{"sf1_id":694686,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Haunted","author":"assilsasta","words":6504,"posted_at":"2014-04-19T05:55:00.000Z","tags":["American moose","Badger","Bail","Eagle","Female","First night","Ghost stories","Gray squirrel","Herm","Hermaphrodite","Horse","House","Husky","Introductions","Jail. arrest","Kangaroo Mouse","Liger","Male","Moose","Mouse","No power","Otter","Squirrel","chinchilla","warthog"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/694686-haunted","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/694686","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=694686\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Dark Riders of Marblecliff02 Hauntedby Assilsasta  \n ??????????? July 27, 2013 ??????????? ???????????\nAn Interesting Welcome ??????????? When Lilliana walked into the station house she\nspotted the small kangaroo mouse right away. Cecily was seated in chair by a\ndesk next to a bobcat in uniform. Her eyes were closed as her head weaved and\nbobbed to the inaudible tone that played directly into her ear from the small ear\nbuds attached to the portable MP3 player she had in her paw. The liger smiled\nas she watched her adopted daughter move to the music, oblivious of the world\naround her. As Lilliana watched the mouse, relieved that she was okay, the\nyoung husky girl at the counter looked up at her and asked, \"May I help you,\nma'am?\" \"Do I look like an....\" Lilliana stopped herself\nmid-old school military response, \"I'm sorry, I'm here to pick up my daughter,\nCecily Fargo. That would be her over that by that desk.\" The liger pointed to\nthe small kangaroo mouse as she started to walk in that direction. The young husky stood up and stepped between the\nliger and the squad room as she said, \"I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't let you go\nback there, and I can't release her into your custody without verifying both\nyour and her identities.\" She reached for Liliana's arm to usher her back to\nthe front desk. The girl screamed as she suddenly felt herself lifted into and\nflying through the air. Almost in time with landing flat on her back, she felt\nthe large feline woman drop onto her with one knee, knocking the remainder of\nthe air out of her lungs. She finally opened her eyes to see the woman pulled\nfrom her by three of her fellow officers. The husky hurried to her feet as she heard one\nofficer shout, \"GUN!\" With the verbal alert the squad room burst into activity\nas more officers ran to the entryway in order to clear out any bystanders and\nassist in subduing the liger. In the frenzy of activity an almost inaudible squeak\nrose just above the din that filled the entryway. The husky moved swiftly\ntoward the small mouse who had been inadvertently knocked out her her chair in\nthe commotion. To her surprise the mouse's shy, skittish manor changed as the\nactivity centered around this liger caught her attention with the earbuds no\nlonger obstructing the sound of the room. She watched slack-jawed as the mouse\nlaunched across the space like a rocket into one of the three officers that had\nthe liger pinned to the ground. The husky girl took a step away from the commotion as\nshe heard the liger let out an almost feral sounding roar at the sight of the\nmouse being pinned down by another officer. She heard one officer shout, \"She\nfuckin' bit me!\" as she watched the liger woman grab ahold of the mouse's paw\nand pull the small frame to her as she curled into a ball around the younger\ngirl.  The commotion\nand noise fell silent as a loud whistle rang through the station house followed\nby the gruff voice of a warthog shouting, \"What the hell is going on out here?\"\nAs he spoke, the officers snapped to their feet and looked toward the squad\nroom. The warthog looked over the scene. Four officers surrounded a liger\ncurled into a ball on the floor, the long tail of the young kangaroo mouse that\nhad graced the squad room with her presence visibly flipping about from within\nthe large feline's protective embrace. Several feet from the the pair on the\nfloor was a discarded Colt .45, clearly kicked away from the encounter. The husky girl looked at him and shyly admitted, \"It\nmay have been my fault, sir,\" as she cupped the back of her head. \"I don't care who's fault it is, just get it cleaned\nup,\" the warthog looked at the door as a grey squirrel walked through the door.\n\"Summers, deal with this shit and get these two on their way.\" He looked to the\nhusky girl and added, \"Freely, have a report on my desk by the end of the\nshift.