It was a cold weekend of March in 2020. Four friends were headed to Reno, Nevada for a weekend getaway. Little did they know, the getaway that was suppose to last only a weekend, may last a lifetime...

"Hey Lea?" I heard my name and sat up. "Are you gonna get packed so we can go?" Cory, my boyfriend, was sitting on the edge of my bed looking at me. I looked over at the clock. It was 10:03. I fell back on my bed.

"Yea, just give me a minute to get woke up" I sat up again and stretched. After a few minutes, I managed to get myself up and make my way to the bathroom.

"Well, good morning sleepy head!" Cory said as i walked down the hallway. I ignored him and closed the bathroom door. I looked in the mirror and realized I looked like I have been dead for weeks. I made a face and brushed my long tangled mess of brown curls. After I got done, i walked out of the bathroom and went to my room to pack.

"Cory! We gotta meet Raychel and Eli in about an hour, will you please help me pack?" I yelled into the living room. Within seconds, Cory Cory ran through the door and tackled me on the bed.

"Cory! Come on, we don't have time to mess around right now" I wasn't mad, but we did need to hurry. I got my suitcase out of the closet and sat it on my already cluttered bed.

"Alright, I'll need a few shirts, some pants, my bikini top, socks, underwear and whatever" I told Cory.

"Why on earth do you need a bikini top? In case you forgot, we are going to Nevada. It's kinda cold up there" Cory said.

"The lodge we're staying at has a hot tub dummy." I siad and threw the top at him. I threw everything i needed at Cory and he put it in my suitcase for me. I had about five minutes to get dressed, then we had to leave.

"Heyy! You know, if you wanna put that bikini top on now, i have no problem!" Cory said as i started to undress. I through my t-shirt over his head and slipped on an old sweater.

"Oh that's real cute" Cory said sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up!" I said and laughed. "Alright, come on, we got about ten minutes to get to starbucks and meet Eli and Raychel." I grabbed my suitcase and we rushed out the door. I hurridly stuffed my suitcase in the trunk of my little red cavalier along with Cory's duffle bag. I let Cory drive.

"Oh, come on!" Cory slammed his hand on the steering wheel. "If you would have got up earlier, we wouldn't have this problem!" Cory screamed at me as we sat in a line of traffic. He sighed and laid his head back. Eventually, a traffic guy motioned us through.


"You guys are almost ten minutes late! You do know we rented a bus, right?" Eli said as we stepped out of the car.

"Ok....and....?" I said not quite understand where he was going.

"That means, if we dont get to the bus station in like three minutes, we don't have a ride!!" We rushed to Eli's truck and crammed ourselves and our luggage in the back. We rushed off the parking lot and drove a little faster than we should have. Thankfully, when we arrived at the bus startion, our bus, along with the driver was waiting patiently.

"Hello, guys! You've made it just in time."


We loaded our luggage on the bus and sat down. Then, we started the long four hour trip to Reno.

" So, ain't yall excited we finnaly get to getaway fer a while?" Raychel said. She was born and lived in Tennesee for 10 years, so her accent is truly one of a kind. Her long blonde curls and blue eyes matched the accent perfectly.

"Heck yea, Im excited! Im tired of being stuck at home doing the same old thing every doggone day!" Cory replied. He had a point. Living in Austin, Texas for seventeen years does get quite boring. Raychel went over and sat on Eli's lap. Eli grabbed Raychel and cuddled her. I looked over at Cory. He was busy meesing with his new iphone. He didn't even seem to notice that i wanted some attention but that was typical. So why was i so upset?


"Cory?" I finally caved in and called his name. He looked over. "Will you come over here and at least pretend like I exsist?" Cory rolled his eyes and walked over to me.

"You are so friggin needy all the time! Cory do this, Cory can you do that, blah blah blah blah blah!!!" I sat there and just looked at him. " What? You gonna start cryin now? I'm away from you for like twenty minutes and you throw a fit!" I turned my bak at him and did everything i could not to cry but i knew Cory could tell i was crying. He laughed a little and grabbed his iphone again.

"Baby?" He said after a long thirty minutes. I looked over at him. My face i gauruntee was red. "Im so sorry baby, you know how i am when Im sleepy. Come here" He grabbed me and squeezed me against him. I wanted so bad to be mad at him. I really did. But for some reason, i could'nt.


Two hours into the trip, Raychel and Eli finally woke up.

"Good morning" I said as Raychel opened one of her eyes and looked over at me. She sat up and Eli opened his eyes.

"Are we there yet?" Eli said through a yawn.

"No, we still have about two hours to go" Cory said.

" I gotta pee" Raychel announed aloud.

