Murderhouse

The full moon set the stage of the 'scary movie' style house. Looming above her head, the moon cast shadows before Adeline's very eyes. Despite her being leery to enter, her friends pushed along the left side where they entered the cellar of "Murderhouse."

The house held dozens of rooms that carried hundreds of memories. The owners have been hosting many parties in the mansion for the past two decades, this being one of them. The BYOB shows where bands set up in the cellar with the small p.a. and play their heart out for the drunk and stoned party goers. A small following formed for the shows and a family was created with that strong bond; a bond that only a warm keg in a haunted mansion could form within a group of people grunting through college.

Adeline found herself walking down the cement steps to enter the basement of this experience. Her first time in the rumored carnival of the party and there's no way out- but in. The small room held a washing machine that used to be white but it's now covered in an orange-brown film. The knob for the size of load has been broken off and pliers now set it to medium. Ducking her head to enter the main part of the house, she saw the main room, opened wide and dark but full of a pulsing life by the people already drinking from cups and talking to other familiar people. Adeline, on the other hand, knew the three people she came with who seemed to have forgotten her and disappeared. But with a cup in hand and a front row place, when the first band started she felt like she belonged.

She has never seen the band before; a rock quartet- drums, bass, lead guitar and rhythm with vocals. The band played as if they were born with their instruments and talent in tow. The drummer pounded the beat while the bassist throbbed with the pulse for the rhythm guitarist to sing the poetic melody.

But the lead guitarist is who really caught Adeline's eye. His stage presence was dripping with confidence as he held his guitar like a fragile weapon. She stared as impolitely as she could as his fingers tore over the neck of his guitar like a mad man. When she finally moved her gaze from his shred, she looked over his ripped jeans and fitted black tee to his face. His dirty blond hair fell cleanly around his face like an invisible wind with each whip of the guitar.

As soon as those ice blue eyes met hers, her breath left her lungs on a sigh.

He was mesmerizing as the concentration swam over his face, but his eyes were all for her. He blinked his steady glare from her hypnotized eyes and tore through an insane solo to end the set. He placed the guitar on a stand for the next band to use and walked off. He started towards Adeline and after a brief pause next to her he walked into the crowd beyond.

In that split second as he walked past, she missed her chance to talk to him, to meet him... anything. She turned quickly but he was gone. Admitting defeat, she went to refill her cup. The keg was close to the door and as she maneuvered her way through the crowd, she saw his face a few feet away. Her chance! With a half filled cup forgotten in her hand, she moved to the door to find him already gone but she walked to the stairs and as carefully as she could, ran up them two at a time.

Outside, it was dark and a little colder now than when she was in the stuffed up cellar. Her breath came out in a puff of white as she noticed him in the backyard, alone and standing among the trees. He had a bottle of beer in his hand and took a swig of it as she walked slowly towards him. He was leaning on the trunk of a tree watching her like a lion watches a gazelle before he pounces. And then he did the most extraordinary thing- he smiled. He smiled a bright and innocent flash of his teeth. The simple gesture brought to mind a flower blooming, attracting the bee to its promised nectar before opening its leaves and devouring the unsuspecting insect. It was so unexpected that Adeline stopped walking a few steps away from him too far.

"You can come closer, I don't bite."

She wasn't sure of that. That smile could only mean trouble, especially when it's on that face. But she took a few more steps closer.

"So, did you enjoy our set?"

His voice was a soft whisper when he talked but as masculine as a whisper could be. She could feel her muscles tighten at the timbre of his words. When she nodded, he said, "But you don't want to talk to me about our show, do you?"

"No." She wasn't sure why she said it so fast, but it was said and he smiled again.

"No, you wouldn't." After a small pause, he said, "I've never seen you at the shows before. Is this your first time here?"

This time it was Adeline that smiled, "Yes, I came here with some friends."

He nodded towards the huge building behind her and said, "How would you like to see the house? Trust me;" his voice dropping deeper as he came closer to her, "The inside is so much more interesting than the basement."

She looked over at the house. All the windows dark save for one or two. With a comical gulp she agreed as he took her hand and guided her to the back door. Adeline had no problem admitting that she was scared, but when he took her hand, all the fear and hesitation in her body left and she walked forward with him.

The door was rough to get open but as soon as it was, he left her in an empty room to light a candle.

"Take this," he said as he handed it to her. "This will scare all the bad ghosts away." She laughed at him in a joke she didn't understand before he put a hand at the small of her back and walked her down a hallway. She peeked around a bit but the room was so dark, she couldn't make out the sofa in the corner or the chest of drawers to the left, let alone the little mouse under the table hiding from the light.

With the fingertips guiding her, he led her to a stairway and she walked up in silence, not asking questions about where they were going. At the top of a staircase, a door was open before her and without him guiding her anymore, she walked through.

Placing the candle stand on a table in the middle of the room, she saw it was a music room. A grand piano stood in the corner covered in dust with a harp a few feet away facing the window. She could almost see a woman in Victorian dress gazing out the window at her garden as a sad song played through her fingers.