\" He turned and closed his office door as the activity seemed to return\nto the state it was before the liger had made her uncalculated reflex reaction. Daniel Summers looked down at the liger curled into a\nball on the floor. Then over to the husky and asked, \"What happened?\" \"Sir, I... I'm not really sure. It happened so fast,\"\nshe said sheepishly as she looked over at the liger on the ground. From within the bundle of fur, leather and denim came\na small voice, \"Lilly, I think it's safe now.\" \"It is,\" the liger replied as she rolled out flat on\nthe floor. \"So... how was your day, Squeaker?\" Cecily stretched out on the floor beside her adoptive\nmother, the odd pair stared at the ceiling for a moment before the mouse\nanswered, \"Exciting, and yours?\" \"Interesting to say the least,\" Lilliana said as she\nsat up. She looked up and the slightly confused squirrel that looked down at\nthem and said, \"Officer Summers, what a surprise seeing you here.\" \"Excuse me, ladies,\" Daniel said as he leaned over to\npick up the handgun that had been kicked across the floor, \"I hate to\ninterrupt, but could you explain what's going on here? I walk into the station\nand the newest residents of our city are huddled on the floor.\" \"Wait,\" the husky looked at the squirrel, \"You know\nthese two?\" Without letting Daniel answer the question, Lilliana\nsat up started to explain, \"Wha-ha-happen-was...\" as the words came out of the\nliger's mouth Cecily started to giggle, \"I came in to pick up Sisy here after\nshe got spooked by someone...\" She paused for a moment as she looked over at the\nsmall mouse and added, \"While she was out alone.\" Meekly Cecily responded with, \"I... I'm fifteen. I\nhad the striker with me, but...\" she trailed off as her voice slowly faded with\neach word. \"Shit,\" Lilliana started, \"the fact that you went out\nwasn't the problem...\" Daniel broke in, \"Sorry to interrupt, but I do need\nto get to the situation here.\" Sgt. Goodman walked over and joined the conversation.\n\"I think I can clear a few things up, if you don't mind, Lieutenant.\" Daniel sighed as he relented, \"What do you have to\nadd, Goodman?\" \"Well, Sir, I picked up young Miss Fargo who had\ngotten lost and brought her to the station. I have a report to file on that.\nWhen Miss...\" the bobcat trailed off as he glanced down at the liger. Lilliana stood up from the floor as she said, \"Fargo.\nLilliana Fargo. I came in to get Sisy and Miss Freely did an excellent job of\nstopping me from just walking in and taking her without properly identifying\nmyself. I had a slight... reaction... to her approach. And the situation\nescalated rapidly from there.\"  A strange look\ncrossed the squirrel's face as he asked, \"What kind of reaction?\" \"Well, it kind of looked like a kung-fu movie for a\nmoment, Sir,\" the bobcat said with a little grin, \"It was even all slow-motion\nwhen I think back to it. All I heard was Private Freely scream, and when I\nlooked she was flying through the air and dropped to the floor before she got a\nknee-drop to the chest. At which point the squad room took action to subdue the\nattacker.\" \"Where does the Colt come in to the picture?\" Daniel\nasked as he held up the pistol. \"Oh, that's mine,\" Lilliana said as she reached for\nthe handgun only to have the squirrel pull it out of reach. \"During the...\nmomentary conflict it must have fallen loose.\" \"Okay, and the mouse?\" Daniel asked as he tried to\nfinish piecing the events together. \"How did she end up in the arms of... Miss Fargo\nduring the whole thing with a room full of officers trying to hold down one\nperp?\" \"I... I saw them...\" Cecily fidgeted with her tail as she\ntried to speak, her voice barely loud enough to be heard, \"They were... I don't\nknow I just...\" \"It's okay, Squeaker,\" Lilliana said, \"You actually\nsurprised me with that.\" She looked at the squirrel and said, \"She came to my\nrescue until some jackass thought a three-foot mouse was enough of a threat to\nneed 'subdued', so I did what any mother would do...\" The squirrel dropped into the bench that sat in the\nentry hall by the wall and rubbed his temples as he said, \"What I am hearing is\nGoodman brought in a lost child. The family was contacted, and the mother then\ncame to pick said child up. Upon arrival, the scene turned into a bad karate\nmove when the mother attacked an officer with a body throw. At some point this\ngun magically appeared, and pandemonium ensued. At which time the Chief steps\nout of his office and I step in and shit magically stops.