CHAPTER TWO

[Hayden J]

Sidewinder was the kind of tiny town you usually saw bordering wilderness. It was scratched into the land. The people who’d been there had lived there for generations. Everything was old and chipped. Some of the porches looked like they had never been sealed; the roads were clogged with mud. The gas stations were graveyards for the corpses of old gutted trucks.

There was a department store, a pharmacy, a couple of tiny shops, a church, and some restaurants. By the highway they had decided to build a Wallmart, to draw in travelers who passed this way on the road to bigger and better places. They got all the batteries and electronics they needed from Wallmart and picked up some supplies and some Christmas decorations from the shops. The tiny stores were filled with antiques and artwork.

It was in one of the antique shops that Hayden found the perfect bike for Annabel. It was an old Tri-Ang from the seventies. It even had a little pail in the rear for lunches. It was just missing a basket. Sora and Hayden had managed to find one in the shop and then all Max needed to do was affix it to the front. With a new paint job and some oil it would fix up nicely… and they all would have contributed to it. Hayden loaded it into the suburban without Annabel seeing, and threw a blanket over it.

Tonight was Halloween. It was hard to believe that it had already been almost a week since they had moved into The Overlook, it felt more like a month. The time dragged dismally on in that place so getting into town was considered a bit of a treat.

He’d overdone the makeup that morning, he knew that. He could tell by the way people kept staring at him, but he didn’t care. It was Halloween, the least they could do was appreciate the talent it took to apply eye-liner as evenly as he could. He’d bought a wooden and papier-mâché rabbit mask, mainly because it was hand painted and eerie as fuck looking. They sold it for a rock bottom price of five dollars, which he thought was a deal.

He swerved in front of his mom as she casually browsed through some old children’s clothes. She startled and clutched the front of her jacket. “JESUS CHRIST, Hayden, take that off, that’s disgusting. It’s like some gross fetish porn thing.”

“Fetish porn thing? What the hell are YOU watching?!!” He tipped the mask up, raising an eyebrow. “They are calling for snow next Saturday.” He scanned the small shop for Max or Sora. “I heard the grocery store clerk talking about it.”

[Annabel Lee]

Annabel stirred in her bed, her mouth ajar, and a pink and purple foot peeking out from under the covers. She snorted and blinked awake, squinting into the sun covered room. She had forgotten to close the curtains last night after stargazing. She let out a small moan, shoving Kaleidoscopic's hand from her face.

"It's Halloween," she exclaimed sitting up quickly.

She looked over at her bear that was staring at the pillow. She picked him up holding him in the air.

"It's my birthday!"

Annabel laid Kal back on her pillow and slid off the bed, stumbling a bit when she landed. Walking to the closet, she disposed of her nightgown tossing it on the floor, opened the door and stared at her clothes.

"What to wear," she sang softly. "To wear what?"

She pulled out her black tulle skirt that had little satin bows down the sides and tossed it on the bed. Turning back to the closet she pulled out three shirts and her black pea coat. Standing in front of her bed she pulled on the skirt, adjusting it slightly on her hips while trying to decide on the shirt. Humming, she picked up a black long sleeve top with an intricate design on the front and a plain dark red number.

"Kal," Annabel called. "Which shirt looks best?" She held up the two options, deciding the white shirt wouldn't do. She stared into Kal's eyes a few seconds. "So the red one?"

She held the red shirt close to her chest, shaking her head.

"No, I think I might like the other better." She tossed the red one aside, picking up the intricate black top.

Annabel pulled the shirt over her head and straightened out the sleeves when there was a knock at the door. She ran to the door, opening it slightly. It was Julia.

"Morning Anna," Julia greeted, pushing herself into the room. Annabel rolled her eyes. "I see you got yourself dressed." Annabel nodded. Julia moved to the closet picking out a frilly yellow dress. "Are you sure you don't want to wear this? It would look so good with your hair," she said running her hand through Annabel's hair.

Annabel let out a small sigh. "I'm sure."

Julia sighed herself and put the dress away. "Well, how about I help put on your tights?"

Annabel nodded as she handed over her black tights. Julia went to work putting the stockings on Annabel one leg at a time and snapping her shoes on.

"There you are," Julia said patting the patent shoes. "We're going into town today."

"Can we get a pair of wings? For my costume?" Annabel asked, hopping off the bed.

"We'll see," she answered. "Come along now."

Annabel kissed Kaleidoscopic goodbye and jogged out of the room, coat in her hands.


Annabel and her family pulled up in front of the local Wal-Mart some minutes later. The ride was mostly quiet. The family piled out and separated once in the store.

Julia led Annabel to the little girl costumes and told her to pick out a pair of wings. She looked through the fairy wings and devils wings. They didn't have much of a selection. She stepped onto the bottom shelf and dug in the very back. There in the very back were the perfect wings. Black ones of the angel variety. Annabel pulled all the other wings off the hook, letting them fall onto the shelf and handed over the wings. Julia took them with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you dressing as?"

"Fallen angel," she said simply.


Once they were done in Wal-mart Julia pulled up an antique shop she had seen. Julia steered Annabel to the children's section while the others went off on their own. She let out a puff of breath, sitting on the floor.

"Do you like this," Julia asked holding up a shirt that had Hello Kitty in glasses on the front.

Annabel shrugged and looked back down at her lap. She heard Julia scoff and the hanger clang on metal. She thought being seven would feel different but if anything it felt just like six. But seven wasn't a special number. Ten is. And 13 and then 16 and then 18. Sora and Hayden are special, she thought. She decided that being seven sucked.

"Jesus Christ, Hayden." Annabel looked up at Julia's outburst. Hayden was there in a bunny mask. Was he there because he heard her? Had he gained mind reading powers? Did he hear her call Sora special? She gasped, horrified. Did he hear her call him special?

"Fetish porn thing? What have you been watching?"

Annabel let out a relieved sigh. He hadn't read her mind. He was talking about fetish porn.

Wait, what is a fetish porn?

[Max Foster]

Max had somehow managed to lose his family in the small store, which was intended, just unexpected. He was feeling rather reclusive today, at least from them. The realization that this feeling was already occurring after only a short time of staying up at the Overlook with his family struck him dismally. Dealing with the same four people day after day for the entire length of their stay was going to be more challenging than he thought.

He heard his mother’s scream from somewhere closer to the front of the store, but didn’t bother going to check on her. The screams that followed made it clear that she was yelling at Hayden about something. He loved his mother, but he also wished she would refrain from making a scene at the very least. He had given up on trying to keep her from being so hard on Hayden long ago. Not that his younger brother didn’t deserve some of her reprimanding, but certainly not all of it. It was all just part of her need to find blame in someone other than simply herself: Max saw that now. It had taken him going away for a while to really start to understand the way things were, but it had finally happened.

It was an odd experience, leaving something you’ve known for your whole life and coming back to find it exactly the same, yet so different. It had almost tainted his childhood, not that their father hadn’t done that enough already. The worst part, though, was that Max could no longer place the blame solely on him.

