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Episode One – The Mansion
December 6, 1865 in the small quiet town of Fearville.
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The big black carriage carrying Nate and Marie, rolled to a halt as the hooves of the black horses broke the innate silence on the cobbles. Nate and Marie were a southern couple with just a 5yr old daughter, Emily. They were new in Fearville and just moved into town from the city of Pensworth. They arrived by evening on that day and began unpacking their stuffs into the new mansion they had won in a lottery.
The old stone mansion had a castle-like appeal, with an eerie feeling surrounding it as it stood in the grotesque of the full moon which streamed it’s light around it’s contours. Though Marie was was happy for her new home (of course she was owing, to the fact that she and her husband had never dreamt of living in such a mansion. They were just struggling to make ends meet), yet something seemed strange as she stood before the carriage, staring around the vicinity. The town of Fearville seemed too quiet and creepy for her liking. The life within the little town of Fearville on that silvery night, can be said to be still, for the creaking of crickets and hooting of the night owls which scared the bats fluttering up in in he sky in their numbers. Silhouetted by the moon, Marie watched her daughter stare steadily at the hideous shadows of the bats swarming below on the cobble stones. Not too far from where they stood they could hear the whistling sounds of the night breeze whooshing through the dark narrow streets. No one seemed to be on the lonely streets, nor the neighborhood. The only human signs they saw were those of window curtains (in different buildings) sliding open as unfriendly faces peeped at them from their lantern illuminated rooms. The moment Marie tried to make out the unfriendly faces, the curtains were thrown close instantly. What a strange little town, she wondered. Well, atleast the change in environment would help cement the cracking relationship between she and Nate, since she couldn’t afford to be a single parent.
“Come help me get this goddãmn boxes Marie!” Nate blew hot “Are you gonna stand there forever?”
“Sorry Nate, I’m coming” she pleaded, strutting towards the boxes as her dress billowed around her ankles.
Truth be told, Marie was a good wife with her traditional southern upbringing from her days in Palo Alto, Texas. While Nate her husband was a typical redneck of Polish descent, and a drunken bum who wouldn’t miss the slightest opportunity of striking her at the flimsiest mistake. Despite Nate was in his late 50s, and Marie in her mid 30s, she had always loved and respected her husband just as it was expected of her. But what hurt her most was the fact that she wasn’t getting back the love from Nate. Back when she was a girl she would dream of having a man who would adore and respect her for the woman she was. But for some selfish reasons her parents had bundled her off to old Nate and now here she was seeking succour in a man who never cared or flinched at the sight of her immeasurable beauty. Her body needed to be explored…..to be touched, and Nate wasn’t ready to grant her that privilege. All romance ended when she conceived Emily, after which her husband took to excessive drinking and gambling.
The leather boxes had now been taken up the stairs and the carriage man paid off. So Marie and Emily decided to explore the house in that short moment (carrying a lantern) and discovered that the mansion was a big one. It housed 6 rooms and a spacious Sitting Room which had a large fireplace. Bedside the fireplace was a human size antic mirror which looked quite strange as it had gargoyles for frames and on the wall was the great painting of a 15th century lady looking so alive in such still portrait. Marie was fascinated by the still drawing and she stepped closer to have a look, bringing the oily lantern forward and staring into the face of the lady in the portrait. For a second she could feel the eyes of the lady piercing into her as she thought she had noticed the eye balls move. At that instant, there was a loud shriek form below her, startling her and she dropped the lantern as a white fluffy cat pranced the wooden floor and came cuddling Emily’s legs. Marie watched her daughter step backwards in brief awe.
“Mum it’s a cat” Emily whined
“Yeah…I can see that”, Marie heaved in relief. Picking the bobbing lantern from the floor, she came to squat where the estranged cat sat.”Guess it’s a stray cat”, she said.”Or probably belonged to the former owners if this mansion”. She extended her hand to cuddle it.
“Mum…can I keep him?”, Emily asked
“Err….well…”
Marie hadn’t made her statement when the large fluffy cat growled and scratched her, as she withdrew her hand instantly wincing in pains.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea Emily” she said.”Ouch!”
