Candle Light

It was about two in the morning and Bell hadn’t been able to sleep. She had been reading a Gothic horror novel, lost within it’s pages and words. The candle by her bedside was low, the wax dripping away and the flame dropping.

Bell knew she should get a fresh candle but once out of the armchair and woollen blanket, it would be freezing. The fire in the wall next to her had long gone out and the chill from the autumn moor had crept into the house.

She looked at the candle and decided if she didn’t want to end up in the dark within a few minutes she had to move.

Placing the book down, she wrapped the blanket around her and got up. There was a candle by her bedside which she took and carefully lit the new wick from the dying candle. She blew out the first flame then took the new candle and her book to bed.

It was a grand four poster thing and she wasn’t use to sleeping in luxury. She had been brought up in a simple house with simple things. Her father had educated her which had helped Bell learn that her family had fallen on hard times. She couldn’t remember not being happy and her parents had tried to give her anything she needed.

The turn had come when she was fourteen. Her father, ill of health for years, passed. The money ran out. Her mother lost everything.

In the poorhouse, the beds had been straw. They had been surround by people making lots of noise for three years. You would think you couldn’t sleep in such a place but the twelve hours of work a day made you so exhausted that sleep came as a blessing.

Now, Bell was alone in this large room, in this huge house owned by a uncle of her father’s whom she had never known but had somehow found her. Bell was grateful to have been saved after her mother had become ill and died three months ago. It was the answer to her prayers.

Some nights though, she wished to be back with her mother on that floor. Comforted and loved. No longer feeling the loneliness and sadness that consumed her.

Bell got into bed. The sheets were cold against her. She opened her book again and began reading. Her concentration was broken and the chill was making her shake. Putting the book down again, she curled up and thought about trying to sleep.

There was a window across and the curtains were half drawn. She could see the night sky and the full moon. It was too dark to see the raising moorland that surround this house but she could picture the current barren landscape well enough.

The candle wick cracked and the flame flickering against the wall. There were too many shadows in this room for Bell’s liking. The words of the old maid came back to her and Bell remembered the warning of falling asleep with candles lit. That’s how the west wing burnt down.

Bell’s head turned towards the door as footsteps sounded in the hallway. The boards squeaked and a door handle rattled.

It was just her uncle or a servant, restless like herself and walking around the house.

A door opened, the loud creaking wail further broke the silence.

Bell felt a drift of air. The candle flame flickered violently and black smoke trailed up the wall. Bell sat up and looked towards her door.

It was wide open.

She clutched the sheets to her chest. Thoughts racing through her head; it’s just my uncle or servant checking on me because they saw the light. 

No figure seemed to fill the doorway and nothing else moved.

Bell couldn’t find the words to speak.

The candle went out.

Plunged into darkness, Bell let out a cry and threw the sheet over head. She curled up, fear driving everything. Her breathing was harsh in her ears so she didn’t hear the soft footsteps crossing the floor.

The bedding began to slip down, gathering on the floor.

Bell clung to what she could but the bedding began to drag her with it. She let it go and dug her nails into the woollen blanket still around her instead.

‘Who is there?’ Bell cried in a shaky voice.

There was a low whistling like wind through a gap. The dying candle came back to life. The glow of the yellow and orange flame so bright in the room.

‘What do you want?’ Bell shouted.

There was a hand by the flame. It first it seemed nothing more then a wisp of smoke from the candle but it grew and turned shape, became more solid and took the form of a figure.

Bell wanted to scream but couldn’t. She was stiff with fear and yet she couldn’t turn away from what was forming beside the candle flame. She had never seen a ghost before but this one was for sure.

It seemed to be a woman in a flowing dress like a shadow against the wall.

‘I can see you,’ Bell whispered, ‘do not hurt me.’

The ghost moved, gliding to the bed and Bell saw the features of a face. The eyes and mouth expressed sadness and longing with familiarity.

‘Mother?’ Bell breathed.

 

 

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The Basement (Part 7)

(Please be aware this story contains adult sexual content.) 

All I could breath in was soil and decay. My ears were ringing, partly deafening me. I went over to my wife and pressed my back against the door too. A part of me didn’t think this flimsy wood would keep the skeletons back.

‘Are you hurt?’ Raven asked me.

‘I don’t think so…’ I trailed.

I was in too much shock to be thinking clearly. I tried to listen through the door, but the sounds were muffled. I reached for Raven’s hand and held it tightly. We listened and waited for the skeletons. A minute later, we heard banging and groaning. The door vibrated along our backs.

‘Let’s make a run for it. We can lose them in the cellars,’ Raven spoke.

Arming herself once again with the bits of coffin lid she had tossed aside, my wife walked a few steps then broke in a jog. I followed, not sure what else to do but thinking that Raven might be right. The cellars were a twisted maze and we should easily reached the house again before the skeletons got anywhere near us.

We headed back through the dirt tunnel, not talking just concentrating. Images flashed by me; the cloth rags around the bones, the shuffling footsteps, the grinning jaws, the missing teeth. The crumbled skeletons piling at my feet and Raven, my amazing woman, fighting then and taking so many down.

Why had they attacked us? How had they come to life? I had thought the house might be haunted…by ghosts and normal creepiness, but this? Animated skeletons in the basement? My brain was getting tried trying to answer those questions and more. My body was aching all over and the torch felt so heavy in my hand.

From behind us, the door broke down, sending a cloud of dirty towards us. I stole looks back and saw the skeletons pulling themselves out of the debris. At the back of my mind, I had been hoping that the door would stop them. Maybe, there’d been some magic seal or something that would stop them and trap the skeletons like before when we hadn’t entered.

Raven raced ahead of me and her torch light become just a dot. I tried to pick up speed, but I was too tried. Slowly and without wanting to, I came to a stop. Doubling over, I tried to breath but my throat was burning. Everything seemed to spin around me, waving in and out of focus like fast changing storm clouds. I couldn’t do anything to stop myself from going down.

Claws in my leg, right between the top of my boot of the cuffs of my black jeans. The clattering of loose teeth and clicking of bones, brought the last few minutes back into my head. I snapped awake, twisting around, thinking it had all been a dream, but then I realised I was laying face down in musty soil, my fingers hitting against a torch.

‘Crow? Crow? Where are you?’ Raven’s voice was screaming in the distance.

I took a deep breath and grabbing the torch, swung back at it. I heard the connection of plastic and bone. The tightness on my leg released and I scrambled upwards. Not looking back as I had enough fuel for nightmares to last the rest of my life, I bolted down the rest of the soil passage way and into Raven.

She had been coming back for me and I sent us both sprawling to the floor.

‘Are you okay? Where did you go?’ Raven gushed.

‘I tripped. I’m fine,’ I said.

We hugged tightly and helped each other up. We walked the rest of the way, holding each other as if we had been for a simple stroll around the rose gardens. Gratefully, I hobbled through the doorway and into the cellar.

I slummed down, slipping out of Raven’s arms. Pain was spiking through my ankle. I heard her closing the door and scrambling around.

‘What you doing?’ I mumbled.

‘Slowing them down,’ Raven replied.

I eased myself up  and watched my wife, shoving wood planks up against the door to block it. I should help, I wanted to help, but I couldn’t move. Laying down seemed the best thing to do right now.  Sleep was also good. I shut my eyes and felt myself drift.

‘Crow!’

A hand slapped my face and I awoke quickly.

‘You are hurt,’ Raven said.

In the torch light I could see her face was a worried and dirt streaked. The warrior seemed to be wearing out of her.

‘Not really. I’m okay, just my ankle….I twisted it,’ I told her.

Raven helped me up and I hobbled along side her. We went back through the cellar rooms till I thought we must be lost because it had been so long and everything looked the same.

‘We need to stop. I can’t go on,’ I said and aimed myself towards the floor.

Raven let me go and I sank down heavily like a anchor. I pressed my back against the cold, damp wall and looked up at Raven. She was tried. Her shoulders were slumped, her arms dragging downwards and she was breathing more deeply then I had seen her do so before.

She sat down next to me. Her boots scrapping the ground. She brought her knees up and pressed her face into them with some difficulty given her curvy frame.

