Lupin Manor (f+/f+) (NEW *CARMEN* NEW 21/10)

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Lupin Manor (f+/f+) (NEW *CARMEN* NEW 21/10)

Post by RopeBunny »

[Timestamp 1148 21/10/18]

[Someone's lounge. A large corner sofa and armchair, both plush blue fabric with dark wooden detailing.]
[Five young teens, all girls, fill the available space. All are dressed in pale blue shirts with either black leggings or above the knee skirts below. Dark blue ties, worn loose around open collars, complete the uniforms. Each girl holds a drink: bottles of water, cans of Pepsi. All five appear happy.]

Off camera. "Right. What else?"
Blonde girl. [Hand up] "Torches."
Off camera. "Torches. Good work Sammy."

[The angle spins around, a large sheet of paper tacked to the wall appearing, upon which are scrawled words such as 'water' and 'map because phone signal will be shit'.]
[A pale hand appears in frame gripping a black marker. The camera wobbles slightly as 'torch' is scribbled at the bottom of the list.]

Off camera. [Angle returning to the girls, two of whom are giggling over something on one's phone screen.] "Focus Beth. Em. Anything else we'll need?"
Beth/Em. [Reaching across one girls lap to grab the wrist of the black haired girl sitting alone in the single chair, lifting her arm up and waving it around. "Carmen. We need to remember to bring Carmen."

[Laughter, both in front of and behind the camera. Even Carmen smiles, giving her head a small shake. Rolling her eyes.]

[Static.]


-------


[Timestamp 1851 31/10/18]

[A shop counter, dark grey cash register and blue lottery machine on one side, stacked tiers of chocolate bars and chewing gum on the other. The shuttered, hidden from view, shelves of cigarettes on the back wall.]
[Behind the counter stands a man. Grey stubble and matching messy hair, a red Liverpool football shirt stretched tight across a large belly worn over blue jeans.]

Shopkeeper. [Scanning two Mars bars, a large sharing bag of Cadburys Giant Buttons.] "Shouldn't you girls be in school?"
Sammy. [Camera panning to the right, bringing her into frame. Blonde hair cascading down out of the black wool hat atop her head, dark blue waterproof jacket unzipped.] "Field trip." [Sound of several girls giggling.] "Now." [Sammy pulls a folded map from her jeans butt pocket, unfolds and places it on the counter. Traces a route already marked in red pen with one finger.] "Is this the right way?"
Shopkeeper. "Oh yes." [Tapping a finger next to Sammys, where hers sits at one end of the red line.] "That's the spot all right." [He tuts, shakes his head.] "You're fools though, girls. Setting foot on her hill. Nobody goes up there, not anymore. And least of all tonight."

[Static.]


-------


Extract taken from Our Haunted Island, 1988, by W. B. Hadley.

....sits Lupin Manor. The house and grounds, long ago fallen to waste and ruin, are rumoured to be haunted by the ghost of it's last, and final, owner: the young Countess Lucille de Montefort.
Last edited by RopeBunny 1 year ago, edited 13 times in total.
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Post by Shotrow »

A found footage story? I don't believe I've ever seen that here before. Interested to see where this goes.
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Post by RopeBunny »

Shotrow wrote: 1 year ago A found footage story?
Actually. Not.

Just a different way of doing the introduction, showing most of the main players.

I have done this style before:

https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=9405

The first three chapters are all written found footage style, to be read like a script, and then 004 opens with someone having watched that footage, and the story moves on.

Thanks for commenting :D
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Post by Nainur »

RopeBunny wrote: 1 year ago
Shotrow wrote: 1 year ago A found footage story?
Actually. Not.

Just a different way of doing the introduction, showing most of the main players.
...
Even if you've done it before: fresh enough to me! Intriguing!
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Post by DTbound »

Great setup. I always look forward to reading your stories RopeBunny. Excited for more!
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Post by Caesar73 »

DTbound wrote: 1 year ago Great setup. I always look forward to reading your stories RopeBunny. Excited for more!