"Well, thank you for lettin us know, the bathrooms right back there" Raychel looked a bit nervous.

"What? Have yo never used a bathroom on a bus before?"Cory said in a smartelic tone. Raychel didn't reply and slowly made her way to the back of the bus. She screamed a few times at the sudden movement of the bus. The three of us laughed hysterically.

"Alrighty, No more coffee before a road trip" She said and stumbled out of the tiny bathroom.


We arrived in Reno at five o'clock exactly. We stepped off the bus and looked around. A little old lady with gray hair up in a bun walked towards us.

"Hello! Welcome to Crendash Lodge and Spa!" she said. "My names Marigold, but you can just call me Mary"

"Hello. Im Lea. This is Cory, Raychel and Eli" I introduced all of us.

"It's very nice to meet you all. Oh, Tyler! Come here" A tall, slim, young man came trudging toward us. He had long black hair and pale skin.

"This is my grandson, Tyler" The old lady said.

"Hello guys. And hello to you ladies" he said emphasizing ladies. Raychel and i didn't say anything. Eli and Cory looked at each other. Well, at least Tyler seemed well mannered.

"May I escort you to your rooms?" He said and reach out his hand.

"Why, yes you may!" Raychel spoke up. Eli grabbed Raychels hand fast and we headed to the lodge.

"Well, here it is. If you need anything, my grandmother and i have an office about a mile down the road. But here's my number in case of you know...emergencies" He flashed a pearl white smile and handed me a slip of paper. Without another word, he walked out the door.

"Give me that! If we need anything I will be the one to call" Cory said and grabbed the peice of papr out of my hand. Um...Jealous?

"Come on Raych, lets go look around and let the guys cool down a little" I said. The lodge was beautiful and the rooms were nice and big.

"Which room do you and Eli want?" I asked Raychel. She chose the room on the left meaning me and Cory get the one on the right. We got our luggage and took it back to our rooms. We knew the guys had no intentions of unpacking so someone has to do it.

"Lea! Come here!" Raychel yelled from her room. I made my way over. She was already done packing and sitting on the edge of the giant queen sized bed. I sat down beside her. "Oh my gosh! I cannot believe Tyler! He's so cute!" She said. I wasn't expecting that, but i laughed a little. OK, so maybe he was....a little....

"He's too nice though. I think he's hiding something. Guys are never that nice" I said honestly. Raychel gave me a look like i was crazy.

" Lea, he is just being polite. It's kinda his job" She said. Maybe she was right. Maybe i was overreacting....


"Where did Eli and Cory go?" Raychel asked me when we walked back into the main living room.

"I dont know, Cory would have told me if they were going very far. They probably just went to look around" I said. Cory was always doing stuff and not telling me. "Oh well, let's just enjoy the time we got without having to listen to the guys whine" Raychel laughed. We went outside on the back deck. As soon as we stepped out the door, a huge gush of freezing cold air came. We stepped back for a minute a bit stunned and then tried again.

"I told Cory they had a hot tub here!" I said and pointed to the steaming square at the edge of the deck.

"OOO. That looks so nice! Whatta say we try it out before the guys get back?" Raychel suggested. I shrugged my shoulders and laughed. What harm could it do? We raced back into the lodge and grabbed our bathing suit tops. We met at the door at the exact same time.

"Alright, lets hurry before we freeze our butts off" Raychel ran to the other side of the back.

"You know runnings not gonna make you freeze any slower" I laughed and followed her. She stepped in first and made an ahhh noise. I got in and layed back for a moment.

"You know, i miss just me and you hanging out. Your stuck up Cory's lazy butt all the time now" Raychel mentioned.

"Well, your stuck up Eli's, so you have no room to talk" I said and laughed. She was right. Me and Raychel have been the best of friends since sixth grade. Then, 10th grade came and i met Cory and she met Eli.

"Hello ladies Just thought I'd check up on you guys and see how you were getting along" We jumped at the sound of an unfimilar voice. We looked back and there stood Tyler right behind us. How did he manage to stay so quiet? I covered my self with my hand and aunk down deeper in the water.

"We are doin just fine, thank you" Raychel smiled.

"Where did the guys go? Did they leave you here all alone?" Tyler said. Creepy..

"We have no idea where they went. One minute they were here and then next, they dissapered" I jokingly said.

"That does tend to happen quite alot around here" Tyler whispered almost silently.

"What?" I asked.

"I didn't say anything" Tyler walked over towards us. His long black hair blowing in the cool air. He sat himself down on a chair right next to us. "So where are you laides from?"

"Texas. Austin, Texas." I said. "Get's boring after a while, you know?"