Max lifted his hand and walked his fingers across the top of a set of Russian Matryoshka wooden stacking dolls, then quickly withdrew his hand once he saw the price. How was something so simple so expensive? He stepped back from the nesting dolls subconsciously and shuffled closer to the end of the aisle before he could break them.

A thought struck him then as Hayden and his mother argued on in another part of the tiny store, quieter now, but still existent. Max turned to look in the direction of their voices, then made his way to the end of the aisle and began to skirt around the store towards the front door. If he was lucky, he could avoid them even seeing him. He was only about twenty-five feet away when he rounded a shelf and came face to face with Sora, who gave him a curious look as he came to a sudden halt. There was no way he could get out of the store now without her seeing him. His eyes shifted from her to the door, then back again, and he forced a small smile onto his face.

“I’ll be right back,” he said quickly, and moved around her towards the door, “if anyone asks,” he tacked on at the last second.

He pushed his way through the glass door, turning to make sure none of the other members of his family saw him as the bell chimed to alert the store clerk. Max was already out of sight by the time the door closed behind him. He walked hurriedly over to the next shop, barely even slowing down as he reached it, and squinted his eyes to get a better look inside through one of the large windows. He didn’t see what he was looking for. He picked up his pace again and practically jogged to the next store, a few yards away.

He pulled open the door, not even bothering to look inside first. He was running out of options anyways. The clerk at this store (a heavy-set man with a black, greasy comb over) smiled at him from beneath a bushy mustache. Max smiled back instinctively. “Can I help ya with anything, son?” the large man asked. Max stopped, looking around for the briefest of moments before turning back to the clerk. “Uh, yeah, actually. Do you have a phone here I can use, by any chance?”

The man gave him an odd look that Max couldn’t quite place. Perhaps it was the fact that he was new here and wearing a leather jacket with a hoody. Perhaps the man found him suspicious. He couldn’t really tell, though. He’d never lived in such a small town himself, but he had heard that they tended to be very close-knit and xenophobic.

The man finally paused from studying him and nodded towards the back of the phone. “In the corner,” he answered simply. “The reception's not always the best, so you might want to keep it short.” Max got the feeling that there were other reasons he’d want to keep his call short, but didn’t bother to voice that to the man. Instead he replied with a “Thanks,” and headed in said direction.

The phone was an old model, from the sixties if Max had to guess. He almost hesitantly grabbed the handle and pulled it off of the cradle, placing it to his ear. It took a few seconds before the dial tone actually appeared, at which point Max carefully dialed the number and waited as it rang. After a moment, the ringing stopped and a husky voice answered. “Hello?”

Max swallowed. “…hi, dad.”

[Hayden J]

Hayden caught a glimpse of tarnished silver coiled up on an old glass shelf and he excused himself from his mother’s grating nagging. She liked to fill her time with the sound of her own voice, still rusty from all the cigarette’s she used to smoke. He plucked the antique pocket-watch from the dust and brushed off, turning it over in his hands. It was old, colonial looking.

“How much?” he waved it vaguely at the clerk.

“Twenty-five.”

It was key-wound, vintage, old… worth more than that. Maybe it hadn’t been touched in years. Maybe tourists were more interested in the booze store across the street. He took it, even though his mother told him not to waste money on it. He liked to collect things. Later, he would put it in his room, perhaps designate a corner to a collage of images and trinkets from the old hotel.

He pulled the rabbit mask down over his head and went to find his little sister, creeping up on her. She was sitting on the polished wood floor by the children's clothes.

"We're late!" he pounced on her and tickled her ribs. "We're late!!" The pocket watch swung from his belt loop. "Ask me how long forever is." He pulled the mask up, his blue gaze sweeping across her innocent face. He crouched down next to her, extraordinarily lanky and flexible, showing her the wind up watch. "Forever is that second. That second that hasn't passed since the last time someone wound this old thing." He grinned at her.

The small girl looked slightly upset. It was her special day and seeing her like that made his smile falter and fade.

"Seven is a big deal, birthday girl." he said in a whisper. "You can't always be in a rush to grow up, that will happen soon enough. Before you know it you will be wishing you were young again."

Hayden turned to see Sora a few shelves away and he stood up, still holding one of Annabel's hands. "Why don't you think about what you really, really, really want and maybe you will get just that. After all its Halloween... anything could happen." he brushed the tip of her nose as he walked with her to Sora.

"Hey, we should probably get Max. It's getting kind of late." He glanced around the shop to see that his mother was no longer inside. "I think mom went to get candy." He said giving Sora a longer look now that he knew she wasn't there. "What are you going to dress up as tonight?" he asked with less than casual curiosity.

Outside, there was a biting chill in the air, the promise of an early snow shower. It wouldn't be long now till they would be trapped inside the guts of the hotel till Easter. Finding amusement would be almost impossible. The days would start to crawl abysmally. Already after just a week there was a change in them, a subtly duller look in their eyes.

When he was younger he had read an old book in his mother’s library room called “Flowers in the Attic”; a dismal story which left him with a headache at the idea of living three years in such a tiny confined space. Even though The Overlook was massive, the isolation and solitude must have felt somewhat the same.

He scanned the street for Max. Somewhere over the roofs he could hear a murder of crows attacking some poor hawk, a loud and angry sound. He was worried about his older brother, Max was so quiet and reserved. Too quiet. As if he was stretched too tense. It was hard to tell what was going on behind that carefully set expression.

Hayden put the Rabbit mask back into its plastic bag and tied it to his other belt hoop, reaching back for Annabel. “Want to piggy back?” he asked, mostly to distract his anxiety- something that was always simmering just out of sight, a dark foreboding in his chest that seemed to creep closer to his heart by the day.

Sidewinder was gray and dead looking, even the leaves were muddy colors, nothing like the vibrant reds and golden hues they saw back home. A car backfired and the crows fell silent. Where the hell was mom? Where the hell was Max?

[Sora Foster]

Sora had sat on her bed wondering what to wear because, after all, today was Halloween. One of her favorite holidays for two reasons, one: she could be whoever she wanted to be, and two: it was Annabel’s birthday. Sora glanced over at the end table where last night she had placed a little blue box that held Annabel’s gift.

After she got dressed it was time to leave with the rest of the family. They were heading into town to pick up a few things for the Holiday and Annabel. The car ride to SideWinder seemed to take forever. Maybe it was because no one wanted to talk. They were lost in their own worlds. This was becoming a trend.

They stopped at a few local stores which was perfect because she needed to pick up accessories for her costume. After a while of searching she finally dredged up the shoes and gloves she was hoping for.

'These will be perfect for my costume.' She thought.

She smiled at the red elbow length gloves and the black high heeled shoes emblazoned with tiny red hearts. When she looked up she saw Annabel who didn’t look very happy, sitting down while Julia was picking out clothes for her.


Poor girl. She felt sorry for the child. Today was her birthday she should be happy. “If I had Julia picking out my outfits I would not look happy either.” She said this under her breath. Looking back at the stuff she was about to buy. She heard a scream from somewhere in the store. She shrugged it off, by the sounds of things Hayden had startled her aunt.