We were silent. The darkness filled the void between us. I shut my eyes and let sleep claim me. I dreamed of nothing, just pools of darkness.

Raven shuffling brought me back too. We hadn’t turned the torches out, at least I don’t recall if we did and now Raven was bashing her’s in her palm and flicking the switch on and off.

I felt for mine and checked it. The beam seemed a bit dimmer but it was still working.

‘How much further?’ I asked.

‘Not far,’ Raven replied giving up with her torch, ‘I’m sure we must nearly be there.’

‘How sure?’

Raven looked at me her face serious then crumbling, ‘I don’t know…’

‘Are we lost?’

‘I…think so,’ Raven chocked, ‘I was too worried about you and I wasn’t thinking…’

‘It’s okay,’ I said softly, rubbing her back, ‘we’ll figure it out.’

Raven nodded.

We steeled ourselves and started walking again. This time I paid attention to the rooms, noticing the few bits and pieces as we passed. Twice we walked back into the final room and we heard from the hidden doorway banging and groaning. The door was strangely holding the skeletons back.

Finally, Raven found some sharp stones and we began marking the rooms as we went through them. That helped and at last we found the staircase. Heading upwards, I wondered what condition things would be in, but my mind was really far from that. I wanted to eat, sleep and hold my wife tightly.

Raven opened the door and went though to collapse at the kitchen table. I joined her, noticing how bright it was and how dirty we both were. My glass of half drunk water from hours ago was still on the table. I picked it up and drained it. Getting up, I went to the sank and drink straight from the table. I scrubbed my hands and face.

I got Raven a glass of water and watched her drink it slowly.

‘Are you okay?’ I asked.

‘I think so…’

‘Listen, Raven…’

‘I love you, Crow.’

‘I love you too,’ I replied.

‘And this house is just perfect,’ she add, getting up and hugging me, ‘I can’t believe it, skeletons in the cellar! What more could I have asked for!’

‘So, you’re not upset,’ I mumbled into her shoulder.

She kissed me and answered, ‘far from it.’

The Basement (Part 6)

(Please be aware this story contains adult sexual content.) 

I felt Raven squeezing against me, breathing hard in my ear. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing; a skeleton was really raising out of the ground. I tried to be rational, there was an earthquake and that was why all the graves were being disturbed. I was sure I’d heard something about that when there were other disasters; cemeteries got broken up and bodies moved about. That’s all it was.

‘Let’s go,’ I said and started to get up.

Raven muttered something that I didn’t hear, it sounded like, ‘keep low.’

We helped each other up then began moving towards the dirt covered stairs. Another skeleton hand burst upwards, showering us with soil. I swallowed a scream. There was nothing to be scared of, I was just over reacting. Grabbing Raven’s hand tightly, I walked steadily forward, keeping my eyes fixed on the door.

‘Oh, Crow look!’ Raven called.

I stole a glance at her and in the direction she was pointing. My wife was a mess which was so not like her. She was covered in dirt and her cheeks were flushed red. Her finger was pointing at the first stone sarcophagus. A large crack had spilt the stone side in half and the lid had moved off.

‘It’s just the earthquake,’ I shouted, ‘Oh no! The house!’

I broke into a run, suddenly blinded by worry. Tugging my wife after me, my thoughts spiralled and I pictured the house breaking apart and falling down. Everything would be lost! All my money, stuff, my life….My marriage….. Panic shot through me and I darted like a rabbit being chased by a fox.

‘Crow!’ Raven yelled at me.

I had no time to respond. The ground give a huge violent shake, tumbling us back down. I hit the moving soil hard and felt pain spiking through my hands, arms and knees. My torch flew away from me; light scattering around like a disco ball. I caught my breath then looked at my wife.

Raven was on her knees, searching for her torch which had tumbled down a hole. Her cheek and hands were scratched and bleeding. Her hair was totally dishevelled and clumped with dirt. In the dim light, her face looked pale, puzzled and worried.

‘Raven. Are you okay?’ I asked.

From behind us came loud groaning sounds which reminded me of zombie movies. Raven was a fan of those movies and whilst I found them okay, the idea that one day zombies could walk the earth chilled me. Trying to pertained it was just gas escaping. I helped Raven find her torch then went over to mine.

Something ensnared my leg, biting into my ankle. I cried out and looked down. Fingers were wrapped around me. I tried to kick free, but the grip was too strong. I bent down, ready to prise the boney fingers off me. Instead, another hand came upwards and grabbed mine.

‘Oh my god! It’s got me! Raven! Ahhhh!’ I screamed.

I heard rather then saw, Raven rush over and began stomping on the hands. The bones broke and snapped away but some how the skeleton still held on to me. I felt myself being dragged downwards. I couldn’t do anything my brain had gone into total panic. I felt the iron grip loosen and my wife tugging me away.

Raven must have been saying something but I couldn’t hear her. All around the groaning had reached a high followed by the sounds of the place shaking and things breaking a part. I couldn’t keep my balance and was constantly stumbling over. I was struggling to breath too, the air was clogged with dust, dirt and decay.

My hand slipped from Raven’s. I bent over trying to calm myself and focus. I looked at the ground just next to my feet and took in deep breaths. This was so not happening! Whatever the hell was going on here wasn’t real. This was a nightmare and I was going to convince myself of it.

Despite all the background noise, I heard the snapping of wood close by and looked up. Raven was standing by a dark wooden coffin and was ripping off chunks of the lid. Her torch was between her legs and she was grunting with the effort but looked determined to achieve her goal. Frowning, I watched her break the long planks in half. She handed me two and I slipped my torch under my arm. Then I switched the plank and torch around. It took my brain a moment to realise what she wanted me to do.

We were surround. The skeletons were all upright and ambling towards us with shuffling steps. Some had scraps of fabric hanging off them, others had shoes still on, a few even had jewellery around their necks and arms. There was no flesh or anything else left on them, they were all just creamy or yellow bones. It looked like a scene out of a fantasy horror movie.

It was a strange sight and one that would stay with me forever. I clutched the piece of coffin lid my wife had given me as if it alone would save me. Though I wasn’t religious I began praying because that was always the think to do in situations like this, wasn’t it?

‘Oh God, or whatever, please save us. Please get us out of this….’ I spoke.

‘I’ll get us out of this,’ Raven cut in.

I looked at her and she was battle ready. In a flash, I remembered the time I had seen her fight in a competition and how she had quickly won. Now, she was holding her pieces of wood like swords in both hands and was fixed on the closest skeleton, ready to swing it’s skull off. Her torch was safe tugged under her arm.

I had been avoiding looking into the hollow eye sockets before, but now I was drawn too. There was nothing there, not like a black spark of evil magic or anything that would allow sight. What was drawing these things to us?

Raven struck out at the skeleton and just as I predicated it’s skull went sailing off, over the tops of the other skeletons. Then that one just crumpled to the ground, all the bones clattering together and forming a scattered pile at Raven’s feet.

‘Easier then I thought! Come on Crow! Get whacking!’ my wife screamed.

She swing both pieces of wood this time and took out two skeletons. Nervously, I looked at the skeleton coming towards me. It was short and it’s jaw was hanging off to the side. I shut my eyes, took a deep breath, opened my eyes then swung back with the plank in my right hand. As if I was hitting an oncoming ball, I swung back with force, aiming of the skull and actually sending it clean off.

‘Yeah! You did it!’ Raven cheered, ‘Now do it again!’

I was shaking and wasn’t sure I could. I watched her take out three more then there was another skeleton real close to me. I swung out again and this time caught the rib cage. There was a snapping and cracking of bones. The skeleton paused then stepped towards me again. This time I aimed for the skull and took it straight off.

‘We need to move!’ Raven yelled with a toss of her head, ‘let’s get to the door and out of here!’

‘But how?’ I shouted back.

The ground was still quaking and the skeletons were swarming us. I had another flash picture, only this time we were covered in skeletons and they were biting at us till we died. If this was a nightmare then it would end, right? I didn’t have time to reflect on that because another skeleton was upon me.