\" Lilliana dropped in the bench next to him tossing her\narms across the back as she said, \"That sounds about right, Danno. Let me see\nif I can sum it up better for a report. Mr. Whiskers over there brought\nSqueaker in after being alerted to her state of being a missing child. I get\nthe call that she was here and come to get her. When I get here, Shags over\nthere does what she's supposed to,\" she looked over at the husky, \"No offense,\nbut what I did was not your fault. She made a move that, I'm sorry to say,\ntriggered a trained response. I didn't hurt you too badly, did I?\" Lilliana\nasked her before she continued, \"A few good men, and Goodman apparently,\nstepped in to get me down. Possibly a good move, until they saw my gun. I have\nan Oregon and DC carry permit for it, but we haven't been in town long enough\nto get local documentation. If I don't say so myself, I think the situation was\nhandled rather well until Squeaker stepped in.\" She looked over at the kangaroo\nmouse and said, \"Next time you see the police holding me down, let them.\" Lt. Summers said as he stood up, \"Pvt. Freely, book\nMiss. Fargo on possession of a firearm in a restricted zone and assault on a\npolice officer. Sgt. Goodman, continue to keep an eye on the young Miss. Fargo.\nI'm going to need statements from everyone on this situation before the Chief\ncome out again to take a bite out of my ass.\" He started to walk toward a\nvacant desk before he stopped and held the Colt out in his paw, \"Oh, and take\nthis to the evidence lockup.\" ??????????? Unexpected Phone call ??????????? Juno ran to grab the phone as it rang from the\ncharging base in the kitchen. \"I got it,\" she yelled into the living room as\nshe held the receiver up to her ear. \"Hello?\" (Hello, Is this Juno? Is your sister around?) The\nvoice on the other end of the line asked. \"May I ask who is calling?\" the young equine girl\nasked as if reading from a well-practiced script. (This is Lilliana, Cecily's mother. We meet on the\ncruise. Could you please let her know I called?) The memory of her new-found friend from the cruise\nbrought a bounce of joy to the young filly as she shouted through the house,\n\"Janine! It's Lilliana... From the cruise.\" \"Hello?\" a second voice came on the line, \"I've got\nit Juno, you can hang up now.\" (Hey there Jenie, It's Lilly. Thought I would let you\nknow made it to Marblecliff and maybe do dinner or something.) The voice of the\nliger rang across the phone as if she was talking to an old friend. \"Wow,\" Janine started, a little surprised, \"you\nreally managed to move a family of six across the country in two weeks?\" (We were all set to move, it was just a matter of\ndriving away from the cabin, and we somehow managed to add one to our ranks\nafter the last time we talked. Anyway, how does pizza sound? I'm sure Sisy\nwould have a blast seeing Juno again.) \"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Juno would love\nit,\" Janine said as she looked over at Scott sitting next to her on the couch.\n\"Did you want to meet somewhere, or come over here?\"  (Well, to tell\nyou the truth, I am in a little bind at the moment and can't get out of this\nspot.) The liger's voice seemed no less chipper than a moment before as she\ncontinued. (They have some rule about posting your own bail here, and they\ndon't accept it from minors, either.) \"Wait, what? Bail?\" the equine stammered as she tried\nto figure out what to say. Her eyes meet Scott's as she spoke, the look of\nsurprise in his gradually fading as they both thought back to the woman's\nspontaneity. \"Never mind. Where are you?\" (Municipal building downtown. No rush, though; the\nbeds are pretty nice for a holding cell.) Stunned for a moment by the liger's\nnonchalant attitude about being in jail, she looked over at Scott uncertain of\nwhat to say next. (When you get here, tell them to let you see me first and\nI'll give you the cash. They just won't take it from me, or Sisy... They are\nrunning me off the phone for the next guy. See you when you get here.) Janine sat the phone back on the cradle as she looked\nat Scott. \"That was Lilliana, the liger from the cruise. She just made it into\ntown... And asked if we can bail her out.\" He smiled back at her, \"I'm sure there is a perfectly\nreasonable explanation behind the whole thing. She seemed a little spontaneous\nback on the cruise. She probably went out and did something without checking\nthe local ordinance and got picked up for it. It's probably something minor and\nsilly.\" He assured her that it was nothing to be worried about. \"Besides, she\nmay have been a little wild but she seemed to have at least a bit of common\nsense.