Sora's thoughts were interrupted when Max came between a couple shelves and ran face to face with her. “I’ll be right back… If anyone asks.” And with that he pushed open the door. Staring after him, she debated whether or not she should go after him but thought better of it. They were never that close.

When Hayden and Annabel had approached her. She noticed right away that Annabel seemed happier than she did with Julia.


“Hey, we should probably get Max. It’s getting kind of late.”  When they walked outside he added: “I think mom went to get candy.”

She could feel his eyes on her. “What are you going to dress up as tonight?” She sensed the curiosity in his voice. More than curiosity. Winking at him she leaned in closer, “It’s a surprise.”

It was chilly outside and she was thankful she decided not to wear her costume out. She had opted for jeans and a sweatshirt instead. She was nowhere near ready for the snow and the fact that they would be trapped in a hotel all winter. What was the point of being locked up in a massive hotel if there was nothing to do!?

Sidewinder gave her the creeps. All the buildings seemed old fashioned, some even looked like they would collapse. The place looked like it could have come straight from a horror movie. Shrugging off the feelings, she glanced over to Hayden and Annabel. She directed her attention to Annabel, “Hey, when we get back to the hotel meet me in my room. I have something to give you.” She smiled.

She decided she could not wait to get back to the hotel. She wanted to make Annabel’s birthday special. Now all she had to do was wait for Juila and Max to show up and they would be on their way back to the Overlook.

[Annabel Lee]

"Want to piggy back?"

YESSS!!, Annabel's mind screamed but she managed a nod, gulping.

Once she was perched on his shoulders and secured, her mind started reeling. For starters about the fact she was on his shoulders.

Contact! We have contact! If only Kal was here to celebrate. Why did I have to leave him home?

Annabel let out a sigh.

That's what you get for leaving him. You know he's going to be upset.

Don't say that. He's fine. He knows he has to stay there so he can report any weird happenings.

We'll just-

Annabel shook her head. Shut up a second. I have more important things to think about.

More important than Kal? Annabel pulled a little at Hayden's hair. Take that back! She felt him wince slightly.

Seriously. Didn't you hear what Hayden said? She straightened out Hayden's hair and kept petting it. He said that since it's Halloween-

and our birthday-

Annabel let out a frustrated groan.

Yes. But he said since it's Halloween what I really, really, really want might come true.

What do you really want?

Stilling her hands, Annabel pursed her lips and raised one eyebrow.

Like you don't know.

[Max Foster]

Max pushed open the glass door and marched out of the small store, shoving his fists deep into his pockets. Why had he done that? He should have known that talking to his father now would just make him feel worse, would just make him want to be holed up with his family even less. He kicked a patch of loose rocks in the gravely parking lot and cursed under his breath.

Well, you’re gonna have to deal with it now, aren’t you, Max? Getting mad and hitting shit is going to solve what, exactly?

He looked up from the ground, angry with himself, angry with his own thoughts, and spotted Annabel’s head towering high in the air as she sat on Hayden’s shoulders, Sora walking beside them a few buildings down.

“Shit…” Max muttered to himself as he remembered that it was Annabel’s birthday. He definitely wasn’t allowed to be upset today. No, today he had to go above and beyond. Today, he was going to take that anger and channel it into being productive.

He turned around so that his siblings couldn’t see his face, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Okay, genius, time to think. Calm your head and just figure out the next thing you need to do for her special day. What does she like? Max’s eyes shifted behind his eyelids as his brain searched for answers. Halloween! She likes Halloween, idiot! So what do you do? You dress up. No half-assed costume this year.

Max opened his eyes and turned back around to see Hayden walking towards him, sans the girls, only a few feet away now. Max took a deep breath. Time to talk. Maybe he wouldn’t notice Max had ditched them. He looked over his younger brother’s shoulder briefly to find Sora’s face, attempting to search it for answers. Had she told him about their awkward little run in? Did it really matter one way or another?

Max turned his attention back to Hayden as he finished his trek over. “Hey,” he greeted him, not sure what else to say.

"Don't 'Hey' me. I'm not stupid," Hayden replied in what seemed to be his default tone now. He paused for a second, looking for something on Max’s face. Max didn’t bother trying to mask his emotions any more than he already had. Mask. Figure out a costume. "What's wrong?"

Max shook his head, trying to refocus on the conversation. "Nothing. Nothing,” he lied. “I just wanted to make a phone call, but I had to find a phone ‘cause I can't get any reception up here on my cell. I wanted to ask you a favor, though." He looked over Hayden’s shoulder again to make sure Annabel was still out of earshot. "Can you help me find a costume? I never really did much for Halloween while I was away at college, but I know Annabel loves it, so I want to do it for her, ya know?"

Hayden watched him intently for a moment. Max knew the younger man could tell he wasn’t being completely honest. "Yeah... I don't get any reception up here either. You never did have an imagination,” he said slowly, watching for Max’s reaction. Max didn’t give him one though, at least not intentionally. It was the truth. Hayden shrugged and looked him over, crossing his arms as if Max had given him an impossibly difficult task. His little brother was an asshole, but he loved him.

“How about something hunky?" Hayden laughed, making it clear that he was joking. "What do you even like? How about you go as a three-eyed Raven, or like… The Cheshire Cat in human form- hey, we could go themed... or... I don't know- if you want easy we could get you a masquerade mask...."

He didn’t want easy. "Normally I would go with easy, but this year I want it to actually count. I was gonna just wear a golden speedo and go as Rocky, but it's entirely too cold for that." Max shot him a playful grin. Hayden laughed, making him happy he’d said it.

"I would slip a hundred bucks in that costume if you ever did,” Hayden replied, shaking his head.

“We could do something themed. What are you going as?"

Hayden gave a shrug. "I was doing Alice in Wonderland ‘cause I found a freaky looking rabbit mask. Vintage, you know."

"Oh! Sora could go as the Queen of Hearts! That would be pretty cool, wouldn't it?” Max voiced excitedly, wondering for a second if this was how his siblings felt on a regular basis when they worked on one of their artistic projects. He pictured Sora as the temperamental queen in his mind, and smiled at the image. "I guess I could go as the Cheshire Cat, yeah. But how would I do that? I mean, besides just getting a tail and ears?"

"You could go as a humanized version of the Cheshire Cat, sort of what he would look like if he were a gentleman of class. We could find you a plumb tailcoat, and a top hat. We could give you a tail." Hayden seemed to be mulling the idea over as well. "Sora would look amazing as the Queen of hearts."

Max scratched his chin in thought. He needed to shave soon. "Yeah, that could be nice... Yeah, um, we should check the stores while we're here, then. I'm not exactly sure we can find something so specific here, though."

"We can always dye the fabric with tea,” Hayden suggested, looking Max up and down again. “I would check the small thrift store,” he said, turning and beginning to walk towards said building, "before mom decides to head back to the hotel!"

It took Max a moment to realize he was being left behind, his brain stuck on what Hayden had just said. He looked over to see Hayden already a few feet away and took off after him in a hurried pace. "Wait, you can dye clothes with tea? Where do you learn this stuff?"