“Please mum, I’ve never had a cat before” Emily chided.”Besides he’s homeless”
Marie was still squatted nursing her bleeding finger while Emily kept persisting on keeping the cat as the cat went again to cuddle at Emily’s feet. Marie was not used to refusing her daughter anything. And she noticed the cat was warming up to her daughter lovingly. Well, a cat into the house was not a bad idea. Moreover it would come in handy in eradicating the rats which would be living in the house owing to the lack of human presence in a long while.
“Fine, you can keep him if you want” Marie said standing on her feet and picking up the lantern one more time.
“I’m gonna call him Winter, mum” Emily purred
“Yerr…call him whatever you like” replied Marie. “Come Emily, let’s go find you a place to sleep for the night. The whole place is dusty and I’m gonna clean up tommorow”
Having said that, Emily scooped the purring cat into her arms and followed her behind her mother. But they didn’t hear the strange chilly whisper that hushed within the sitting room they had just left.
It had now begun to rain and Emily was already tucked in bed. Marie came into the make shift bedroom (the main bedroom was still dusty) to find her husband Nate, already asleep. He reeked of alcohol as she came to lay on the left side of the bed, beside him. Nate lay facing the other way, snoring loudly and chuckling in his sleep. What a waste of a man, Marie wondered. She tried to sleep, stirring and shuffling in bed but the cold was getting much, robbing her of the sleep in her eyes. She wanted to be cuddled….to be romanced…to be made to feel like a woman. Her body desperately yearned for a man’s touch. Too bad her husband was a drunken bum to notice her body language. Turning to face the opposite side, Marie watched the cascading rain slither down the large glass window with tears dripping from her eyes. And soon sleep came calling as she drifted into an emotion laden slumber.
Quote

Episode 2 – Emily
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The rains were now pouring hard with lightening ripping the dark sky and casting hideous shadows within
the mansion. Marie was now deep in slumber and falling into an abyss of nightmare….
“Emily…. Emily….” the chilly voice in her dreams whispered her daughters name down the stairs.
The dream looked so real and it was also raining like in real life as she could feel the goose bumps coat
her pink skin. In that dream she was all alone at home, and she got out of bed (still in the dream) and
followed the voice down the stairs. The stairway was pitch dark, but she kept walking ahead, trailing the
voice as if she was under a spell.
***Back in Emily’s room***
Just like in her mother’s dream, Emily could hear the voice too; but this time in real life. She heard the
first call of the creepy voice at the same time her mother fell into the nightmare. Emily stirred in bed and
turned to face the door
.
“Mummy?” she called “Is that you?”
There was no answer as the voice kept calling and the door slowly creaked open on it’s own. Emily in her
childish innocence had hoped it was her mum and stepped out of bed. She turned around to look for the
cat but he was no where to be found. Gently walking through the door, she headed into the lonely dark
corridor of the mansion.
***Meanwhile, Marie’s nightmare continues***
She was now down the first flight of stairs as the voice kept drawing backwards. It was as if each step
she took, the owner of the voice would step backwards too. She could hardly see her way through while
she walked, but the continuous flash of lightening created a luminescence that kept her going .
It was certain that a part of her was unconscious of her actions, while the other part really wanted to
know the source of the silent whispers. And as she came down to the ground floor, there was another
flash of lightening and in that brief moment she thought she saw the hem of someone’s white night gown,
as the person swiftly walked into a room at the end of the corridor. Marie wanted to see who it was, so
she quickly strutted forward and came before the door to the room. Gradually she opened it (the room was
also pitch dark) and saw the figure of a little girl standing in the shadows with her back to her. With the
aid of the lightening, Marie noticed the little girl stood like Emily, but had a longer and darker hair than
that of Emily. And that got Marie confused if it was really her daughter, so she stepped forward into the
room….She was bound to find out.
“Emily… is that you?” Marie asked, but the figure remained motionless with her backside still facing the
door.
