Chapter Five
When I'm in the shower I'm afraid to wash my hair
'Cause when I open my eyes I might find someone standing there
People say I'm crazy just a little touched
But maybe showers remind me of "Psycho" too much
That's why
Rockwell - Somebody’s Watching Me
***
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Lois stated as she walked into the Raven Resort. She was in full costume with a curly blond wig and a skin-tight off-the-shoulder black shirt and high-waisted disco pants with red heels, red lipstick, and hoop earrings.
“I figured we could blend in more if we were in black,” Clark replied looking over the newly renovated resort. Clark was wearing a black t-shirt and black jeans. He knew if he didn’t wear his glasses and his hair was slicked back, he would look more like Superman than he cared to admit. So he kept his glasses on and didn’t slick his hair back. But there was no doubt who Clark and Lois were dressed up unless you lived under a rock during the late 1970s. Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson screamed ‘cool’ in the musical and movie ‘Grease’. Danny and Sandy didn’t make sense in the beginning, by the end though, they made perfect sense together. Just like Lois and Clark.
“Sure, it had nothing to do with me in this get-up,” Lois replied as they walked closer to the check-in area.
“Lois, I have seen you in a lot less,” he whispered, leaning over to her with a grin on his face with his eyebrows up.
She shook her head at his attempt to make her feel better. Lois didn’t know why they had agreed to dress up as a couple, wait, that’s wrong, she definitely knew why. She was in love with this man, who was totally head over heels for her. She wanted other women to know that as well because Clark Kent was a catch. Sexy, romantic, kind, and he could fly!
They stepped up to the reception area where the staff was dressed up as zombies.
“Clark Kent and Lois Lane,” Clark announced to the female staff member. Her name tag said Ginger, and her red hair was mated and looked like it hadn’t been washed in weeks. The torn outfit and make-up made her look like she wanted to eat his brains instead of giving him a key to his room.
“Oh yes, Mrs. Church, told us to give you the royal treatment. The two of you will be in Room 401. You can bring your luggage straight to me and the bellhop will get it settled in your room for you. The ballroom is in the left corridor then the second door to your right. Have a devilish time,” Ginger announced, handing the room key to Clark.
Clark and Lois looked at each other, then she put her hand through his arm and turned left to the ballroom. As they started halfway down the hall, Clark stopped and realized they needed their bag from the Jeep.
“Stay here, I’m going to go get our bags,” Clark told her before kissing her quickly on the lips. When he left she looked around the crowd of people that were dressed up. There were tons of different costumes from Freddy Krueger’s to Fred Flintstone’s to Devil’s to Dorothy’s and Jasmine’s to Jesters. It was difficult to notice under the costume who was who, but Lois could have sworn she saw the mayor and his wife.
“Lois, is that you, darlin,” a familiar male voice wondered. Looking to her right, she knew instantly who was under that white sparkling pantsuit and black wig. “Perry, how did I know you would dress up as the King?”
“Was there another choice,” he laughed, giving her a hug. “Where is Clark?”
“Getting our bags,” Lois replied as she leaned back against the wall. “This is quite the crowd.”
“Oh yes, there are more powerful people here than Elvis’s opening night in Vegas in ‘69,” Perry announced as he titled his hips.
“Chief, great costume,” Clark stated as he walked up beside him putting his hand on the King’s shoulder.
“Clark or should I say Danny,” Perry replied, turning to Clark. “You know I saw the original on Broadway back in June of 1972. Alice was all about seeing it and loved the character of Danny that she tried to get me to slick my hair back a couple of times.”
“Where is Alice, Chief,” Clark wondered, looking around for a Priscilla to match his Elvis.
“She wasn’t feeling very well tonight,” Perry declared, looking down to the ground. “I should have brought Jimmy. I know he wanted to get a look at this place.”
Perry looked around in awe at the restored building. The new ivory paint and new hardwood floors made the granite hues of the reception area pop. The furniture was in bold colors with turquoise chairs and an avocado loveseat in the lobby. Paintings were scattered throughout the hallway of different haunted locations in the world such as Dracula’s castle, London’s Highgate cemetery, LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans, and Edinburgh Castle in Scotland.
“Actually, I saw Jimmy outside with a young woman. He must have talked someone into bringing him,” Clark responded as he looked toward the entrance.
“I’ll find the kid while you two start mingling and find out what Mindy Church has planned for us,” Perry ordered before he walked off toward the front door.
“Shall we,” Lois wondered, putting her hand on Clark’s chest. “The faster we get this over with, the faster I can get out of this crazy outfit.”
