(( Please note: This story features a same-sex couple engaging in cuddling and such. If you don't like that kind of thing, don't read. ))
Ghost Story
Friday, January 30th, 2009, 16:00. Maine, USA, near Somesville.
"It's kind of spooky," Linda commented. Annette had to admit that she was right. In the twilight, the old house loomed at them. One big, circular window looked down at them from above the front door, which stood out from the rest of the house and the twin porches either side of it. It was a big place, with three large bedrooms, and it was theirs for the weekend.
"It's supposed to be haunted," Annette finally replied, "but I didn't think a few ghosts would bother us, and I really needed a break from Paragon after that stupid business with Mechano and Ni deciding to try to kill every Rikti in the War Zone."
"Haunted, huh?" Linda asked, grinning. "Do your swords cut ecto-thingy?"
Annette chuckled. "Ectoplasm? Don't know. I was using steel on them in Salamanca."
"Maybe they'll be cute ghosts." Linda pulled their bags from the back of the UV car they had borrowed and started for the door.
"Yeah," Annette said, following her, "Casper will be waiting for us in the hall." He was not, nor was anyone else, but there was a freshly decorated and very attractive room running the length of the house and ending in a pair of French windows. To their right a staircase rose up to a small landing above them, from which you could look out through the big window, and then rose again to the second floor landing.
Dumping the bags in a corner, Linda looked around. "No Casper, but the Munsters would probably be right at home."
"Too newly decorated," Annette replied, grinning. "The web site said it was all renovated last year. The kitchen is, apparently, 'new, but fully in keeping with the period feel.'"
"Kitchen, uh-huh," Linda said, heading for the staircase, "what's the bedroom like?"
"One track mind," Annette muttered, giggling as she chased Linda up the stairs.
It was, in fact, the lounge that claimed their hearts. As night fell, a storm blew up, crashing through the trees and rattling the windows. The lounge had a big fire on which a stack of split logs were now burning. Annette lay on the couch, cuddled up to Linda, half-asleep in the warmth.
"Maybe we sh'd just sleep here," Linda slurred, obviously just as sleepy as her girlfriend.
"Bed'd be more comfor'ble?" Annette replied, snuggling up more.
"'m comfy here."
"Y're on y'r back." Annette failed totally to move. "Sh'd least take 're clothes'ff."
"Yeah," Linda mumbled, "you take'r clothes..." She began breathing rhythmically. Annette's eyes were shut and opening them was so hard. It was warm and she was in the arms of her love. Soon, her breathing joined Linda's.
Annette opened her eyes with a start. There was sun streaming in through the lounge window, and no Linda beside her. It's okay, Ni's voice said from somewhere in her head, she got up about forty minutes ago. I heard her in the kitchen. But she never gets up before me. First time for everything...
Annette levered herself out of her curled up position on the couch and swung her legs to the ground. She immediately regretted it. One of the big problems with the flexibility training she did was that, if she slept wrong, she woke up with practically rigid joints. It took her a few minutes to massage her knees and hips into a state where she could walk, at which point she hobbled out to the back of the house to find Linda.
The kitchen was, indeed, pretty new, but trying to look old. Lots of oak, aged in a kiln, with added white staining, hiding shiny new appliances. There was no sign of Linda, but the kitchen door was open, and Annette walked out onto the large porch at the rear.
"Hey, sleepyhead," Linda's voice came from the right and Annette turned to see her head sticking out of a hole in the decking of the back porch. Frowning, she wandered closer. "You didn't say this place had a hot tub," Linda added, grinning. "Get your clothes off, it's glorious."
Annette laughed and smiled. It was just what her stiff muscles needed. She struggled out of her blouse and skirt, sloughed off her underwear and dropped out of the cold, January air into the softly bubbling, hot water with a sigh.
"Rough night?" Linda asked. "I slept like a baby. Must be the country air."
"You were on your back, I was curled up all night. I mustn't have moved once." She could feel the heat relaxing her already, and closing her eyes, she settled against the side of the tub. "I woke up stiff as a board, but this is doing the trick nicely."
"Well, I made some breakfast," she heard Linda say. "There's a tray here with cereal, and milk, and some fruit juice. The kitchen's pretty well stocked. We shouldn't need to go out unless we want to."
Her eyes still shut, Annette nodded. "Part of the package. We have the place to ourselves. No need to go anywhere. Solitude, quiet, peace."
"Sounds great." The water moved around Annette, and when Linda's body slid up beside hers it was no surprise. "You feeling a bit better now, Annie?"
"Much," Annette replied, smiling. "It was nice last night, just cuddling and falling asleep. Could have done without the petrification this morning, but this is a great way to ease that out."
Linda giggled. "I can think of worse ways to wake up. Did you dream?"
It was an odd sort of question, out of the blue, and Annette opened her eyes to look at Linda. She looked serious. "I don't. Or I don't remember them."
"Oh. I had this weird dream. I found you bonking this guy in the bedroom and killed you both."
"Well, dreams are weird," Annette replied. "It's pretty unlikely we're going to meet a guy here, never mind me ending up in bed with him."
"That's not the weird bit," Linda said. "I killed you because he was my husband."