I feel the same :)
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Post by RopeBunny »

Thank you all three :D

Next part (probably won't always be this fast writing/posting) below.
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Post by RopeBunny »

001.
Morgan.

"Just up this road."
"Path." Em tuts, coming to stand level with Sammy- who has the map -and me, carrying one of only two torches.

Two, between five of us. So much for planning ahead.

Fucks sake.

"And." Kicking a pile of leaves and small twigs Em shakes her head. "I'm not even sure you can call it that anymore."

She's got a point. From the centre of Coombe, a tiny village with an equally tiny train station- no ticket barriers or even a ticket office -we've walked first along a twisting main road. Then down three lanes, each one narrower and with taller hedges flanking each side. Finally, for the last half hour we've been walking this path that isn't really, always heading uphill, passing through sometimes dense woodland, sometimes across farmers fields.

The sun, dipping ever lower as we arrived, is now gone completely, the world around us becoming shadows, half seen things. Every noise magnified, every wind shaken tree a monster.

But we press on. Making jokes of our fright, nervous giggles erupting after each jump or gasp or scream.

All this drama, and we haven't even seen the ghost yet.

"So." Sammy, having plucked the torch from my distracted grasp- I'd just seen the crescent moon emerge from cloud cover -is marching off ahead. With the map. A girl with a purpose. In her absence Beth has appeared like magic by my side.

"So." I answer her back, smiling into the dark at Beth's slim- to be fair we all mostly are, even weighed down by winter layers -shadowed silhouette. "What?"
"Carmen." Is Beth looking at me, even from this close I can't be sure. "Think we should've waited?"
"It won't be Halloween in two weeks when she's not grounded." Shaking my head. "And this won't be half as much fun any other night."
"True."

"But." A brief pause. Beth stops, so I do too. "What if we actually see the ghost?"
"Then lucky us."
"But."
"No." Giving Beth a small nudge. "All that talk Carmen does, her." Bringing my hands up to make the air quotes. "Special skills. Is just that. Talk."

Beth giggles, causing Sammy, and Michelle, to swing their torches around, pinning us in twin beams of light.

"You think?"
"Sure." Setting off again, Beth falling into step beside me. "And." I shrug. "If it isn't."
"If it isn't?"
"Then fuck it." Flinging my arms out wide, doing a dance spin as I walk forwards. "Who cares. We see the ghost, I'll even apologise for Carmen being absent."

Which makes us both giggle as we hurry to catch back up to the other three.

All the lies, the elaborate twisting tale of everyone sleeping at everyone else's. And it's a wonder half our parents even agreed given it actually is a school night. All that we've spun just to come out here, on Halloween, to go ghost hunting at an actual- supposedly anyway -haunted house.

All this effort, we'd better see the damn ghost.

Just saying.

Over an old wooden fence, waist high. Taking turns to climb, passing our stuff over each time separately: bags and torches, the map. On the other side, walking again, Sammy still on point, Michelle and Em telling some too loud story about a boy.

Obviously.

As the path begins to rise more sharply, becoming steeper, the woodland reappears, phantom trees closing in left and right.

The overall eerieness of the place, a quiet dark wood, has us all unconsciously bunching together, what talk we do share becoming muted as though we fear being heard by.

Something. Someone.

By the her who can't possibly exist. Right? Because the Countess Lucille de Montefort has been dead these past two hundred years and change.

And ghosts aren't real, despite what Carmen keeps insisting.

Right?

"Well." Saying it for everyone. "Wow."
"Fuck me." Michelle, torch beam playing up and down the left side post, adds anyway, the wonder in her voice echoing mine.

Score one for Sammy and her orientation skills, because it would appear that Lupin Manor is exactly where she promised.

On either side of the path a stone pillar rises, gate posts for, I assume, the original Lupin Manor entrance. The gap from pillar to pillar is wide enough to drive a truck, or horses and cart, through, and whilst no part of either gate exists a beautifully carved- all be it very moss covered -stone wolf sits atop each pillar, staring down at us as though judging from on high.

"Hold on then." Unslinging a backpack. "These are definitely vlog worthy."