I hit into it, taking down in two strokes. The bones crumpled to the floor to join the others. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raven make a break for it and dart over to the steps. We had been super close before, but we had allowed the skeletons to cut us off. Trying to keep down my panic, I fled after her, feeling boney finger tips scratching me.

Seeing Raven reach and climb the stairs, spurred me on. My foot hit the first step and I raced up them, moving faster then I’ve ever done in my whole life. I heard the skeletons moaning and groaning behind us as if they realised we were getting away. I strange thought entered my head; how could they make noise when they had no vocal cords?

That was another thought for later! Raven was through the door and spinning back to call me on.

‘Almost there, Crow! Come on! You can do it!’ she called.

I charged through the door like a bull and went sprawling on the floor of the passage way. I heard the door slamming shut and Raven scrambling around. I climbed to my feet and saw my wife pressed again the door.

We were far from safe.

To Be Continued….

The Basement (Part 5)

(Please be aware this story contains adult sexual content.) 

The tunnel was mostly dirt held up with wooden boards and crumbing ancient bricks. I felt a chill along my back as if a spider was walking across my spine. Trying not to let my worry show, I looked at Raven. Her expression was excited and curious, her body language told me she was ready to go exploring the tunnel. My wife really loved things like this and she showed no fear when everyone else would have done.

‘Where do you think it goes, Crow?’ she asked.

‘I don’t know….Maybe we should find out later though. I’m thirsty and we have so much unpacking to do,’ I replied.

Raven turned to me, her face flashing to disappointment. She took a standing ground stance; pulling her shoulders up, holding head high and keeping straight. Turning to me, her expression became serious and calm, she was going to begin arguing with me.

‘I’m just saying,’ I said softly.

Raven was not a person you argue with. She would win with words or with fists. Having a black belt in Taekwondo made her pretty scary in a fight. Luckily, I knew how to avoid most of our arguments, having known her for twelve years helped.

‘We’re down here so we might as well,’ Raven spoke, ‘you’re not scared are you? It’s nothing just an old passage way. It’ll led to that ice house or something. We should make sure it’s secure. We wouldn’t want to get robbed or anything.’

I let the silence do the talking for me.

‘I’ll go by myself. It’s no big deal,’ Raven added.

‘It doesn’t look safe though,’ I muttered.

Raven shrugged and answered, ‘It doesn’t look that bad…I’m sure it’ll be fine. I need to know where it goes. Either you come or you don’t. I don’t care either way.’

With that, she walked in. I had no choice but to follow her because if anything happened, I’d never live it down and Raven would make sure of that.

The soil was hard packed under and around me. Someone had taken great time to make it so and it had been used lots of times over the years. Like the cellars though, the air was dry and old. This tunnel had been sealed for so long. Creeping after my wife, I tried not to let my fears get to me.

Torch light flickered over the reminds of brick walls and wooden planks that had been used to hold the soil back. Roots of dead plants and other rubbish made lines in the almost black earth. I hoped Raven was right and this was just a tunnel used to get to the ice house.

We walked for a good few minutes, just listening to each other’s footsteps, breathing and movement. There was nothing else to be heard. Thinking, I tried to come up with something to say. I could tell Raven was still tense and she was just wanting for me to light the argument bomb. I wasn’t going anywhere near it though.

‘Some adventure, huh?’ I finally said, ‘I hope this leads to more then just the ice house.
Some place cool would be good. Like the Batcave or El Dorado. What do you think, Pumpkin?’

Raven paused, her shoulders dropping as she turned to me. I fixed a smile on my face, even if it was fake.

‘I hope so too,’ she said, ‘I bet this isn’t on the blueprints.’

I forced a laugh and shook my head.

Raven smiled and turned back again. We walked for another good ten minutes or so then came to another stop.

‘I think there’s something up ahead,’ Raven pointed out.

I peered over her shoulder and saw a small door set into the end of the tunnel. I became half torn about it; wanting it to be locked and wanting it to be unlocked at the same time. I held my breath as Raven went up to it and tried the handle.

The door seemed to move a little. Raven put a shoulder to it and shoved the door rudely open. An unpleasant smell hit my nose. Before there had only been the scent of old dry earth, now this stank like rotted meat.

‘Raven….’ I uttered then had to cover my mouth and nose with my t-shirt.

She didn’t answer or look my way, she was shinning her torch through. I shuffled closer, wanting to draw her away without seeing what was there. I couldn’t help it but as I saw through the door there seemed to be nothing but an endless straight dark hole of space.

I reached a hand out for her shoulder. Raven jumped, turned to face me and lost her footing as she did so. I grabbed out for her, but my wife slipped through my fingers and fell into the darkness.

‘Raven!’ I screamed.

The sounds of a coughing fit rose from a little way below me. I shone my torch down, saw a cloud of dirt rising then spotted her. She didn’t fallen far and after a quick look around I saw there was actually some steps set before me that were half covered by soil. I raced down them, almost tripping.

‘Are you okay?’ I pressed as I reached her side.

Raven looked up at me. Her lip was bleeding and she was cover in soil. She nodded and I helped her up.

‘You didn’t fall far. There are steps, see? Where are we now?’ I gushed.

Raven began trying to clean herself up, so I cast around and tried to see in the claustrophobic blackness where we were. My  first thoughts were that we had found the ice house and were at the bottom. It was cold enough and that smell was still strong. Then my light fell on something and stayed there.

‘Raven, look,’ I whispered.

I felt her move at my side, shone her own torch over mine and gasp loudly.

Before us was large grey stone sarcophagus. It was half sunk into the soil and looked intact. A further exploration showed there were more of them and also some wooden coffins. There were too many to count as they appeared to carry on where our torch light couldn’t reach.

‘We must be under the cemetery!’ Raven cried out.

I frowned and said, ‘but why would they bury everyone together like this?’

‘No idea….Some of these must be named though.’

My wife determinedly moved off towards the first sarcophagus.

‘Wait! Be careful!’ I shouted after her.

‘I shall,’ she tossed over her shoulder.

I side stepped from one foot to the other, undecided then hurried after her.

‘No name,’ she uttered as her fingers trailed over the stone.

‘Maybe we should go….’

Raven pouted then frowned. She was torn too!

‘Listen, pumpkin. This could be dangerous. We have no idea what’s really down here or where it goes. Perhaps, we should leave,’ I pressed.

I took Raven’s hand and squeezed it. She was shaking. I hugged her gently and some of the soil transferred on to me. She breathed into my neck and wrapped her arms around me.

‘Okay,’ she voiced.

We turned towards the steps but a wooden creaking sound made us stop. I looked down, thinking we had stepped on a plank or a coffin, but there was only soil below. The creaking grew and there was no mistake the sound of a coffin lid being removed.

‘Don’t look back,’ I said for us both and I tugged Raven away.

An unmistakable human groan rose up from behind us. I felt panic rocket through me. I tugged Raven harder and broke into a run. All my senses were telling me to get out and far away.

Raven’s hand tightened on mine, I glanced to make sure she was okay and I lost my footing. I tried to keep my balance, but the ground was shaking like a small earthquake and I tumbled forward. I fell and heard my left out stretched arm go through something, then Raven dropped to the floor beside me.

‘Crow? Crow!’ she shouted, shaking my shoulders.

‘I’m okay,’ I mumbled, tasting a spot of blood in my mouth.

I eased upwards. My torch had rolled far away but the beam was shinning across what my arm had hit though. I gagged and scrambled away from the sight of the open coffin. I backed into Raven who held me down.

‘It’s okay,’ she said calmly.

But it wasn’t.

The ground was still shaking, the sounds of moaning and creaking wood were getting louder. A patch of soil close to us suddenly sprayed up as if it was a water burst. I give a little scream and Raven yelled something out.

In the gloom we both saw it; a skeleton hand raising up out of the ground….

To Be Continued…

The Basement (Part 4)

(Please be aware this story contains adult sexual content.) 

I awoke my wife in good time for the arriving of the pizza. I kissed her face softly and nuzzled into her, before whispering her name and gently shaking her. Raven moaned and tossed about. She’s a heavy sleepy and it takes awhile for her to come around.

‘Honey, come on,’ I whispered, ‘time to get up now.’

‘No,’ she mumbled.

