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The house

By XP Author

Part 1: The Arrival

Slumber. It was so hard to get restful slumber anymore. More and more, people would come. He heard them up there now. Loud. Laughing. Young. Stupid. This century had seen more visitors than any other, and far more frequently than any previous. He could ignore most of the groups that came to investigate his home. Harmless idiots who sought ghosts, or people simply curious of the history. It was the groups of young idiots he despised the most. Loud and disrespectful, they made a mess of the place. As the history was lost, turned to legend and myth, hearsay and folklore, it made these visitors only grow more bold.

It was his own fault. He had grown complacent. He had let the investigators and historians have their run of the place, as they were at least respectful. However, it meant the tales got told in their own way. Bare history, with none of the deeper truth. None truly feared the place. None feared him anymore, for few even knew of his existence. He would have to make a true spectacle of this night. Something that would be remembered for more than a few months.

He rose from him restless sleep. The room was well hidden, deep under the basement, never found by any thus far. No light shone within, for he did not need light to see. It was deathly cold, just as he liked it. He listened to his newest 'guests.' He counted the heartbeats, felt their essence. 6 in total. There was a moment of confusion in him. Two males and three females were distinct, but the last was different. He guessed female, but something was not right. This intrigued him, which itself was intriguing. He had not felt anything worth pondering in a long time.

He smiled as he sat up in his coffin, readying himself for a night on the hunt. It may be a bit on the nose to sleep in one, but he found it comfortable. Though he was no vampire. He was something far, far worse.

And he was going to make sure everyone knew it.

* * *

The door creaked as it closed, though not as much as the group of 22 year olds thought it would. It also did not bang quite as much as expected, despite being a heavy thing of solid wood. The ringleader of the group, a grey-blue cat named Nate, spun on his heels to turn to everyone, a big grin on his face. "Okay! Everyone ready for a fun night?"

Abigail shrugged. "I guess? But, like, what exactly are we gonna be doing that we couldn't do in a hotel?" The mouse really wasn't into the whole creepy thing like most of the rest. She was mostly just here for alone time with her boyfriend, Billy. With the dog's university classes and her overprotective parents, the two did not get nearly as much time to fuck as either of them would like. "I mean, this place is dark. Where's the light switch?"

Heather shook her head. "The house was built in the early 1800's, Abby. There wasn't any electricity." The calico put her hands on her hips, tilting her head. "Gonna have to use candles and lanterns."

The mouse balked at this. "Candles!? What, like old-timey candles, or like, scented ones?" Everyone just looked at her with blank stares. "What? I don't want to smell like an old person."

Judy just shook her head at how dumb her twin sister was at times. Not for the first time, she thanked whatever God there was that they were not identical twins. She would hate to be mistaken as the ditzy one. She then asked "Did anyone even BRING any candles?" She looked immediately at Heather, fully expecting her to be the one to have thought of it.

Sure enough, the cat gave a big grin and shrugged off her backpack. A moment later, she pulled out a bundle of wax candles. "I have a bunch. I also brought a bit of lantern oil, in case any need to be filled or replaced. Can't imagine they've been used much recently."

"Actually, the people in the documentary about this placed said the lantern oil was perfectly fine." Everyone looked at the rabbit that spoke. Kelli continued. "Said it was almost like someone was walking around replacing it" She motioned around. "I mean, there's not even any cobwebs or dust. So who knows." She grinned wide putting on an over the top creepy voice. "Maybe there's ghosts keeping the place clean!"

Abigail shivered, Nate smiled, but most everyone else just gave her a dubious look. Judy frowned at her girlfriend. "Ghost maids? Really?" Kelli just chuckled.

Heather sighed, pulling another bundle of candles out of her pack, setting both down on a nearby table. "It's more likely something nearby just keeps it from degrading. The house is pretty well insulated, so it would keep the damp out. And with no one actually living here, there wouldn't be much to make dust, since it's 90% dead skin and fur."

Abby shivered again. "Oh, that's gross!"

Billy just chuckled. The dalmatian set down a small metal box he had been carrying and flipped the lid open. "Alright. Well, we're all here, I think it's time we get our ground rules set up." He tapped the inside of the box. "First things first, everyone's phones go in here."

Abby scowled again. "What? Really? Why?"