Out of the pack, one of two, which we've shared the carrying of, I retrieve a compact camera. Whist the other four look around, Sammy and Michelle shining their torch beams all over the pillars and surrounding woodland, I film. Walking here and there, occasionally commenting on what's in frame, capturing angles of both pillar and girl as the mood takes me, the latter occasionally giving me- the camera -a cheeky smile or wave.

Because, and here's the grand plan. After, once we're home, probably this weekend really. Because school. After, we're going to edit and trim everything the five of us shoot on the two cameras we've bought along, then we'll upload it.

Fame, or the general hilarity of seeing ourselves hamming it up as ghost hunters online anyway, awaits.

Onwards once more. Camera stowed- for now, I, all of us girls, have been randomly filming since we set out from Michelle's house at four -we walk through the entrance and onto the Manor grounds.

And did I just feel a tingle, an involuntary shiver, crossing the invisible threshold?

"Why have you stopped?"
"Well." Sammy, whispering back, licks her lips as I come to a halt beside her, the other three girls still a half dozen metres behind, Michelle and Beth play fighting over who gets the torch.

"I thought." Still whispering. Sammy tuts, shakes her head.

"What?" Realising too late I've dropped my own voice down to match her volume. Stupid. I shake my head, but carry on in a whisper anyway. "Tell me?"
"I thought I saw." Aiming the beam of her torch up into the right side canopy, a mass of twisted wood. "I don't know."
"Saw?" Staring up at the patch of too white amongst a sea of black.

"Nothing." Sammy drops her torch, bringing the beam back down to ground level. "Nothing."
"Nothing what?" Beth, liberated torch in hand, swinging the beam every which way.

Honestly.

"Sammy saw." I begin, still whispering, which makes Beth, and the other two behind her giggle. I tut, shake my head and start again at normal volume. "Sammy saw an owl."
"Yeah?" Up goes Beth's torch, jumping from tree to tree, from right side to left, way to fast to see the owl that might in any case not even be there. "Cool."

Though apparently not cool enough to hold any of their attention, as moments later all three girls move around Sammy and me, walking on up the path.

"Owl huh?" Eyebrow, I can't see it but I know she's got one cocked and raised at me.

"Sure." I shrug. "Can't be the ghost, because last time I checked they don't climb trees."
"Last time you checked?" Amused, I can hear it in her voice.

"Well." I begin, only to lose my train of thought, becoming distracted by Beth's yet again dancing and bouncing torch beam piercing the darkness up ahead.

"Honestly."
"Good job she isn't directing incoming air traffic." Sammy comments, her own beam steady, pointed at the ground between us.

"I mean." At which point there's a brief sound halfway between shouted gasp and scream, and Beth's torch beam drops horizontally to the ground.
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Post by Caesar73 »

I like the general set up of story :) A haunted manor is always a good choice of location, conveniently in the middle of nowhere - looking forward to the next chapter!
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Post by slackywacky »

Interesting start. Let's see where this goes...
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
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Post by BlissfulMisery »

Glad to see another story from you!

Thinking it is about 80/20 odds that the cliffhanger is them getting scared by their own proverbial shadow.

Good job capturing the general chaotic nervous energy. Plenty of tension/buildup, but the question is, what is it leading to?
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Post by RopeBunny »

Caesar73 wrote: 1 year ago A haunted manor is always a good choice of location
I've been meaning to do a TUGs ghost story for awhile, have been thinking of and rejecting ideas and plots for some time. But this one I like :D
BlissfulMisery wrote: 1 year ago Thinking it is about 80/20 odds that the cliffhanger is them getting scared by their own proverbial shadow.
Think. Not.

Next chapter below should be something of a small reveal.
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Post by RopeBunny »

002.
Lucille.

Back.

And how long has it been this time? How many days? How many years have I spent alone in the darkness?

Always the only true answer is: too many.

They called me mad you know. At the time.

Time. Ha.

Now though. Each time I return, and return I must, for we the dead have no choices.

Except....

Each time I feel. Smaller. Another piece of me lost to the dark. The void that is limbo. The between.

Girls. I find girls.

