October 2020
Griffin and Harper looked at Savannah, who was hiding around a corner, and knew it must be important. Harper thankfully was able to come up with an excuse pronto.
"Hey, Griffin, I think there's extra ice cream in the freezer, could you help me look for it?" she lied. Griffin picked up on it and the two unsuspectingly walked towards Savannah. The trio went down into the basement, where it was a solid 10ยฐ colder. It wasn't usually like this.
"What's going on?" Griffin asked, Harper just as curious. Savannah pulled out the letter from earlier.
"I found this in the bunker. It was almost...like, thrown at me," Savannah explained. "I think someone wanted me to read it," she stated. Griffin immediately sighed.
"Lemme guess, another ghost?" he predicted, tired of all the ghost drama. Savannah slowly nodded, sensing he was upset. Harper patted his shoulder.
"What's it say?" Harper asked. Savannah shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted, "it's scratched out halfway through," she explained. "I think it's best we go back to 1962 and look for some answers," Savannah suggested. Harper shook her head no.
"That's not possible right now, Savannah. We kinda have something going on. Plus, we agreed we wouldn't use the portal again. No more time travel," Harper said. Savannah sighed as Griffin seemed to be in agreement. "Guys, I swear, I wouldn't be asking to go back if I didn't think it was serious enough," she stated.
"Savannah, we don't even know what we're looking for. I mean, if there is a ghost, and this letter is proof of that, they could be from any time. I mean, what if they're from the Middle Ages or something?" he wondered. Savannah just laughed, and Harper couldn't help but smile.
"Pretty sure they didn't have typewriters back then, Griff," Harper joked, as Griffin looked at the contents of the letter, realizing it was typed.
"Oh, well, uh...okay, forget I said anything," Griffin sighed in defeat as the two girls laughed. "Wait, so...when was the typewriter invented?" Griffin asked. Harper thought for a moment before Savannah blurted out the answer.
"1868!" she yelled, not realizing how loud she was. Harper looked at her confused. "How do you know that off the top of your head?" she asked. Savannah realized the randomness of the year she shouted. "Oh, I just, guess I read it in an encyclopedia one time and it stuck," she attempted to explain.
"Well, we're definitely not going back to 1868. Absolutely not," Griffin replied. "Talk about a time that we have no idea how to live in," he said. Harper nodded her head in agreement.
"I'm not saying we go back to 1868. But it has to be sometime in the last 150 years. We just gotta figure out when," she explained. Griffin kept thinking back to the party and groaned.
"Savannah, I wish we could help, genuinely...but we have a thing we need to get back to. Like, right now. The excuse Harper used only bought us so much time," he said. Harper nodded with him. "He's right. We can't go, even if it's just for a little while," she agreed. Savannah looked crushed. She didn't know why she was taking this so poorly.
"But guys, c'mon! We're a team, remember? If something happens, we're all right there together. Please?" she pleaded, looking deeply into both of their eyes. Harper scratched her head and groaned. "Okay, fine. I'm sure we can spare ten minutes. But what do you plan on looking for?" she asked. Savannah's eyes lit up, and Griffin shrugged, accepting that this was the new plan.
"We'll let the ghost tell us that part," she said somewhat mysteriously before motioning for Griffin and Harper to follow her through the bunker. Griffin took note of how unusually cold it was.
"It feels way colder in here than usual," he said. Harper immediately agreed. "I noticed that too. Felt like a window was left open or something. Except, there's no windows at all? If that makes sense?" she tried to say. "Yeah, I get what you mean," Griffin replied. The trio made their way to the radio. But before Savannah could flip the dial to 1962, it suddenly started spinning as the lights flickered.
"The ghost?" Griffin asked as Harper and Savannah shrugged, not knowing if it was or not. The dial flipped to 1953. Harper looked very perplexed.
"1953? What's that year have to do with anything?" she asked to no one in particular. Savannah held up the letter from the past.
"My guess? This," she stated about the letter. Griffin and Harper looked at the letter and back at the radio. They all nodded and went towards the hatch, Savannah going through first with the usual jolt of electricity. However, when Griffin followed behind her, the door suddenly slammed on his hand, making him scream and causing him to fall.
