Angel of Fire - the Breath of Immortality - Book One #Wattys2014

The Kalamazoo Castle

Chapter 27 - The Kalamazoo Castle

A blistering cold, sunny day turned into a night full of blackness. Thick, dense clouds hovered in the sky, blocking out the moon. I'd never been to Kalamazoo before and it promised to be a long drive in the darkness.

Nick followed M43 – a twisty turny country highway – towing a massive trailer with all the band's equipment. I sat next to Skylar white knuckling it while the SUV thrust us back and forth from side to side as we weaved around the many lakes on the way to the city. I wouldn't say Nick was a bad driver. He was a terrible driver. Or maybe, that's just how people from LA drove. Sucky.

I looked through the windshield and spotted a Curve Ahead sign that indicated the speed limit was 35. We were going faster than that. Much, much faster. I decided to speak up before he wrapped us around a tree. "Nick, do you see the caution signs?"

He twisted around in his seat to glance over his shoulder at me. "You mean, the ones with the squiggly arrows?"

"Yeah," I said, trying not to sound as irritated as I felt. Too bad it didn't work. "Don't look at me, look at the road." I waited while he turned back around. "When the caution sign says 35 miles per hour, that's how fast you're allowed to go. You need to slow down."

"But the speed limit says 55."

"The caution sign overrides the speed limit." It wasn't my intention to debate road safety with him.

Nick seemed surprised. "Really? I thought it was just a suggestion."

Everybody cracked up. And the worst part is that Nick was being serious.

Yeah, seriously trying to get us all killed.

I made a mental note to never ride with him again. "Well, I want to make it there in one piece."

Mark finally chimed in, "Take it easy, dude!"

After that, Nick slowed down. For the first time since the trip began, I didn't feel like we were going to end up in the lake.

When the two-lane country highway widened into five lanes, you could tell we were getting close.

"How much further?" Mark asked.

"How should I know," Nick replied. "Carmen's got the map."

"The Kalamazoo Castle is over by the Psychiatric Hospital," she said without looking. "Take Michigan Avenue and it will be just outside of the Western Michigan University Campus on Oakland Drive,"

"What's with the creepy castle?" Mark asked. "I heard it's haunted."

Carmen nodded. "I read up on it. The Kalamazoo Castle has a very violent and turbulent history. It was built in the late 1800's by a wealthy Doctor named, Charles Bennett. The guy had a serious Dracula infatuation, modeling the castle to resemble the ones in Transylvania. He was originally from New York, but came to Michigan to work in Kalamazoo's first hospital.

"You mean, Borgess?" I asked.

Carmen nodded again. "Dr. Bennett moved his family into the castle when it was completed in 1889. By 1890, the youngest Bennett child, an infant and the only son, died under mysterious circumstances. Three years later, six-year-old twin girls died from an unknown illness. The mother, Betsy Bennett, is said to have gone mad, claiming that some unseen force killed her children. Dr. Bennett ignored his wife's repeated cries for help. Eventually, he came home one evening to find that she had killed their only surviving ten-year-old daughter and then committed suicide herself. Dr. Bennett was found dead less than a year later. No one's sure exactly how he died."

I shivered. "That's terrible."

"I know, right!" Carmen agreed. "I could go on all night. After the Bennett's died, several other owners moved in. All of the families living there experienced either suicides or unexplained deaths. People say the castle is evil and blame it for the deaths."

"Who owns the castle now?" Mark asked.

I knew this part. "It sat empty for years and was about to be demolished when the city came to its rescue. After receiving an anonymous donation, the castle has been restored to its former glory. It's a historic landmark now and the city rents it out for events."

"Is it really haunted?" Mark asked, sounding hopeful.

"People claim it is," Carmen replied. "All kinds of creepy stuff has been reported."

I raised my eyebrows. "How do you know?"

Carmen grinned proudly. "I Googled it."

Mark's eyes lit up. "What kind of activity?" he asked, sitting forward in his seat.

"Everything from doors slamming to lights going on and off," Carmen explained. "Many visitors have seen the full-bodied apparition of a woman they claim is Mrs. Bennett. They also claim to see and hear children playing. But probably the creepiest part of all are the numerous reports of visitors who say they feel an overwhelming sense of dread. One of the most recent claims came from an employee hired to clean. She was vacuuming at the top of the staircase one day when she heard someone whisper her name. She turned around and someone, or something tried to push her down the stairs. She ran out of the castle screaming and never returned to pick up her paycheck."

I sat in stunned silence. I knew a lot about ghosties. Did a report on them once for school. It's never a good sign when people are being harmed. The culprit could be anything from a hostile spirit to a demonic force. Neither sounded like much fun.

Mark was the only one to speak up. "Cool."

"We're here," Nick announced.

From the look of the empty gravel drive-way, we were the first to arrive. I guess it made sense to be early because the band had to have time to set up.

"What time does the dance start?" I asked.

"Midnight," Carmen replied.

Everyone piled out of the van. Nick first, followed by an extremely quiet Lake, Alex, and then Skylar - who paused to help Carmen and I out. Mark was last. He stared up at the castle in awe, complete with a grin that stretched from ear to ear like a kid locked in a candy store.

My reaction was the polar opposite. A sinister feeling surrounded me like a cloak of darkness. The Kalamazoo Castle turned out to be a brooding five story architectural fortress.

Carmen was also right about another thing. It did look suspiciously just like Dracula's Castle. Located high atop a lofty hill, the enormously imposing stone structure overlooked the city like a warning.

I'm sure I was supposed to be impressed, and probably would've been if the place didn't have such an uneasy and foreboding aura to it. I didn't like it. Not one little bit. What I really, really wanted to know was when my life would stop steering me in an ever-darkening direction. The answer was probably someday, but definitely not today.

Let the nightmare begin.