Three hours of playing different games on her Nintendo Switch later, she finally decided to end the stream. There had been a ton of questions about the two days, but she had managed to avoid most of them. It was fun, but in the end, she felt how her attention started to slip and she started to make weird mistakes. The audience loved it, though, and the way she would yell exasperatedly when something went wrong, or the game lagged.

After taking another shower, this time washing her hair, Ashley sat on the bed, staring at the ring. Sighing, she decided to take the pictures of the inside of the ring now. She wouldn't need to film anything, due to the recording of the call.

Not wanting to give in to her nervousness, she took the ring and placed it on her bed. The engraving was so much better visible on the pictures, clearly showing the initials I. H. Ashley quickly sent the images to Colby, along with the video.

Ashley
*2 attachment(s)*
here ya go, the vid and pictures

Colby
lmao you recorded the call?

Ashley
maybe?

Colby
you totally think like a youtuber. i thought about asking bc
it's better than recording a clip afterward but i didn't want
to pressure you

Ashley
ty lol, but I think I'm fine

Colby
you think?

Ashley
what else am i supposed to say? just believe me already, i
will survive it. you did too, back on queen mary. i may need
some time to think but that's all

Colby
sorry, you're right. i'll keep my mouth shut from now on

Ashley
lmao now i feel bad. no, i think it's flattering that you're so
worried but there's no need to ask me all the time if i'm
alright, i promise i'll tell you when something changes :)

Colby
you better, or i'll never trust you again when you say
you're fine, and i'll start asking you all the time

Ashley
ohh, i'm so intimidated!
seriously tho, don't do that lol

Colby
i won't, as long as you keep your promise

Ashley
pinky promise!

Colby
:)

Knowing that the boys probably continued editing, she put her phone on the charger and left her room. The way she knew Jerry, he would probably be streaming still. She could go into his chat and troll him... or she could just go to bed. Her heavy limbs pleaded for the second idea, so she put on her pyjamas and fell asleep mere seconds after she closed her eyes.

Fortunately, she didn't dream of Ilse anymore, not this night or the next. Or the one after. Sometimes, she would faintly hear the melody of the piano before she woke up, but she always brushed it off. It was nothing, just a memory that would fade with time while she followed her usual schedule.

A week after the trip, Colby mailed her the finished video so she could give her opinion on it before they would upload it on YouTube. She downloaded it on her computer but hesitated as she was about to play it.

Ashley knew what was in the video. She knew what she was about to see, so why was she intimidated by the pure thought of it? She had stuffed the ring somewhere deep in her nightstand, and her memories somewhere deep in her mind. Not even with Jerry had she talked about what had happened, only sharing a few scraps of all that she remembered. And she sure did remember a lot.

"Hey, Jerry," she called through the apartment. "Come here real quick."

"What's up?" he asked, entering her room.

"I got the video. Do you want to watch it together?" she suggested.

"Oh, my god, I'm going to be so freaked out. Sure, let's do it," he answered. "It's your fault if I'm traumatized afterward, though," he added with a laugh.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Come on, it's not going to be that bad... on a screen."

"You still haven't told me what exactly happened, I have no idea what to expect." Jerry sighed, ruffling through his hair with one hand. "But here we go, I guess."

He got another chair from the kitchen and Ashley started the video. She had absolutely no idea what to expect either, but it was a lot easier while Jerry was sitting right next to her.

Of course, the video started off with the intro, the boys hyping for the girls. Ashley smiled as she heard the now familiar "What's up guys" again and saw herself and Kris enter the frame. It was overdone in a joking manner, as always. They had left all the silly jokes she and Kris had made in.

The video cut to the boys, explaining quickly what the deal with the hotel was while still standing in front of her before clips took over the screen, with an overlay of what Ashley assumed was the information part they had filmed without the girls. It explained where Ernst Hoffman came from, when he came here, what for, and why he left his daughter in Germany for the first five years of the hotel's construction. Upon hearing her name, chills crawled up Ashley's arms.

Next, they were entering the hotel, Sam checking in and Justin talking about the spirit. On the stairs, Sam apologized because he thought that "it's not our usual level of 'hauntedness' but we decided to shoot our shot to find out why exactly the spirit stays here, and how she died. And especially why she's playing the piano." Ashley couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle at that.

Sam and Colby had been smart and put a clip of all of them freaking out right after Sam said it, showing the text, "Later tonight...". They definitely knew how to build up tension. That had been the moment right before Colby and Ashley's race, so the next clip was them, panting and hurrying up the stairs.

Before they entered the room in the video, the boys had made sure to make Ashley's comment about the painting clearly audible. She bit her lip hearing it, not sure whether she regretted it.

At one point, Sam had got a good clip of the girls' room before they put their stuff in. It showed all the details, even the rocking chair in the corner. Then came the boys' room, identical to the girls'. All the jokes and the light atmosphere were left in, but Ashley felt the tension creep up her gut as the camera cut to the two boys sitting on the couch in the room, explaining the history of the place. It was practically identical to what Sam had told Kris and Ashley later, only accompanied by spooky clips and pictures of how the place used to look. Not a lot had changed.

Then, without warning, a picture of Ilse came up, and Ashley unintentionally swallowed. It reminded her of the dream she'd had. First the one with the piano, then the one with the dark room. She would never forget either one of them.

Next came Kris's comment about how all spirits haunt women. Sam's answer to her asking why was, "Ask the ghost," which made Ashley sigh. They now knew why Ilse targeted mostly women.

The dancing was halfway left in, and Ashley concentrated closely on that part, looking at her own fingers on video. She was definitely wearing the ring before they started swirling each other around, but she couldn't quite make out whether it was still there afterward. Silently, she cursed herself for keeping her arms crossed most of the time.

The waiting time in between the questions was mostly sped up, knowing that no one would be interested in it. The whole clip of her, playing the piano, was left in, though. Ashley leaned back in her chair, knowing exactly what was coming now.

Jerry saw her tense expression. "What happens now?" he whispered.

"Shit goes down," was her answer, right before the Ashley in the video turned around. She saw her own face fall and remembered how her heart had raced as she jumped up. Sam immediately grabbed the camera and stood up; Colby hurried to Ashley's side.

"What's going on," Jerry whispered. "What happened?"

Ashley shook her head while the Ashley in the video tried to calm herself down. Seeing it from the outside was a strange sensation, she had no memory as to how it had looked. Just the fear from the moment was stuck in her mind.

When Ashley in the video explained what had happened, Jerry gasped. "No, that actually happened?" he asked her. She nodded.

The video went on with them trying to get in contact with Ilse and her reacting by randomly lighting up pieces of equipment. Eventually, Ashley saw herself sitting back down on the piano and starting to play again. And she had to admit, the way she zoned out afterward was scary enough.

Sam was holding the camera several steps away from them, but Colby's words were clearly audible as he asked him to come closer. And the mark... the mark was bright on video. Sam and Colby had probably edited the clip so that it would be better visible.

"Yep, that's the hickey," Ashley chuckled.

"I don't get it, how were you not crying out of fear?" Jerry breathed. She just shrugged.