Clark’s eyebrow tilted when she finished the comment about getting out of the outfit. She did look very sexy in black, especially the disco pants that fit her in all the right places. He remembered that they were sharing a room tonight and couldn’t even think about what was going to happen after this party was over. Was there one bed in their room or two?
“Come on, Romeo,” Lois said with a smile, pulling him toward the ballroom.
When they entered the room the song ‘Thriller’ by Michael Jackson was playing. Lois and Clark stepped further in to get a better view. The large ballroom was darkened with a disco ball and lights from strobes of different colors floating around the room. There was a large crowd watching dancers do the Thriller dance. Even some of the attendees were dancing the famous dance created by Michael Jackson in the music video from the early 80s.
After the song ended many clapped then the lights flashed to the doors on the other side of the room. A drumroll sounded then the door opened to four large muscular men walking in with white painted skulls on their faces and black muscle shirts and black jeans. The men stepped aside two on each side and a woman in a red came into the room. She had long red hair and a strapless sequin red gown with a slit on one side that went up to her mid-thigh. She also had purple gloves that went three-fourths up her arm with red lipstick and purple eyeshadow.
Lois looked closer and realized the woman in red was none other than Mindy Church.
“Jessica Rabbit, really,” Lois snarled shaking her head in disgust. “She isn’t even a real character.”
“I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way,” Clark mumbled, remembering the famous line Jessica Rabbit says in the movie ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’. “I think she is trying to tell us something, Lois.”
Clark leaned into Lois’ ear as he stood behind her. Many of the guests went up to Mindy and thanked her for the wonderful time they were having. Lois shook her head and shrugged her shoulders before taking a step closer to Mindy.
Mindy strutted up to Lois and Clark with the four musclemen leading the way. The men stepped to the side as she reached Lois and Clark.
“Well, Miss Lane, don’t you look alluring in your little get-up. And Mr. Kent, you look very seductive in all black,” Mindy expressed as she tried to reach out to touch Clark’s bicep. Lois stepped in front of Clark - blocking Mindy.
“Are you trying to tell us something with this ensemble,” Lois questioned, looking at the woman who had such a high-pitched voice.
“Miss Lane, I’m just playing a part,” Mindy answered before turning away.
Lois reached out for Mindy’s arm simultaneously as one of the men grabbed Lois’ wrist. Clark stepped closer to Lois putting his hand on the bodyguard’s shoulder.
“You don’t want to do that,” Clark told the bodyguard, squeezing the man’s shoulder slightly. The bodyguard winced with pain and let go of Lois’ wrist.
“By the way, Mindy, Ernie says hello,” Lois called out. Mindy stopped instantly and turned around to look at Lois. She opened her mouth to say something and instead pressed her lips together and turned away.
The bodyguards and Mindy walked away leaving Lois and Clark standing there. Clark pulled Lois’ hand up to look at her wrist. He wasn’t sure if the bodyguard had hurt her or not.
“I’m okay, Clark,” Lois admitted, letting him look her over. “I’ve been manhandled harder than that at the grocery store.”
Clark let go of her wrist and looked through the crowd of people to find the bodyguard. He didn’t like it when anyone put a hand on Lois even when she initiated the interaction.
“That doesn't make me feel any better,” Clark told her. “We should start investigating this place."
Clark led Lois out of the ballroom. In the doorway, they noticed a tall man with white wild hair, a gray suit, and holding a pipe.
“Lois. Clark. Great to see the two of you,” the man said. Lois looked closer and realized the man was none other than Dr. Bernard Klein.
“Dr. Klein, what are you doing here,” Lois wondered as she looked at Albert Einstein in front of her.
“I was invited, of course. Who wouldn’t want a night off to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve? Did you know tonight is the blend of two cultures; the
Celtic celebration of Samhain with the Christian church’s All Saint’s Day. I figured why not dress up as one of the greatest physicists of all time? His contribution to the science community is one of most fascinating items in today’s world.”
“I hope you have a great time tonight,” Clark stated before Dr. Klein turned into the ballroom.
Lois and Clark started down the corridor to the front of the building. They were only a few feet down the hallway when the lights went out. Clark instantly reached for Lois’ when they heard the ballroom doors slam shut.
“Clark, what happened?” Lois asked, trying to get her bearings. She felt Clark’s hand take hers.
“I’m not sure,” Clark acknowledged tightening his grip on Lois’ hand. “Let’s go reception.”