Marie now extended her hands carefully towards the figure, and immediately her hand fell on the shoulder
of the little figure, there was a bright flash of another lightening and the figure suddenly turned to face
Marie as she noticed the white popping eyes and bloodied face of the hideous being which made a loud
deafening scream……and Marie woke up swiftly from sleep, panting and sweating.
“What a nightmare”, she muttered.
She turned sideways to see her husband still snoring loudly, that was when she remembered her daughter
Emily. Quickly she jumped out of bed and headed into Emily’s room but she was not there. Then the
memory of the recent dream flashed in her mind and she feared that her daughter could be in danger.
“Oh my God! Emily!” she gasped clutching her b-----s and ran downstairs, almost skidding off the
staircase as she came rushing into the sitting room.
Though the sitting room was also dark, she could make out the white nightgown of her daughter as she
sat (crossed legged) on the floor facing the large 15th century painting on the wall.
“Emily, what’re you doing here?” she asked her daughter who turned to face her immediately.
“Mummy I heard my name downstairs” Emily said getting up and walking to hug her mum.”Was it you?”
“No baby” she pecked her daughter “You were probably dreaming”.
Something was definitely wrong Marie was beginning to notice. She had purposely told Emily it was all a
dream so as not to get her scared. That was when she (Marie) made up her mind to move the giant
painting down to the basement the next day while dusting the house.
“Come let’s go back to bed”, she said to Emily and they both climbed up the stairs without noticing a dark
figure zoom past the window outside.
To be continued

Episode 3 – Pawning
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She was now walking down the lonely corridor, barefooted and quite sleepy. Something had woken Marie from her slumber in the middle of the night, but she couldn’t really tell what it was as she walked. Suddenly she stopped walking and heard it……the eerie giggles came once again down the corridor leading to the bathroom. It sounded like the giggles of children in play mood. Of course it can’t be her daughter Emily, she had just tucked Emily back in bed an hour ago. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest as the giggles kept sounding and accompanied by strange whispers. Marie looked down the corridor and thought she saw a shadow lurking in darkness as the chilly wind blew her blonde hair in billows. Summoning courage, she took a slow step forward.
She was now few metres away from the bathroom door and SWOOSH!!…she felt something zoom passed behind her. And she instinctively turned back but saw nothing. Her heart thumped louder….her spine felt chilly and her blood flowed rapidly through her veins. Now there was no going back for her. Whatever it was, was now right at her back. She could clearly hear the giggles coming from the bathroom, but the whispers were no more.. Carefully she stretched her hand towards the door, and on reaching it, she wound the knob as the door gently creaked open.
Marie stepped on the bathroom floor and felt water under her feet. That was when she heard the trickling sound of water which kept dropping slowly and continuously Plop! Plop!! Plop!!..breaking the eerie silence within. She had also noticed that the bathroom floor was all flooded with water as she took the bobbing lantern hanging on the wall. Who could have turned on the faucet? she wondered as she walked towards the bath tub which was already full and gradually over flowing with the trickles of water still dropping from the nuzzle of the faucet. It was now clear that someone had filled up the tub and turned off the faucet. Something strange was happening. Suddenly the bathroom door slammed close BAM! (startling her) and the whistling wind blew through the open window, flickering the flames of the lantern.
For a second she saw something move within the water in the tub and she bent over the tub bringing the lantern closer but saw only her reflection (on the water surfàce) which was distorted owing to the ripples. She was about standing erect when there was a loud shriek and suddenly her reflection stretched its hand, pulling her down into the water as she she struggled and gasped for air………Alas! she jerked awake from sleep….her heart beating within her ears, her forehead sweating. It had all been a nightmare.
Marie looked outside the window to see the twilight leaking into the room. It was already morning and here she was having a nightmare. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and clasped her face within her palms, puffing out air. How could she have two strange dreams all in one night, she wondered. This was the first time she was experiencing this and something told her it won’t be the last. Then she roamed her eyes all around the room. Could it be there was something strange going on within the mansion? She turned sideways to look at her husband and for the first time that morning she noticed that Nate was no longer in bed. So she called on him.
“Nate?” she called getting out of bed as the sweat dripped down her torso to her thighs. “Nate?” she called again, but there was no response.