‘Don’t you want to eat?’ I reminded her.

She muttered something that sounded like maybe.

I ran my hand down the fleece blanket that covered her naked body. A part of me was tempted to slip my fingers underneath and touch her soft skin. Instead, I went back to trying to wake her up.

‘I ordered pizza. It should be here soon,’ I stated.

Raven tried to pulled the fleece blanket up to block me out, but there wasn’t enough of it free as I was laying on it. She made a growling sound and twisted over. Her pretty face screwed up like an unhappy child.

‘It’s still early…’

I checked the clock and it was a few minutes to nine. So not as early as I’d first thought before.

‘Okay, I’m awake,’ Raven spoke.

I smiled and moved out of the way, ‘I’m going down to wait,’ I added.

‘I’m going to try the shower,’ she spoke as she stretched out across the bed.

I nodded and watched her get up and walk naked across the room to a door opposite the bed. It led into a nice master bathroom which wouldn’t have originally been there but the previous owners or the ones before them had created it out of what I guess had been the Lady’s dressing room or day room. It was hard to tell. After admiring Raven once more, I got off the bed, put a t-shirt on and went downstairs.

Turning on some of the lights which took a few moments to figure out, I drifted down the corridor and the grand staircase. No sooner had I reached the hallway, the bell let it a dooming dong. Hurrying, I unlocked and the door. There was as a short, Indian man with dark hair standing there carrying pizzas.

He glanced at me, struggling to keep the slight shook from his face. He mumbled the price and I handed him some notes without really checking them. My stomached had just remembered how hungry it was. I took the pizzas, sides and the free bottle of cola. He handed me my change and walked back to his little blue car that had abandoned at the bottom of the steps.

Juggling everything, I closed the door and went into the first room. The light from the hallway helped me find the table. Then I turned on the lights, sat down and began eating. The pizza tasted glorious even though it was a standard takeaway. A few minutes later, Raven joined me, wearing a plain black lacy dress and we ate our first meal in our new house. Afterwards, we went to bed fully satisfied.

In the morning, we were too excited to lay in, so we got up and spent the day exploring the house and unpacking. It was gloomy outside and it was raining heavily. The house felt cool, so we both dressed in jeans, t-shirts and hoodies. Whilst we were in the kitchen, Raven opened all the doors and began looking through them. I sat at the table sipping a glass of water and watching the rain falling.

One of the doors did led to a big utility room, another was a larder, the third was a staircase up to the first floor and want had been the servants bedrooms. Behind the fourth floor was a staircase going down.

‘What do you think is down there?’ Raven asked.

‘Cellars, I guess,’ I replied.

Raven flicked the light switch that was on the wall up and down. Nothing happened.

‘Where are the torches? I want to go down and see,’ she spoke.

I frowned into my glass of water, ‘upstairs in the bottom drawer.’

Raven nodded and padded out of the room on her mission. I had kept the torches with us in case they had been needed.

Getting up, I went to the door and took my phone out. Using the torch on there, I went down the wooden steps. They creaked under me and I kept my hand on the rail. The air smelt musty and moldy, it hadn’t been fresh for years. It was clear the last owners hadn’t used this space at all, just like a few other rooms; the third floor and the attic, they had shut them away and forgot.

One day, I would confess to Raven how I had gotten us this house and she would forgive me, but for now it was a closely locked away secret. I tried to get that thought out of my head. My wife had always been able to read me very well, especially when I was keeping something from her. Raven would never give up till she got the truth out of anyone.

Stepping off the last step, I shone my little light around. It was hard to breath down here and I couldn’t see much. They were the originally cellars of the house though and where food and wine had been stored. The lowest servants might have had rooms here as well as general storage. This first area seemed empty.

A squeal of wood from behind had me turning so fast I almost lost my balance. I saw the glare of a torch light then Raven’s voice calling my name.

‘I’m here,’ I responded, ‘it’s the cellars. Like I said.’

Raven made a pleasant O sound and came to my side. She handed me the other torch and I turned it on. Together, we made our way through the cellar rooms, most of which were empty. It seemed not even spiders had taken up residence down here, though we did find old webs in some of the nooks. There was a stacks of wood that had once been shelves, bottle racks, bits of coal and writing on the walls.

I became lost and dizzy with it all. Raven loved it; the way the shadows lingered on the walls, the guessing what might have been held in this rack, what could lay behind each door. Finally, we seemed to have entered the last room. I lent against the a wall, taking in deep breaths of stale air mixed with dust and mold.

‘This is strange, Crow,’ Raven’s voice called to me.

I looked over to where she was shining her torch light and there seemed to be a door blocked off in the wall. I walked over, thinking maybe it was just in shadow but also hoping it was nothing so that we could go back up. My mouth was dry and I was sweating even though it was cold down here.

‘Someone tried to hide this door, but look,’ Raven spoke, putting her finger tips on a worn handle made out of dark wood.

‘Maybe, they had a good reason….’ I trailed.

Raven pulled a face. Without warning, she yanked open the door and cream paint surrounding it cracked and began flaking. The door shook but didn’t swing. Before I could get the words out, she had tried pushing and the door flung open.

‘They didn’t do a good job did they?’ Raven said.

We shone our torches inside and found a long narrow corridor straightening before us.

 

To Be Continued…

Basement (Part 3)

(Please be aware this story contains adult sexual content.) 

I wanted Raven so badly that I could have ravished her there and then. She made me walk back to the house and to our new bedroom first though. Then in typical horny Raven fashion, she pushed me on to the bed and climbed on top of me.

Her kisses were hard and desperate. She nipped at my lips and tangled her tongue around mine. Her fingers hurried to get me out of my t-shirt and jeans. Her nails scratched my bare chest and I arched up against her. I was breathing hard and fast, as if I had just been running.

I helped her wiggle out of her own clothes whilst she stayed on top of me. My hands roamed her naked body, shivers ran though me and I knew I only had seconds left to control myself.

‘Wait, wait,’ I told Raven.

Her hand was all ready working quickly between my legs.

‘I want you, right now,’ she gushed.

‘I know, but I need a -‘

‘It doesn’t matter. I want your babies, Crow Southgate,’ she cut in.

My breath caught and I looked at Raven in her love making flush. Her hair was down, all over her shoulders and back, her body was pressed against mine, hot and ready. A mixture of pleasure and determination on her face.

‘Right now? ‘Cause I just brought a house which I can barely offered,’ I stated.

Raven stopped, her hand releasing me. The expression on her face began to change and I knew the moment was gone.

‘There’s plenty of time for kids,’ I said calmly.

I eased up, making sure I stayed in connect with Raven’s skin. I went into the top drawer of the bedside table and drew out some protection. I went to hand it to Raven, but she flopped down on the bed.

I put it on myself then showered her in kisses. She responded slowly, growing disinterested. I reached her neck, I began kissing and licking her. I gently nipped my teeth across her neck and shoulder. She moaned against me and ran her fingers in my hair. I let my hands slide down and I cupped her breasts. She moaned louder and I brought my head back up and slipped my tongue into her mouth.

The misunderstanding vanished and Raven let me arrange her legs on the bed. I slide my fingers into her soft wetness and watched her slowly wiggle about. I relaxed next to her, propping my elbow up and resting my chin on my palm. I watched her face and the fluttering of her closed eye lids.

I bent down and whispered into her ear; ‘how badly do you want it?’

‘So badly,’ she breathed.

‘Tell me,’ I demanded.

Raven tossed her head back towards me and her eyes opened. She ran her tongue over her lips. She took in a slow breath, almost as if she didn’t know what to say.

‘Well?’ I breathed.

‘Do you hear that?’ Raven suddenly said.

I stopped and listened.

‘It’s a door…Or something else. It’s fine,’ I uttered.

Raven shut her eyes and quoted, ‘ ” Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,” ‘

‘We’ll get use to it,’ I added and kissed her again.

‘I want to go and see The Tempest again,’ she said.

‘I’ll take you soon….Now though.’

Raven sighed loudly and stretched her arms out.

I nuzzled into her chest and planted soft kisses on her warm skin. I felt her fingers gently running on my upper back.

‘I’m hungry, Crow,’ she muttered.

