Along Came A Spider - Chapter 1
Okay guys I know its been a while since I uploaded anything and some of you might be a bit disappointed that I've not put up a new chapter for 'A Fox, a Dog and a Raven' but let me assure you that I'm still doing that story but I've just had inspiration to write serveral stories two of which I'm posting a chapter for right now.
That means I'll have four, yes four, stories that are 'in progress', one of which I have not yet posted a chapter for yet. The other story isn't so much furry as it is a fanfic, a mix of serveral of my favourite anime/games smushed together to make a fun action packed story.
So what I've done is made a journal so that you can all vote on which story you'd like to see the most, which can be found here;
http://www.sofurry.com/page/267620/tab/Journals
This will give me an idea of which story is the most popular and let me focus more on that. I'll still be working on the other stories at the same time but the more votes one story gets the more likely it is to get an update before the rest so if you want to see another chapter of your favourite story then get voting!
Thanks to all of you who enjoy my work. ^^
Along Came A Spider
Chapter 1
The White Slopes Hotel, once a thriving business, now an abandoned building in the small mountain town of Well-Springs, a popular Ski resort for the last fifty years also famous for its natural hot springs. For years the Hotel has sat on the edge of the town unused and empty, left to decay over time, only today its not empty. A feminine scream echoed through the halls of the the hotel.
The hotel was run down, old and dusty and hadn't been used in over thirty years, that is until Rachel and George Dawson decided to renovate it and make it into a workable business.
They were newly weds, their families both well off, the families both being a long line of pure breed foxes and what people would call old money.
Both Rachel and George looked like your typical fox, both having sleek orange fur with white fur running from their chin down their chests and stomachs and running between their legs and up under their tails.
Rachel had white tipped ears and tail and blue eyes, her breasts were C-cups and she stood at 5' 5', and had a thin but healthy build'.
George was taller than Rachel standing at 5' 7", his ears and tails were also white tipped but had a ring of black between the white and orange fur. He was more athletic from all the running he did while in high school.
Both families wanting the best start for their children in their married life and decided to give them both a large sum of money to help them start their life however they choose, enough money to buy a large house in nearly any place they could dream of. They decided however to invest the money in a business, a hotel more to the point, in a remote resort town in the mountains.
The town was unusual in the fact that it had a large number of tourists every year but did not have a single hotel, all the tourists were forced to use the Bed and Breakfasts or the motel on the outskirts of the town. They came across this little town by pure fluke and noticed the large hotel all boarded up and unused and decided to investigate.
Apparently thirty years ago this hotel was very successful, even the rich and famous stayed there from time to time while visiting the local ski slopes.
But one day there had been a mass murder in the hotel. Staff and guests. Men, women and children were all killed, no one was spared from the slaughter. Over forty people had lost their lives that day and what baffled police was that none of the victims died the same way.
Some were shot, some strangled, stabbed, drowned, electrocuted, burned, gassed, poisoned and some appeared to commit suicide, others appeared to have killed each other in a moment of madness.
Did some one actually kill these people or did they just go mad? The answer was never found, the reason behind the slaughter was never discovered and the killer(s) was never identified or caught. The Hotel lost its reputation after that and was forced to close down from lack of business.
Apparently over the years several people had tried to reopen the hotel but all of them suddenly died in a series of accidents in and around the hotel. This caused the locals to fear the hotel and claim the hotel was haunted.
This of course did not put off The Dawsons from buying it, the local real estate had been quick to sell it to them for cheap, the Dawsons couldn't believe their luck, they had been sold the large eighty room hotel for little more than triple the price it would have cost them to buy a plot of land the same size. They could buy it and have plenty of money to renovate it and make it their own business and home.
And so the last two days the Dawsons spent exploring the large building, underneath the dust this Hotel was a place of beauty and they were determined to make it like that once more. They were looking through the top floor rooms, the rooms were lavish despite the effects of neglect and time one could still see that this room was once a place of luxury, the top floor rooms having kitchens, living rooms and even a stair case leading to a second floor.
"Oh sweety, I can't wait to get this place up and running again! We should so keep one of these rooms for ourselves!" Rachel squealed happily.