"You sure that cheese we had was okay?" Annette said, giggling. "I mean, Lin, um, pretty sure you're not getting married to anyone today. Especially not a man." Linda still looked a little concerned and Annette turned, wrapping her arms around her blond lover. "It was just a dream, love," she whispered.
Linda hugged her fiercely. "Yeah," she said, "just a dream.
They stayed like that for what seemed like ages, enjoying the hot water and the closeness, until Ni spoke inside Annette's head. We have company. Annette broke the hug and looked out over the back lawn. An old man was wandering about near one of the flower beds, looking at the plants. Linda followed her gaze, and then involuntarily covered her chest with her arms. "I thought we had this place to ourselves?" she said.
"I guess we will be meeting a man." Pushing across to the other edge of the tub, Annette rested her arms on the edge and called out, "hello there!"
The man turned, surprised at the voice. Spotting the female face and shoulders, he wandered over, his expression apologetic. "I'm sorry," he said. "No one told me the place was rented for the weekend. Name's Blake, Marty Blake. I do the garden, but I'm not supposed to come out when there's guests."
I didn't hear a car, Ni said. We aren't omniscient, you know. Still weird, if you ask me. I didn't. "Well, it's not really a problem," Annette said aloud. "I booked on short notice. They probably forgot."
"Well, clearly it's a bit of a problem," Marty replied, grinning a gappy grin. "I mean, here's me faced with a couple of pretty young things naked in a bath." Annette got the feeling Marty had been a lady's man in his younger years. She smiled.
"Well, we won't tell if you don't," she said.
"Maybe, but I'm making your friend uncomfortable, so I'll leave you to it." Nodding a farewell, Marty wandered back to the end of the garden, picked up a toolbox, and wandered away again.
Annette turned in the water and looked at Linda. "You have been photographed wearing skintight rubber," she teased. "Why so coy?"
Linda grinned uncomfortably and lowered her arm. "He, um, he looked like the guy in the dream. Well, a way older version, obviously."
Annette raised an eyebrow. "Weirder and weirder," she said.
Suddenly, Linda launched herself across the tub, wrapping Annette in a hug. "You won't leave me, will you, Annie?" she half-mumbled into Annette's ear.
Hugging back, Annette laughed. "Of course not, love. You're stuck with me. Maybe for eternity. Don't let silly dreams get to you."
Linda chuckled, a little shakily. "Yeah, don't know what came over me."
Mid-afternoon they decided that perhaps it would be a good idea to sleep in a bed that night and checked out all three bedrooms. It was in the third of them that Linda found the photograph. "It's the guy from the dream," she told Annette. The picture showed a couple in wedding garb, obviously happy. She was blond and cute, him darkly handsome.
"Well," Annette said, grinning mischievously, "he is kinda hot." Linda glared at her. "Not my type, though."
Linda looked back at the picture. "What's wrong with him?"
"Well... Ni would have him, but she's not worried about commitment. Neither is he."
"But he's just got married," Linda replied.
"He was probably already cheating on her." Annette asserted. "You can see it in his eyes. Did you come in here yesterday?"
"Um... I might have looked in."
"There you go then. You saw the picture and lover boy got inserted into your nightmare." She frowned. "No way that's our gardener though. His son, maybe?"
Linda shrugged and put the picture down where she had found it. "Not this room," she said. "Gives me the creeps."
"It's a degree or so cooler in here than the rest of the house," Annette said, matter-of-factly. "Which is kind of odd, but it does explain the creepy feeling." Except that it did not quite explain it. There was something off about the room, like something itching at the back of your neck.
They left, shutting the door behind them and Linda visibly relaxed. She's got a point, Ni said, that room's kind of oppressive. Annette decided that Linda needed her mind taking off things, and dragged her out for a walk in the country air. To be truthful, she had things she wanted her own mind to ignore for a while. The situation with the IRS investigating the Rolando finances for starters.
There were still patches of snow on the ground in places, and the air was crisp. Linda threw snowballs at Annette, which was a terrible mistake really, but Annette allowed a few to hit her, for form's sake, and pelted Linda back until she resembled a snow bank. They returned to the house just after nightfall, giggling and chasing each other to the door.
The fire was still burning and they warmed up in front of it, in a fit of cuddles and long kisses, before putting more logs on and heading to the kitchen to make dinner. Annette had never particularly liked cooking, but she prepared vegetables well enough, and enjoyed watching Linda potter about making food. She was not quite up to Ryan's standard, but Annette was definitely not going to complain.
"You've been happier this week," Linda said.
"Ni sorted herself out," Annette replied, munching on a stick of raw carrot.
"That was a bit of a surprise." Linda turned the two steaks she was frying and licked her lips. Annette found herself watching the blonde's tongue slide over her lips. "Ni's always the strong one. Never thought she'd have problems dealing with emotions."
Annette blinked and shook her head to clear it. Nothing wrong with wanting the one you love. Ni's voice was wistful. "She never really faces them, and I forced her to, unintentionally."
"Well, guess if she's learning from it..." Linda's eyes were on the steaks.
"Yeah, I think she's learnt something. Not sure what... Ow!" Serves you right.