Giddily she walked out of the room and met Emily playing with her new cat Winter on the floor at the corridor.
“Goodmorning mum” Emily greeted in her tender voice.
“Hey pumpkin, you’re awake so early” Marie said squatting to peck her daughter in the forehead. “Have you seen your dad?”
“Yes mummy. Dad brought a carriage man….said he was going to get some logs for the fireplace”
“Oh yeah that’s true. The snow is almost here” Marie nodded. “We need that fireplace you know. Dad is a good man”
“But why does he hit you mummy?” Emily asked stroking her cat.
“Erm…I think I have to go clean up the house now” Marie replied as she tried to avert her daughter’s question.
Marie didn’t want to give her daughter the impression that things were not going well between she and her father. She couldn’t deny the fact that Emily has noticed Nate’s aggressive nature of recent , but some things were best kept away from kids.
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Nate came came back home by noon, and before you knew it, the fireplace was already up and burning. They were very fortunate he had gone for the woods because the first snow for that year came flaking down from the grey winter skies not too long after he had left. It had been a delayed winter actually, but it was finally here and bringing the real feeling of Christmas alongside it. By the time Marie was through with cleaning the whole house, Nate was already mounting the Christmas tree which he had bought from an elm farm.
Just as she had decided earlier, Marie moved the 15th century painting down the stuffy basement. She had wanted to move the giant gargoyle mirror too, but had a second thought of leaving it in place. There were other old wares and artifacts she had recovered from the shelve and dinning while cleaning. To her, those stuffs made the sitting room crowdy and ancient, so she decided to pawn some of the artifacts. At least they were in dire need of money for the Christmas and pawning the items sounded like a good idea. Sliding on her winter coat, Marie gathered the items into a leather bag and left the house on her way to the nearest pawn shop.

episode 4 – An urgent Message
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Marie arrived the pawn shop and was surprised to see a long queue in wait. Probably they were all peeps like her who were in real need of money for the Christmas, so she had to stand in line and wait her turn. The queue finally got to her turn and as she brought out her wares for weighing, that was when she noticed the handsome lad standing behind the barricaded receiving counter. He was quite young to be a pawn broker and Marie was sure the lad was in his mid twenties and looked quite rugged with a hard cheekbone which accentuated the contours of his face. He was definitely of Spanish decent, she could guess from his facial looks and accent. He raised his head to look at her and oh!….those cute blue eyes of his pierced into her soul. He seemed to notice his effect on Marie and smiled broadly revealing his set of pure white dentition and Marie could feel her palms sweat in the winter as she also admired his broad and hairy chest which had been exposed by his open cotton shirt. Dãmn it! He was hot.
“Can I have your wares ma’am?” he said extended his hand through the pigeon hole and Marie gave him the leather bag. “Thank you”, he said with a sense of professionalism before turning to weigh the items. The chime of the weigh startled Marie (who was lost in fantasy land) back to reality and the lad withdrew some few dollars from an adjoining counter and handed it over to her. She extended her hand almost immediately and more by accident, the lad’s hand brushed hers and she jerked, feeling a shiver down her spine. Though she couldn’t really explain how she felt, it was a good feeling as she noticed herself smiling at the lad.
“The name is Lance” he said.
“Oh, Lance. I’m Marie” she replied pocketing the money. “Take care” and she turned and left the pawn shop. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was the fact that Lance had just flirted with her and she had loved every bit of it without feeling any guilt in respect to her husband.
*** 2 Week Later (December 20) ***
It was past 12 midnight when the muffled chiming began. It kept going on and on and on till little Emily heard it and got out of bed. It sounded like a toy carousel and she had always longed for one, but couldn’t have it because her mum was too broke to get one for her. Probably Santa was here to grant her wish with her most cherished toy. Putting on her slippers, she stepped out of her room.
The whole house was silent and dark except for the carousel which kept chiming and the little flame of the candle, at the end of the corridor, which kept dancing in the mild wind. Suddenly she saw a shadow, which was cast by the candle flame, run down the stairs and accompanied by eerie giggles and thumping footsteps. The childish giggles kept echoing down the stairway as she inquisitively followed behind. For a moment she felt a chilly sensation run down her spine as her heart raced in fear. But the sweet music of the carousel kept drawing her closer, and she picked up the candle and found her way downstairs.