Wearing trousers.

Are they, these five, lost?

Lost.

Lost. And each time I return. From the limbo that is the void that is my prison that is like a too small basement where I can't feel the walls but can't move but it's so big it feels so big but there are walls here in this attic and everything pressing in pressing down and it's so dark and so cold and it's.

Lost.

Stop. Lucille. Breathe.

Breathing. Ha. I might as well check for a pulse too.

Girls. Focus.

They are. Inside the walls of my once and forever estate. Five.

Girls.

Girls. They have entered the place which I can not leave. And yet.

Yet.

When they leave. I leave too.

I don't. I. Won't. This time. Now. Here. I will not be lost any longer. I do not wish the dark and the closing in walls all around I do not wish to return please no more I am cold I am tired but can not sleep sleep sleep I. Wish. To.

Stay.

So. These girls. Girls in trousers not skirts not dresses not a single corset between them how times how things have changed these girls who wander into my walls these girls these girls girls girls these must.

Stop. Lucille. Focus.

These girls must. Remain.

With me.

I get close. Sweeping in. Swooping like a bird, gliding down from above where I've been watching seeing watching you. I get close. And then.

I let them see me.

Gasps and screams. Do I, considered pretty in my time time. Standards to keep, a Countess must be seen to look. And yet, screams, a gasp.

Do I look so bad? Am I so frightful?

This is my best.

Only. Ha.

Dress.

The dark skinned girl, black hair twisted into thick cords that tumble down over slim shoulders bulked out by a red puffed up jacket. In her hand is a black stick spewing light as a beam, fighting back the night. A.

Torch?

Like a moth to the flame I am drawn to this light, to this girl. She, smooth dark skin, baggy trousers and flimsy looking white shoes. Where are her boots for walking? This girl I shall deal with first.

She. All of these girls girls five girls.

She will stay. Here.

Against this tree that she backs into as I swoop down upon them upon her, dropping the torch, gasping as she sees me as I let her let them all see me gasping even whilst another screams like a girl.

Ha.

Where do the ropes come from?

I put them to use, wrapping her head to toes, pinning her slim body clothes pressed now against curves and limbs arms by her sides legs together stand at attention you will stand you will Daddy always says said you will must you must always salute a superior officer.

She. This dark skinned girl this one girl of five these five girls who can not will not allow they will stay.

This girl will now stay.

I will. As it suits. Deal with the others.
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Post by Shotrow »

And now we finally meet the ghost of the manor. One down, four to go.

One problem I'm having is telling the five girls apart. Might have been nice to spend a little more time establishing their individual personalities and motivations.

But either way, I'm excited to see where this goes.
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Post by Nainur »

Whoooohooohoooh! Spine tingling! Loving it!
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Post by RopeBunny »

Shotrow wrote: 1 year ago One problem I'm having is telling the five girls apart. Might have been nice to spend a little more time establishing their individual personalities and motivations.
My fault. Oops.

Too fixated on the introduction I already had, the 'found footage' video style, and then I suppose 001 didn't actually do a huge amount beyond giving names.

Hopefully. As we go forward more will become apparent regarding how each girl looks and thinks and so forth. I do tend to be fairly good at backstories and asides, so, no doubt these will come.
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Post by BlissfulMisery »

Shotrow wrote: 1 year ago One problem I'm having is telling the five girls apart. Might have been nice to spend a little more time establishing their individual personalities and motivations.
RopeBunny wrote: 1 year ago My fault. Oops.

Too fixated on the introduction I already had, the 'found footage' video style, and then I suppose 001 didn't actually do a huge amount beyond giving names.

Hopefully. As we go forward more will become apparent regarding how each girl looks and thinks and so forth. I do tend to be fairly good at backstories and asides, so, no doubt these will come.
Valid point, but I feel there will be plenty of room to flesh out the characters. Trying to dump 5 characters worth of exposition in the first 1-2 chapters would probably end up being very awkward.

Well seems I was wrong about the scare. Guess we (they?) get to meet the 'ghost of bondage past' sooner then I expected.