"Well," Linda said, ignoring the yelp of pain and lifting the steaks out onto warmed plates, "I love both of you, but there are only two steaks, so you'll have to share." Annette giggled.
Later, food consumed with gusto, dishes stacked in the washer, they sat together on the big rug in front of the fire. Wine glasses stood nearby, almost forgotten as they made out like a couple of teenagers at a drive-in. Annette had lost the thick sweater she had put on for the walk and had a feeling her bra would follow it soon, but she was warm and happy, and her lover's hands were gentle and soft.
Annette opened her eyes and immediately missed Linda's body beside her. Sitting up, she spotted Linda beside the door, apparently listening. The blond turned her head and put her finger to her lips, watching Annette as she continued to listen.
Closing her eyes, Annette willed her hearing to sharpen, listening to the sounds of the old house. She heard floorboards creaking in the attic, water gurgling in old pipes, the sound of the wind whistling through tiny cracks in the roof tiles, and a footstep. She frowned, narrowing her focus onto the footsteps. Looking up at Linda, she held up two fingers. Linda nodded and eased the door open. Annette was at her side quite suddenly, and without a sound. "One in the spooky bedroom, the other downstairs," she said, her voice low. Linda slipped out, keeping low and moved quietly along the hall toward the third bedroom. The door was open a crack and Linda stopped outside it. Annette circled her and stood up on the far side of the door, leaning against the wall.
From within they could hear breathing, heavy breathing. A man. Torchlight flicked over the door and then back into the room. A voice spoke softly, "that should do it." The torch flicked off and the door opened. Linda's foot drove up in a very basic but functional front kick and the man sailed backwards, landing on the bed with a loud thud.
"I think I've got this one, babe," Linda said, "check downstairs." Annette moved past her without a word. Ni had cut in, Linda could sense the change in her girlfriend's manner. She looked back at the man on the bed, dressed all in black and wearing a ski-mask, who was struggling to breath and get off the bed. He looked, she thought, as if he was trying to pull a gun. She closed the distance and dropped an axe kick onto his back. The air rushed out of his lungs again and he collapsed onto the bed, breathing like a fish out of water. "You, just got lucky," she said. "Honestly, if your friend has a gun too he's gonna hurt far worse than you."
Ni vaulted the stair rail at speed, and yet she landed on the first landing silently. Her senses were on full alert and she spotted the second intruder at the end of the hall instantly. The Ni part of her mind plotted attack vectors and was already moving her body to vault the second railing into the hall. The Annette part took the images and took a little longer to study them. This one was a woman, slim, professional looking from the way she moved, and holding a gun. A revolver, so there would be no dropped casings, and less likely to jam. Yes, pros. And the revolver was taking aim... Ni noted the change in objectives and changed the way her body twisted as she went over the rail. The bullet passed under her hip and she turned in the air, coming down running. The gun went off again and Ni twisted mid-stride, turning and bouncing off the wall without slowing down. The bullet grazed her ribs, but she ignored the searing pain, running on. Catching the woman's wrist, she swung under it, twisting, and there was a sickening sound of breaking bones. The woman's scream was cut off as Ni's fist slammed into the side of her face.
"You're bleeding, babe," Linda said, almost matter-of-factly.
"It's a scratch," Ni replied. "Can't even feel it. Do you think we should get dressed before calling the cops, or give them a cheap thrill?"
Linda giggled. "Oh yeah, that'd go down well. Two naked heroes from Paragon City calling in a burglary."
Something in Ni's demeanour changed again and Annette was back. "I don't get the feeling they were burglars," she said. "C'mon, let's get this over with. Remind me never to suggest a quiet weekend in the country again, will you?"
"Sure, next time we'll holiday in the War Zone. Probably safer."
"Well, I'm so sorry you're having to cut your stay short." The agent they had rented the house from was being terribly apologetic about the whole thing and it really was not her fault. "I can't believe something like this happened in our town. They were actually using the house for smuggling?"
Annette nodded. "That's what the police told us. The house was a drop off point. Drugs were put in one of the bedrooms, and picked up by a second group. It reduced the chance that the entire ring would be broken if one lot were caught. Quite clever, really." She signed a bit of paper the agent had put in front of her. "They rigged the room with infra-sound units and lowered the temperature a bit so that the whole room felt disturbing and wouldn't be used. That's where you got your ghost stories from."
"It's... amazing," was all the agent could come up with.
Annette shrugged. "I'm from Paragon City, I've seen weirder." She turned to leave and then stopped, looking back. "Oh, the gardener stopped by. Nice guy, but he said you must've forgotten to tell him there were guests."
The woman blinked. "That's odd, I could have sworn I told them. The company must have lost the message, they're new, I'll look into it."
"New?" Annette said, frowning. If the old gardener had been a spotter for the smugglers she was going to be disappointed.
"Yes, we just took them on. The owner's father, Mr Blake Senior, used to take care of the garden, but he died recently and we changed to using a landscaping company." She shuffled some papers. "I guess we'll have to stop advertising the house as haunted now."
Annette smiled. "Just say the ghost is friendly, and likes the girls," she said, "you'll be fine."
