The Haunted

WIP start of new story.

         It stood on the edge of town, old and condemned. Faded green paint covered the ancient rotting walls while the overgrown grass, scattered with weeds, grew haphazardly. The white fence that had once surrounded the yard was now decaying and the gate hung off its rusted hinges. The house groaned and creaked even on a perfectly still day and was rumored by the young kids in town to be haunted.
         Standing in front of the house, knapsack on her back, Cara gulped in fear. How in heaven's name had she gotten herself into this?



         "So are you going to come with me or what?" Chase asked Cara, giving her his famous 'lost puppy dog' look.
         She laughed shaking her head. It was amazing the lengths he'd go to get her to agree to something. Not that she normally refused it was just him.
         "Of course I'll go, silly," she said as she swatted him playfully, "you know I can resist a scary movie!"
         Chase's hazel eyes lit up; he'd hoped she would agree to go. Why she wouldn't, he couldn't begin to say; after all they had been best friends for 2 years now, ever since he moved here. However, lately whenever she came around his stomach would have butterflies in it. Especially after the Incident. He still couldn't believe he'd...

         Chase and Cara lay on Chase's bed, watching Resident Evil. Cara was saying all the characters lines as she lay on her stomach with her feet in the air.
         "Stop that!" he demanded, giving her a light push and an annoyed glance.
         Cara just grinned and raised her voice some, deliberating egging him on.
         Chase, determined to ignore her, tried to focus on the movie. He succeeded until she raised her voice a third time, causing him let out an exasperated growl. Swiftly, he turned and launched himself at her. Soon they were wrestling, each struggling to win.
         Chase was a little stronger than Cara and as he flipped her over onto her back, he straddled her, holding her arms down at her sides. She gave him an angry glance; she hated to lose, and bucked upward with her hips trying to get free. Chase stiffened suddenly as her hips collided with his and a bolt of electricity shot through him.
         He drew in a sharp breath and looked down into laughing emerald eyes. Her brown hair laid spread out on the bed around her flushed face and suddenly all he could think of was how beautiful she looked.
         Cara had noticed that Chase had frozen then frowned.
         "Chase, get off me you big oaf!"
         Afterwards, he'd never know what had possessed him or why he suddenly found her so irresistible, however Chase leaned down and placed his mouth over hers. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and felt excitement ignite his senses when Cara opened her mouth and met his tongue with hers. Chase's grip on her arms loosened then disappeared completely as he found better uses for them. His left hand slid to the nape of her neck as he started to rub his thumb over the sensitive skin beneath her ear. Waves of desire coursing through him caused him to deepen the kiss.
         Cara's hands had gone to the side of Chase's neck while giddiness spread through her. The minute she'd felt his lips on hers a thousand thoughts had run through her brain. One was that Chase had never even expressed the slightest interest in her romantically and now he was kissing her as if she was the breath of life. However, that thought flew out the window the minute his hands had started moving.
         Chase's heart beat painfully in his chest as he slid his right hand down Cara's side. Never hesitating, he slid underneath her green shirt, feeling her skin quiver under his touch. He smiled against her mouth then allowed his hand to roam upward as he shifted so he was totally on top of Cara.
         Cara felt his hand brush up her side and drew in a sharp breath as he cupped her chest in his hand, allowing his thumb to slide over it. She shivered under his touch and let out a soft whimper.
         Chase came plummeting back to reality when he heard her. He pulled away and stared with a shocked and horrified expression. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. His body was still tingling from their contact and he ached for more. Instead, he forced himself down next to her.
         Turning to her, he whispered, "God, Cara...I...I'm so sorry..."