‘Sex first,’ I replied in a muffled voice as I began moving down her body.

‘Is that your reward for getting this awesome house?’ Raven asked sleepily.

‘Yes,’ I mumbled and began kissing her stomach.

I slipped my fingers between her legs again and got her excited. Climbing on top of her, I finished what she started. Though, laying there afterwards, I’m sure that wasn’t what she had had in mind when she had climbed on top of me before. Her expression was relaxed but tense.

I snuggled her, holding her close and letting her rest against me. I stroked her hair and told myself that she was just tried. We both were, it had been a long day. I couldn’t give into the dozing though and I had to know what was wrong.

‘What is it, Pumpkin?’ I whispered, using her favourite nickname.

Raven sighed deeply and she moved her head, so our eyes could met, ‘you want children don’t you, honey?’ she asked. 

‘Yes,’ I answered without pause.

‘Then why…?’

‘I just think we should settled in first. You know, make it our own, enjoy it. We finally have our own space, Pumpkin, I want to have time to take it all in and spend it with you. We’ll have a baby soon, promise,’ I answered and kissed the top of her head.

Raven breathed against me and kissed my cheek. She settled back on my chest.

‘Anyway. You only want a baby to dress up and play with. I could get you a dog to do that with,’ I added.

Raven slapped me in the chest, ‘no! That’s not true! I really want a baby. And you know I’m not keen on dogs!’

‘I know, I know.’

I nuzzled into her hair. Ignoring the tickling sensation on my face. Raven stretched her arm over my stomach then left it draped over me. Her other arm was tucked against my side but I knew she’d move it soon enough because it would go numb.

We dozed for a little while, then Raven rolled over and snuggled into the other side of the bed. I pulled a black fleece blanket over her then lay back on my side. I didn’t feel as sleepy. I thought about finding my laptop but then I remembered we needed to reconnect the internet. Instead, I found my phone and ordered pizzas and sides for later.

Resting back, I sent a few texts and listened to Raven sleeping. The house give off soft creaks, groans and clicks which sometimes made me question what the sounds were. I had that strange feeling when you stay in a new place of the unknown. Yet, the house didn’t feel cold and empty, I guess the familiarity of our things helped.

Leaving Raven sleeping, I quietly moved around the room and put more stuff away. I did think about making a start on some of the other rooms, but I knew if Raven awoke and I wasn’t there she’d complain. Setting a large black vase on the window sill I looked out.

The early night was pressing against the window. I could see the streetlamps and distant glow of building lights above the hedge and through the tree branches. The sky was above, I couldn’t see the moon. It was quiet and peaceful. A world away from the city centre and the loud apartment.

I closed the curtains and looked around the bedroom, still feeling dazed that this was finally all our’s.

To Be Continued…

The Basement (Part 2)

(Please be aware this story contains adult sexual content.) 

Unhappily, I followed Raven out of the living room and into the front hallway. A cold breeze was now circling the house, causing more smells to mingle in the air; old leather, wood vanish, dusty fabric and a faint hit of cinnamon. A door somewhere was creaking above us and something else was rattling gently.

Beside the front door, two of the moving men were bent down, picking up pans and other kitchen things. The plastic box the items had scattered from had been dropped to one side. The men were rudely shoving things back in.

‘Did anything break?’ Raven called, striding over.

‘Not sure,’ came a mumbled voice.

I sighed and tried to quieten my growing anger.

‘It’s fine, love, we got it,’ one of them said as Raven tried to help.

She ignored them and began stacking things back in right. They tried hard not to watch her, but I saw them. I stood guard, eyeing the men like a guard dog until they give up and left Raven to it.

‘It’s fine,’ she announced.

Flicking her hair over her shoulder, she shot me a smile.

It did little to cool my anger though. I picked up the box and carried it around the grand staircase and into the kitchen at the back.

The original kitchen had been build for the bustle of six or more servants. It was a vast rectangle space with a large fireplace in the far corner which was home to a monster of an aga. To the left of which was a small door for the servants to use. Ahead was a large table and chairs. Boxes were all ready taking up most of the room upon it.

Along the walls on either side of us and the right one were blue and grey granite worktops and cupboards. Black and grey modern appliances including a gas cooker and oven were slotted in or on them. Two more doors were in the corner, one was the back door and I think the other led into a utilities room.

I walked in and placed my box by the double metal sink with work tops either side and a window above. The blinds were drawn and I opened them to give more light and also to see the view outside. A long strip of grass framed by tall hedges was all I could see but I knew beyond it there were acres of land and also something else…

‘I got another surprise for you, Raven,’ I spoke softly.

‘Oh?’ she asked and looked up from a box she had been sorting through.

‘Do you have the key for the back door?’ I asked.

She looked down at the ring of keys she had placed on the table. She pressed her lips together and almost went to pick them up.

‘Can it wait till after? I want to make sure nothing else gets dropped,’ Raven said in a quiet voice.

From the hallway we heard the loud voices of the moving men again and the rustle of them bring more stuff in.

I nodded and turned away, so I could hide my disappointment. How many years had I been planning this moment and now it was ruined by moving men! I had wanted this to be as special as our wedding…

Raven wrapped her arms around me and pressed her head into the back of my shoulder.

‘What is it?’ she breathed in my ear.

‘Nothing,’ I responded.

‘Tell,’ she pressed.

She reached up on tip toes and lend into me. I felt her breath, brush of her lips and nip of her teeth in my ear lope.

‘No,’ I half moaned, half hissed.

She bit harder, ‘Crow,’ she growled.

‘I swear,’ I squeezed out through gritted teeth.

Raven’s biting was passing from pleasurable to painful.

She let go and dropped back down. I turned and wrapped my arms around her, trying to keep composed. My wife knew better though. She pressed into me, fixing me with a hard glare.

‘It’s just,’ I began, ‘I wanted this to be special.’

Shrugging, I looked over her shoulder as I saw movement in the hallway.

One of the moving men barged in, dropped a box on the floor and left again.

Raven patted me.

‘They’ll be gone soon enough,’ she whispered.

The moving men couldn’t have left any faster if they had tried. They seemed to carry on forever with their loud voices and banging. Luckily, they didn’t drop anything but they noise echoed through the house anyway.

Raven and I busied ourselves with emptying the hearse and setting up the master bedroom she had picked to be ours. I helped her make the bed but then stayed clear of it, because the urges to have some fun were too strong. I put clothes away in the wardrobes and drawers. The furniture was old maybe a close to a hundred years and though it all fitted the room it was not originals.

The room was huge, three times the size our’s had been in the apartment we had rented. A wooden four poster bed, complete with dark red velvet canopy and curtains dominated the room. On either side were dark oak bedside tables, which had lamps in an old fashioned style on them. A fire place took up the middle of the left wall, but it had been converted into ornamental then working. Then there were wardrobes and drawers on the left.  Lastly, large windows were in the far wall and they looked over the driveway and front garden.

Closing the wardrobe, I drifted about as Raven placed more things away. I went to the window and looked out. The afternoon was still clear, but it was beginning to switch to evening. Time was running out for my other surprise.

‘I’m going to see how the men are doing,’ I spoke, ‘you coming?’

‘Sure,’ Raven answered and she closed the lid of the large bedding box at the foot of the bed.

We headed down the corridor and stairs together. The moving men were gathered in the hallway as if they were waiting for us. Just like servants presenting themselves to the master and Mrs. Finally it seemed they had finished.

‘Just need you to sign off, Chief,’ the leader called me over.

I gladly went and signed a receipt on a clipboard. They give me a copy then wishing us all the best, left. I closed and locked the door behind them.

‘So,’ Raven purred as she came over and wrapped her arms around me, ‘what did you want to show me?’

I hugged her and kissed her hair. I had her all to myself now.

‘Crow?’ she asked and kissed me on the cheek.

‘You got the keys?’ I asked.

She nodded and jiggled the bunch.

I took her hand and led her to the kitchen. Through the mass of boxes we went and to the back door.

‘Which key?’ she wondered.

‘Just use the skeleton one,’ I suggested and pointed out the biggest key.