I enjoyed the disjointed, almost dreamlike thinking process of the ghost. Captures that feeling of being trapped/confused for far, far, far too long, eventually losing parts of oneself, until what is left is a shadow, or an impression, much like what ghosts are believed to be.
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Post by RopeBunny »

BlissfulMisery wrote: 1 year ago
Trying to dump 5 characters worth of exposition in the first 1-2 chapters would probably end up being very awkward.
This, I agree. I'm not a fan of stopping a story mid flow to explain things or do descriptions of characters. I prefer to keep things

Is organic the right word?

I'll describe a character as she gets tied, or when someone else looks. Stuff like that.

And similar for plot and backstory, there's always, in the end, a good point where explaining becomes relevant.

So long of course that I've explained the basic plot well enough in the beginning that you all know what's going on anyway :lol:

BlissfulMisery wrote: 1 year ago
I enjoyed the disjointed, almost dreamlike thinking process of the ghost. Captures that feeling of being trapped/confused for far, far, far too long, eventually losing parts of oneself, until what is left is a shadow, or an impression, much like what ghosts are believed to be.
Excellent :D I'm so glad this came across. Loved writing Lucille.

I did my own (sort of) take on Alice in Wonderland here some time ago, and especially loved wiring a bunch of semi nonsense. This, a disjointed ghost, was another chance to have some fun with that.

Thanks everyone for the comments/views, thanks for coming ghost hunting with me and the girls :D
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Post by RopeBunny »

Interlude.

Taken from the police report of file ref:237-HOF-05A. Dated 28/06/90. Extracted from the transcribed interview with Miss K West.

....such a small thing but she lifted Dorothy off the ground as though my fat friend. What? Yes, write that down she knows she's fat.

This young grey girl lifted Dorothy up and hung her upside down from that big oak tree as easily as you or I hanging a Christmas decoration. And Dorothy all bound up in ropes too, wrapped like some kind of fat gift, skin all lumpy from those tight ropes squeezing her top to bottom.

And then. This girl just flew away.

Yes. Vanished. Flew. Make sure you write the word. Flew. Because that's what she did. She. Flew. My fat friend up into that tree and then she. Flew. Away.

And I'll tell you what else. She giggled. Not a laugh. A giggle, like a schoolgirl.

Fucking. Creepiest thing I ever heard.


-------


Clipping of an article titled 'Council Urges Common Sense Over Manor Grounds' which appeared in the Bristol Gazette on 14/11/95.

A joint statement will today be issued by Coombe Parish Council and Somerset Police, urging members of the public to exercise 'common sense' regarding the supposedly haunted Lupin Manor and grounds, situated atop a hill overlooking Coombe village to the South West.

I say supposedly, although, whether Gazette readers choose to believe in the paranormal or not, this reporter was easily able, with little effort, to obtain over two dozen reports of strange and largely unexplainable goings on within the Lupin estate.

The truth, as these reports, and indeed as any local Coombe resident will testify, is that things do indeed tend to happen to most- not all, but most -people who happen to intentionally or accidentally wander within the boundary wall of the late Countess Lucille de Montefort's home.

The statement, whilst necessary, is unlikely to stem the steady trickle of ghost hunters nor those youths from near and far looking for a quiet out of the way place to smoke weed, or engage in other 'adult' activities.

Indeed the Countess Lucille, said to be the grey lady apparition many have witnessed, features in several ghost and supernatural themed books. Lupin Manor is a well known site, and despite the councils best efforts and intentions, this reporter doubts that the wider public will listen.
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Post by GreyLord »

Excellent, [mention]RopeBunny[/mention]. You have so many options with your setup that your actual path must surprise us. The Ghost of Countess Lucille is a fascinating focal point pulling action to herself. It is very handy that ghostly rope appears when needed. You have certainly gotten my interest.

If I could make a small request, would you consider tagging your fans at the beginning of a new story. Some of us are not as swift at picking up on new stories.
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Post by Caesar73 »

Very intriguing so far - and creepy :) I like that. Nice idea with the police report!
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Post by tickletied84 »

Ghosts, girls, tie ups, mystery and intrigue!