"Dude. I'm Goth. Goth people know how to make like ninety percent of their clothing,” Hayden replied with a laugh. Max chuckled back.

"Ya know, I really miss this side of you, sometimes,” Max told him as they reached the store.

"You really just missed me. You can admit it. It's okay,” Hayden retorted, holding the door open for Max to walk through. "I missed you too,” Max thought he heard him tack on, but it was so small and quiet that he thought he might have imagined it.

Max smiled. "Well, yeah, I mean, I did miss you. But I meant specifically you joking around and laughing. I can't remember the last time you did that outside of just messing with mom."

"I laugh all the time,” Hayden shot back, raising an eyebrow. Max could hear the defensive tone in his voice. Maybe that had been the wrong thing to say. And sure, he did joke a good bit, but it just didn’t seem like it sometimes.

They shuffled over to the nearest clothing rack, taking opposite sides of the same one, and Hayden began to sift through shirts with the relative speed of a person who did this all the time. Max moved much slower. "I guess it's just nice to be out of the hotel."

"God!" Max exclaimed, throwing his head back in exhaustion. "I'm glad to know it's not just me. I thought maybe I was just getting stir-crazy really fast, but..."

"That place is creepy as shit, and I swear I hear noises all night long,” Hayden admitted, pulling out a white shirt.

Max spotted a coat he thought might work, pulled it off of the rack to further examine it, and then held it up so that Hayden could see it as well. "What about this one?"

Hayden looked up to examine it himself. "A bit brownish... and big, but we could tailor that real quick. You would just have to hold still." He lifted the shirt he was holding. "If we put a scarf on this and you put this under that you would look sick."

Max smiled and resisted the urge to ask “sick is good, right?” just to annoy Hayden. "I'm not five, Hayd. I can hold still. You're the one I'm worried about. I'm not sure I want you that close to me with sharp objects. You might secretly try and cut my hair or something," Max teased. He took the large, brownish coat and headed for the register. "I mean, don't get me wrong, your hair looks great. I'm just not confident that it would look great on me.”

Hayden gave a mock laugh. "Brother, you do not have the length to pull off my hair." He smirked and followed Max to the register, tossing his hair like a model.

Max laughed and placed the coat on the counter, behind which a short, plump woman, who reminded him of a younger Mrs. Claus, stood writing something on a small piece of paper. “How are you today, dear?” she asked Max with a friendly smile, before her eyes landed on Hayden and she tried to mask her discomfort. Max tried not to hold it against her. Small towns, small minds, he told himself. The woman grabbed the coat, searching it for a price, and finally found the tag.

Just then, the bell at the door rang (apparently every shop in this town had them) and their Mother stepped in, looking hurried and out of breath. “Boys!” she called over to them, clearly frustrated. “We need to get going, come on.”

Max instinctively grabbed Hayden’s wrist, a mix of restraint and comfort in his touch, to keep him from replying. “We’ll be there in just a second, mom. Don’t worry.”

She looked at him for a second, and expression he couldn’t quite read on her face: bewilderment, almost. Her eyes looked around for a second, as if she had just realized where she was, and then, with a nod, she turned and walked back out. Max turned back to the woman, not really wanting to make eye contact with her now. He loved his mother, but sometimes her emotions just took control; sometimes she was embarrassing.

He paid for the coat, shirt, and a scarf that Hayden found last minute, and the two boys headed out to the jeep. He wasn’t ready to go back to the hotel yet. Even this creepy town was a welcome change from the isolated building. At least his spirits had been somewhat lifted.

[Hayden J]

The drive from Sidewinder to the Overlook was long, if you were prone to car-sickness it could have been hell. Hayden wasn’t and he knew the mountain ranges by now so he lay sprawled out in the third seat, his long body taking up the space generously, one arm behind his head. In the rear their grocery bags and other items rustled together at every bump in the road.

Nobody talked. Nobody ever fucking talked. It was like they were all trapped in some literary movie about isolation and solitude in the Colorado mountains… except no one ever said anything deep or motivational about life.

He rolled over on his side and propped his head up on his palm, watching his mother’s reflection in the rearview mirror. A strand of her blond hair flew around her face like a golden ribbon in the rush from the open window.

Max had deterred a serious public fight, and at first Hayden had been irritated at him for silencing him. Mom was crazy and her antics drove him nuts, but the more he thought about it, the better the outcome seemed to be. Yelling on Annabel’s birthday would have been a shitty thing to put the kid through. Max knew how to choose his battles better than Hayden ever had.

He pulled himself up in the seat, pressed his forehead against the window, and watched the ravines and trees drift by. In a couple weeks this road would be buried beneath snow and ice, even the parking lot at the hotel would be treacherous. The cold would probably freeze the engine of any vehicle left outside. Already, the sky looked dove-gray and heavy.

Hayden’s breath fogged up the glass. The likelihood of them all developing cabin fever and murdering each other in their sleep was probably off-the-charts high. So he spent a few minutes guessing which one of them would snap first and he decided it was going to be Max or Mom… maybe Mom would go crazy and Max would have to kill her and then Max would go crazy… maybe this wasn’t a literary story but a psychological thriller. That was way more badass.

The Overlook Hotel loomed up ahead now, and as they approached it he suddenly noticed how different it looked to the first day he had seen it. Perhaps that late fall sky had made it beautiful, had turned it into some elegant architectural feat… but now. Now there was something strange about it, something hollow, and skeletal. He shook his apprehension and absently drew “Fuck You.” on the glass. Such a damn kid sometimes. The car hit a bump and the bags jostled behind him.

He skimmed the grounds, the dark pines in the distance tossed their branches in the breeze, unsettling and black against the sky.

His eye caught sudden motion and he wiped the foggy words away with the back of his wrist.
There, by the swing-set, far off, he saw something… running.

A dog? It was coming through the playground towards their car. Blurry.

Hayden felt sick to his stomach, felt his teeth clench together. A tremor run through him. The suburban drove over a gravel patch and he heard the rocks spray up and hit the underside of the vehicle. It was too large to be a dog. Too featureless.

It was too slow, behind them now, by the time it reached the driveway. He tried to turn to see it clearer but the thing was vanishing under the back window. It was going to run under the car and rip open their tires…

He woke up with a start.

The parking brake creaked. When had he fallen asleep? He sat up in his seat and raked the grounds feverishly for that image, that hulking shape. But there was nothing. Nothing but the pitter of rain just starting to fall. The front passenger door opened and his mom stepped out onto the gravel.

He tasted metal and he realized he’d bitten his tongue. Fuck. He hauled himself out of his seat and rudely climbed into the row ahead of him, bumping Sora on the way out, his elbow coming dangerously close to her face.

He needed to get outside.

The cold air hit his lungs hard and made his head spin. He stumbled behind the truck, out of sight, he pretending to go for a cigarette while patting himself down anxiously and checking for drool. Shit. Well, at least he didn’t piss himself. He had all the post symptoms of a minor seizure.