\" ??????????? Caged Liger ??????????? Not wanting to expose Juno to the inside of a jail if\nshe didn't have to, Janine left her in the car with Scott. As they led her back\nto the small row of holding cells, the sound of a harmonica filled the air. The\nbobcat ushered her back past a drunk and a few small-time hoods that were\nwaiting for their own bail to a cell with the liger laid out in the bunk\nblowing out a tune on the harmonica in her paws. At the foot of the bunk,\nbetween Lilliana's paws sat the small kangaroo mouse diligently sketching in a\nsteno pad. \"Miss Fargo, you have a visitor.\" The liger stopped blowing on the small wind\ninstrument as she tilted her head to look at the wall of bars. \"Jenie, I knew I\ncould count on you.\" As Lilliana mentioned the acquaintance's name, Cecily's\nhead jerked up from her sketching. Before the small mouse or equine could say anything\nin response to the liger a voice from a few cells down shouted, \"It's about\ntime someone shut her up.\" Lillian stretched her arm out through the bars as she\nyelled back, \"Why don't you come down here and say that to my face, you little\npissant.\" \"Miss Fargo, please stop antagonizing the other\ndetainees,\" the young bobcat said as he started to unlock the cell. \"Come on, Dicky, it's all in fun. And how many times\nam I going to have to tell you to call me Lilly?\" Lilliana said as she patted\nthe bobcat on the back. Her comment was followed by a few hoots and a \"Hey, let\nme out too, Dicky,\" from down the way. \"Miss Fargo, please call me Sgt. Goodman,\" the bobcat\nsaid as he shook his head.  The small mouse followed Lilliana out of the cell. As\nshe passed the bobcat, she said softly, \"I liked Rich better personally.\" The\nbobcat smiled at her as he closed the cell door. Lilliana tossed her arm over the equine's shoulder as\nshe walked up to her, \"Well, Jenie, now that I have seen the gritty underbelly\nof the city...\" she glanced over at the bobcat as she whispered, \"or at least\nthat of a few of the cops... what's next?\" \"You're going to have to tell me what happened some\ntime, Lilly. I'm sure its an interesting story, knowing you,\" Janine smiled\nslightly as they walked to the counter to pick up Lilliana's effects. \"Sgt. Goodman let me have a copy of the security\nfootage, if you want to see,\" the small mouse held up a DVD as she smiled at\nthe pair of adults. Janine looked down with concern in her eyes as she\nasked, \"Security footage?\" only to look back at the counter when she heard a\nheavy thud. Her eyes went wide as the shoulder holster and Colt lay heavy on\ntop of the rest of the liger's belongings. The officer behind the counter held his paw on the\npile as he said, \"Now, Miss Fargo, please remember to leave this outside the\nnext time you visit the station.\" \"Sure thing, officer,\" the liger said as she swung\nthe shoulder holster into place and pulled the handgun out to do a standard\ncheck of functionality. As the slide pulled back she asked, \"And the extra\nchambered round?\" \"In the bag with the magazine,\" he said as the patted\nthe brown paper sack as he watched her holster the unloaded firearm and clipped\nthe the restraint strap into place. \"Is that...?\" The equine was interrupted before she\ncould finish her question. \"A Colt .45 M1911, Special Government Combat edition.\nNine round capacity, ten with one in the chamber, slide action, closed bolt,\nsemi-automatic handgun, with a left side ejection port. Safety is a thumb\nswitch on the grip. It has a maximum effective range of ninety meters,\" Cecily\nsaid as she noted the slightly surprised look on Janine's face as she rattled\noff the details of the liger's sidearm. \"Lilly insists that I know\nspecifications and operation of every firearm in the house.\" As Lilliana pulled the leather jacket on over the\nfirearm she asked, \"And what did you miss?\" The mouse fidgeted with her tail for a moment before\nshe answered, \"Empty weight is 39.5 ounces.\" Noting the look of concern on her new friend's face,\nLilliana said, \"I'm a firm believer that it is better to be knowledgeable on\nfirearm, and the proper use and safety, rather than ignorant. Ignorance and\nimproper safety is what causes most firearm mishaps in the home.\" \"I guess I can agree with that,\" Janine replied as\nshe started to follow the liger out of the building, the grunge biker style she\nwas dressed in a stark contrast to what she had seen on the cruise. \"Proper\ntraining and safety is very important when it comes to weapons.\"   ??????????? Dinner Guests ???????????  