"If that's what you want cupcake." George smiled to his wife. He turned round to check out the kitchen when a spider lowered itself in front of him and hung in the air inches from his face. He froze, and began to sputter as his mind went awash with fear and let out a high pitch scream one would normally hear coming from a woman.
"GEORGE!" Rachel yelled running to his side and swatted the spider away with her paw. "Are you all right sweety?" She asked giving him a comforting hug as he sat on the ground hugging his knees.
"S-s-s-spider..." he stuttered, his breathing heavy and ragged.
"Shh...I know sweety. It's gone now don't worry. That big bad spider won't be coming anywhere near you again." They sat there for the next minute or so until George had recovered and was well enough to walk by himself. George suffered from acute Arachnophobia. His entire body would tense up if he even saw a picture of a spider or if there was one on TV.
"Lets get out of here please!" George begged, his eyes darting about as his paranoia of another spider sneaking up to him worsened.
"Sure thing sweety. Lets go phone Bill and see when he and the other workers will be arriving."
They had phoned one of Georges long time friend to help them with the clean up and renovation of the Hotel the day they bought it. Bill had told them that he would be down with the first group of workers in the next two or three days. The locked up the Hotel and drove back to the Bed and Breakfast they were staying in. They entered the house which was run by a kind elderly woman and her husband, Ricotta and Galbani, two mice that had moved here from Italy over forty years ago.
"Hello there dears." Ricotta greeted them as they entered. "I was just about to put the kettle on, would you like a cuppa?"
"Oh yes that would be wonderful thank you." Rachel replied taking of her thick winter jacket before blowing on her hands and rubbing them together to warm them. While the sun may have been shining brightly outside, snow and ice still lay thick on the ground, even during the summer there was always patches of snow here and there around town surviving in the shade of the buildings.
"It'll be a couple of minutes, just head into the living room and warm yourselves by the fire and I'll be right in."
"Thank you" Both George and Rachel said in unison before making their way into the room and were welcomed by the blazing fire which warmed them almost instantly. Ricottas husband, Galbani, was sitting in a leather high back chair near the fire place sipping on what looked like a glass of scotch. He heard them enter and smiled when he saw them.
"Welcome back. Please have a seat and enjoy yourself. Ma is just putting the kettle on." Not saying anything back but giving him a warm smile in return the Dawsons took a seat on the couch by the window.
"So I hear you've bought the White Slopes Hotel." Galbani said, more of a statement than a question.
"Yes we did, where did you hear that?" George asked curiously.
"It's a small town, I heard this morning when I went out for the paper." Galbani waved said paper which had been sitting on his lap in the air. "It's good to see that old place being bought, it was waste to leave it like it had."
"So you don't buy into all the stories about it being haunted or cursed then?" George asked amused.
"God no. As much as I like the furs in this town sometimes they are a right bunch of morons. Ghosts and demons. PHFFT! I've found scarier things in my sock drawer than you'd find in that hotel." Rachel couldn't help but giggle at the old mans comment. It was right at that point that Ricotta, or Ma as she preferred to be called, walked in with a tray of tea and biscuits.
"What ridiculous story are you telling now?" Ma asked sternly but with a smile on her face.
"I was just talking about how they've bought the old Hotel down on Hickery Lane."
"Oh yes, Pa was telling me all about that. It was such a beautiful place back in the day. Pa and I would always spend out anniversary there. It was so luxurious...it was like another world." Ma closed her eyes as she told her little story a small blush tinting her cheeks.
"Well if we have our way it'll be just as good as you remember it if not better." Rachel chimed in.
"Oh I do hope so dear. I'd love to spend another anniversary there!"
"I'll tell you what, when we get the place up and running you first stay with us will be on us."
"Oh that's so kind of you." Ma squealed.
"Haha! Yeah thanks son, much appreciated." Pa smiled.
"It'll be our pleasure, you two have been so kind to us the last few days." Rachel added.
"Your more than welcome." Pa replied before turning to Ma. "Come on woman serve the tea all ready!"
"Oh you! If you're that thirsty get off your ass and come get it yourself!" Ma retorted before turning to hand out the tea. Ma and Pa at first seemed to fight all the time but Rachel and George soon realised after the first day that it was all just playful banter, even when it seemed they were at each others throats they always had a big grin on each others faces.