She used it and the back door opened. We walked out into the early evening. I closed the door behind us and then tugging her, broke into a jog. Raven laughed, her grip on my hand tightening as I raced for the gap in the hedges. Branches scratched at us as we pushed through then without pause, even though I heard Raven gasp at the sight of the gardens spreading before us, I rushed to the left and took her along the hedge.

A few minutes of running and I had to slow down to catch my breath. Raven bumped into me, laughing and also breathing hard.

‘Where are we going?’ she cried out.

‘To there,’ I said and pointed to a hill in the distance.

Raven looked hard, but all we could see was the outline of a fence.

‘How much of this land do we own?’ she asked.

‘Lots of it,’ I said, ‘it’s in the contract somewhere.’

Raven pouted thoughtfully.

I started walking again, seeing that the sky above was dusky but also overcast. Raven slipped her hand into mine and we fell silent.

We went through a patchwork of gardens and plots. Most were boarded by tall hedges or bushes, making each area private. We came to an open stretch and the hill was just off to our right. I took Raven up, along a half hidden pathway, to a set of small black gates.

‘Oh!’ she cried, spotting the headstones behind the fence.

Her face lit up and just as she had done on first seeing the house, she pressed herself to the fence and looked excitedly across.

I slipped the keys from her and unlocked the gate.

‘They came with the house,’ I explained.

I opened the gate and Raven hurried in. She darted around the headstones and went to the family mausoleum at the back. The square squat building with its black glossy stone walls, stood out. I followed her, knowing to keep my distance, Raven hated being disturbed whilst she was looking around graveyards and cemeteries.

She came back and threw her arms around me in a suffocating hug.

‘This is a amazing!’ she shouted.

I laughed and squeezed back.

‘There’s also a pet graveyard in the woods just through there. I don’t know how much of the woods we own though…There’s also a little church too, further that way….You can just see the steeple…’ I pointed.

We both looked together, through the tall trees we could make out an iron cross.

‘What more could we have asked for?’ Raven breathed.

I shrugged and added, ‘there’s an ice house way way back, double garage close by the house and stables a bit further back too. We only own one of the small cottages though.’

Raven looked at me with big eyes and waited for me to go on.

I searched my mind, trying hard to remember what the agent had told me. ‘The cottages were built for the servants and their families, early nineteen hundreds. I think. They were sold off sometime ago or given to the families. They have the little plot of land around their houses too. There’s maybe ten cottages, dotted around at the edges of our land. We own the first one; the grounds keeper’s.’

Raven sighed and kissed me, ‘you did a lot of hard work, getting this didn’t you?’

‘Yes. It’s worth it though seeing your face,’ I stated.

I gently angled Raven’s face up to mine and kissed her hard on the lips.

‘Let’s go back to the house,’ she said huskily.

All other thoughts went out of my head.

To Be Continued….

The Basement (Part 1)

(Please be aware this story contains adult sexual content.) 

The new house was perfect. I know nothing can actually be a hundred percent perfect, but God this place was for us! As we pulled up outside the black Gothic cemetery style gates, the two moving vans slowed behind us and I finally let my wife, Raven, take off the blindfold.

‘You can look now,’ I whispered in the husky voice I use to seduce her in the bedroom.

She giggled a little and pulled the blindfold down so it wouldn’t mess up her long pink and purple streaked curled black hair. I watched her closely as she looked first out of the screen window of the converted hearse then the passenger window. She gasped, her face lit up and she sprang from the car.

‘Oh my God! Really? You got it? It’s our’s? she gushed, the words tripping over each other as they passed her black painted lips.

I got out of the car. Even though I could happily have stared at her large nicely rounded bum in her favourite tight black leather skirt for longer. I wanted to see her face. I came to her side, rested against the hearse and put my arm around her.

‘Yes,’ I answered.

‘Oh, Crow!’ she cried and threw her arms around my neck.

I was suffocated in a tight hug with her breathing hard in my ear. I squeezed her back, loving the feel of her weight in my arms and the softness of her black velvet Victorian frock coat under my fingers.

She moved her head and kissed me hard on the lips. Our noses mushing together. I didn’t let her withdraw but pressed more against her, desperate to be inside her mouth. My hands dropped to her bum, my fingers grasping her leather skirt and pinning her body to mine.

I felt a slice of coldness against my back as Raven tugged the edges of my black heavy metal German band t-shirt up and slipped her hands into the waist band of my black jeans. I had thrown my leather jacket in the car before we had set off. It was a typical warm but wet English summer.

I parted her lips with the tip of my tongue and pressed harder against her lips. Our tongues meet and years of practise let us rub and twist tongues without getting tangled in each other’s piecing. I heard Raven let out a little moan and the urge to remove the barriers of our clothes grew.

A loud coughing came from to the right of us and I had to ease off. I shot a disgruntled glance at the moving men. How dare they interrupt my surprise! Raven wiggled against me and I released my tight hold. Whilst I sighed and shot the men a few more unhappy looks, my wife caught her breath then rushed to the tall gates and wrapped her fingers around the iron bars. She pressed her face close and looked up like a child in pure wonder.

Fighting the urge to run to her and grab her from behind, I walked down the side of the hearse and opened the back passenger door. It was crammed with small cardboard and plastic boxes which contained precious things we couldn’t trust with the removal men. The long back space of the hearse was just as full and there were also suitcases.

‘Can I have the keys?’ Raven called.

‘Of course,’ I answered.

Closing the door I walked back to her and pulled the ring keys from my tight black jeans pocket. Raven squealed softly; a cute excited child sound. I pressed the heavy, dark keys into her hands and watched her study them all.

‘This one has to be the gate key!’ she said proudly, holding up a long big black key.

She slotted it into the large lock and turned it easily. Then together we parted both of the gates. The old metal squeaked a little then settled. Before us lay a wide stone crushed driveway flanked by dead seas of grass on either side. Around the edges a low red stone brick wall ran but it was mostly covered by tall evergreen trees and bushes which hide the Gothic manor house from the road.

I took Raven’s hand and we walked up the driveway. Our new home towering over us was like a Halloween haunted house. It was  actually an classic 1800’s English building but over the years people had added to it, including an American family. The dark brown bricks had been painted black, the fancy Gothic window frames were made of iron and lead. Two small towers stuck out at the sides, their pointed roof tops piercing the sky. There was a wide porch area with a black fence around it guarding the wooden double front doors.

Raven slipped her hand from mine and ran up the rest of the driveway. She went up the long low four stone steps and began searching for the right key to the front door.

I looked over my shoulder and saw two of the moving men, opening the gates and the others drove the vans in. The white, boxy vans looked totally out of place in a driveway made for horses and carriages.

Turning back, I went and joined Raven at the front door, trying not to let my irritation show. I should have asked them to arrive at 3pm instead of coming with us a  hour before hand. They were ruining this moment!

Raven, who didn’t seem to mind, found the key and slotted it into the keyhole. She turned it and with a glance at me, opened the door. The hinges squeaked loudly as all good haunted Gothic mansions should. Sadly, though no bats flew out at us.

Giggling, Raven reached for a rope that was tucked up beside the door. She pulled it and a loud bell give off a doom like ring that echoed through the house. Raven laughed and opened the door wider. I wished that a creepy male servant would appear and welcome us in.

Raven stepped into the hallway then began rushing from room to room. Randomly speaking out about this or that lamp or window or piece of furniture.

‘Look at this chair! The wood panelling is so good! Can you smell that? Cinnamon….Oh wow, that painting! What’s through here…’ her voice faded.

I just stood and took it all in. The air smelt a little musty but otherwise clean, a few old cobwebs still hung in the hardest to reach places. I pictured more of them soon enough and whole colonies of spiders. Raven loved them and was forever rescuing them all.

I looked up at the grand staircase which led to the first floor which was currently in darkness. I searched around and finding the light switch box turned them all on. The soft gloom that we had walked into faded and the glow of old light bulbs enriched everything.

A noise at the front door got my attention. I turned and sighed. The moving men had appeared again.

‘Right, where you be wanting all of this then?’ the leader of the group asked.

‘Wherever you want,’ I replied grumpily, ‘we’ll only have to sort it all out again.’