The moose herm\nwaited impatiently, tapping her hoof on the tile floor of the kitchen, the low\nlight from the generator barely bright enough to illuminate the room as she\nfretted over the situation with her girlfriend. The small mouse's absence had\nupset her once it was discovered, and the call from the police station once the\ngirl had been located worried her greatly. A thousand scenarios ran through her\nmind as Hank continued to wire the larger power plant into the house's existing\nwiring. Giving up on trying keeping herself calm as she worried about her\ngirlfriend, she paced the kitchen floor aimlessly. The sound of the front door opening and voices\nsuddenly echoing down the hallway snapped her from her pacing. She turned and\nbolted from the kitchen, running at full speed to the foyer. Dropping to her\nknees as she drew near, she scooped the small mouse up into her arms, hugging\nthe girl tightly to her chest. \"Oh my God, Sisy... are you okay? Are you hurt\nanywhere? Where were you? Why'd you take off like that without telling me? What\nwere you thinking?\" She rattled off questions in rapid succession, not waiting\nfor an answer to a single one of them. \"You scared the shit out of me, girl; I\nwas so worried when we couldn't find you...\" she said, trailing off as she\nhugged the small mouse tighter, her large arms engulfing the small form of her\ngirlfriend. \"Daisy,\" came the small, muffled voice, \"I'm fine.\nNothing happened.\" She pushed away from the moose and looked up at her as she\ncontinued, \"I overreacted and panicked. That's all.\" \"I should have been paying more attention... I\nshouldn't have... but then you... if I was...\" Daisy started rambling before\nCecily put her paw over the moose's mouth. \"You won't always be there, Daisy. No one can always\nbe there,\" the mouse looked the moose in the eyes as she spoke. \"I... I'm sorry I\ndidn't tell you I was going, but I... I need to be able to do some things alone,\ntoo.\" \"I know that, you silly mouse, and I know I have to\nlet you. But damn it... that's not gonna keep me from worrying about you,\ngirlfriend. And with these panic attacks... this phone in the backpack thing\nisn't gonna work anymore. Damn it,\" the moose herm said as she turned to the\nliger walking through the door with a serious expression on her face. \"We got\nlucky this time, but the tracker app and panic button... they're useless if she\ndoesn't have the phone with her and she left it behind so easily when she\npanicked.\" Turning back to look her girlfriend in the eyes she added, \"No more\ntaking off without telling someone, okay? I don't know what I would do if\nanything happened to you, Sisy.\" Lilliana looked down at the moose and mouse couple\nand said, \"That's all great and shit. We'll have to cover the new ground rules\ntomorrow before everyone gets any ideas to go exploring.\" As she talked, an\nequine woman walked through the door behind her followed by a young filly.\nDaisy's eyes went wide as she recognized the smaller girl from the cruise. \"In the\nmean time, Mouse Bait, go out and help Scott bring in the pizzas.\" \"Yes, Lilly,\" the moose herm replied, eyeing the\nfilly as she walked out the door, trying to hide the blush that tinged her\ncheeks a pale pink. Before she reached the bottom of the steps a muscular\nhorse man walked up with an armload of pizza boxes pinned between his hands and\nchin. \"Just get the door before I drop it,\" he said as she moved swiftly for\nthe entrance. The moose herm swiftly moved back up the few steps and held open\nthe door for the man as he walked through and froze. \"Um... which way?\" \"Straight through that door,\" the moose said,\npointing in the direction of the kitchen. As the moose herm gave the simple directions,\nLilliana said, \"Yeah, it's a bit of a fixer-upper,\" while the small group of\nnewcomers stood in slight disbelief in the foyer. The liger yelled into the\nopen, empty house, her voice echoing from every direction. \"Everyone better be\npresentable for company when we get in there.\" Almost instantly the sound of claws\nclicking against the tiles echoed back. \"Okay, I think it should be close to a\nfamily-friendly scene now.\" Janine looked at Scott for a moment before he started\nhis way to the kitchen. \"So, um... how many people are in your family again? Six\nif I remember right.\" Lilliana looked into the air a bit as she led the way\nto the room where they had decided to congregate for the beginning of the\nrenovations. \"Let's see. We have the old man, Boomer, Susan, Hank... Squeaker,\nand now Mouse Bait. If I count myself, that is seven and we seem to be growing\nat an exceptional rate. I am hoping to have a full baseball team by the opening\nof the season.