"Oh yes, i figure so" Tyler said in agreement. It was then i caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were a beautiful bright emerald green.

"Hey! What in the SDam heck is he doin here?!"Cory's voice gave me cold chills as it echoed.

"Hello, sir. I was just coming to check and make sure you were adjusting well. I wasn't aware that you guys were not here, honest. Im just doing my job" Tyler stood up quickly and walked over to the guys.

"Well, were here now and everything is just fine. So thank you" Eli said trying to be semi-polite. Tyler nodded his hand and walked out the door.

"I knew i couldn't trust you worth a lick! You sittin up here in practically nothing flirtin with some guy thinking I wouldnt find out!" Cory screamed at me.

"Cory! We had no idea he was coming! I swear! We just wanted to try out the hot tub and catch up a little bit while you guys hung out" I argued.

"Yea, I'd be making excuses to if i were a w**** like you sneakin around. Come on Eli, let's go" Cory said and motioned Eli out. Eli gave Raychel a mean look and the guys left. I sat there in the hot tub crying. Raychel hugged me.

"It's ok hun. He's just mad right now. He'll get over it. He always does!" she reassured me. I sniffled a little. "Come on, let's go back inside" We got dried off and ran back inside. We managed to get a fire started in the fireplace and made some hot chocolate that Raychel brought.

"Where do you think they went off to this time?" Raychel asked. I shrugged my shoulders. Honestly, i didn't care. Cory was a jerk and i knew it. I just could never bring myself to comprehend that. Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Um....hello?" I answered.

"Hello" A voice said. Tyler."I just wanted to appologize if i got you ladies in trouble with the guys"

"It's ok, Cory's a jerk , him and Eli will get over it" i said.

"Alright, then you ladies have a good night. I'll see you tomarro" Tyler said and the phone clicked off.

"Who on earth was that?"Raychel said.

"Tyler. He wanted to appologize" I said and sat back down beside her. I was starting to wonder where Cory was...


An hour later, Cory and Eli came stumbling in the door.

"Where on earth have you guys been? It's like nine o'clock!" i said.

"We's been out alookin ats all the town places" Cory stumbled over to me and tried to kiss me.

"Shew! Cory! Have you been drinking?" I already knew the answer. I could smell alcohol on his breath strong.

"Why,yes maam we sure have" He laughed and snuggled up next to me.

" Where the heck did you get alcohol?" I asked and pushed him away.

"Well, theres a perty little drinkin bar downs the road. I.I. I love you darlin. I really do. It. It may not seem like it but i do. id do baby" I rolled my eyes.

"Cory, go dit down somewhere you stink" I said.

"But baby! the games on and we gotta fix dinner!" He muttered. I helped Cory up and the moment he stood up, he started throwing up.

"Oh my god Cory! Your freakin wasted! Raych, can you get me a cold rag please?" i said and walked him tot he bathroom. I washed him off and helped him get his clothes off. Then, i took him to the couch and he passed out. Eli was on the floor passed out.

"I have a feeling it's gonna be a long night" I said. Raychel looked over at Eli and shook her head in agreement.


BOOM!!! A loud crash of thunder came then a bright streak of lightning lit up the house. Rain begin to pour down heavy and within a matter of minutes, the only light visible was the fire place.

"Great! Cor's still passed out, the fire's almost out, we don't have anymore wood, and we don't have a flashlight! This is the best vacation ever!" I said completly sarcastic. Raychel and i walked into the kitchen trying to find some source of light. Out of nowhere, a loud knock came and scared me and Raychel to death.

"I got it" I said. I opened the door and there stood a soaking wet Tyler. "Come on in. The guys are passed out" I said.

"Im so sorry to bother you guys, but its lodge policy if anything happens, i must check on the guests. Luckily, you all are my only guests for the weekend." He came in and handed me and Raychel a flashlight.

"Thank you" Raychel said.

"Your very welcome" Tyler said and smiled at her. "You ladies are about the prettiest ladies to ever step foot in this lodge you know that?" Raychel blushed a little but i was a bit freaked out. He walked over and stood in front of the dulling fire. When he was near enough, the flames begin to gush. he stepped back.

"It's awfully cold outside. It's very unlikely to have thunderstorms up here" Tyler mentioned. His long black hair was clinging to his face. He walked over towards me and stood inches in front of me.

"Your boyfriend is quite a character. You deserve so much better" Tyler put his hand on my face.

" Get off of me! You don;t even know me, how do you know what i deserve?" I slapped his arm away from my face.

"Because my dear, I know. I just know." He said. I stood there in untter shock. "Well, ladies i must be going. Im sorry to be such a bother. Have a good night" He flashed a smile and dissaperead out the door.