She was now at the sitting room and she could hear the footsteps and the giggles heading farther towards the basement and the chiming carousel seemed to be coming from there as well. Holding the candle forward, she headed towards the sound that had woken her that night.
The basement panel was already open when she got there, and the chiming music had suddenly stopped. But the eerie sounds kept coming from inside. Emily climbed down the basement stairs quietly and carefully, as she knocked off cobwebs shrouding the stairway. On stepping on the dusty floor, she began to sneeze as dust filled the stuffy air. The basement reeked of age and a spooky feeling indescribable by man. And for an unknown reason, Emily’s childish mind sensed she was not the only none there. So she raised her candle above her head as her eyes hovered around the over crowded space and she saw the tiny carousel, looking all dusty and lying on a paper box. In that moment, glee filled her eyes and she walked towards the box to pick up the toy when she noticed someone sitting by the dark corner of the basement wall. Her heart skipped beats instantly.
The figure looked like a little girl, barely older than Emily with dark hair like hers and she wore a white nightie. She sat with her back to the wall, her legs drawn up to her chest, and hands cuddled up as her head rested on her knees. She was motionless and strange looking.
“Hello….who are you?” Emily asked in a shaky voice. The figure didn’t reply nor move as Emily dropped the carousel in her hands.
“My name is Emily. What’s your name??….”
Emily was now drawing closer, her hands shaky and trembling as she came to stand few inches away from the sitting figure to notice her muddy feet, her wet hair and dripping-wet gown. In concern for her state Emily forgot all her fears and squatted before the figure, casting her candle light as the figure now rocked her head from side to side humming an old western mourning song.
“What happened to you?” Emily asked. “Do you live…..”
Suddenly the figure swiftly raised her head, revealing her bloodied scarred face and popping white eyes, Emily gasped in shock. All she could hear was a howling whisper:
“Run Emily! Run! Run!”
In that brief moment of fright, Emily gave a loud shrill and passed out.

Episode 5 – A Second Warning
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The lantern stood on the bed shelve in the dimly lit room as the doctor paced up and down the floor. While Marie sat close to her daughter and Nate leaned by the doorway snorting. It had been over 6 hours Emily had been unconscious after being found in the basement. She lay still, her face pale like death and her fist clasped within each other like she was trying to hold on to something.
“She suffered a severe shock”, the doctor said packing up his wares into his brief case. “But nevertheless, she’ll be fine”.
“I wonder what she was up to in the basement” Marie sobbed. “Please come back baby, mummy loves you”
As if to answer her prayers, Emily sneezed and called out ,”Mummy” and her mom leaned forward to cuddle her in bed.
“Thought you were gone” Marie said. “So tell me baby, what happened?”
That was when the previous events began to unfold in Emily’s head, piece by piece as she tried to recollect all that had happened. The memory alone was so overwhelming to her, and she gasped in exasperation, passing out once more.
By the time she finally woke up it was already dusk and Marie was about leaving her room. She turned turned back the moment she noticed her daughter stir. And walked to sit by her side. Gradually Emily’s eyes flickered open as it tried to adjust to the surroundings. She panicked the moment she thought she was alone and her mother held her hand firmly.
“Hey pumpkin I’m here”, Marie said, looking into the frightful eyes of her daughter.
She was certain Emily had seen something down the basement. Her daughter wasn’t a sleep walker, neither was she a truant at bed time. This was a full confirmation that a something was in the house. She had that feeling right from the very first moments their carriage broke the cobble stones in front of the mansion. She was still lost in thoughts when Winter (Emily’s cat) mewed, climbing the bed in it’s feline agility and blinking puckishly. She had to tell Nate about everything, she decided, hoping it won’t result to a fight between them.