\" \"I kind of thought you were exaggerating when you\nsaid six back on the cruise,\" Janine said as she and Juno followed the liger\ninto the great room.  Lilliana looked over her shoulder with a smile as she\nsaid, \"I don't exaggerate. People tend not to believe the truth, so why add to\nit?\" The room was vacant except for seven canvas camp\nchairs, four of which were occupied by an odd collection of furs. Lilliana\nstarted pointing and introducing the group that was present. \"You've meet Sisy.\nThe tall brown moose that followers her around is Daisy, her souvenir from the\ncruise. The ugly old badger is Detlev, retired Army asshole. Then you have\nHank, the river rat, and Susan, our public affairs liaison and nurse.\" As she\nspoke, a loud thud came from the foyer behind them. \"And that would be Alex,\nhopefully clothed.\" Soon after Alex, walked in from the foyer dressed in\njeans and a t-shirt. She took a deep breath and let it out, reached her wing\nout to Janine and said, \"Alexis Hawkins, pleased to meet you.\" Shaking the eagle's hand, the equine returned the\nintroduction, \"Janine Hutcheson, and this is my sister, Juno...\" Before Janine could get out another word, the eagle\nreleased her hand and dropped to her knees before the filly, \"Oh my gawd che's\nso cute. Whaya cen I ge' one?\" her refined accent all but lost. \"Behave, Alex,\" Lilliana said with a little smile,\n\"You kids can go out back and play after dinner.\"  \"I ain't no kid,\" the eagle said, standing up and\nswiftly looking slightly up at the liger. As the two locked eyes, a voice came from the kitchen\narea, \"Pizza's ready,\" gaining the attention of everyone in the room. \"And that's Scott somethingorother,\" Lilliana belted\nout a moment before grabbing the eagle who started to move away to the kitchen,\n\"Jenie's man, so off limits.\" \"I wadn't gonna do nottin,\" Alex said defensively,\n\"'e said dere was food ova dere.\" Looking Alex in the eyes for a moment, Lilliana said,\n\"Keep it that way. These are our friends and she's the one that put me in for\nthe job out here.\" Releasing Alex from her grip the liger belted out, \"CHOW\nTIME!\" With her words the remainder of the group nearly leapt from their places\nand swarmed the bar that separated the kitchen from the great room; the older\nbadger being the only one moving at a moderate pace. Juno held close to her sister, a little apprehensive\nabout the strange group of adults. Cecily moved a little closer and said,\n\"We'll sit at the bar with Daisy once they are out of the way. I know they are\na little frightening at first, but you'll get to like them, I'm sure.\" The\nsmall mouse smiled at her recently reunited friend. \"And Daisy is really nice.\"\nTaking the filly by the hand, she led her to the far end of the bar before\nclimbing up on one of the stools that stood just shorter than she was. As the adults began to clear out of the kitchen,\nDaisy walked around the bar and grabbed the three girls paper plates and sodas,\nplacing them on the bar as she walked back around to find the young filly\nseated between the mouse and herself.  Cecily looked\nup at her girlfriend and introduced her to the filly. \"This is Juno, we met on\nthe cruise, also. She's into photography. She was with me when I got that\npicture of you talking to Debbie. Juno, this is my girlfriend, Daisy.\" \"Ummm, nice to meet you, Juno,\" the moose herm said,\noffering her paw to the younger girl though not turning in her seat as she\ntried to ignore the stirring in her shorts, the memory of her fantasy involving\nthe filly flashing across her mind suddenly. The young filly smiled at the apparently shy moose as\nshe said, \"It's nice to meet you,\" the way any well-mannered child does when\nintroduced to an older person. She swiftly turned back to look at Cecily and\nenergetically belted out, \"You said you got some good pictures on your trip\nout; I got some good ones the other day, too, but I forgot to bring my camera.\nCan I see the ones you got?\" The small mouse stopped for a moment with a sudden\nsad look on her face. \"I... I lost my backpack with my camera. I... I kind of had a\nlittle panic attack and left it in the park. It's probably long gone by now. I\ngot lost and didn't realize I left it until Officer Goodman got me to the\nstation.\" A look of sudden realization coming to her features,\nDaisy spoke without turning towards the younger girls. \"Ah, crap, I'm sorry,\nSisy. In all the uproar after you and Lilly got back I forgot to tell you: your\nbackpack is here. Alex brought it back and I didn't let it out of my paws until\nI heard you come in the door.