Agree with [mention]Caesar73[/mention] - the mixed methods of telling this tale really add to it!
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Post by BlissfulMisery »

Nice little interlude.

Seems the ghost has quite a reputation, although of course as is traditional in any ghost story, nobody believes the wild tales of frightened people who probably just saw some bird or animal in the dark, right?
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Post by RopeBunny »

GreyLord wrote: 1 year ago If I could make a small request, would you consider tagging your fans at the beginning of a new story. Some of us are not as swift at picking up on new stories.
I shall try to remember to do this next time I begin something new.

Thanks all for commenting, next part below
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Post by RopeBunny »

003.
Sammy.

"Dumbass." I mutter, taking off after Morgan. Because she's being dumb.

Stupid.

For two reasons: who the fuck runs towards a scream? And, if you do, shouldn't you be able to see where you're going?

Probably Beth, or Michelle, or Em. Probably they just saw a bat. Or an owl.

I didn't, it wasn't. I'm almost sure that wasn't an owl up in the tree.

They aren't that far ahead. The path narrows suddenly, encroached by a shallow but water filled ditch on the left. Which- isn't life just great -I'm running on, and even with torch in hand, pointed downwards as best I can at the patch of ground directly in front of us, I don't see until it's too late.

At least, despite running into what feels like a knee high brick wall of water, I don't fall forwards. No. Only my entire legs get soaked as I plunge in then stumble- kicking plums of water all over everywhere but miraculously not at Morgan who manages to dodge the ditch completely -a couple of steps before coming out the other side.

"God fucking damn it."
"What?" Stopped, because right at our feet is the torch Beth was carrying, still on, beam illuminating a cone of grassy muddy path and the bushes beyond.

"Sam?" Morgan bending to pick up the torch, shines the beam at me whilst my own is pointed down too, both torches lighting up my now soaked through blue jeans.

"Oh." Morgan's beam flashes back the way we've just come, finding the ditch. "And you...?" Flicking the light back to me. "Oops."
"It isn't fucking funny." I tut. "My god damn jeans feel like lead weights now."
"I mean."
"Don't you dare laugh." Which I completely spoil by giggling at the end.

"No. Sorry." And then she's laughing too, reaching forward to playfully slap my leg. Which squelches, spraying droplets of water every which way.

Which sets us both off again.

"Do you want. Um?"
"What." Poking Morgan's black canvas combat trousers with my torch. "Offering to swap?"

Which to be fair we've been doing, swapping clothes, for years now.

Even as kids we've both been skinny. Now that we can shop the grown up sizes everything is, for us, an eight. Though maybe a third of Morgan's wardrobe is a ten- because she isn't on the girls football team like me -and despite both being a C cup Morgan wears a thirty-four. Neither of us can ever hope to match Michelle and her super size E's.

Lucky girl.

In fairness aside from Beth's curvy twelve we're all an eight to ten. The issue here is that we didn't bring any spare clothes. So I'm stuck being a drowning victim below the waist.

"Sure I am." Pulling me into a hug, tone heavy with sarcasm. "Anything for you best friend."
"Ha." Pushing her off. "So where are they?"
"Um?" Scanning, torch beam chasing a left/right arc up the path whilst I keep mine down directly in front of us. "Pass?"
"Did they run on ahead?"
"Without this?" Shaking the torch.

"Good point." Looking around, nothing but darkness, the shadowed bulk of trees and bushes. Nothing to hear but the wind, rustling leaves already mostly dead. "Maybe." I grin, because it's stupid, but it's also exactly what friends do to each other. "Hiding?"
"Maybe."

I take a couple of steps back, aware of a thick trunk directly behind me. "I think." Leaning back without looking. "Maybe we need fuck fuck fuck what the shit fuck?"

The back end of the sentence escaping my mouth at sudden rising volume as I leap forwards, colliding with Morgan in my panicked attempt to get away from the tree.

Which I just felt move against my back.