He hadn’t experienced that in years. He cursed and wrenched the drunk open grabbing a fist full of bags and walking around the side of the car to thrust them into Sora’s lap. “I want to talk to you after this.” He said quietly, but he was sure his expression gave way to his stress. He tried to pat her thigh reassuringly but he ended up squeezing it. “Nothing too serious. I promise.” He lied.

“Mom, could you get Annabel inside so she doesn’t see her gifts?” He slapped Max’s arm to get his attention and gestured to the back of the vehicle.

They managed to get the old bike out and into the hotel’s massive garage with relative ease. Hayden vowed to make it his mission to repaint the thing before Christmas. For now they had her birthday to worry about. They were going to bake and decorate the cake and get dressed up for the occasion. Whatever they did for that evening was up to Annabel, until she drifted off.

“Max don’t disappear, we need to work on your costume! Meet us down in the lounge. We could all get dressed together.” he called after his older brother as he made his way to his room to drop his Christmas presents and other winter supplies on his bed. He put most of the presents in the bottom of his closet and rummaged through his med bags for his PRN, popping it without water feeling it settle somewhere in his esophagus rather uncomfortably. Shit.

He really hated this place.

[Annabel Lee]

Julia and Annabel walked hand in hand up to the hotel, her wings clutched to her chest. She was practically skipping.

"Don't forget the cake theme is graveyard," she told Julia once in the house.

"I remember," Julia replied, smiling down at the little girl.

Annabel thought the smile seemed forced and there was a far off look in the woman's eyes but she brushed it off. She had more important things to do than worry about the woman who adopted her. Annabel, herself, hadn't fully adopted Julia as her mother. If she had to choose moms, she'd much rather have Sora. But apparently that can't happen.

"And don't forget the plan," she surged on, crawling onto the couch on her knees, facing the back to look at Julia who just stood there.

"And what's that again, sweetie?"

Annabel groaned dramatically as she tossed her wings beside her.

"Maybe I should just write it down," she thought aloud.

"No, it's fine. Tell me one more time. Just to make sure I have it all straight up here," she said, tapping her temple.

Annabel rolled her eyes.

"Okay one more time. After cake and presents, I want a dance off to Halloween music. Oh I need to get that from my room," she noted to herself. "And after that there should be a costume contest. I will be judging. And then we'll end the night with a scary movie marathon. The old black and whites ones."

"Are you sure you won't get too scared?" Julia asked, crossing her arms.

Annabel pursed her lips in thought. Would she get scared over phony theatrics?

"Yes," she decided, sliding off the couch. "It won't be anymore scary than this place."

She grabbed her wings and ran off to her room. Once there, she slammed her door closed.

"Kal," she yelled, looking at her bed. Kal was still propped up on the pillows. "I have to tell you something!" She started to tear into her wings. "Hayden says that if I wish really hard today, my wish will come true! So I figured while I blow out my candles, I'll make my wish. Close my eyes really hard and blow." She pulled the wings out and laid them outstretched on the bed. Her fingers were brushing over the feathers. "You could be happy for me. Instead sitting there quietly." She sent him a rueful look. "I know you won't be happy if my wish comes true but you'll always be my best friend." She climbed onto the bed and laid down beside him. "Now. Want to quit being such a baby and tell me the report of the day?" Annabel laid in silence, twirling the ends of her hair and crossed her legs. "Wait," she interrupted. "What do you mean you saw a shadow?" She turned onto her side and propped herself on her elbow. "What do you mean you saw two shadows?"

A few nights before Annabel had been getting ready to go to sleep when she saw two shadows walk through her door. Instead of following, like all horror movies she'd seen advised her to do, she decided to play it safe and buried herself further into the blankets. She hadn't told anyone that so they wouldn't think she was crazy. She hadn't even told Kal in fear of judgement from the bear. But now they were back, she didn't know how to react. Deciding to deal with it later, she pulled on her wings by the elastic bands. She grabbed the CD and the two prizes that were on the dresser and ran down to the kitchen.

[Sora Foster]

After what seemed like forever they were finally back at the hotel. Sora must have fallen asleep because she was woke up by Hayden shoving bags into her lap.

“I want to talk after this… Nothing too serious. I promise.” She felt him squeezing her leg hard, she could tell he was lying.

When she walked to her room she shut the door behind her. She felt like something was off, but ignored it. Stripping, she walked to her closet and pulled out her costume for tonight. She was going to be a slutty version of the Queen of Hearts with a crown. She wanted to look her best for Annabel’s birthday. Annabel in her mind was like a daughter instead of her little cousin. So, she wanted everything to be perfect.

When she was done getting ready she left her room. Heading towards Hayden’s room, she remembered the look on his face and became nervous. She stood in front of his door for a few minutes, curious about what he wanted to talk to her about.


She knocked on his door and let herself in before he could answer her.

“Hey you wanted to talk to me about something?” She said, shutting the door behind her. She saw him standing in his closet and noticed his room was a mess.


“Maybe, you should clean your room before you break something.” She laughed looking around, trying to avoid his gaze.

[Hayden J]

Hayden leaned over the bathroom sink reapplying his makeup as quickly as possible. He wanted to get back downstairs to help Max with his make-shift costume. It was something that was going to need some illusion to avoid looking thrown together. He charcoaled around the sockets of his eyes, but his hand wasn’t steady, it kept shaking. He cursed as the tip on the pencil broke for the fourth time.

He cursed and sharpened it again before moving in to work on the other eye.

He really hated the way that bathtub sat in the center of the room; the clawed feet tangled in the thick mat and the drawn curtain. In fact he hated the entire bathroom. Not only was the color scheme atrocious but everything was placed oddly. It reminded him of a nightmare he had as a child… something he had seen before at the farthest and dustiest corner of some memory.

Almost done.

His hand suddenly twitched again and he drew a harsh black line down his cheek bone.

“FUCK!”

He licked the tip of his finger and started to rub the mark off when his heart fell into his stomach and he stared into the mirror.

The curtain to the bathtub was pulled back.

He stood there, frozen for a few seconds, before he set the pencil down. He turned on the spot to face to tub. He half expected that he made the whole thing up in his head but he hadn’t. The curtain stayed half open, crunched on the pole. From here he could see the faucet head and the gentle ripple of the fabric in the draft from the window.

“You know what. Fuck you and fuck this.” He said to the empty bathroom walls. His own voice thrown back at him. And even to himself he sounded crazy. Frustrated he stalked out and slammed the door shut. Great. Now he was experiencing delusions. Just what he needed.
At that moment he heard a knock at the door and before he could cross the room to answer Sora pushed it open and walked inside.

She was stunning. Dressed to the hilt in the sluttiest Queen of Hearts costume he’d ever seen. The bodice was so tight her breasts were leisurely spilling out the top and her thighs were scantily covered by her ridiculously short skirt. And those tights… shit.

“Mom’s gonna…. love that.” Hayden commented staring openly at her chest. It made his head spin in a pleasant way and filled him with a sense of hot warmth. If they didn’t need to be downstairs to help Max he would have taken some time to physically explore her costume… particular all those laces.

