It took only a few moments for Sid, with sure movements of his long taloned fingers, to pick the lock. And then the door sprung open.
The other travelers walked hesitantly to the door. Inside, the room was bathed in an eerie green light. There was a bed in the middle of the room, over which the light was brightest.
“C’mon,” Josh whispered. “We’re supposed to go over to the bed.” He held out his hand to Jenny.
Jenny had her doubts, but if Josh said it was the right thing to do, then she was sure it would be ok. She took his hand, and followed him over to the bed.
Lying there, apparently asleep, was her grandmother Amelia. She knew it had to be her grandmother, because she had seen pictures, but the strange thing was that woman lying on the bed was young — impossibly young.
“It’s my grandmother,” Jenny said, “but she she’s supposed to be a lot older than this.”
“But of course she cannot be older than this,” came a voice from behind them.
Jenny whirled around, and found herself staring at a spectral figure. She wasn’t sure what she was looking at. It was like he was there and not there at the same time. Indistinctly, she could make out a sad face over a shimmering body. She realized the face was talking.
“I have known that this day would come, and that you would try to take away my precious Amelia.”