Leaving them, I went and found Raven. She was in one of the living rooms, looking at a bookcase crammed with old books. Her fingers were running over the leather covers, the few rings she wore making her tapping louder.

I sank down into a leather arm chair that was covered by a dust sheet. Placing my arms on the rests, feet stretched before me and head thrown back. I shut my eyes and smelled this room. The air was heavy with books of course, but also the faint scent of pipe smoke and wood polish.

‘How did you do it, Crow?’ Raven uttered, her voice soft and sexy.

I felt her fingers brushing my hair and face.

‘It was hard,’ I sighed, ‘but I wanted to do it for you. For us.’

Raven eased herself into my lap. I smiled, loving the weight of her plump, curvy frame. I wrapped my arms around her and she started playing with my long black hair. Twice she caught the dangling skull and cross bone in my ear and had to untangle a strand of hair.

‘Must have been a lot of money,’ she spoke into my neck.

‘It was….lots of loans and favours. Don’t worry about it. I promised you I’d give you whatever you wanted,’ I replied.

‘But this house! This actual house! The one we dream of for so long but knew we never could have! How did you persuade the owners?’

I grinned, lend in close and kissed her cheek. I breathed into her ear then whispered, ‘I sold my soul to the Devil.’ At the same time, I slipped my hands down her back  and grabbed her bum.

Raven jumped and cried out. Then laughing, she playfully hit my cheek and said, ‘Crow! you didn’t!’

I laughed tossing my head back, the sight of the dark cream ceiling swim before me. Then I dropped my hand and nuzzled into her neck whilst my hands worked their way around her. I kissed her neck, pressing my lips hard against her skin. Raven moaned in my ear. My fingers trailed across her legs and underneath her skirt. A wave of warmth wrapped around my hand drawing me further in.

A loud crashing caused us both to pause. Raven’s breath caught in her throat then she let it go in a swoosh as we both looked towards the half open door.

Swearing and the raised voices of the moving men could be heard in the hallway.

Raven let the tension go and sank back against me.

‘I hope that was nothing breakable,’ I growled.

‘Maybe, we should go see?’ Raven answered.

She kissed me and slipped from my lap.

To Be Continued…

A Foot In The Past (Part 9)

Scarlett could not stop shaking. She paced the living room, wringing her hands together and mumbling that she was not crazy under her breath. Her mind raced and she ignored the distant sounds of Greyson in the kitchen. Every time she blinked, she saw the child’s footprint. It had been there right next to her own! And there had been no mistaking it.

She flashed back to an hour ago, but could barely remember Greyson helping her out of the attic and back to their apartment. He had left her sitting on the sofa, but she could not keep still. Had he seen the footprint? What did he think?

She paused and looked through the dining room to the kitchen. Greyson was rattling mugs and the kettle was boiling. Scarlett sank onto the sofa and took off her shoes. She rubbed her ankles and tried to get a hold of herself. Tea would help she decided. Glancing over her shoulder and into the joining rooms again, she spotted Greyson.

‘Here. You’ll feel better after this,’ he called over.

Scarlett nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

He came into the living room, placed the mugs down and sat on the sofa next to her. He gave her a pink mug then picked up his own green one. Silence crept between them and the manor settled with soft creaking sounds.

‘We’re not going up there again, okay?’ Greyson spoke.

‘You saw it, right?’ Scarlett muttered.

‘No…You were too busy freaking out.’

‘There was a footprint on the floor. Right by the window,’ Scarlett stated.

‘The police or someone else made it. It was natural, like everything else. You’re worrying me, Scarlett. All this is going to your head! I knew it was stressing you, but we were dealing with it…Maybe you need to see someone?’

Scarlett sighed and looked into her tea. She dropped her shoulders and took a deep shaky breath. Her head swirled with everything and she waited for Greyson to go on. When he didn’t, she looked at him. He was staring off at the blank TV screen, his expression full of concern and slight puzzlement.

‘Maybe, I should,’ Scarlett said softly.

Greyson rubbed his head then swept his hair back, ‘you like it here don’t you? I know, it wasn’t what we wanted and I get it’s a big project and business….but Scarlett, it’s okay if you’ve changed your mind. I just need to know and I’d rather you admitted that then carried on with this…this….I don’t know…ghost thing.’

Scarlett sipped her tea and felt it burn her tongue. She swallowed and drink some more anyway. She didn’t know what to say. A fog had settled into her head and mouth felt thick with things she want to say, but could not voice.

‘Or is something else the matter?’ Greyson pressed.

She shook her head and drank more of her tea. Her tongue was becoming numb with the hot liquid. Avoiding, Greyson’s staring eyes, she looked around the room as if looking for something.

‘You’ve never been able not to tell me something before,’ Greyson said sadly.

‘It’s not that,’ Scarlett burst out, ‘nothing is wrong. It’s just the stress and the tiredness. Maybe we need to get out of here for a few days.’

‘We have so much to do though…’

‘I know, but maybe we could go into the villages and speak to people. Word of mouth and all that…and we can look at getting some advertising and recruiting going. I’d feel better if we had some staff, you know? And we need to get the fountains sorted and the gardens,’ Scarlett abruptly stopped and looked at Greyson.

A hint of a smile was on his lips and he was looking calmer.

‘What?’ she asked.

‘There’s my kitten.’

She laughed and Greyson lend in for a kiss. His lips brushed her’s and Scarlett pressed harder against him. She raised her hand and put it to his warm cheek. Greyson broke off and took the mug from her hand. Put it on the table, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in. Giggling, Scarlett climbed into his lap and kissed him again.

‘Let’s go to bed,’ Greyson said huskily.

‘Okay,’ Scarlett breathed.

She got off his lap and walked to the bedroom. Greyson came up behind her and she quickly avoided his wandering hands and tumbled into the room. Laughing, she scrambled onto the bed and grabbed a pillow. Greyson dodged her bad throw and tackled her. Scarlett cried out in delight and sprawled across the bed.

‘Feeling better?’ Greyson asked.

Scarlett nodded and wrapped her arms around him. She kissed him hard and felt everything slipping away.

Later, as she dozed, she tried to stop her mind reflecting on events. Snuggling closer to Greyson, she glanced at the foot of the bed and saw a grey mist ball shape. Scarlett tried not to take her eyes off it and to work out the shape of it. However, it vanished. Shutting her eyes, she tried to sleep.

A door slammed somewhere, shattering the silence. The noise vibrated through the manor and caused both Scarlett and Greyson to jump up. The security alarm broke in, blasting noise and deafening everything else.

 

To Be Continued…

A Foot In The Past (Part 8)

Scarlett peered up the attic steps as Greyson fumbled around for a light switch. Turning her torch back on, she shone the beam along the bare narrow walls and staircase. Unlike the rest of the hotel, all grandeur had been lost here. A thick layer of dust and spider webs lay around, though they had been recently disturbed. Boot prints and paw marks of a dog trailed their way upwards and down again.

‘Found it,’ Greyson uttered and clicked a switch.

Two naked bulbs pinged on and started to buzz softly. They were positioned at the top and bottom of the stairs, so their dim light was unable to cut properly through the lingering darkness.

‘Still sure?’

Scarlett nodded as she pushed away the creeping feeling on the back of her neck.

Greyson turned on his torch and slowly climbed the steps. They creaked under his weight, the sound adding to the eeriness that weighed heavily in the air. Scarlett shuffled after him, keeping her torch down as a guide to her feet. At the top, Greyson paused again and looked for another light switch. As she waited, Scarlett flashed her torch around. There were three corridors to pick from and each looked lined with doors. Just like the stairs though, a layer of dust and cobwebs decorated the area.

Scarlett rubbed her chest, feeling the heavy, still dry air settling into her lungs. How long had it been since someone had last been up here?

More naked bulbs came to life overhead and Scarlett saw what Greyson had said the police had stated. Only some of the bulbs were working, so the dim light came in patches. Trying to look through the gloom, she also wondered if they had searched every room. She looked down at the floor and saw a trail of prints in all directions.

‘Where should we start? Forward?’ Greyson asked in a low voice.

‘Sure.’