***The Next Day – December 21***
The skies were real grey that day and looked heavy with snow showing every possibility of an impending snow storm. It had snowed profusely the previous night and the streets were all covered in white ice as Marie hurried back home. She had gone to get some grocery down the next town from some of the money she had made from the pawning. Then her mind drifted to the hunky pawn shop guy she had met the other day. She wouldn’t mind being in those strong arms of his to be cuddled and stroked. He was every inch the man Nate was not and will never be. Too bad she was much older than him, so there was no point daydreaming on what may not be possible, she thought shaking the thought of her head and smiling. She was still smiling when she felt a hand tap her from behind and she jumped, turning to see the pawn guy smiling down at her. She gasped in surprise and faint guilt.
“Hi Lance” she said
“Hello Marie” he winked offering her his hand which she shook hesitantly. “What are you doing walking under the snow?”
It took only Lance’s question to let Marie know that she had been absent mindedly trekking under the snow without noticing it.
“Oh…it’s begun to snow” she said.
“You mean you didn’t notice?” Lance asked. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
How could he be asking her that question when he was the one responsible for how she felt at the moment, she thought.
“Ofcourse I’m fine dear” she replied in her husky southern accent.
“From the south I guess?” Lance said
“Yes, Texas precisely”
“Oh cool. I’m from New Mexico” Lance replied.
“I already guessed that from your Spanish accent” Marie added. “I think I have to be on my way now, my husband would’ve been back with my daughter”.
“So you have a daughter”
“Yeah…I do”
“I guess she’ll be pretty as you are” Lance said. For a second, Marie was taken aback by the statement before she recovered to say “Thanks for the compliments”. With that, Marie turned and began to walk away and Lance called her back.
“I think a snow storm it’s on it’s way” he informed her. “Why not follow me to my place, It’s close by. And when the storm is over I’ll harness a horse to a carriage for you.
“Nahh…thanks” Marie replied, “I’ll find my way”.
Beyond her expectation, a strong wind blew immediately, sending flakes of snow swirling in the air and she stopped abruptly in her tracks. There was definitely going to be a snow storm and she wouldn’t be home before it came down. There was no other place to take shed and the only option she had at avoiding the storm was Lance’s offer. So she turned to see Lance already walking down in the opposite direction and she called:
“Hey! Lance!”, And he turned back.”Can I still join you home?” she asked.
“Of course ma’am” he replied.
Strutting down to where she stood, Lance collected the grocery pack in her hands and led the way, “Shall we?” he said.
“Where do you stay Lance?” Marie asked as they hastened.
“The Next turn”, Lance replied. “Not far from the church yard”
The mention of the words ‘church yard’ brought the goose bumps on Marie’s skin immediately. How could one live by a church yard…A grave yard precisely, she thought. Though she wasn’t comfortable with it, she tried to make Lance unaware of her paranoia as they walked ahead.
It was only in a matter of minutes and they arrived the church yard, passing by hedges of Hawthornes which creeped round the ancient grave stones as the eerie silence cast a strange demeanour. She could now see a little cottage not far from the end of the church yard and Lance broke the innate silence.
“That’s my home”, he said pointing to the cottage.
Within minutes, they were before the door step and Lance inserted the old key into the rusty lock and the fragile door creaked open for them to walk in.
The snow storm was now coming down in full strength and Lance ignited the fireplace before moving to get the steaming kettle on the fire. He made Marie a cup of hot coffee and poured himself a cup too as they sat silently sipping the black drink. Marie decided to break the silence.
“I guess you stay here alone?”, she asked.
Lance only nodded as he continued sipping his coffee.
“And what about the church that owns the graveyard we just passed” she enquired. Lance cleared his throat
“The church of St. Nicholas was burnt down by the Satan worshippers 12 years ago.” he growled. “They claimed that there was only one Nicholas and that was the devil himself who was nicknamed Old Nick in the years back”
Marie choked on her coffee spilling some on the floor, Lance turned to stare at her and she apologized, “Sorry”, she said and Lance nodded. “You mean you have Satan worshippers in this place?” she asked in disbelief.
“Almost the whole town is into Satan worship” he revealed. “They are actually called Necrogues, and that’s because they make use of the souls of the dead. Necromancy you can call it” he sipped his drink again.