\" As her girlfriend spoke, Cecily's eyes lit up as if\nthe world had just brightened up and everything that had happened earlier that\nday just melted away. She spun in the chair and looked into the group of adults\nas she asked, \"Where did you find it, Boomer?\" \"Sum giraffy gial brough' it heya say'n ya lef' it at\nda park,\" Alex said as she dropped into one of the camp chairs to eat. '\"I\nalmos' snappet 'er neck til she tol' me wha' 'appen'.\" \"I'll show you all of the stuff I got after the\nwaterfall,\" Cecily said to Juno with a wide smile on her muzzle, \"after we\nfinish eating.\" \"That'll be neat. I'll have to get mine and show them\nto you some time.\" The young filly and mouse sat talking and eating as the\nmoose watched from the side. The two smaller girls sat rambling on about\nlighting and settings as they tried to verbally describe the pictures they had\ntaken since they had last seen each other. ??????????? Horrid History ??????????? As the group settled in to eat, Janine and Scott sat\non the one couch that was brought in. Cecily, Juno and Daisy sat on the\nbuilt-in bar stools by the breakfast counter that separated the kitchen from\nthe great room, and the others in the camp chairs arranged in a circle as they\nate the pizza that had been bought. Cecily turned to look into the great room as the\nlights flickered. \"Sgt. Goodman told me a story about this place,\" she said as\nthe room gave her their attention, \"and why the other owners wanted to sell it\nso badly.\" The small kangaroo mouse looked around at the questioning looks on\nthe faces of the group. \"The people we bought it from were not the original\nowners, they got it off an estate auction a while back, and they didn't know\nthe history of the place, either.\" Lilliana leaned back in the camp chair, laying her\nhead back to look at the mouse girl from an upside down angle. \"Really, now?\nJust what did happen?\" With the sudden attention of the room with the help\nof the liger, Cecily continued. \"Well, the first owner, the one that built the\nplace, was a little eccentric, or that's what others thought at first. He and\nhis family spent most of their time secluded in the house after it was built.\nThey say that late at night strange sounds came from the house, unnatural\nnoises.\" She paused for a moment to look around the room. Everyone's eyes were\non her. Susan and Alex glanced at each other and exchanged smiles as Daisy sat\nmotionless with a slice of pizza still suspended between her mouth and paw.\n\"One day, the kids stopped going to school. In fact, they stopped leaving the\nhouse entirely. The whole family did, except for the father. He was seen often\nin the middle of the night, leaving the drive in an old pickup truck, only to\nreturn hours later with a load of something in the back.\" Janine looked at the small mouse and said, \"I've\nnever heard that story. It sounds a little made up to me. I think he was just\ntrying to scare you.\" \"Oh, that was just the beginning,\" Cecily said as she\nlooked at the older equine. \"One dark night, in the midst of a snowstorm, the\nman went out in the truck and never came back. It wasn't until Spring that they\nfound him, frozen to death in a grave that he was apparently robbing.\" As she paused again, eyes jumped to the otter as he\nmumbled something that sounded as strange and incomprehensible as listening to\nAlex talk when excited. Susan looked at him and asked, \"What was that, Hank? I\ndidn't catch it.\" In an odd, thick Cajun accent that seemed wildly out\nof place coming from the otter who had earlier been speaking clear English, he\nsaid, \"Dare ain't gonna no guud coom o' dis. Dare sum bad juju in da wurk\n'ere.\" \"Wait, what?\" Susan looked at him as if he just fell\nout of the sky, \"You...um... when?\" He stood quickly as he grabbed the chair he was\nsitting in and proceeded to walk briskly out of the room as he started to\nramble in undecipherable dirty French in the new accent never before heard by\nanyone in the room. The four Unit members looked at one another with quizzical\nexpressions as Lilliana said, \"Don't ask me. I knew he grew up in Louisiana,\nbut I've never seen him get like this. You're the one that was dating him, and\ntaking care of his drunk ass for years.\" She looked over at the chinchilla\nsomewhat accusingly. With the same shocked expression, she looked back and\nreplied, \"Not even at his drunkest that I can remember.\" Then a wicked smile\ncrossed the woman's face as she looked to the eagle, who returned the smile as\nmuch as she could with her beak. Then they both looked to the toward the moose\nwho had not moved from the time the mouse's story started to get strange. Susan\nwatched the herm as she said, \"Well, that's interesting, but what does that have\nto do with the house? Finish your story, Squeaker.