"Griffin!" Harper exclaimed as she moved into position to catch him so he wouldn't fall down the steps. "Ow, oh my god, that hurts!" Griffin winced as he held his right hand tightly. He was bleeding and the hand was already swollen. Harper helped him get down and he sat down on the floor of the tunnel clutching his hand. Harper comforted him.
"It didn't break, did it?" Harper asked. Griffin shook his head. "I doubt it, I'd be in a lot more pain. But something definitely happened to it. And it still really, really hurts." he huffed. Harper looked at him with empathetic eyes. "Don't worry, we'll get it fixed. I'm gonna try to open the hatch," she explained.
Harper went back up the stairs and tried as hard as she could to get the door open, but to no avail. She sighed and headed back down.
"That thing is stuck," she complained. Griffin looked at her with a pained expression and Harper sighed again. "I'm sorry, Griff. Let's get you a bandage and some pain meds. They're probably somewhere in the bathroom," she sympathized.
"No, we can't. Everyone else will be suspicious if I come back with a bandaid," Griffin argued. Harper shook her head. "More suspicious than a bleeding, swollen hand? It's okay, we'll just tell them you jammed your hand on the basement door and that's what took so long. I'll cover for you," she explained. Griffin calmed down and nodded. Harper helped him up and they went back upstairs. To make sure she wasn't caught in her lie, Harper really did get a bucket of ice cream on the way up.
Griffin and Harper made their way back to the living room and were met with questioning eyes. Harper ushered Griffin away to the bathroom to get his hand fixed up. She then went back to the group to explain things, along with the tub of ice cream.
"Sorry I took so long, Griffin accidentally jammed his hand in the door," she said, which wasn't exactly a lie. Everyone seemed to take it as the truth. "Is he okay?" Sarah asked out of concern, to which Harper smiled and nodded her head. "He's just getting a bandage," she replied.
Griffin eventually came out of the bathroom with the bandage, and everyone resumed watching the movie. But Griffin and Harper's minds were not on the movie at all. They were on Savannah, and how she was stuck in time without them.
October 2050
Nick was sitting on the couch in the Tremont living room next to his big sister, Grace, who was 15. She, of course, was blasting the loudest pop music she could find, so he could barely hear anything else. He retreated to the kitchen to find his dad making dinner.
"Grace is being so loud, dad, can you make it stop?" he complained. Older Griffin patted his head and nodded. "Grace, turn that down! There's people sleeping at this hotel, y'know!" he whisper yelled. Grace heard him, but she didn't do anything to change the volume. Griffin sighed.
"Where's mom?" Nick asked. "She went to the store for some seasonings for tomorrow's picnic," his dad answered. Nick then noticed a scar on his dad's right hand. "Hey, where'd that scar come from? I've never seen it before," he asked. Griffin stopped what he was doing and looked at his hand.
"I...actually don't know. It's been there since I was a teenager. Just kinda...showed up I guess," he said. Nick slowly nodded, trying not to act confused.
It couldn't have been there since he was a teenager. That was like, 30 years ago, and I've only just now seen it. What?
He decided to brush it off and change the subject. "So, what was life like when you were a teenager?" he asked. Griffin laughed, remembering past decades.
"Oh, well, for starters, you actually had to use a remote to turn on the TV, and that TV was plugged into a cord that went into the wall," he chuckled. Nick was in awe. That was practically ancient, especially since he'd never seen a plug-in TV in real life. Only in those old Disney movies like Descendants or Inside Out.
Griffin was going to say more, but Harper walked in with groceries and she needed a hand. He went to help his wife while Nick stayed back, still wondering about that scar.
Where did it come from?
October 1953
Savannah was in a state of full panic. Her best friends had just been locked out of 1953, and it sounded like Griffin was in trouble.
She thought over and over about what to do. Okay, I'll just go back through the hatch and get them back. But what if the ghost did that? What if the ghost doesn't want them here? Wait, why would it not want them here? What's going on?
She shook her head and told herself to shut up. She may not have Griffin and Harper with her, but she came here for a reason. If she finds out who this ghost is and what they want, life can get back to normal.
God, I've thought "life can get back to normal" way too much lately. What even is normal anymore?
She shook her head again and took off towards the Tremont, letter in hand.
As she entered, she saw more life in that hotel than she ever had before. It was full of pastels, modular shapes, and poodle skirts. Talk about mid-century modern to an extreme degree. But she couldn't be focused on that though. She needed to get to the basement, fast. She had a feeling that's where this ghost was going to be.