         A tray slammed down next to him, pulling him out of his reverie. He glanced up suddenly and saw that Cara had been startled as well. Then he turned to look at the newcomer.
         A tall slim blonde stood, hands on her hips, her sky blue eyes snapping with fury. Fury at Cara.
         "Cara! You are so dead!" Brittney sputtered angrily.
         "What did I do?"
         "You know damn well what you did!"
         Actually, Cara really had no clue as to what this was all about. All she knew was that Brittney was pissed.
         "No, I don't. Care to enlighten me?" Cara asked, sarcastically.
         A growl emitted from the blonde's throat.
         "You stole it! Now everything's ruined! I'm gonna have to do major damage control in order to salvage anything!"
         Now Cara was really confused and annoyed.
         "Again, I ask, what is this about?"
         "Does Lost in Terror mean anything to you?"
         "Yeah, so what about it?" Cara inquired, still unsure of where this was headed. Lost in Terror was a haunted house that Cara's service class was doing for their community service project. Even though Brittney was in it, Cara still didn't see what she'd done to make her so upset.
         "WHAT ABOUT IT? It's being held the night of the 30th, running from 5 pm to midnight!" Brittney erupted as Cara nodded. She knew all this, she still didn't see...
         "Brittney," Chase interrupted, "what's the connection between Lost in Terror, Oct. 30th and your anger?"
         "That's the night of my Halloween party. Up until, of course, your brilliant friend, girlfriend, slut decided that would be the best night to hold Lost in Terror! She knows I can't miss it because then I'll never pass!" Brittney by now had attracted the whole cafeteria's attention. Chase felt his anger flare at Brittney's description of Cara.
         "Now look here..." Chase started but he never got any further than that.
         "So change the date of your party, it's not brain surgery, I'm sure you can do it," Cara told her.
         "NO. You change the night of Lost in Terror or heads are gonna roll and yours will be the first!"
         Cara glared at Brittney, "I refuse to change the date for Lost in Terror. Several of the safe houses and homes for troubled teens and adults have already scheduled time into their night to come. It'd be far more difficult to get them to change than getting on the school's microphone and announcing the date change!"
         "Is that all you think that this effects? The party is catered, the entertainment is booked, and the 'rents will be out of town! Changing a bunch dysfunctional people's schedules won't hurt them. They're used to it.
         Cara stared in shock at Brittney, was she really that shallow? How could she not see that outings for kids living in safe houses was rare, making it all the more special.
         Standing abruptly, Cara stalked over to her. She stopped dead a few feet from Brittney and said, "I will not disappoint those children and their guardians just because you want to spend the night drinking and having sex! So get over it!"
         "Why are you so obsessed about that haunted house anyway? It's stupid and it's not like its real," Brittney put in.
         "There's no such thing as a haunted house," Cara told her rolling her eyes.
         Brittney sneered, "What about that old house on Rickety Ave?"
         Cara felt a surge of nervousness flow through her. Hiding it, she just looked at Brittney.
         "I do not believe in that children's tale!"
         "What house?" Chase asked, intrigued. Cara had never mentioned anything like this before which was strange because of her love of being scared.
         Brittney jumped on Chase's question. "It's this old boarding house on Rickety Ave. It was condemned years ago; because it was falling apart. Or so they said. No one really believes that was the reason."
         "What was the reason then?" Chase asked.
         Brittney lowered her voice and sat down. "'Cause of all the ghostly activity. Guests complained they couldn't sleep at night, complained of phantom hands brushing against them, and of shadows that moved and disappeared. There was an accident a few weeks before it closed. A young man had crashed through the floorboards and broken his neck on the hard cold cement floor of the basement. The guests staying there said they saw a mist floating over where the hole was and this inhuman laughter was coming from it. Then all of sudden it disappeared. A few weeks later, the boarding house was condemned."
         Chase looked to Cara, who nodded slowly, confirming that Brittney wasn't embellishing.
         "Look, I still don't believe in real haunted houses," Cara said firmly, "Just because a bunch of guests say they saw a black mist floating there doesn't mean there was one. It could have been a number of things, including dust from when the young man had gone through the floor."
         "She does have a point," Chase pointed out to Brittney, who scoffed.
         "She's just scared."
         Cara was losing her patience. "I AM NOT SCARED!" she hissed angrily.
         Brittney glared at her for a second then her eyes lit up as she challenged, "Prove it."
         "What? No, I don't have to prove anything to you!" Cara exclaimed, her stomach going tight. She didn't like the look in Brittney's eyes.
         "No, you don't. But if you do, I'll change the date of my party willingly and make all my guests (at least 50 people) got to Lost in Terror!"
         Cara chewed her bottom lip. 50 people would bring in a lot of extra money for their cause. Still.
         "What are the terms?" She asked suspiciously.
         Brittney grinned. "You have to spend an entire night in that house. You aren't allowed to leave or you forfeit. If you can make it through the night I'll change the date, but if you don't...you have to change the date of Lost in Terror."
         Cara thought for a few moments. She could make it through the night she knew. She was just worried about what Brittney would do in order to win.
         "Alright, I'll spend the night in your so called haunted house. But no funny business! If and this is a big if it's haunted, I wanted it to be the ghosts that chase me out, not you and your friends pretending to be ghosts!"
         "Fine," Brittney said sweetly. "Now about the date..."