Before they could take a step any further they heard several screams in the ballroom. Lois stepped toward the ballroom and didn’t get very far since Clark didn’t move.
“Clark, we have to get into the ballroom,” Lois demanded with her voice rising in pitch.
“Lois, I also heard Jimmy scream outside,” Clark said his voice cracking. “I don’t know what to do.”
Lois pulled him toward the doors of the ballroom.
“Try to look inside the ballroom,” Lois suggested, taking a shallow breath. “See if we can get in there then we will go outside.”
Clark tilted his glasses down to look through the wall into the ballroom. He shook his head in disbelief when he realized no one was in the room.
“Lois, I don’t know what happened,” Clark said suspiciously, “the room is empty.”
He stepped toward the doors and tried the doors that were locked. He pulled a bit harder and the door broke off the hinges. Lois trailed behind
Clark as he stepped into the room. The darkness filled the room and Clark closed his eyes for ten seconds then opened them and his eyes became accustomed to the darkness. The ballroom was empty except for the tables and chairs scattered around. It was like everyone had just disappeared.
“What happened to everyone,” Lois questioned as she became lightheaded. “A hundred people just can’t disappear.”
“We need to get to Jimmy. He shouted for help,” he replied hearing Jimmy’s cries for help again.
“Let’s go, but we have to figure out what Mindy did with everyone,” Lois demanded. “Those were some very powerful people she made disappear.”
Clark pulled Lois into his arms and flew out of the resort. Lois curled into Clark’s arms, her head buried into his neck for safety. He didn’t fly very fast, since it was dark and he wasn’t used to the resort's layout. He landed on the left side of the resort near several pine trees and twenty feet away from the pool house. The entire area was dark except for the half-moon and stars shining down. Clark led Lois to where he believed Jimmy had been when he screamed.
“Look,” Lois said pointing to a dark figure in the distance.
Their hands were joined as they came upon Jimmy, dusting off the dirt from his black slacks.
“Jimmy, what’s going on,” Clark asked coming up to the young man dressed up in a black suit and tie.
“I tripped over something and when I stood back up I noticed it was a skull,” Jimmy answered, pointing over to the small skull with prominent cheekbones.
Lois looked over to Clark and they realized it was a skull of a smaller figure. It was old like it had been buried for years. The skull was caked with dirt from being in the ground with roots and dead leaves scattered around it.
“Do you think it’s the boy from ‘63,” Lois questioned as Clark looked around for more bones.
“I’m not sure,” Clark replied as he moved his glasses back up after x-raying around the scene and locating a few more bones, but left them undisturbed for the police.
“Why were you screaming? Where did Perry go,” Lois asked Jimmy as she looked around for their boss?
“I screamed because I tripped then I looked down and there was a skull. I haven’t seen him,” Jimmy responded as he brushed more dirt off his suit. “My date and I got separated when she saw her ex. I saw a teenager running back towards the pool and decided to follow him. I stopped for a second when I heard screaming from inside the resort. When I turned around the boy was gone.”
“You mean you never saw Perry. He said he was coming outside to find you,” Clark mentioned as he looked over at Lois and then back to Jimmy.
“Clark, you don’t think he ended up back in the resort?” Lois asked, her stomach getting an uneasy feeling.
“Are you saying the Chief is missing?” Jimmy shouted as he started talking with his hands. “We have to find him.”
Jimmy started moving toward the resort when Lois grabbed his elbow. She couldn’t let Jimmy go into the resort by himself.
“Jimmy, everyone disappeared inside. No employees. No guests. No Chief,” Lois explained with a sour taste in her mouth. “We need a plan.”
“Lois, how about you and Jimmy go find some help and I’ll go into the resort,” Clark requested as he looked over to Jimmy and then at Lois. He hoped Lois would get the hint that he was going to use his powers to help figure out what happened.
Lois tried to step closer to Clark but her heel was stuck in the dirt. She slipped off the heel and realized she wasn’t going to get very far in the red heels. Lois pulled the shoes from the ground and went over to Clark.
“Please, be careful,” Lois murmured before kissing Clark on the cheek. “We are going to go to the Jeep and call the police from my cell I left in there.”
Seconds later Jimmy and Lois were on their way to the Jeep when they heard an explosion. Jimmy turned his head to the blast and someone came up behind Lois and put a rag over her mouth. She went limp in the dark figure's arms and he dragged her away. Another dark figure hit Jimmy over the head with a lead pipe. Jimmy fell to the ground unconscious with Lois being taken. Who had knocked Jimmy out? What would Clark find inside the resort? And where was Lois being taken?