When she walked into the basement, she saw a construction zone where the bunker should be. Walls dug up, lighting everywhere, and dirt. Oh so much dirt. She quietly creeped down the stairs as she saw two people talking; one male and one female.
The man looked like a younger version of who she saw during her run-in with Jordan. Less gray hairs, slightly better posture. He was wearing an all gray, blue-collar worker type outfit. She was sure at this point that he was the ghost. However, she was shocked when she saw the woman he was talking to. It looked like a nine-years-younger version of...
Mom?
October 2020
The ice cream party had ended and everyone was largely in their separate groups. Jess, Ben, and Sarah were sitting in the parlor talking about re-opening plans over wine, the twins and Topher were playing video games in Zoey's bedroom, and Griffin and Harper were sitting on Griffin's bed, trying to figure out a solution.
"Are you sure your hand's okay, Griff?" Harper asked for what had to be the twentieth time. Griffin rolled his eyes.
"Yes, Harp, I'm fine. Don't worry so much," he said while smiling. Harper scoffed playfully and fired back. "Me? Don't worry so much? You should take that advice for yourself. You're the biggest worrier I know, no offense," she laughed.
Griffin faked the motion of a sword striking through his chest. "Gosh, Harper. Offense taken!" he fake-exclaimed. The two bursted out in laughter at their little teasing skit. Harper was quickly falling in love with Griffin, and she was being obvious about it. She wanted to make this relationship serious. Griffin felt the same way, but definitely was better at hiding it. Harper sighed as the thoughts of Savannah being lost in time without them returned.
"Griffin...what do we do? I mean if there really is a ghost in that bunker, then..." she trailed off. She didn't know what to think.
"Well, if that's what it is, it's clearly not wanting us to go with Savannah to the past. We just...gotta figure out why," he replied, also deep in thought. That train of thought was quickly interrupted for the both of them, however.
"Go with who to the past?"
Griffin and Harper quickly turned their heads to see Zoey and Wyatt standing in the doorway. Zoey was the one who said it. "Oh, uh, hey guys. We just- we were talking about this...board game. About the past, and...random names," he tried to lie.
"Really? That's the best excuse you could come up with?" Harper half-scolded. Zoey rolled her eyes as Wyatt sighed.
"We told you guys when we were facing Judge Walker. No. More. Secrets," Zoey demanded. "Yeah, we're not little kids," Wyatt added in agreement.
"You guys are 11," Griffin argued. "Yeah, and? I'd rather be 11 than some hormonal teenage boy who goes from being open and honest one second to completely closed off the next," Zoey snapped back. Griffin scoffed.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Griffin replied heatedly before Harper interjected. "Hey, let's stop, now. Griffin, she's right. We told them we wouldn't keep secrets," she said as she tried to calm everyone down. Griffin groaned and slowly nodded in agreement.
"So...tell us! What happened?" Wyatt asked, curious as ever. Harper pursed her lips, trying to figure out the best way to explain it.
"Well...Savannah came back from 1962 earlier. Told us that she thinks there's another ghost. One in the bunker. She found some letter from the 50s, we think, and we were gonna go back there to figure things out, but when Griffin tried to get through, the door slammed. Only Savannah could get past it," she explained in a breath. Wyatt and Zoey were silent.
"Oh," Zoey said. She looked at Griffin's right hand. "Is that what the bandage was for? Not jamming it in the basement door?" she asked.
"Yep, and now we're stuck in the present with no way to know if Savannah's doing okay," he said defeatedly. Zoey sighed.
"Sorry for...going off on you. I didn't know," she admitted. Griffin smiled. "It's okay, Zoey. It happens," he said sweetly. Wyatt perked up.
"Well, let's go back to the bunker. I mean, who's to say it won't work this time with more of us?" he suggested. Griffin and Harper exchanged looks. "I mean, I don't know if that'll work, but..." Griffin trailed off. Harper finished his sentence for him. "It's worth a shot," she said. They all smiled and went downstairs to try to get to 1953 again.
When Harper activated the dial, the machine buzzed and everything seemed to be going normal. Sure enough, the hatch opened. She was the first to go through, prepared for the jolt that always occurs. But she wasn't at all prepared for the sheer magnitude of that jolt. She let out an ear-splitting scream as she went through, and everyone else quickly followed.