         The old floorboards creaked as Cara tested each step on the wooden porch, afraid she'd fall through and break something. Then she'd be stuck till morning, at least. Maybe even longer.
         A loud clap of thunder caused her to jump and glance up as a white bolt of lightning illuminated the sky. Swearing under her breath, she continued her tedious walk forward, muttering to herself.
         'It wouldn't be like this if Chase had come,' she thought bitterly. He'd been acting so weird lately. Especially after...
         Cara's thoughts were interrupted as the clouds let loose torrential downpour, soaking her thin clothes. Forgetting about being careful, she dashed over the remaining distance, flung the door open and threw herself inside.
         The door slammed shut behind her, causing her nerves to start to hum again. 'Relax, it's just the wind.' Cara rolled her eyes at her foolishness and shivered. Glancing around, Cara saw parts of furniture littered about the rooms to the left and right of her. The staircase was missing several steps and the ones that were there looked as though they were hanging by a thread.
         "That settles it," she said out loud, "I'm sticking to this floor."
         "Why?" whispered a soft male voice next to her ear.
         Cara froze, her heart pounding in her chest. Slowly, she turned around. And sighed in relief as Chase's face came into view. Letting out a huge sigh, she felt anger spread through her. How dare he sneak up on her like that! Without even thinking about it she hit him angrily on the shoulder.
         "Ow," Chase cried, rubbing the area she'd hit, "what was that for?"
         "For sneaking up on me and scaring me half to death. You could have at least announced your presence before doing that! I almost had a heart attack!" She raged at him.
         Chase chuckled slightly. "Well, you didn't. I'm sorry if I scared you, but you didn't look to eager to come here alone when you agreed to this in the first place. I thought you might like some company."
         Cara sighed, her anger dissipating. She nodded and shivered as a cold draft whipped through her thin wet clothes and chilling her to the bone.
         Chase's eyes all of sudden focused on what she was wearing. "God, Cara. You're soaked!" he exclaimed worriedly. She'd freeze if she didn't dry off and warm up.
         "Really? I hadn't noticed," she said as her teeth chattered.
         "Please tell me you brought spare clothes?" Chase begged.
         Sighing regretfully, Cara shook her head. She'd thought about it, but decided there was no need. After all, what could she possibly need an extra pair of clothes for?
         Chase looked alarmed as he pulled his own knapsack off his back and knelt down, digging through it. He pulled out a heavy sweater and dry shirt. Silently, he handed them to her, which she took gratefully. Chase kept his head down as she changed, then glanced up to find she was still shivering violently. He cursed himself for not having the foresight to bring an extra pair of jeans, even though Cara's upper body had been soaked far more than the rest of her.
         "Chhasseee. I'mmm sstiill coooollddd," she said through the clashing of her teeth. Chase glanced around. He spotted a little alcove underneath the stairs that they could take some shelter in from the wind whipping freely through house. Grapping her pack and his, he slung them over his shoulder and pulled her into the alcove. Dropping the packs, he turned her so she was facing him, and immediately began rubbing her arms.
         Cara looked up into his eyes. They reflected his worry for her and she felt safer. However what she needed was heat and his rubbing her shoulders just wasn't doing it.
         "Chase...it's not working," she managed through her shivers.
         Chase felt helpless. What else could he do?
         "Cara, I don't know what to do," he whispered desperately, hoping she'd have a suggestion.
         By now though, she was shivering so violently that she couldn't get herself to answer. She looked at him helplessly. Body heat. She thought. I need body heat. She pushed herself closer to him, hoping he would get the message. At first, he looked confused, but after she'd pressed her head against his chest it all became clear. Pulling her into his arms he slid with her to the floor. He wrapped both arms around her, her body curled up against him. He sat with one leg on either side of her; he could feel her shivering. Pulling her in closer, he brought his face down so he could look into hers.
         Cara was beginning to warm up slightly. The heat coming from Chase's body was intense and feelings were flowing through her that she'd never felt around him before. The fire in Chase's eyes sent heat flooding through her body as her stomach flipped over.