”I don’t know about this.”
”Come on, Maddy, I thought you were into all this creepy shit.”
Maddy looked over at Julian and glared at him. He smiled back sweetly. Taking her hand, he pulled her onward again towards their destination.
Everyone in the area knew the tales of Rokland Manor. It was a rickety old mansion, three stories tall, that had been slated for demolition almost as long as it had been abandoned. Sitting alone at the end of the weed-choked driveway, the house was a reclusive structure that seemed intent to hide itself forever within the thick trees and shrubs that slowly grew closer and closer to the crumbling walls. Paint had long since flecked away from the rotting windowsills, and what windows were not boarded up had been smashed out by successive generations of vandals and hoodlums. The massive front doors had been smashed open by curious teens and never properly resealed. It was a house that had once been the glory of the entire area, but had retreated against the ravages of time and disuse until it could only whisper of its former majesty. And, so the stories went, it was haunted.
There were a number of stories of people who had ventured inside the old mansion, but always during the day. Not even the brazenness of youth could force anyone to stay inside after nightfall. Maddy had lived in the area for almost two years, and had heard all the tales. They all led to the simple statement that the house was haunted. Some said there was a murder, others cultish rituals. Some said that the house had taken on a life of it’s own. Maddy had seen the old place from a distance a number of times, but had never been this close. She had talked Julian into it, but it was Julian that forced her to go.
Maddy felt a chill shiver its way through her body as she approached. The dying light of the setting sun passed through a crack in the thick foliage and drenched the western walls in blood. In that brief second before the trees renewed the chink in their armor, Maddy had the sudden impression that the mansion was sneering at her. A part of her wanted more even as she pulled Julian to a stop.
”Are you sure about this?” she asked quietly. “We could come back in the morning.”
Julian raised his eyebrows and looked over his girlfriend in the dying light. She looked like she belonged in a place like this, he thought. It was not a cruel statement. From the first day he spotted her, the new girl in town, he was mesmerized. She was like nothing he had ever seen. She always dressed in black, her clothing ranging from heavily draped to nearly naked, from soft silks and velvets, to rubbers and leathers. That night she had decided on a long skirt over thigh-high heeled boots, with a silk blouse and soft, velvet corset. Her skin was the milky alabaster color that could only be obtained hiding a lifetime from the sun. Her long hair was spun silk in his hands, black as raven’s feathers, as dark as her eyes. She was wrapped up in darkness and gloom, but she was alive with the knowledge of who she was. And she was gorgeous.
It had not been love at first sight for Maddy when she first noticed the man staring at her, but it was lust. Her “type” was always hard to define, but looking at him, she decided that he could be. He was tall, much taller than herself which suited her fine, with a lithe, strong build. His chestnut hair was short and styled, bordering on daring but still within the realm of professional. He always dressed well, not preppy, or extravagant, just well. Julian was obviously attracted to her, something she certainly never held against him. But it was the way he paid attention to her, listened to her conversation, and fed off her mind that won him the right to get as close as they had become.
”Afraid of the dark, little girl?” Julian teased. She was always the more daring one. It surprised Julian that it took Maddy so long to ask him about the house, and so much longer to work up the courage to actually want to go inside. He always felt the need to test her limits, and to push his own in order to keep her interest in that way couples do.
”N-no,” she said quickly. “Just don’t want to go fumbling around an old house in the dark.”
”No worries.” Julian smiled and produced a couple of candles. “Come on, the house awaits.”
Maddy shrugged and allowed herself to be pulled along once again. They picked their way through the weeds along the stone and gravel driveway and to the first step of the crumbling stairs. The thirteen steps must have once been a sweeping invitation up to the large landing and the massive double doors. Looking up defiantly into the stone face of the house, Maddy and Julian stepped onto the stairs and hurried to the top.
The brass doorknockers and handles had long ago been torn free. Various planks in different stages of wear and decay were scattered about or hung limply from the doors in the caretakers’ futile attempts to keep trespassers out. Looking at the strewn planks, Maddy suddenly wondered if perhaps it was the caretakers themselves that had started the haunted rumors.
”Ready?” Julian drawled. His attempt at suspense made Maddy giggle.
”Come on,” she said, suddenly very interested. “You’ve been going on about this for a week now. Let’s see what all the hype is about.”
Julian stood in front of the double doors. With a glance over his shoulder that revealed a wicked smirk, he pulled at the doors. They swept open on rusty hinges, creaking ominously in the silent, dimming light of the warm evening. A sudden, distant crash caused both of them to look to the north. Inky, black clouds were quickly rolling in. Maddy glared at Julian playfully.