Hayden flashed her a smile and approached her, his deep voice a purr in his throat. “You’re wearing that tonight… for me.” he slid his hands to her tapered waist and leaned in to kiss her on the mouth. She tasked like strawberry. Sugary and sweet. He pulled away and licked his lips taking a step or two back.

He couldn’t get too caught up with her, not with Annabel’s birthday celebration about to start. Sora was so cool in temperament. Effortlessly calm. She didn’t ever seem to worry about getting caught.

He swallowed hard. There was a pause of silence and then:

“I’m… I’m gonna start seizing again.”

He took another step back from her, this time closer to the bed. Hayden’s fingers wrapped around the post there and he stood waiting for a reaction.

“I can feel it. I felt it the moment we got here. Maybe it’s the atmosphere change up here.” He rambled. He had talked himself through this conversation several times. He’d been over and over who he wanted to talk to about it. Max had always been his first choice but Sora was the one who took care of Annabel.

“And when that happens on these meds… there’s nothing more I can do about it.”

Especially locked up here in the middle of the winter there would be no other meds to get a hold of. There would be no doctors.

“When I do- and I know it’s a matter of when.” He took a deep breath.

“I just want you to not let Annabel see it. Please.” He looked Sora in the face intently. “I don’t want her to be frightened.”

There, he’d said it. There wasn’t any relief in it but at least it was out there in the open before it happened. He’d say something to Max as soon as he could… maybe something to his mother. His heart thundered in chest but before Sora had the chance to respond to him, he grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her toward his door.

“Come on. Max is a disaster. He needs an intervention for his costume skills.”

[Max Foster]

Max scrubbed his skin vehemently with the navy blue loofah his mother had given him (she had bought them all bathroom supplies before they’d come up here) as the hot water cascaded over his body. This place made him feel dirty. It seemed like it always had, but he couldn’t really remember. Perhaps it was just his secrets.

A sudden chill ran up his spine, giving him the nagging feeling that someone was watching him, but as he turned around the only thing he came face to face with was the shower curtain. He shook his head and went back to scrubbing. He needed to finish up. Hayden wanted him to meet he and Sora downstairs to work on his costume, and there was no way he was getting it done on his own.

A moment later he reached down and turned both silver nozzles, effectively shutting off the flow of water, and then pulled back the curtain and stepped out of the tub. The fluffy white bath mat felt amazing beneath his bare feet. He briefly entertained the notion of just standing there for a while, but it was best not to keep Hayden waiting. The younger man was prone to walking in to Max’s room without knocking, which wasn’t really an issue for Max, usually, but there was a good chance Sora would be with him.

Max grabbed the towel from the rack on the wall and began to dry himself off. Normally he did a sloppy job of this, but with the climate as cold as it was up here, that was currently and unacceptable method. He finished drying off, toweling his hair last but stopping halfway through as he realized that Hayden would probably want to do something with it, which meant that it would be better to keep it damp.

He tossed the towel back onto the rack, where it lived, and padded out of the bathroom and into the conjoined hotel room, naked as the day he was born. The one thing he had really been enjoying about this hotel so far was the amount of privacy he had. In the dorms at school there had been two showers rooms per hall, and only a half bath connected to their individual dorms. Then, when he’d gone back home, he’d had to deal with sharing a bathroom with his three siblings. It was nice to be able to just roam free here, even if his brother might walk in from time to time. He would just have to start locking his door once in a while.

Max stepped up to the chest of drawers, crouched down, and pulled a pair of underwear from the bottom drawer: red today. He slipped into them and grabbed the pair of jeans he had worn into town from the bed. He’d probably be changing his pants soon anyways. Carelessly throwing on a t-shirt, Max grabbed the bag of thrift store apparel from his bed and headed out of his room, not even bothering to put on socks. He liked the feel of bare carpet between his feet, though. Besides, this place was currently home, so he was going to make himself comfortable where he could.

Max ran his tongue across his teeth reflexively, his eyebrow arching up as he felt the contrasting texture of something small. He stopped at the nearest wall fixture, which happened to be one of the practically ancient fire hoses the hotel was home to, and attempted to catch his reflection in the brass nozzle. The action proved to be somewhat futile, but he managed to spot the dark fleck in the middle of his row of pearly whites. He reached up and scraped the particle from between his teeth with his fingernail. How long had that been in there? Hopefully it was from his last meal, and not the one he’d eaten before they’d gone to Sidewinder. Max shrugged to himself. There was no changing it now if it had been.

Turning from the fire hose, Max resumed his venture towards the stairs, at the bottom of which he discarded his minuscule leftovers from the tip of his finger into a trashcan. He reexamined his nail to make sure that no residue was left, and then headed for the lobby. No sooner had he reached it then he spotted Hayden and Sora waiting on him, standing so close together that he was sure they must be conspiring against him. He looked down to see Hayden’s sewing kit, and his suspicious were practically confirmed. They were going to make him look ridiculous, and then probably take pictures of it for future blackmail purposes. Max let out a sigh.

“...what have I gotten myself into?”

[Annabel Lee]

Annabel was on the couch, leaning against Hayden, watching one of his old monster movies as her birthday party came to an end. Yawning, she thought back on the party.

She stood in the kitchen, watching over Julia as she put the final tombstone on top of the gray and green cake.

"Perfect," she whispered, staring at the cake intently.

She spun on her heel and skipped to the living area, her bag of goodies swinging by her side, and Kal in the other.

Annabel stopped in her tracks upon entering the room. Her siblings were there in full costume. She smiled brightly seeing Hayden in costume. His rabbit mask was to die for. She looked at Max next, looking quite dashing. Then there was Sora. She was the Queen of Hearts and the costume- it made her cinched waist more visible, her hips jutted out perfectly, and her breasts were voluptuous. She was gorgeous.

Annabel swallowed hard and looked down at herself. Flat. Flatness everywhere. The grip on Kal tightened and her teeth clenched briefly. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind for a moment. Deciding that she shouldn't be down on her birthday and Halloween, she continued walking in the room, a smile plastered on her face.

She sat Kal on the couch, placed the bag on the table, and climbed to stand on top of the black wood. She cleared her throat loudly and laced her fingers together.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she started, looking at her family. "Thank you all for joining me tonight to celebrate my seventh birthday. I have some good things planned for us tonight and two people will be going home with prizes. First tonight," She looked over at the dessert Julia was holding. "we have cake. Because it looks delicious and I can't wait to attack it any longer."

Julia slid the cake on the table Annabel had hopped off of and lit the candle. The birthday girl sat on her knees in front of the cemetery cake, looking at it while Happy Birthday was being sung. The cake was very much 3D. The grass stood tall, the bare trees stuck out from the top, as did the four mini headstones. When the singing stopped she closed her eyes slowly and brought her wish to the front of her mind.

I wish I was older.

She took a breath and blew on the flame, extinguishing it with ease. Clapping sounded from around her and Julia cut into the piece of art. She passed the first piece to Annabel who took it greedily, chuckling low in her throat. She took the metal fork and stabbed the edge, tearing a huge piece off and stuck it in her mouth. She hummed in delight as funfetti vanilla cake filled her mouth.