Marie was petrified by her shocking discovery. She had always known something was not right within the small town.
“So how about you?” she asked Lance.
Lance laughed aloud almost puking his coffee. “For Christ sake Marie, I was the vicar’s son before the church was burnt down. Actually I lost my dad, the vicar on that night” he whined. “Ever since then I’ve been alone in our little cottage which we had been managing before mum passed away”
Marie felt sudden pity for the young lad. He was only a poor orphan trying to make ends meet. No wonder he was worked at the pawn shop. She could now see the tears in his eyes and her heart melted with grief.
“C’mon Lance, don’t cry”, she said. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have been asking too much questions”
“Nahh, it’s okay”, Lance sniffed.
Marie felt guilty for rekindling the lad’s sorrows so she drew close and held him by the arm and Lance turned to face her as she spoke: “I don’t want you to be sad”, she said. In that moment they both stared into each other’s eyes and Marie could feel her heart melting once again. Not by sorrow this time, but by the flames of passion for the handsome lad before her. Lance moved his hand to caress her outer thighs fondly, and that was all it took to make her skin succumb to his touch and he leaned forward and kissed her deeply as she slowly fell back to the chair and they consumated their passion.

u guys should comment..good or bad

Episode 6 – Privy ———————– It was later in the evening that Lance dropped Marie off at the back of the mansion and helped her carry her grocery pack up the first stairs. Marie was already feeling some form of guilt for going to the extent of sleeping with the young lad and she turned back (as they climbed the stairs) to dissuade him. “That’s okay”, she said. “You don’t have to come all the way” “I don’t mind Marie”, replied Lance as Marie collected the pack from him. “My husband is already at home; and he could kill you if he finds you here. I bet you won’t like to find out first hand.” Lance laughed out loud and for a moment Marie heard something sinister in his laughter. Her expression changed immediately and Lance noticed it, asking. “What’s that?” “Nothing….just that I thought I heard something awkward”. “Awkward? How?” “Never mind”, Marie replied and began to climb up the stairs. “Okay then. Goodnight”, Lance said “Yeah…Goodnight Lance”, replied Marie and she stopped to watch the hunky lad strut to his worn out carriage. She was really sure she had heard something within the boys laughter. It sounded so unnatural and well……never mind, she thought. It could be her guilt acting up within her. Then she looked upwards towards the remaining flight of stairs leading towards the rooms. She just hoped Nate wouldn’t detect she had just been unfaithful some minutes ago. She wasn’t a good liar though, but she would try as much as possible to hide the guilt beclouding her expressions. Shrugging indifferently, she stepped up the stairs. Nate was already snoring loudly, sprawled in a chair with a bottle of rum hanging from his left hand when Marie stepped into the sitting room. Emily was no where to be found within as she roamed her eyes around, not failing to notîce the floating lantern placed on a cabinet. She walked quietly to adjust it and it’s handle jammed, startling Nate who stirred awake in his seat. “Who’s there”? he asked in a slurpy voice as he tried to fit back his old hat on his head. “Hi Nate”, Marie responded. Nate raised his head gently to see his wife standing some few feets away from him and he staggered to his feet, belching and wobbling. He took few drunken steps towards her and ended up falling to his knees before struggling erect once more. “What yer been doing?” he asked in a warped accent. “Had to stay back because of the snow storm Nate” Marie replied. “Stayed back with a boyfriend ehh?” he lurched forward and slapped her, sending her spinning and falling on the wooden floor. “I been seeing yer spending a lot this days”. Nate growled. “Boyfriend seems to be paying for good services” and he kicked Marie (as she tried to get up) in her stomach, making her curl up in pains. “It’s the money from the pawning Nate” Marie cried with trickles of blood in her mouth. But her explanation wasn’t worth listening for Nate who stomped his foot on her waist and she screamed. “You’ll kill me you drunk” she sobbed. “Then die you bloody whõre!”