After their tea the four of them chatted for a while longer, mostly about the Hotel and how it used to be back in its prime. After an hour or so talking both George and Rachel headed to their room to relax and to phone Bill to see how long till he arrived.
"Hello, Bill Bailey here."
"Bill you old hound dog! Hows it going?" George chuckled down the phone, he always greeted his friend in that manor, mainly because Bill was in actual fact a Hound dog.
"Oh! George! What can I do ya for?"
"I was just wondering when you'd be arriving in town?"
"Oh right, I just finished my other contract yesterday and have been busy rallying the troops as it were. We should be hitting the road in the next hour or so and arriving tomorrow after lunch sometime."
"Okay sounds great! We'll have to catch up tomorrow night then once you get settled in."
"Sure thing! I'll look forward to it. Right I've gotta go now George, see you tomorrow!" With that Bill hung up and George turned to Rachel who was sitting on the end of their bed.
"He'll be here tomorrow sometime between lunch and dinner time. We should go out some place for dinner."
"Sound great, it'll give me an excuse to make myself all beautiful."
"You're always beautiful." George grinned moving over to his wife and pulling her into a hug.
"You're just saying that."
"Nope, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. You'd make an old potato sack look like fashionable evening wear." He kissed her gently on the lips.
"Haha, oh you!" she giggled kissing him back, their kiss quickly becoming more and more passionate. His hands slipping under the back of her blouse and she in return began to undo his belt and zipper on his pants. With a giggle they both fell onto the bed and began to undo each others clothes, Georges underwear all ready badly tented, his pants around his knees. Rachels blouse was open, revealing her bra. Rachel rolled over and straddled Georges waist and pulled his shirt off over his head and began to lick at his nipples. George bit his lip, barely able to stifle a moan when there was a knock at the door the pair of them jumping suddenly in fright.
"Just letting you know dears that dinner will be ready in an hour." Ma yelled through the closed door.
"Thanks Ma!" George chuckled and rolled his eyes.
"MA! Leave them youngsters alone!" Pa yelled at his wife from the living room.
"Shut it you or I'll shove you in the oven and roast you for dinner!" They heard Ma shout as she walked away, both of them bursting into laughter.
"Oh my god! I felt like a teenager again almost getting caught with you in my room."
"Haha, I remember that! My god I was so scared...I found the whole thing a turn on, lying naked under your bed and your mother in your room accusing you of having snuck a boy into the house."
"You find anything a turn on! Hell, I could cover my self in macaroni cheese and lay on the bed and you'd be turned on!" Rachel joked.
"Oh baby!" George purred seductively before rolling over and pinning his wife under him and attacking her neck in kisses making her shriek and laugh.
"You know we have an hour before dinner, want to continue from where we left off?" George asked with a wink.
"I thought you'd never ask!" Rachel winked back, pulling her husband into a deep passionate kiss.
************(The following day)************
It was another sunny day in the mountain town of Well-Springs, sunny but still freezing cold. Rachel and George stood outside the hotel in their winter coats shivering with the cold blowing on their cold hands their breath visible every time they breathed, having just received a phone call from Bill telling them they were just on the outskirts of the town.
"Where the hell is he? I'm freezing my ass off over here!" George moaned.
"Patience dear. I'm sure he's just...oh! I that's him now!" Rachel said pointing down the road. A pick-up truck was heading towards them followed by a large eighteen wheeler truck and bus. The Pick-up pulled up in front of them while the Truck and bus drove past to find a suitable place to park nearby. Once the pick-up had stopped Bill jumped out and with an excited grin ran up to them and gave George a big hug which he returned.
"Well if it isn't the newly weds!" Bill chuckled releasing the hug he and George shared. "Good to see you man! It's been too long."
"It sure has!" George grinned.
"Why Rachel, you get more and more beautiful every time I see you!" Bill grinned. "Georgy boy here is one lucky fox! What are you doing with a loser like him?"
"Well, he's very good in bed for one thing." Rachel said with a smile before hugging the hound. "How have you been Bill?"
"Oh I've been great! Business is good, all I need now is a beautiful woman like you by my side and I'll be set!"