"Delicious," she said simply as she swallowed.

A scream from the TV jostled Annabel. She squinted at the black and white movie. There was a little girl wearing a floral printed dress. She scrunched up her nose.

"I think you're going to like it," Julia said handing over a purple bag with pink filling sticking from the top.

Annabel took the bag and pulled the paper out. Digging into the bag, she pulled out a dress. She unfolded it to look at it better. The offending piece of material was long sleeves, white background, and a floral print with pink and purple flowers of some sort. Yes, that was exactly what she wanted.

Annabel put on another fake smile and whispered a thanks, placing the dress back in the bag.

The little girl folded her legs up to lean them on her brother's legs and blinked hard at the television, trying to stay awake.

"And the winner of the dance contest," Annabel started, pulling the hand drawn award from the bag. "Sora."

She handed over the award and bag of candy, staring at the ground. She thought the dance was sexy. And why wouldn't it be?

Hayden's laughter brought Annabel to the present. She looked at the TV before adjusting back to how she was. A small smile crept on her face. There, taped upon his shirt was the glitter award he'd won.

"Costume contest line up," Annabel shrieked, bounding onto the couch.

As she looked at her siblings, she whispered with Kal who was beside her.

"Who do you think it should be," she muttered, looking into the bunny's button eyes. She already decided the winner but she wanted him to feel like his opinion mattered. "No," she said harshly. "Absolutely not. It needs to be a different winner." She waited as the bunny explained why Sora should win. "No," she repeated. "I already have a winner anyway. No thanks to you." She huffed. "I don't care if you're mad."

With that, the birthday girl slid off the couch and walked up to the winner, holding out a different award and a piece of paper.

"Hayden," she said. "You win because your rabbit mask. Not only do I like bunnies," She looked over at Kal for a moment before looking back up at Hayden. "But the way it looks is amazing. And you look pretty in it."

Annabel yawned again and slowly blinked. Her eyelids were heavy. She really wanted to finish the movie but sleep was pulling her in. She snuggled down into Hayden's lap, turned to face his stomach and pulled Kal close to her before drifting off into dreamland.

[Hayden J]

Hayden had worked fast with Max's costume, holding the needle between his teeth as he measured and began to tailor the jacket to fit his older brother's slim but fit physique. He sewed new cuffs, the tail, and parts of the top hat. When he was finished you could see clearly who Max was supposed to be. He'd even affixed ears to the hat.

"You look dashing as fuck."  Hayden said with his usual cuss and a slap on the shoulder. And it had all been just barely on time for the arrival of Annabel's cake and the start of her small family birthday party.

The cake was actually quite good. His mom reminded them all that cake was symbolic of a life shared together, which they all already knew but they let her say it anyway.

He'd liked the dance competition the best and even took the opportunity to slow dance with Sora, quite pretentiously, in front of his mom's disapproving glower. They had pushed the furniture back and away from the wooden floor in the huge lounge, giving them more room to spread out. Mother looked on from a lavish armchair, her blond hair tied back from her face a witch’s hat perched on her head. Their voices echoed off the old walls and for a short while it felt like there was a crowd in the Overlook and not just one little family. It felt alive.

Sometime in the middle of the Halloween Remix CD He’d grabbed Max by the plumb-colored tie and bumped on him the way he’d seen guys do it in the clubs. It was worth his mother calling him a pervert for it. Whatever. He WAS a pervert. If only she knew. He unmasked in the wake of the clock striking the hour and Annabel had awarded him with best costume. Something he was fairly smug about. He had accepted the award even though she called him pretty. His stomach still felt twisted at the thought, so unsure of whether to laugh it all off.

When they finally slipped in a movie and sank onto the enormous leather couch in the lounge he was relieved that the night was over and he could finally relax and unbutton his vest and take off his ankle boots. He still had yet to give the girl his present to her but that could wait. Instead, his family indulged in a few black and white horror movies. The classics had always been the best.

Mother fell asleep in her armchair there, exhausted. She'd done a good job on the birthday cake. He admitted. And seeing her face like that, lined with worry, even in sleep he couldn't help but feel bad that he'd carved most of those lines there. She wasn't a bad mom. She tried. Maybe too hard. Maybe in the wrong ways. But she had always tried. That’s more than he could say about dad.

Hayden was sandwiched between Max and Sora with Annabel curled up against him.

He loved old horror movies. They felt therapeutic somehow. Everyone's voices sounded like they were coming through some old radio and their skin always looked so smooth and flawless, gray dolls in a pale world. He watched through the first few programs till his little sister curled closer to him and pressed her face into his stomach.

She'd given him a piece of paper. It was a drawing of the hotel. Just them in the front grounds together. But he hadn't held it up. He didn't want to hurt mom's feelings. She wasn't on it. He hadn't asked her what was in the windows. Maybe that's where mom was.

He was almost nodding off to sleep too. Maybe it wasn’t so bad. Living this way. A huge place all to themselves for a little while with enough space to hear your own thoughts.

He looked over at Sora as he stroked the little girl's hair and smiled vaguely. She seemed distant. Somewhere towards the end of the original Night of The Living Dead Hayden started to feel his eyes closing and he slowly slumped sideways and against his older brother. The sound of his breathing like the ticking clock on the wall. Calming. So easy to forget everything.

[Sora Foster]

As Sora sat back on the couch. She was overwhelmed after all that had happened that day. It was a lot for her to take in. Everything that Hayden had told her. She knew she should have said something. The words just didn’t come out. Now it didn’t matter it was too late. She hadn’t been there for his seizures. But he seemed to know that he was going to start to have them again.

She’d watched numbly as he’d clung to the bed post and explained that he didn’t want Annabel to see it happen. Before she could respond he’d taken her hand and led her to the door. She had hovered close by as Hayden fixed Max's costume. Sora could tell that Max wasn’t used to having anyone fuss over him like Hayden.

When Annabel walked into the room she had seen the brightest smile on her face as she looked at Hayden. That adoring smile faded when the little girl looked at her though and she’d watched  Annabel looking down at herself. Sora's own smile faded a little at the thought of Annabel being upset on her birthday. She almost went over to comfort her, but the little girl seemed to recover quickly

Annabel started the party with a little enthusiastic speech about what she wanted to happen. First they delved into the cake. They sang Happy Birthday and waited for her to make a wish before cutting into it. She’d had to admit that the cake was really tasty. Julia had out done herself this time.

After the cake Annabel had coaxed them into a dance competition. Hayden had grabbed her hand and wanted to dance with her during the slow song. She didn’t object but looking over at Julia she could tell that she wasn’t happy with how close they were to each other. Their bodies were so close. After the competition, Annabel chose Sora as the best dancer and gave her a little gift bag. It was sweet.

Next was the costume part. She had to admit she’d thought her costume was quite the bomb. Well, Hayden certainly did. The rules of the competition were that everyone would show off from all angles and Annabel would pick her favorite. The little girl seemed to have a tough time picking who she wanted as the winner but in the end she chose Hayden. It wasn’t too surprising. Sora suspected it might be a school girl crush.