"Fuck." Morgan breathes out, the two of us playing torch beams up and down the wide trunk, trying to make what we're seeing make sense. "I think we found Beth."
"Fuck." Exhaling too, agreeing. I nod. "Damn. She looks like a...."
"Like a maypole." Morgan finishes for me, adding a nervous giggle.

She's been moulded to the tree so well, lashed in place by so much rope wrapped and bound so tightly, it's almost as though Beth has become a part of it.

My. Our friend. Beth's parents are Jamaican by birth, and over there dreadlocks, wrapping the hair into thick cords, for Beth's family at least it's a way of life. Almost a spiritual thing.

Plus she always gets a kick out of the frowns from teachers at school, because it isn't exactly a neat style, but it's too deeply a part of her culture to be taken away.

She's dark skinned too, and just like her parents Beth favours loud colours, right now aside from baggy blue jeans she's wearing a fitted purple tee underneath a bright red puffer jacket.

Clothes which the ropes have made skintight.

It looks, for real, like one continuous length of dirty off white rope. Maybe there are actually several knots behind her where an ugly looking patch of bramble prevents easy access, but I think it's one rope. Which makes the tie, whilst a crazy thing to behold, quite impressive too. It, the rope, crisscrosses Beth's body from forehead to ankles. She's posed like a soldier on guard duty, arms rigid by her sides, legs together, head held high with rope wrapping her forehead and neck, whilst several strands are inside her mouth, gagging Beth, forcing her lips back off her white teeth and rendering whatever she might want to say unintelligible.

"Who?" Shaking my head. "Even?"
"Ghost." Morgan, nodding as she leans in close, inspecting Beth as though our friend where a particularly interesting piece of art, and not a girl wriggling and moaning, eyes darting all over.

"Fuck off is it." Giving Morgan a playful shove. "Whoever heard of a kinky ghost."
"You wish." Grinning at me, making me blush because.

"Hey." Holding up a warning finger, smiling, but still. "That only happened one time."
"One time huh?" Still grinning, nodding like she knows I'm full of shit.

"Okay." Laughing. "One time that my parents know of. But." Putting a finger to my lips. "It's a secret. So. Hush."
"Scared the owl will hear?"
"Owl." Tutting, but glancing, shining my torch beam, up into the canopy anyway.

Expecting to see.

Something like a flash of grey it had been. There then gone.

Morgan though, seeing me check, laughs. Shakes her head and, still occasionally sniggering, cups a hand to her mouth and shouts.

"Em. Michelle."

"Chelle." Joining in on her next shout, because why not.

"Em."
"We're not coming out." This, making Morgan and me jump, Michelle's voice coming sheepishly from the bushes.

"Chelle?" Shining my torch beam at the bush, towards the sound of her voice. "Em in there too?"
"Yes." A slim hand and forearm appears, grey hoodie- which Em is wearing -rolled up to the elbow. Em, her arm anyway, gives us a wave.

Morgan laughs, and even I can't not smile.

"Come out girls."
"No." Still Michelle's voice. "We're fine in the bush thank you."
"Stop being little chickens." Morgan, teasing, playful. "I thought you wanted to be ghost hunters?"

"Saw the ghost." Em now, and in my brain I picture Michelle, Chelle, nodding. "We'll just stay here now thank you."

"Well...." I am, at a loss. Did Lucille's ghost do this to Beth? Is she, is seeing an actual ghost, really that scary?

Should we all just go home?

"No." Morgan, as though answering my unvoiced question, shakes her head. Shrugging off her backpack, which she dumps in front of still largely ignored, still wriggling and moaning Beth, Morgan marches with purpose towards then into the bushes.

"No."
"Come on Chelle."
"No. Morgan. Hey."
"Come on."
"Stop it, I'm not coming."
"Hey."
"Morgan."

This last is almost a shout as, huffing, showing more strength then I'd give her credit for, Morgan re-emerges, dragging Em and Chelle behind her by the arms.

"So." The four of us stood in a loose circle, Em and Chelle with their backs, purposefully it seems to me, facing Beth.

As though they don't want to see.

"So. Girls." I start again, patting Chelle on the shoulder, she flinches, but looks at me. I smile. "What happened?"