"I think he likes you" Raychel said in a jealous way.

"Well, i think he's a freak" I said. "But anyway, let's go try and get some sleep" before i made it to the room, Cory started throwing up again. I rolled my eyes and rushed back into the living room. Raychel followed. I cleaned up Cory the best that i could and we walked ove rto the other couch and sat down. I laid my head back and looked out the window. Another bolt of lighting lit the sky. Tyler!?

"Oh my god, Raychel! did you see that?" I jumped up off the couch.

" See what?" she said shocked and confused.

"Tyler!! He was right there at the window! i saw him when the lighting flashed!" i said.

"Sweety, i think you need some sleep. Listen, I'll call that office place and show you that tyler is right where he is suppose to be" she said and walked over to the phone, "Uh huh, yea, ok, yea, Im sorry about that Tyler. Ok then, good night" Raychel hung up the phone. "See, whatdid i tell ya" she said. Was i really imaging things? I cuddled up on the edge of the couch and slowly drifted off to sleep.


I woke up and looked outside. The sky was bright blue. Not a cloud in sight. Raychel was still asleep on the other end of the couch. Was it all a dream?

"Raychel? Hey" I shook her a little and she opened her eyes.

"Hmm?" she said.

"What happened last night?" i said hoping she'd say something other than what i expected.

"Whatda ya mean? Cory and Eli came in drunk last night, a storm came, the power went off, Tyler came, left and then you fell asleep" She said annoyed. The phone rang. I was skeptical of answering it. I knew it was Tyler.

"Why good morning miss Lea. How are you this fine morning?" Tyler's voice came ove rthe phone sending cold chills up my spine.

"Im fine Tyler. Thanks" I said.

"Im sorry if i freaked you out a bit last night. I have no idea what came over me. My sincere appologies maam" he said.

"It's ok Tyler. We gonna leave this evening early" i said praying Cory would agree with my sudden decision. Cory begin to stir on the couch. "I gotta go" I hung up the phone. Cory sat up and held his head.

"My god, what a headache!" He said.

"Good morning to you too" I said hoping he had somehow forgotten yesterdays incidents. He motioned me over to the couch.

Im sorry i was such a jerk yesterday, baby. I love you and i should have trusted and believed you. I love you so much" He said and grabbed me in a hug. I sat there a moment and indulged in the long awaited attention. Everything was alright again...


Soon, everybody was awake and starving.

"Hey, let's go see if there's someplace to eat around here. Im freakin starving" Eli said.

"We can go down to that office that kid was talking about and see if he knows any good eatin places" Cory said. When I looked over at my phone, i was surprised to see that it was almost noon already. The lodge phone rang yet again. This time cory went to answer it.

"Hello? Hmmm... nobody on there" He said and hung it up. We shrugged it off.

"Hey, how bout me and Cory go look around for someplace to eat and you girls can chill out again" Eli offered. I didn't wanna walk a mile anyway but then again, i didn't wanna take a chance of running into Cory again. But me and Raychel agreed.

"And please baby, dont be messing with that Tyler kid" Cory said. He kissed my forehead and him and Eli walked out the door.

"Alone again." I said. "This really isn;t much of a vacation. Its more like a job. Im glad were leaving today"

"What are you talking about? You are so overreacting!" Raychel said. "Im glad to be here and not home" Maybe she was right. Maybe I was overreacting, but Tyler freaked me out.



For the next couple of hours, me and Raychel sat there impatiently starving to death.

"You know what, I'm gonna all down to that office and see if he knows anything" I said. I picked up the phone and dialed the number on the peice of paper.

"Hello?" A strange voice answered the phone.

"Um...hello. Is Tyler there?" I asked.

"Excuse me?" the odd voice said.

"I said is Tyler available?" I repeated.

"Oh honey, Im sorry but im afraid Tyler's no here" The voice got real sincere.

"Well, when he gets back, can you have him call the lodge please?" I said.

"I don't think your understanding me honey. Tyler died nearly thirty years ago. Him and hi grandmother were killed in a car accident" she said. I sat there not understanding what she had just said. "Hello?"

"But Tyler just called here this morning" I said.

"Well, that must have been a dream honey, im sorry" I quickly hung up the phone.

"Lea? Are you ok?" Raychel asked seeingmy flushed face.

"Tyler died almost thirty years ago" I said

"Someones a messin with your head girl! Just calm down" Raychel said.