The dog just smirked. "It's part of the challenge. No calling. And make sure the phone is off before you put it in the box. Don't want it going off and making a racket the whole night." He set his own phone in the box, then stared at everyone expectantly until they did the same. Nate and Kelli were quick to add theirs, both creep fanatics ready for the spooky night. Heather put hers in after, followed by Judy. The last was Abby, who was the most reluctant. She finally just put it down with the rest, though looked like she was going to grab it again. Before she could, Billy closed the box quickly. "There." With that, he turned the key on the top, showing it was a lockbox.

His girlfriend sighed heavily. "Oh, come on. A lock? Really? What if there's, like, an emergency or something?"

He gave her a smile, holding up the key. "Don't worry. It's just part of the fun." He set the key beside the box, then put the box on top of it slightly. "If we need the phones, they key is right here. But if you run off and grab your phone, and it's NOT an emergency, you lose the challenge."

Judy tilted her head slightly. "And... what exactly happens if we lose?"

Kelli's fingers suddenly ran up the mouse's back, making her squeak. The bunny's arms then snaked around her in a hug from behind. "Oh, I'll be ridiculing you endlessly if you can't make it a single night."

Abigail scoffed. "Oh, I'll join in on that. Any chance to make fun of David, ri-"

" JUDY!" The voices of Judy, Kelli, and Heather all shouted in unison to interrupt her.

The mouse flinched. "Right... right, sorry." She saw the glare she got from both her sister and Kelli, and the sour looks from nearly everyone else. "What!? I didn't mean anything bad. I knew them as David for most of our lives! I just slips out sometimes..."

Judy took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She felt her girlfriend giving her a tight, reassuring squeeze around her middle and managed a smile. "I know, Abby. But you're my sister. You should know better. You know how much this means to me." Her twin just kind of mumbled another half-assed apology. It was not worth starting an argument over right now. She could yell at her at home tomorrow.

Nate cleared his throat, hoping to break the sudden tension in the air. "Moving on. The challenge is simple. We're to stay one night here in the mansion. It's a full moon tonight, too. Y'know, just for that extra creepy factor." He grinned. "You can explore around however you want, just be careful. The place is old."

Abby giggled. "Well, I know how I want to spend my night." She grabbed Billy's hand and leaned up to give him a kiss on his lips. "You come with me, big boy!" She turned and tugged on his hand. He laughed, reaching out to grab one of the bundles of candles before allowing himself to be tugged along. All the while, he gave everyone a cheeky grin. Most returned a knowing look, except Judy. She was WELL aware how much her twin was raring to fuck the brains out of her boyfriend. The moment the mouse's foot touched on of the stairs, it creaked loud. "Oh... that's not creepy..."

Heather shrugged. "Like Nate said. The place is old. Just... try not to break anything."

The dog held up a hand as he continued, more steps creaking underfoot. "We'll be careful."

The eager mouse scoffed. "Like hell we will. If the bed can't hold up, that's not my fault." She tugged his hand harder and led him further upstairs.

Heather turned to her own boyfriend, seeing the look on his face. She slid closer to him, whispering into his ear. "You wanna go join them?"

The cat blushed. She was one of the few people that knew he was bi, and one of the only that knew of his crush on Billy. "Ah... no. Let them have their fun."

She gave him a playful pout. "Oh... you really should go for it some day." Not only was she aware, she actually was quite alright with the idea of watching her boyfriend getting plowed by another man. She had even joked about joining in.

He shook his head. "He's my best friend. I've known him forever. I wouldn't want to ruin that, y'know?" She just nodded in response.

Kelli, her arms still around Judy's middle, just watched the two cats. "Aww. You two are sweet." The two felines blushed. "Well, I'd like to go have a look around the place. What do you say, Judy? Think maybe we can find a secret passage or something?"

Judy gave the rabbit a dubious look, but with a smile. "This isn't the mansion from Clue, bun." She leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "But yeah, I'm up for a little exploring. We'll grab one of the lanterns. Where first?"

The bunny shook her head. "Hrm... kitchen. The documentary only showed it for a few minutes. Looked huge!" She looked over at Heather then. "You should check out the library. It was also pretty big by what I saw."

That got the the pudgy cat's attention. "Library?" She looked expectantly at Nate and he just nodded. "Yay!" Kelli explained just where it was, and a moment later, the two felines were off down the halls on their own little adventure.

Judy felt her hand get grabbed. "C'mon. Let's get going." Kelli insisted, tugging at her arm. She sighed, taking one look back at the main door before allowing herself to be pulled along. She got the very strange feeling she was being watched.

* * *