He moved to the first door and Scarlett closely followed him. Her breath caught in her throat as he swung open the door and they both looked in. From the light of their torches they could see a cluster of old wooden children’s desks and blackboards. Greyson slowly moved in, the floor groaning loudly under him. He swept his torch around, but there was no way anyone could be hiding. Scarlett studied the blackboards, but couldn’t make anything out of their wiped surfaces.

‘Next one?’ Greyson called over his shoulder.

She nodded and they left, closing the door behind them. The next room also held more classroom furniture. Then the third and four were empty. Reaching the fifth, they found it locked. Greyson rattled the handle, but the door did not give.

‘I left the keys down there. I’ll be right back,’ Greyson stated.

‘Okay. I’ll check the others on this side,’ Scarlett replied.

‘Be careful.’

‘I will be.’

Patting his shoulder, Scarlett moved to the next door, whilst Greyson walked back. She put her hand to the cold handle and turned it. The door did not open. Leaving it, she turned and tried the end one on the other side. It was locked too. Wondering what was up with that, Scarlett moved to the next one. Just before her hand touched the handle, she heard a soft whispering. Pausing, she flashed her torch down the corridor, but did not see anything. She opened her mouth, Greyson’s name on her lips. The whispering tickled her ears again. It sounded like a female voice asking a question, but Scarlett couldn’t make the words out.

Shaking her head, she turned back to the door and tried the handle. It was locked.

Stepping to the next, the boards groaned under her and she decided that really that’s what she’d heard. Or maybe it had been the wind through a gap or even Greyson muttering, she laughed at that and tried the next door.

It easily opened on to an empty room.

‘Scarlett?’

She jumped slightly at his voice, ‘Yes?’

‘You okay?’

‘Yes.’

Closing the door, she waited till he had joined her and for a few minutes they searched through the keys and tried them in the locks. The keys jingled nosily, breaking the deathly silence that seemed to have taking up residence in the attic. Metal scrapping metal echoed then faded and the rattling of handles became too loud.

‘I give up,’ Greyson moaned, ‘I can’t see properly and there are too many unlabelled keys.’

‘Let’s try these then,’ Scarlett said, pointing out the other doors that they had not opened.

The last few revealed more school supplies, including some old science lab equipment, books, bookcases, tables, desks, chairs, photos and documents.

‘I want to take these. Maybe there’s something interesting them,’ Scarlett said about the last two items.

Greyson glanced at her from looking at an old photo. It showed a group of boys posing on the front steps of the manor. He shuffled through a few more that all looked the same then gathered them together with some others.

‘We can leave them at the top of the stairs and collect them on the way back.’

‘Fine. What about the rest of this stuff though?’ Greyson asked.

He looked around at the stacked chairs and a shelf containing animal organs. Feeling a tightening in his stomach, he turned his torch away from the dark liquid jars and back to his wife.

‘I’m not sure yet. Maybe get a dealer in? Here can you take these?’

Nodding, Greyson helped her collect the photos and papers. They stacked them at the top of the stairs then checked the last room on that corridor. Like the first they had looked in, it contained blackboards and desks. Scarlett walked in and looking closely at one of the boards, saw faintly the five and ten times tables written in a loopy hand.

‘Anything?’

She shook her head and they left.

‘Which way now?’ Greyson asked.

‘To the left,’ Scarlett said and went to the first door.

‘I can’t believe children lived up here,’ Greyson spoke out.

Scarlett, her hand still on the handle turned to him, ‘I guess no one really cared back then and don’t forget the other floors probably looked the same as this one.’

‘Maybe it wasn’t so bad then…’ Greyson mused.

Scarlett opened the door and looked in. Out of the gloom rose sharp teeth and flashing eyes. She cried and jumped back, crushing Greyson, who quickly caught her. Shoving her behind him, he looked into the room then laughed.

‘What is it?’ Scarlett screeched.

‘A stuffed bobcat or something like that,’ Greyson chuckled.

Scarlett peered past him, fighting for breath and to calm her racing heart. She saw the small spotted cat enclosed in a glass case. Greyson walked in and his torch lit up more animals. Scarlett saw birds of prey, a sausage dog, rats, a domestic cat and an array of butterflies.

‘These must have belonged to the school,’ Greyson muttered.

‘Or the original owners of the manor house,’ Scarlett suggested, ‘I don’t like them.’

She shivered and turned away. Brushing her hair back and holding her torch in both hands, she waited for him to re-join her. Resting against the wall, Scarlett looked into the dusty corners and tried to turn her thoughts away from the encroaching darkness.

Greyson appeared in the doorway, ‘maybe we should call it quits?’

‘No. I want to see what’s in these other rooms. I’m okay. Just wasn’t expecting that,’ Scarlett stated, ‘you open the next one.’

Greyson paused, ‘as long as you’re sure?’

‘Very.’

He walked out and opened the next room. The door squeak then came to a sudden stop. Scarlett felt her breath catch in her throat and she tried to tell him to be careful, but the words wouldn’t come out. Instead, she watched Greyson trying to lean around the door and shine his torch into the room. He gave the door a shove, but it still would not move.

‘Something must have fallen and got wedge,’ he said.

He closed the door and moved onto the next one. As he reached it, Scarlett heard a small sound. She turned, lifting her torch up. The sound came again. It was a door moving. She fixed her eyes down the corridor and listened as the door continued to creak open. A flicking of movement caught her eye and a shadow seemed to detach itself from the wall. The door clicked shut.

Wetting her lips, she glanced at Greyson over her shoulder, but he had disappeared. Swallowing and keeping one hand on the wall, she walked backwards slowly. A floor board squealed. Scarlett gasped and spun around to look down. The beam of the torch shook, but she couldn’t see anything other than the dusty floor. Looking up again, she quickly walked into the room Greyson was in. He was looking at more piled desks and chairs.

‘Did you hear that?’ she asked him, breathlessly.

‘No,’ he replied and turned to her, ‘what was it?’

‘A door moving…’

‘Like the one I just opened?’ Greyson suggested.

‘No, it was one of the others…’ Scarlett stopped, her own words sounding silly.

‘It was nothing. There’s a drift from below. You can feel it.’

Scarlett pressed her lips together and walked out of the room.

‘Scarlett? Let’s go back now. Somethings…not right up here,’ Greyson called after her.

‘There’s a room I want to check first,’ she shouted back.

Sighing, Greyson hurried to join her at the top of the steps.

‘It must be this way,’ Scarlett muttered to herself and started walking down the right hand corridor. In her head, she count the rooms till she reached what she thought was about the middle. Her hand reached for the handle. She felt Greyson come to her side then she pushed open the door.

Shining their torches in, the light revealed two rows of small metal framed beds on either side.

‘Wow. Did they just leave these here?’ Greyson uttered.

Ignoring him, Scarlett walked into the room and straight to the window. She lifted the heavy curtain and looked out. She could see the darkening gardens far below her, but the angle was wrong. Letting the curtain drop, she left the room and tried the next one.

‘What are you looking for?’ Greyson asked.

‘Before…’ Scarlett started then shook her head.

She opened the next room and walked in. Like the other next door, beds lined the wall. She went to the window and lifted the curtain again. The angle still seemed to be off. Dropping the curtain, she spun and headed out.

‘Before what?’ Greyson picked up.

‘In the garden, I saw something up here…’

‘Scarlett!’

Greyson grabbed her shoulders and brought her close to him, ‘tell me!’

‘A curtain moved,’ she replied nervously, ‘and I wanted to really make sure it wasn’t my mind playing tricks on me…’

‘Oh, kitten,’ Greyson breathed and hugged her tightly.

‘I don’t believe in ghosts,’ Scarlett mumbled into his shoulder.

She felt tears pricking her eyes and took a few deep breaths of his familiar scent.

‘Let’s go,’ Greyson murmured.

‘Okay, but let me just check this room.’

Before he could stop her, Scarlett had left his arms and was opening the door. She stepped in and he followed her. She went to the window, lifted the curtain and looked out. She could see the bench she had been sat on fully now. Breathing deeply, she let the curtain go and looked at the floor.

In the torch beam, she saw the bare footprint of a child.

 

To Be Continued…