”I had nothing to do with that,” he assured her with a smile and gestured forward. “After milady.” Maddy raised her eyebrows and stepped inside.
Maddy stepped into a dream. The entrance to the house was a sweeping foyer that could have held her entire apartment twice over. Once, the area had been decorated in lavish tapestries, rich artwork and sculptures. The cherrywood, winding staircase that climbed up to the second story was once lovingly polished and the showcase for the foyer. What little light penetrated through the cracks in the boarded-up windows cast an eerie iridescence over the dismal room. The majesty had been stripped away one piece at a time. Only a thick layer of dust and mingling cobwebs garnished the foyer. Maddy could see footprints in the dirty floor, some partial covered with years of dust, some much more recent.
Julian pulled the doors closed behind him as a crash of thunder boomed around them. Maddy started and grinned sheepishly at Julian. The last of the daylight faded into black as the storm swept over them. Julian fumbled with his lighter, but soon had both candles burning. He handed one off and started to look around.
”This place is incredible,” Maddy whispered as her hand hovered over the dusty walls and built-in cabinets. Julian only smiled at her.
The wind began as a soft moan, but quickly strengthened into a roaring monster that shrieked through the cracks in the windows and walls. It swept through the area as the couple explored, playfully dancing with their candles’ wicks. Outside they could hear the rain begin.
”Guess we’re stuck here for a while,” Julian said with a shrug. “At least until the rain stops. Come on, let’s look around.”
Maddy hugged her free hand close around her chest and strolled after the bouncing candle as Julian led the way down a hall. Every detail seemed to come alive as she held the candle close to the molding of the doorways and the ancient vents over the radiators. She stopped in a doorway and looked inside what was probably a large den. A fireplace large enough for her to stand inside dominated one wall in the bare room. A brilliant flash flooded the area. The cracks in the window boards cast a shadow that for the briefest of moments resembled a crippled old man.
Maddy shrieked and staggered back a step. Catching herself, she giggled and turned to follow Julian. His light was gone.
”Julian,” she whispered, her voice sounding suddenly very empty with the wind and pounding rain screaming outside. “Julian?” she yelled out. There was no reply.
She cursed his name under her breath and moved through the house, searching from empty room to empty room. All around her the storm cast strange and nervous shadows as the lightning continued to dance in the night sky outside. She cupped the fragile flame of her candle as the wind threatened to extinguish it, and moved on. Her heart fluttered as her eyes desperately tried to pierce into the dark corners all about her. A cobweb brushed her face causing her to shriek and jump back. She panted, trying to catch her breath and glared at the webbing. Giggling to herself, she swiped at the errant strand and stepped through the archway.
Another crash boomed in Maddy’s ears, causing her to freeze. This crash was not thunder. It came from upstairs. Creeping delicately forward, she began to shiver as anxious sweat formed on her skin only to be chilled in the cool air. Stepping into a corridor, she found a set of narrow stairs spiraling upwards. Maddy took a deep breath, and with a quick look over her shoulder, started her ascent.
The second floor was no less majestic and in no better repair than the main floor. Intervals of lightning flashed and flickered through broken windows and boards, casting their magical dance across the walls. Maddy crept down the wide hall, not even bothering to check the rooms she passed.
”Julian?” she whispered hoarsely. “Julian, where are you? Bastard.” She muttered the last under her breath and shook her head. “You’re going to get it when I find you.”
The floorboards creaked behind her, and Maddy whirled about. She staggered in her high-heeled boots and grabbed the wall for support. Her eyes swept over the empty hall as her pounding heart pumped blood into her ears and obscured her vision.
”Julian? This isn’t funny anymore.” Her voice found strength and daring in anger. “Where the fuck are you?” She took another deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She had been in cemeteries far creepier than this old shack many times, Maddy told herself. Get a grip, girl.
She continued on her original path, picking her way carefully in the near blackness. The hall came to an intersection and she looked down all four directions. They seemed to be exactly the same. Maddy was about to take the one to her left when she felt something touch her back. She opened her mouth, but her voice was sucked from her throat as an extreme chill passed through her body, paralyzing all her muscles. It seemed to flow beneath her skin, touching and tickling with a burning cold. In a heartbeat, it was gone.
Maddy stared wide-eyed for several moments before she realized she was free to move again. Her brain screamed in silent terror as she sprinted straight ahead. She rushed passed several doorways before something caught her sight. It was light, constant, warm light. She stopped and leaned against the wall, panting for breath. Julian, she thought.