"Good to hear. You certainly brought enough guys with you." George said watching as fur after fur climbed off the bus.
"You bet I did! I'm gonna make sure you guys get up and running ASAP! Now while my guys get set up why don't you show me around the place?"
"Sure come on in. We'll start with the lobby." Rachel said leading the way.
The three walked through the old boarded up doors and into the dusty lobby, Rachel turning on the lights which consisted of several chandeliers and a couple of dozen wall lights, most of which didn't work but there was enough light to see by.
The lobby was a double level, the ground floor being made of marble and open planned, several old plant pots around the edges of the room with the dead remains of the plants that had once upon a time occupied them. A dark wood reception desk along the far wall and some old fashioned elevators on either side of the room and stairs leading up to the second level by the main door covered in an old faded red carpet.
There was pillars all around the edges of the room supported the second level which run along the walls of the main lobby, several doors on that level lead to the dining room and bar, the elevator doors on that level as well. Bill whistled as he looked at the place.
"You can tell this place was swanky once-upon-a-time. You guys picked up a bargain here!"
"Yeah!" George agreed.
"We want to mainly restore these level to how they were but add in some modern features such as computers and such." Rachel explained.
"I totally agree with you. I'm no interior decorator but this place is great! I've asked a colleague of mine to come up and discuss the décor with you, he said he'd be up in a week or so as he has to finish his current project and is nearing the dead-line."
"Thanks." Rachel smiled.
"No problem, he really knows his stuff. It'll give us some tome to get this place cleaned up before he gets here."
"BILL!" Came a shout from the entrance and in walked a tall well built Tiger in jeans and a white shirt that had Bills company logo on it. "That the guys ready to go, so what's the story?"
"Joseph, let me introduce you to my friends. George, Rachel this is Joseph, he'll be the project manager on this. If you want something done he's the fur to talk to. Joseph this is my best friend George and his beautiful wife Rachel."
"Nice to meet you." Joseph said offering his hand to George in a hand shake.
"Like wise." George replied shaking the large tigers hand. He was at least a foot taller than George and was obviously very well built the way the muscles strained against his shirt. After shaking Georges hand Joseph shook Rachels hand as well before turning back to Bill.
"All right then Joe, we'll want the guys to start by doing a safety analysis on each and every room and on the existing electrics and Etc...so we know where we stand."
"Got it. We'll get on it right away, we should have the full check done by tomorrow lunch time and we can talk about where we stand then." Joseph replied.
"Where are all you guys staying?" Rachel asked curiously. "There must be thirty guys out there."
"Oh I've all ready sort out that little detail. I've pretty much booked up the Motel just outside of town, they were more than happy to give us a good deal to allow our guys to stay there long term since the tourist season just ended." Bill answered.
"I bet they were, no after season slump for them this year it seems."
"Haha, too right!" Bill chuckled. "Right now, why don't the three of us go catch up while Joe and his team get to work. I'll catch up with you tomorrow morning Joe."
"See you then Bill." Joe replied making his way outside to give the men their orders.
"All right then guys, where are we heading to?" Bill asked.
"We found a charming little place on the main street in town." Rachel replied.
"Then what are we waiting for!" Bill grinned putting his arms over their shoulders and walking began walking to their destination.
************(Several Hours Later)************
"....and then he ended up running through campus bare ass naked with a pack of feral dogs chasing him! HAHAHAHA!" Bill was teary eyed as he finished retelling one of his college pranks that he had pulled on George. Rachel was also in tears, George himself couldn't help but laugh as well but was still embarrassed.
"You know I never did get you back for that one!" George reminded his friend. "You'd better be careful or one of these days you'll end up on the receiving end."
"Haha....yeah right! Hahahaha! You never were any good at pranks Georgy boy!"
"Hmmph..." George huffed and took a large drink from his wine glass. They had gone to one of the local restaurants that had been recommended by Ricotta. The Frozen Fish, was a restaurant that prided itself on locally caught fish...not that they were near the sea but they were just five miles from the coast and a small fishing town that they regularly did business with.
They had a wide array of fish dishes on the menu and all three of them were thoroughly enjoying their meals. Rachel and George had some sort of pasta dish with fish while Bill had settled for Paella.