"She got Beth."
"She?"
"Lucille." Chelle, doing all the talking since Em seems too distracted, eyes roaming from one patch of dark to another. I hand over my torch, which she near takes my hand off to snatch away.

"We saw her."
"Yeah?" Morgan, happy, excited. Got to admit even I'm feeling a thrill like tingle at the thought that: she's real.

"What did she look like? What happened?"
"She." Chelle stops. Shrugs off the second backpack, takes out some water, Downing half the bottle. "She looked like that painting we found online."
"Yeah?" A young girl, got to be somewhere close to fourteen, our age. Slim, even without the corset I'd wager, with long curling blonde hair tumbling halfway down her back.

"Yeah." Chelle nods. "Just." Waving a hand over herself. "Just. Grey. All over, like a."
"Like a cloud." Em, a brief smile as her eyes roam over us before heading back out into the dark. "And." Em swallows, shakes her head. "She giggled."

"Giggled?" Morgan frowns. "Why?"
"She just did." Chelle shrugs. "She came in," Chelle, making an airplane of her hand palm down, soaring it down from head height into the space between us, "tied up Beth. Left." Chelle shakes her head, laughs briefly as she looks over her shoulder at Beth. "Poof."

"Well." Morgan claps her hands. "Let's go then."
"Yes." I nod. "Right. Come on then we'll."
"No. Sam." Calling after me, because, with Em- carrying a torch -beside me, I'm walking back towards the ditch, towards Coombe and the station.

Towards home.

"No?"
"No." Grinning, shaking her head. "Lucille's this way." Pointing towards Lupin Manor.

"Well." Actually, I'd wanted to see too, I'd just assumed Morgan was being sensible. As in: look a crazy ghost is actually real and it just tied up our friend well I gues we'd better do the safe thing and leave.

But I hadn't, don't, want to leave.

"Well." A smile, I know it's there I can feel it, grows on my face. "Okay then. Good."
"Really?" Em, still beside me even though I'm now walking back to Morgan and Chelle. "We're still actually going through with your crazy plan?"
"The groups crazy plan." Morgan, rummaging in the backpacks, removing the cameras- one of which she keeps, the other she hands to Chelle. "We all thought this up remember."

"Fuck it." Chelle, grinning too now, like and infectious thing, nods. "I'm still up for it." She does a couple of on the spot jumps like a boxer warming up, psyching themselves up pre fight.

And we are. All. Temporarily distracted by the sight of Chelle's E cups bouncing up and down inside the tight white vest top she's wearing beneath her unzipped blue hoodie and black puffer waistcoat.

It's, they, are quite a sight.

"Fine." And now even Em's smiling, though she shakes her head, no doubt at our general stupidity. "But when we're all tied up alongside Beth, I get to say I told you so."
"Sure." Morgan, waving her off. "Sure."
"Speaking of Beth." We've, somehow, all come back into a circle, only this time stood closer together, tighter. Like conspirators. I drop my voice. "What do we do?" Do we...?"

"She can watch over our bags." Chelle declares, almost like this: leaving our friend lashed to a tree in a strange place all alone whilst we go off to hunt an actual ghost, were all a game.

Morgan grins, Em laughs, and even I smile, shaking my head.

"Okay." Picking up the second backpack and walking over to Beth. "Hey."
"Mmggmgpp ffmffmmpp."
"Yes." Nodding. And I shouldn't be doing this. Beth is, after all, my friend. Our friend. But behind me Morgan and, someone else, are giggling. Which is infectious.

And.

Come on. It's, kinda, funny to leave her like this.

"Don't go anywhere." Patting Beth's leg as I hear a fresh snort of laughter from behind at my parting comment.

"Come on." Back with the group, noticing Chelle putting her camera away, which I guess means we've now got Beth, tied up, on film.

I wonder what our potential future audience is going to make of that?

And off we go, the four of us, abandoning Beth against the tree, our backpacks placed neatly at her feet. Off we go, deeper into the grounds of Lupin Manor, towards- we think, hope -another sighting of Lucille de Montefort's ghost.
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