\" The lights flickered with the fluctuation in the\ngenerator that powered them as Cecily calmly took a bit of pizza before\ncontinuing. \"Well, after they found the body they came to the house to let his family\nknow what had happened. It was strange that no one had filed a report that he\nwas missing, but informing the family was standard practice. After several\nattempts and no response to the door, the officers on scene entered the house\nwith just cause to check on the welfare of the family.\" Cecily paused again as\nshe looked at Daisy. The moose's ears were flat against her head, eyes as wide\nas dinner plates while the slice of pizza in her mouth finally broke free from\nthe section still in her paw. \"Are you okay, Daisy?\" she asked as her\ngirlfriend slowly began to chew the food in her mouth. \"YEA,\" the moose herm said a little too energetically\nto support her words. \"Sorry, I guess I just got so caught up in the story... and\nthen that outburst from Hank was a bit weird. I didn't think I'd ever hear\nanyone harder to understand than Alex. I mean, I know French, though not as\nwell as my brothers do, but that accent... I couldn't make out a damn thing he\nsaid.\" \"I know,\" Lilliana said with a smile, \"We'll have to\nfigure out how to fuck with him about that.\" \"Anyway,\" Cecily interrupted, \"when they finally got\ninto the house, what they found was frightening.\" As she spoke the final word,\nthe lights flickered out for a moment as if on cue. When they returned, the mouse\nleaned forward towards the group of adults as she went on. \"The walls were\ncovered in hand-written papers with strange symbols on them and the floor was\nlittered with melted candle wax and other odd things. They think he was\npracticing some strange cult stuff. But that was only the start. As they looked\nthrough the house they found the bodies of his family. Each of them in their\nrooms, in their beds. They were all mummified, their skin all dried out and\npreserved. It looked like they had been there for months, maybe years. His wife\nwas even in their wedding bed, and it looked as if he was still using the bed\nlike nothing had changed while he was still alive. But what the real shocker\nwas what they found in this very room.\" The light flickered again as she talked\nand the generator in the distance sputtered. \"On the floor was a pentagram,\npainted in dried blood, surrounded by the bones and bodies of many different\nfurs, presumably stolen from the cemetery where his body was found. What he was\ndoing is still unknown to this day, but they say that on some nights the sounds\nof screams can still be heard coming from this house, and the halls are roamed\nby the souls of his dead family and the bodies he brought from their graves.\"\nWith her final word, a loud groan echoed through the house, seemingly from\neverywhere, followed by sudden darkness as the generator failed. The darkness was cut by a sudden scream as three\nlighters flickered to life in the great room. \"Okay, now that was just awesome\ntiming,\" Lilliana stood up from her chair and looked at the moose who was\nclutching the small filly that sat between her and Cecily. Janine looked at the fear in her sister's eyes as the\nyoung filly returned the grasp on the moose then turned to Scott. \"I think it's\nabout time to get Juno home and try and get her to sleep.\" She walked over to\nJuno and put a paw on her shoulder, \"Come on, Sweety. None of that is real;\nit's just a ghost story. \" \"I know,\" Juno said a little shakily, \"it's just when\nthe lights went out...\" \"It's okay, I think I screamed too,\" Janine replied\nwith a smile. \"I think I might even have broken Scot's paw when I grabbed it.\" \"I'd have Hank show you out, or even fix the\ngenerator,\" Lilliana stated, \"but he had to run off and hide under his bed or\nsomething. Anyway, It was nice to see you guys again. I'll let you out while\nBoomer and Fluffy go to find Hank to fix the lights.\" As the room slowly cleared, leaving Daisy and Cecily\nalone in the dark, the mouse looked over at her girlfriend and asked, \"Are you\nsure you're okay? You look a little jumpy... even more then when you first saw\nJuno.\" \"Y-yea, I'm fine... totally fine,\" the moose herm said\nunconvincingly, \"nothing to worry about right? Not like some crazed axe murder\nis going to come in this place with Lilly here...\" she said trailing off for a\nmoment as her eyes searched the darkened room. \"But, ummm maybe I should go\nmake sure my car windows are up. It kind of looked like it might rain earlier.\"   "}