"Harper! Are you okay?" Griffin quickly raced to her side as she grumbled, trying to sit up. "That...that was way, way worse of a jolt than I have ever felt coming through that hatch," she said, nearing tears. Griffin rubbed her back gently with his good hand.
"Hey, it's alright, we'll give you a few minutes to rest," he said, but Harper's stubborn streak got in the way.
"No, we keep going. I'll be...fine," she argued, trying to catch her breath as she stood up. "Harper..." Griffin started to argue, but was interrupted. "No negotiations! We're going," Harper stated defiantly. Griffin sighed and walked with Harper towards the hotel, the twins right behind them, looking worried.
October 2020
Topher walked to his mom, seeing if they could leave. "Mom, can we go now? I'm tired," he complained. It was 9PM.
"Not without your sister," she said. "Now that I think about it, where is your sister anyway?"
"And the twins and Griffin," Ben added in.
"How should I know?" Topher asked. Jess gave him a look. "You were the last one with them," she said. Topher shrugged. "They're probably goofing off in the springs or something," he said. Jess pointed to the back. "Go find them. Now," she instructed. Topher let out a big sigh again as he began looking around.
October 1953
The twins, Harper, and Griffin eventually caught up to Savannah, who was peering behind the staircase in the basement. Harper tapped her shoulder. Savannah beamed.
"You guys!" she whispered. She then saw the twins. "What are you two doing here?" she asked.
"We're here because of my extraordinary listening skills," Zoey proudly answered, smiling brightly. Griffin rolled his eyes and turned back to Savannah. "What's going on?" he asked, hoping for a definitive answer.
"I know who the ghost is. It's that guy over there," she said, pointing to the man she saw earlier. He was still talking with younger Caroline.
"Woah, wait, is that your mom?" Harper asked. "No way," Wyatt added.
"Yeah, I was shocked too. It seems like this was before she married. Must be in her early 30s," Savannah replied. "What does she have to do with that guy over there? What's his name?" Harper asked again. Savannah shrugged. They continued to watch their interaction, but weren't able to hear anything. It seemed generally pleasant.
Savannah pulled out the letter from earlier. "If only I could see the rest of this letter-" she said before being shushed by Zoey. The group watched as Caroline and the mystery man walked closer. They peeped in on the end of their conversation.
"Well, hopefully we'll meet again, Mr. Kane. Amazing work you're doing here," Caroline said sweetly. The man, Mr. Kane, shook her hand. "Anything for you, ma'am," he replied. They started walking towards the steps, and the kids immediately bolted out.
All 5 kids raced back to the hatch and went back to 2020. "So, Mr. Kane...what's his first name?" Harper wondered. Savannah shrugged as Griffin closed the hatch.
"Who knows, but we have a last name. That's what matters. We should probably call it a night. Figure this out tomorrow," Savannah suggested.
"Except we can't tomorrow. We have school. Break's over," Griffin reminded everyone. Zoey and Wyatt sighed the loudest sigh anyone in Sulphur Springs had ever heard. "Okay, well, after that, then. We got this," Savannah said. Harper faked an encouraging smile, too tired to put any more effort into it.
"Alright, well, we're gonna head back up. You should go back to 1962, Savannah," Griffin said. Savannah hesitated. "What is it?" Griffin questioned, curious why she was stopping.
"What if I stayed here tonight? I just...I don't know. Didn't really wanna leave yet? I guess?" Savannah explained. Harper smiled warmly, as did Zoey.
"Sure, Savannah. But you'll need a hiding spot," she said. "Woah, are we sure that this is a good idea? Your parents will get worried," Griffin said. Savannah shook her head. "It'll be fine. I'll just say I was hanging out in that treehouse again," she justified. Griffin and Harper looked at each other. "Alright, well, let's go," Harper said. They all filed out one by one, until the door slammed in Savannah's face.
"Savannah! Hold on!" Harper quickly yelled as she tried to open the door. Sparks started flying across the tunnel as everyone screamed. "We have to go!" Wyatt said. "No, we can still-" Harper started to say before being interrupted, "Harper, he's right, let's go!" Griffin yelled as sparks continued to fly, one of them hitting Zoey in the arm. They all ran off, Harper almost in tears.
Savannah stood in shock at what just happened. She felt a cold breeze hit her hand that was holding the letter. She
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