? Nate kicked her once more in her stomach and staggered away, leaving her in the dimly lit place to writh on the floor. All that could be heard from afar was the wailings of a woman in pains. **December 24 – Christmas Eve** Despite the Christmas season in the air, the little town of Fearville seemed not to be agog with preparations and festivities, and that got Marie really worried. She had woken on that chilly snowy day to notice that there were no Christmas trees on the streets neither were there any last minute Christmas shopping by people. What a strange little town, she wondered. It was when had gone to visit Lance in the pawn shop earlier that day, that he told her some gruesome secrets surrounding the little town. Lance told her that Christmas was more of an effaced culture in Fearville, owing to the fact that the Satanists had inculcated some of their beliefs into Christmas. And as such, those who were ardent faithfuls of the old traditions kept Christmas celebration at low key and at times not even celebrate it at all. “So what beliefs did the Satan worshippers blend in?” Marie asked as they sat outside the patio of the pawn shop. Lance replied by telling her that there were myths going around that the Satanists release the evil side of Santa called Krampus into the streets on Christmas day. This was their way of mocking the birth of the Christ. Actually Krampus was an evil spirit culled from Scandinavian history and was seen as the chastising spirit of Santa Claus. He wrecked havoc on homes and people on Christmas eve thereby dousing the festive mood in them. “There was no Christmas eve that went by without the town hearing of the gruesome attack of Krampus on a particular family”. Lance added. “It’s something everyone is now used to”. “That’s so weird and scary”. Marie said. “Yeah…..it is”. Back home that night, Marie had an argument with Nate. She had told him she wasn’t comfortable with the mansion anymore nor the town but Nate flared up calling her a kill joy. How she wished Nate would see reasons with her. Yes they didn’t have the money to buy such a house back in Pensworth, but she had her priceless peace of mind and enjoyed the love and cooperation of the friendly lively town. How much she missed Mrs. Medley who would bring cup cakes to her doorstep on Christmas eve, and the Harold boys choir who sang carols from street to street while impressed neighbours filled their bags with cents. Fearville was a total far cry from Pensworth and the worst place she had ever been. She was still lost in thoughts when she heard a strange clogging sound outside….Clog! Clog!! Clog!! The shuffling and clogging sound drew nearer on that 22nd hour of the day (10:00pm) and Marie peeped outside the blurry window to see what it was. To her surprise, she caught a glimpse of Santa walking down the street (atleast something like christmas, she thought) and she rushed outside to find a shocker. It was a limping Santa with a wooden left leg walking down the lonely and dimly lit road, singing a strange weird song. His left leg had been amputated and he looked huge and frail, dragging an old dirty brown bag behind him. Though he looked so creepy, Marie felt it was better having a one legged Santa than having none in a whole town of weird looking people. So she decided to call on Santa. “Hey! Santa!” she called. “Got nothing for me?”. The grimy old Santa stopped singing abruptly, stopping in his tracks and turned back to stare at his caller as she noticed his right eye was pale with cataract and and popping out of its socket. His face looked scarred and the Santa cast her a cold smile revealing a set of brown scanty teeth….Creepy! “What yer want from old Santa” he growled shuffling and limping towards her. He reached where she stood and hoisted his dirty brown bag in front and looked directly into Marie’s eyes. Those eyes possessed an eerie look and Marie looked away instantly and brought her face down to the bag before her. “Pick something er”, Santa said and she dipped her hand into the bag, rummaging till her hand came in contact with something which felt like a book as the Santa kept smiling sinisterly. She pulled it out and yes…it was indeed a book, but a strange looking one. Turning the front cover, it was titled ‘Necronomicon’. She flipped through the pages in the faint light and saw hideous paintings and strange writings in it. That alone sparked her interest and she clutched the book to her chest. “Is that what yer want?”, Santa asked “I think I’ll go with this”, she replied. Then the Santa paused for a while, before leaning forward to stare into her face. “Be careful what you wish for child”, he rasped, clattering his teeth as his foul breath hit her nostrils. Suddenly he turned and hoisted his bag on his weak shoulders. “Merry Christmas”, he whispered as he walked away from sight. Little did Marie hear him say: “You just got to hell dear” as he kept limping down the road. And she took a final look at him and walked back into the house without noticing the slitted eyes staring at her from the shadows in the distance.