After everything they ended up on the couch in front of the television watching old black and white horror movies. Annabel had picked one out. Sora’s heavy eyes fluttered open as she heard a scream from the TV. She was about to pass out. Briefly, she wonder whether or not she wanted to leave and go back to her room or stay and just fall asleep here. But being as lazy and the fact that she hated how dark this place was at night she decided on just curling into a ball against the couch arm and staying downstairs with her family.

Tomorrow, she would give Annabel the gift whenever she could. She wanted it to be the right moment when they were alone. Her eyes started to feel heavy and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

[Max Foster]

There was definitely a list of interests that Max Foster did not have in common with the majority of his family. One of the items on said list was black and white movies. It wasn’t that he thought they were bad, he just prefered the more realistic acting of modern movies. Not to mention, color gave him more to stay interested in. Black and white was easy to lose focus on, all the shapes beginning to blur together if you stared past them just a bit.

But Max wasn’t complaining. He simply realized that he was not enjoying the experience as much as the others, which is why it made him feel better and worse when his eyes began to get heavy only a half hour into the first movie. The colors around him began to fade from the edge of his vision, followed by the glowing monitor… and finally darkness took over.

Max looked down to find himself walking upon twisting paths. How had he gotten here? He stopped, perplexed.

“Are we lost?”

Max turned to look for the source of the elegant British voice. Someone had called to him, but who? Where? He saw no one. His eyes fell on the crescent moon, high in the sky, and for a moment he was in awe of its beauty. Only for a moment though, as then it split in two, beginning to move apart and together again, like a set of cartoon teeth.

“We look quite lost, little man.”

Max’s eyes grew wide. It wasn’t the moon, but a mouth indeed. A pair of glowing yellow eyes faded into view above beside the moon, eventually landing on top of it as they all turned in mid air and came closer.

“What’s the matter?” the teeth asked, an entire face beginning to materialize. “Cat got your tongue?”

As the shape of a cat head made itself visible, the floating animal began to laugh, a hissing, wheezing noise that didn’t sound very much like a laugh at all.

“I… I can’t remember how I got here.”

“Oh, I think very few people can remember how they got where they are… perhaps you should just go home.”

As the floating cat head spoke, a small body began to appear, starting at its neck and moving down, until finally an entire feline was floating in the sky above Max’s head, lazing about as if on a bed of pillows. The cat’s tail lifted and pointed itself off to the right as the cat spoke his last word. Max turned his head to look in said direction, a lump forming in his throat as he saw the Overlook in the distance.

“That- That’s not my home,” he said, turning back to the levitating cat.

“Oh?” The cat turned to look at the hotel for a moment, then back to Max. “What makes a home, really? Is it the place you live? The place you spend most of your life? ...or the place you die?”

The cat’s flamboyant expression fell solemn all at once, and Max felt a shiver run down his spine.

“Oh dear! Oh goodness!”

Max turned as a second voice reached his ears. In the distance, a tiny white rabbit was running towards him, clad in a black waistcoat.

“Oh dear! I’m so terribly late! No time to say hello, goodbye!” the rabbit announced as he sped past Max, towards the Overlook.

“You might want to follow him,” The cat called, pulling Max’s attention back to him. “He’ll show you the way.”

And with one last, exaggerated smile, the floating cat began to spin in circles, faster, faster, and faster still, until finally he dissolved into the night sky. Max blinked, then turned to follow the white rabbit. He took only one step, however, before he found himself at the front door of the Hotel. The rabbit was already there, pushing against the large door with its tiny body.

“So late! So terribly late!” he was saying, going nowhere fast.

Max reached forward and pushed open the door, the tiny rabbit slipping inside immediately. He took a breath, then followed the animal inside, just in time to see him disappear around a corner. The layout was all wrong. He had walked into the kitchen. But upon looking back, he realized that the door he’d entered through led to another room of the hotel. Max turned back as an angry woman’s voice reached his ears.

“MOOOORE POISON!” she shouted, lifting a bottle in her hands and shaking it about the room, a powdering substance flying everywhere. Green, toxic clouds rose up around the kitchen, filling the air, and Max knew he needed to get out of here fast. “MOOORE POISON!” the woman continued, somehow not inhaling the poison herself. Suddenly, out of a lethal cloud, rolled a large woman in a chair, her hands full with a crying infant.

Max shook his head then. It wasn’t an infant at all. It was Annabel. Smaller, and screaming like a newborn infant, but it was definitely her. The woman crooned a loud tune, but it seemed less for the purpose of easy the tiny Annabel, and more for her own satisfaction. “MOOORE POISON!” Max quickly covered his mouth and nose with his shirt, and ran from the room. Too much was happening. He needed to get away from it all.

He now found himself in the second floor hallway, and looked back to see one of the guest rooms behind him. Things kept changing here. He didn’t like that.

“So very, very late!” Max heard, and turned around. The white rabbit ran out of one room and into another a few doors down the hall. Max jogged forward to follow him, but the door closed right as he got there. He stopped, his head beginning to hurt. Perhaps it was the poison. He lifted one hand, unsure of what else to do, and knocked.

“OFF WITH HIS HEAD!” Max’s head snapped to the side, staring down the hallway where the voice had come from. “OOOOOOFF WITH HIS HEAD!” He squinted, attempting to make out the red and black blur that was slowly working its way closer and closer. Max’s breathing grew heavy, and he turned to knock on the door again. Someone needed to let him in. “OFF… WITH HIS HEAD!” He reached down to try the knob, not having thought to do this before for some reason, and much to his pleasure, the door opened.

Max looked down the hallway towards the screaming queen, now close enough to be visible, and stepped through the doorway, grabbing his face in pain as it collided with something hard. He turned his attention from the hall back to the room, and his eyes grew wide as he stared at a brick wall, blocking his path. “OFF WITH HIS HEEEEEAD!”

Max turned and jetted down the hallway, not sure what else to do at this point. He stopped only for a second at random doors to check them, but they all seemed locked, and the red queen was getting closer, gaining on him. Finally, Max reached the very last room at the end of the hall. Finding it locked, he raised his hand and began to pound on the door, harder, faster, hoping someone would answer. “OOOOOFF WITH HIS HEEEEAD!”

She was almost to him now, and Max felt all the hope he had left drain from his body. This was it. He was going to lose his head. He was going to die in this hotel, and there was nothing he could do to change that.

And then someone answered the door.

Max took a step back as his father emerged from the other side, looking completely normal, calm, seeming not to notice the psychotic woman coming towards them.

“It’s time to go back down the rabbit hole, Maxamillion.”

“...dad?” Max asked, unable to form any other words.

“Goodbye for now,” the older man said, and he lifted one arm and pushed Max in the chest, ever so gently. Max stumbled backwards, but there was nothing to step on. He gasped in shock as he found himself free falling, down a long, dark hole, his father’s face the only thing watching him go, until even that disappeared into darkness...

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