Dead Voices

“Don’t listen to what?” asked Coco.

“To the dead voices,” said Ollie. Her lips and hands felt suddenly cold. “Don’t listen to the dead voices.”

They looked at each other.

“But what voices?” Brian broke in, sounding bewildered. “You’ve never dreamed about ghosts before, have you?”

Ollie and Coco shook their heads.

“And earlier,” Brian continued, “Coco said she saw a ghost in the road coming up. But that was someone in a ski jacket. Three different ghosts?”

“I guess,” said Coco, but now she looked doubtful.

“Maybe it’s a coincidence?” said Brian. “Dreaming about a girl and her bones? You guys do hang out a lot. Maybe you would have the same dream.”

“But then Mr. Voland shows up and tells us that the stories say this place is haunted by a woman and a little girl?” said Coco. “Like the ones in our dreams? That’s a big coincidence.”

Ollie didn’t understand it, but she didn’t think it was a coincidence.

“The ghosts behind the mist weren’t dangerous,” Brian continued. “Why would your watch say BEWARE now?”

“And then go blank,” Coco chimed in. “It never did that before.”

“I don’t know,” said Ollie. “I don’t like it. I need a new way to talk to my mom. I thought—Mr. Voland seemed to know one. But now he’s up there.” Ollie glanced again back up into the dim stairwell.

Brian said, “Mr. Voland is a little weird, Owl. I wouldn’t listen to everything . . .” He didn’t finish his sentence. They had gotten to the bottom of the stairs.

Coco wrapped her arms around herself. “Did it get colder?”

Brian pulled his hoodie up over his head. Ollie did the same. “Colder? It’s freezing.”

It was. In the last ten minutes, the lobby had turned icy cold, as though the front door were standing open to the storm outside. But the door was shut tight.

“Guess the heat’s out,” said Ollie.

“But isn’t it weird that it got this cold this fast?” Coco asked.

“Yup,” said Brian.

They all exchanged glances.

Through the window in the front door, Ollie saw the torrent of falling snow. It looked like a wall. Keeping them there. The lobby fire was still out, but they went over to the hearth anyway.

“I’m going to talk to Mr. Voland when he comes back,” said Ollie decisively. “I’m going to explain about my watch and ask him again how you talk to ghosts. We need to ask my mom what’s going on, the sooner the better.”

Coco nodded. But Brian was frowning. “Owl, why not talk to your dad first? And Coco’s mom. They’re smart. Tell them about the watch and everything. Maybe they can help us figure this place out.”

“My dad doesn’t believe in ghosts,” retorted Ollie. “He’s not going to start believing just because we tell him. We have to figure out what’s going on. And quickly! The last time my watch beeped, we were about to be grabbed and turned into scarecrows! We’ll talk to my mom. She can help us.”

Even though she was scared, Ollie felt a surge of hope and excitement at the thought.

Brian said, “Right. It’s just—weird that you would trust Mr. Voland with the secret of the watch but not your dad.”

“I’ll tell my dad,” said Ollie. “Eventually. We just don’t know enough yet.”

Brian looked unconvinced.

Just then, from the stairway came a soft whistle.