"No, Unfortunantly, theres no one messing with your head"A deep voice came from the hall. Our eyes shot over and there stood Tyler. Raychel and i walked back. "You see, my grandmother and i were driving down the road in june of 1990. A driver of a tractor trailor fell asleep and was driving in our lane. She tried to swerve but the truck ran right over us. Killed us both. Well, I was offered a bargain. This lodge was owned my my family and i was offered that the only way i could stay on earth was that i could not leave the lodge. Ever. If i did, my soul would belong to the devil. The only problem is, everybody i knew before can't see me. Only strangers. That means I could never be with my one true love, Vallery. And every women i see come into this lodge, i want. If i can't have vallery, I want all of you" He said.

"Your lying Tyler. There's on way your...you know...dead!" I said.

"But im afraid i am my dear. And soon, you will bw stuck here with me" He walked towards us. Soon, Raychel and i were pressed up against the wall. Tyler was inches away. "Dont worry, It will only hurt for a moment" He put a hand on each of our cheeks. he bent down to kiss me and i turned my head.

"I wouldn't do that if i were you" He grabbed my face. He then looked over at Raychel. I tried to pull away but he grabbe my arm. He got closer to us and started touching us. "Oh the feel of a woman i havnt felt in so long!" Tyler said. Raychel and i both used all the force we had and pushed him back. He stumbled a little and fell back. When he got up, his emerald green eyes had changed to a blood red. He grabbed a knife and stuck it in the wall right between me and Raychels head.

"Are you sure you wanna fight me?" He said and grinned.

"Hey! we found a place to.....Hey!! Get away from them!"Cory and Eli rushed in the door. Tyler spun around and launched the knife. It barely missed Eli. Cory ran over and grabbed Tyler and puched him. Tyler laughed.

"Sorry buddy. You can't hurt a dead guy."

"Lea? What the heck is he talking about?" Cory said and stepped back. Tyler kicked Cory in the knee and he fell to the floor. Tyler stood over top of him and kicked him.

"Why are you doing this Tyler???" I screamed.

"I told you! If i can't have Vallery, I'll make due with you two! Im tired of trying to lure girls in. This time, I'll fight" He grabbed eli and slammed him to the floor. Tyler grabbed the knife and raised it over Eli's chest. "heres.One down. one to go" He looked over at me and Raychel. Cory snuck over and grabbed the end table. He knocked Tyler upside the head with it and Tyler fell to the floor. Eli stood up and ran out the door.

"Girls, run!!!" Cory screamed and me and Raychel took off. Cory kept hitting Tyler until he was still and then ran and caught up with us.

"What the heck is going on?" Cory screamed. I breathlessly explained to cory what Tyler had said. Eli called the bus and we ran to where the bus dropped us off at. We waiteed an agonizing half hour before the bus pulled up. The doors opened. Tyler! We ran the other way. Tyler's evil laugh echoed through the mountains. He jumped off the bus and ran after us. Me and Raychel were crying hysterically. Tyler was right behind us. We say a highway right ahead of us. We looked back and Tyler was stopped staring at us. It was the dividing line. He couldnt go any farther. We ran to the road and waved until a cop car pulled over. We looked back. Tyler was gone.

"Whats wrong? Can i help you guys" a young female cop stood outside her cop car and walked over to us.

"He's trying to kill us! Please, just help us. Take us somewhere so we can get home!" Eli screamed. We crammed into the cop car and explained to the lady what was going on. I was scared she would think we were crazy and drop us off.

"I've heard so many stories abou that place. Just like the one your tellin me. They need to shut that place down before it's too late. Thankfully, the myth is that boy cant leave Reno." She said instead. I think all of us were relived that she believed us. We sat back.

"Where you all from?" She said.

"Austin, Texas maam" Cory said politly.

"Would you guys be aright if i took ya there? I'd like to hear the whole story" She offered. We agreed and we travled the long 4 hours home.


"Lea?" I heard my voice again. I opened my eyes and i was laying in my bed, I sat up quickly. "Are you gonna get packed so we can leave?" Cory said.

"What are you talking about? Weve already been do you not remember what happened?" I said

"What on earth are you talkingh about? We never even left silly!" I looked at the calender on my wall. It was friday. The day we were leaving. I was confused.

"But yes we did go!! The bus ride, the lodge, the hot tub, Tyler,dead!" I said in a jumble of words. Cory looked at me like i was crazy.

"Babe, I think you had a bad dream! Who's tyler, and what bus ride?" He said. He was serious. He had no idea what i was talking about. "Listen, I'll call Raychel and Eli and tell them were gonna be a little late ok?" He said. he shook his head and walked out the door. Was it really all a dream? Suddenly my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but i answered it anyway.

"Hello?" i said.

" Hello my dear. Im waiting for you"