We're closed!

Where am I? It was the first thought that came to Aloe Vera blossom's mind. The young spa girl looked down at her self, she wore a pure white nightgown with yellow spa sandals, the kind customers to her and her sister's spa were given. She looked around and could hardly believe where she was; the floor was solid black tar, no tiles, no hardwood, just disgusting black ooze that had solidified, the walls were ugly grey stone slabs, and she wasn't too keen on the chains hanging down from the walls. That coupled with the constant drip, drip, drip, of water from out of the dank and dark of her surroundings, and the girl only wanted nothing more to get out of this place. Aloe placed her hands on her chest to steady the beating of her excited heart, she tried using her thoughts to calm herself.

'Easy there Aloe girl, you must be having a bad dream, yeah that's it this is all a dream.' She realized that and it seemed to calm her some, Aloe was a very skilled lucid dreamer, years of meditation and reading guides written by both the spiritual and scientific side on the subject. being in charge of a spa that included such 'treatment options' will do that, but some things didn't make sense to the girl. For as good a dreamer she is, how and why was she dreaming of a place like this? What did she do to dream herself into a Gothic dungeon complete with chains and water running and flooding the halls? Maybe it was that bad batch of brown sugar mochi she had for a late night snack, or maybe it was letting her friend Cecil Mineral, Bath take her to see that midnight screening of that Dr. Jekyll movie. She told herself again and again that it was all just a bad dream, but no matter how hard she did, she couldn't wake herself up.

The hallway was bathed in harsh red light, it was hard on her eyes as she made her way to a door at the end, it was a bamboo reed door like the one's at the spa. Aloe reached out to the handle cautiously wrapping her fingers over the cold metal, and then opened it with a long loud CREEK! She found herself in her spa's receptionist room, the same white desk with the wax tropical fruit bowl on it and scented candles, and that tacky pineapple phone. Aloe had once made fun of Lotus for buying that phone, now if she would wake up, she'd tell her that phone really livens up the spa. The receptionist room was deathly silent, the usual hustle of the guests waiting to be serviced had a rather...chilling effect on the girl. Almost as if a place like this was never meant to be so...silent. She couldn't see anything but darkness beyond the glass doors of the entrance, but she cautiously took a step by step over to the desk, maybe it would her wake up, maybe not. As Aloe passed the reception desk, the pineapple phone began to ring. The loudness of the ringer rattled every bone in her body and racked her nerves, sending icy chill up her spine.

Aloe calmed herself down and slowly reached out taking the top of the ''pineapple'' detaching the earpiece, she lifted the phone to her ear and took a deep breath before softly saying...''Hello?'

''We're sorry, your call has reached a dead phone...please hang up.'' The operator voice sounded so...sad and almost apathetic at having to say the words...but it was just a recording...wasn't it? Just before she hung up Aloe heard another voice.

''Don't hang up!'' followed by loud scratching static.

''Hello?! who is this!?'' Aloe shouted into the receiver in a mix of desperation and fear.

''Al...*buzzt* oe, listen to me!'' some poor voice was calling to her, ''don't...*buzz* open spa at....*buzz* for ladies...*hiss beep! beep!* everyone will...*hiss* I see them al dea....'' and then it was just a busy signal, no voice, no cries, nothing. She hung the phone up as again tried to wake herself up.

''It's alright darling Aloe, you'll wake up very soon.'' a faint but familiar voice said prompting Aloe to forget her fear as she opened her eyes.

''Rarity?'' She asked smiling at the idea her best friend and number one customer was there. ''Oh Rarity it's so nice to finally...'' She was stopped mid sentence by the sight before her, Rarity was not her usual ivory white shade with violet hair. Instead a good portion of her skin was a red color of blood; Rarity's skin was crackled and even peeling in some places, clearly Rarity had been scalded with extremely hot water. The girl had blobs of yellow where her skin had boiled her. Worst of all, she looked at Aloe with dead cloudy white eyes and her lower jaw just hanging by sticky, sickly strands of red and yellow cheek tissue.

''You know Aloe darling, you really should have someone fix that steam room controls, someone's liable to get.'' Before she could finish, her jaw fell off and hit the floor! her tongue loped and flopped against the roof of her mouth still forming the words...''hurt.'' That was the last straw, Aloe opened her mouth wide...and screamed.