"It's all right sweety, I'll help you get him back." Rachel said trying to comfort her husband while trying to stifle her own laughter. Bills phone rang at that point and apologised before he answered it.
"Joe, what's up?" Bill asked. "WHAT!?! Oh my god! Is he okay? All right I'm on my way down now!"
"What's wrong!?" George asked worried at how panicked his friend was.
"There was an accident at the hotel! One of the workers has been hospitalised."
"Oh my god! We'll come with you." Rachel insisted.
"Yeah! I'll pay the bill and I'll meet you outside." George said getting up and heading to pay.
************(At the Hotel)*************
Bill, George and Rachel pulled up outside the Hotel just as the ambulance crew were putting someone on a stretcher into the back of an ambulance. Joseph saw them and ran up to them.
"What happened?!" Bill demanded.
"Ross was working on the second floor with Tyrone checking out the bedrooms there. Tyrone said that Ross suddenly started freaking out and then bolted and fell down the stairs as he ran."
"Oh my god!" Rachel said shocked.
"Why did he freak out?" Bill asked.
"Not sure, Tyrone said he was fine one minute and he moved to check the next room and heard him scream, by the time he got to the hall he saw Ross sprinting down the hall towards the stairs. I checked the room Ross was in and there was nothing in there that I can see would cause him to freak like that." Joseph explained.
"I guess this Hotels reputation proceeds itself." George muttered.
"Huh? What do you mean George?" Bill asked.
"Oh, the locals keep calling the place cursed and haunted. Apparently a few people tried to renovate it over the years but there was a series of accidents and they never finished." George explained.
"Well I sure as hell don't believe in ghosts!" Bill said sternly. "Send the rest of the guys to the motel for the night Joe and I'll head to the hospital and see what's happening with Ross."
"Sure thing, what about his misses?" Joseph asked.
"I'll phone her later once I know the details, don't worry." Bill told him.
"We'll come with you to the hospital Bill." Rachel insisted. "I feel kind of guilty about it since it happened in our hotel."
"You don't have to you know, you two should probably just head home and I'll call you in the morning."
"I insist." Rachel said with a determined look.
"I'd just let her have her way Bill. Once she sets her mind to something it'll take a small army to stop her." George warned his friend.
"Fine, then lets go." The three of them piled back into Bills truck and followed the ambulance to the hospital
************(Some hours later)************
Rachel and George finally stepped into their bedroom after several hours at the hospital trying to find out if the wolf named Ross would be okay and what exactly happened. It took a lot to be told as the doctors were reluctant to tell Bill anything due to the fact that he wasn't kin. George helped by acting as Rosses cousin, the doctor looked unconvinced but told George what they had wanted to know.
Ross had dislocated his knee and fractured his skull in his fall on the stairs. He had, according to the doctors, unexpectedly regain consciousness and was in a state of perpetual fear. Rachel had been extremely upset by the state the poor wolf had been in, screaming about demons coming to get him. It had taken four people to hold him down long enough for the doctor to drug him unconscious.
It appeared as if Ross had suffered some sort mental breakdown, why no one knew but it at that point it would appear that Ross would be suffering from his physiological issues long after his physical injuries had healed.
Rachel went into the en-suite bathroom to take a quick shower before going to bed. George simply stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed. As tired as he was George just couldn't fall asleep, images of the Wolf ran through his mind, in particular his eyes, such horror they held in them. George had locked eyes with him when Ross had woken up, even if Ross hadn't been screaming George would have heard his mental screams. He had never known someone to be so terrified in all their life and he knew something about fear due to his phobia.
He felt Rachel slide into bed next to him and wrap her arms round him and rest her head on his chest.
"Hun?"
"Yes Sweety?" Rachel replied tired.
"Never mind..."
"What is it Sweety? You can tell me."
"I was just wondering if you know...the hotel might actually be cursed?"
"Don't be silly dear. I know the whole thing with Ross was horrible but it's only a coincidence. There are no such things as demons or ghosts."
"Yeah..," George let out a tired chuckle. "You're probably right."
"Now go to sleep hun, we promised to meet Bill in the morning."
"Okay, Night." George still feeling uneasy but comforted by the presence of his wife and her words managed to drift to sleep.