quietly to the others.
"Me, too," Beca said.
"Someone was caressing my head," CR said, rubbing her head.
Your hair feels weird, a small child's voice can be heard saying.
Everyone's eyes widened as they looked around for the child. There was no one.
Jessica screamed and shot up from her place on the floor, swatting around her head.
"Get off me!"
Jessica's screams woke Emily and she sat up to see everyone else sitting up and looking around.
"What's going on?" Emily asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"I think you brought those ghost kids home with you," CR said. "You need to take them back where they came from."
We don't want to go back, a disembodied voice said. We want to stay and play with you.
Flo made the sign of the cross. Emily covered her head with a blanket. Chloe looked at Beca and Beca just stared back at her.
"I think CR is right," Stacie said. "We need to take them back. They don't belong here."
A lamp suddenly flew across the room, hitting the wall and smashing into pieces.
NO! We want to stay here!
Suddenly, children were chanting No, No, we won't go, followed by laughter echoing around the room.
The figure of a young girl appeared.
"That's the girl from the hospital," Stacie said.
Chloe got up and slowly walked toward the girl.
"It's okay, sweetie," Chloe said, stopping about a foot away. "No one's going to hurt you. I promise."
The little girl just looked at Chloe.
"What's your name, sweetie?" Chloe asked, keeping her voice soft as she eased down to her knees and sat back on her legs. She was now able to look the girl in the eyes.
"Thelma."
"It's nice to meet you, Thelma," Chloe said and waved her arm around at the girls. "I'm Chloe and these are my friends."
The little girl looked sound and the Bellas remained quiet as they watched Chloe speak with the young girl.
"Don't you want to go back home so you can keep playing?" Chloe asked.
"I do," Thelma said. "But my friends really like the tall girl and want to stay and play with her."
"You mean Emily?" Chloe asked, pointing out the younger Bella.
Emily's eyes got wide and she put the blanket back over her head.
"Yeah," Thelma said.
"What if we promised to come and play with you sometime?" Chloe asked. "Then, would you all go back home?"
"Yes!" the children collectively yelled.
"Chloe, what are you doing?" Beca whispered from her spot just the left of Chloe. "We're not going to go play with some ghost kids in an old abandoned hospital. That's crazy."
"I'm with Beca," CR said. "It is crazy."
"Emily," Chloe called over her shoulder.
Emily pulled the blanket from her head. "Yeah?"
"They like you the most," Chloe said. "Will you promise to go play with them if they go back to where you found them?"
Emily's eyes widened and she looked around at the others.
"Please, Emily," Thelma said. "I promise we'll all be good if you do."
Everyone stared at Emily.
"Um," Emily mumbled. "Do I have to?"
"Yes!" The Bellas yell collectively.
"Don't listen to them, Emily," Chloe said. "Only do it because you want to."
"Please, Emily," Thelma pleaded. "I want to go back home. It's scary here."
"Shut up, Thelma," a boy's voice said, causing Thelma to look down at the floor.
"Leave her alone," Emily yelled as she jumped up. "I will not play with any of you if you bully Thelma."
"Yeah. You shut up, Andrew," another child's voice said.
Everything got quiet and Chloe looked at Thelma.
"Thelma?" Chloe said.
Thelma lifted her head and smiled at Chloe. "They agreed to behave if Emily promises to come and play with us."
"I'll do it," Emily said. "I'll come back to the hospital and play with you."
"I'll come, too," Jessica said.
"Me, too," Stacie interjected.
"Do you children hear that? You'll have some new playmates," Chloe said. "Now, how do we get you all back to the hospital?"
"We can get back by ourselves," Thelma said.
"Oh, okay," Chloe said as Thelma disappeared.
It was suddenly very quiet. Chloe furrowed her brow and looked around.
"Are they gone?" Chloe asked.
"Seems like it," Flo said.
"I think they're gone," Beca said, as she laid back down in her makeshift bed. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going back to sleep."
Everyone settled back down and was just drifting back to sleep when the quiet was broken once again.
"When should we plan our first play date for?" Emily asked, causing a collective groan around the room.