"It's beautiful," she said turning around to find herself alone in the room. Without him there, she froze in fear of the strange house. "H-h-hello?" creaked from her throat as a small panic set in.

Turning once more, she approached the door and her hand froze on the knob. "Shh..." filled her ears and she could feel the breath of his voice on her skin. Looking behind her, he was gone again. Adeline was getting too scared to pursue him any longer so she went for the door to leave, but found it locked.

"The door is locked, the door is locked," Chanted in her head as if her prayer would open the door. Logic left her mind and she saw herself barreling through the door with her skin pricked with splinters of freedom. Before she could escape, hands gripped her shoulders pulling a scream from her. He held her to his body and she heard his voice again.

"Shh... don't be afraid, I won't hurt you." His voice soothed her mind and made her feel safe while it tightened other things and made her feel hot.

"Where did you go? I thought you left me."

Her hands slowly rose to grip his hands and feel them closer but he slid them down her back and held her hips, his touch nothing more than the whisper of a caress. She wanted more, she needed feel more of him to feel safer; but when she leaned into him she met air. He was gone once more. But she still felt like he was holding her in his embrace.

With her eyes closed she turned to face him and felt his kiss on her trembling lips, coaxing them apart to taste her deeper. This was solid; he felt solid now, holding her and kissing her roughly. His kiss gave her the open window she needed to throw all of her trust and fear into him, letting her just feel.

He pushed her gently back until she felt the fabric of the couch meet her calves. He laid her down and covered her with his body, pressing her into the couch with a new force that took Adeline by surprise. With a little cry, she sank into the cushions and finally met the frozen gaze of her rock star as her baby bird eyes opened to him looming above her.

"What is your name?" she asked when he moved his lips away.

"Why do you want to know?"

She smiled when his hand slithered from her hip to cup her chin. "I guess you could say that I want to have something to scream later."

Her bold statement brought a new flash of desire into his eyes which she could see burn before her. He dipped his head to her ear and sucked on the lobe, teasing the skin harshly before saying, "Chris. My name is Chris."

With that, he moved his hand from her chin and slid his fingers under the waist of her jeans to dip into her. He whispered, "Now scream," before pressing two fingers into her hole and pressing as deep as his hand can take them. As her silky cry crawls out of her throat, Adeline's fingers curled into Chris's shoulders when his name echoed off the walls.

Without feeling his body move off of her, she feels the zipper of her pants pulled and almost felt her jeans... disappear, along with the rest of her clothes. She tossed her head back and forth over the pillow on the sofa as her body moved in time with his fingers.

She opened her eyes and didn't see him in front of her, but she could still feel his hands touching her, his mouth kissing all over her skin. As Adeline's body erupted from the inside, she screamed in time with the ripples- in both pleasure and fear.

He was gone. But he was there.

The motions and sensations stopped on her body and she lay out of breath, sweat falling down her temples and running through the soft valley between her breasts. But Chris was nowhere in sight. After a moment, Adeline stood naked in the dark room feeling vulnerable and used, but still wanting Chris as she began to look for her clothes. They sat on the piano bench, folded neatly.

She padded over on bare feet and bent down to retrieve her clothes and felt warm hands grab her around the waist.

"Chris?" she asked gently.

"I'm here. I told you not to be afraid"

The warmth of safety soothed her as she fell back into his arms, Chris holding her close. He kissed the back of her neck and pulled her closer. Adeline still felt safe with him, brave even. But she couldn't shake a small unease that began to form in the back of her mind. What happened in her brain to make him disappear like that? Well, she'll think about that later. Right now he's here, solid and naked, hard and erect behind her.

Chris turned her around and sat her on the piano bench with a swift plop onto the hard wood. The smile he gave her showed mischief and confidence when he leaned closer to Adeline's face. She leaned back and rested her elbows on the keys, creating a mess of notes to swim in the air, breaking a soft silence. His teeth came down on her bottom lip, taking her by surprise. She held onto his arms as they caged her in on her sides. Her legs spread, his hips pressing close.

"Chris..." she groaned.

"Good, you remembered my name."

"Why?"

"So you'll still have something to scream." And with that wicked grin not slipping a stitch on his face, he slammed into her. She could almost feel the windows rattle as her yells rocked the room.

He stayed inside of her and rested his forehead on her clavicle when she threw her head back. Her body trembled with her effort to stay in one spot. Then he moved again. One more thrust until he was completely inside of her and his fingers trembled on the sides of the piano bench.

Their bodies flowed together in a rhythm like wings on the backs of fairies. With every press into her body, Adeline's elbows would hit another note on the piano until it became almost musical. With the pressure building at the base of her spine, she moved her hips faster, chanting his name in a tattoo upon the air.

Faintly in the back round, she heard a voice tickling her ear, a few different voices, but she didn't care. What ever he was doing right now to her neck felt so good. His teeth were taking bites from her skin and moving all thoughts from her mind, her body taking control and filling her nerves with pins and needles.

She felt everything inside- every organ, every cell- almost hold their breath as a whole before screaming at once in an explosion. Her body seemed to melt from within and drip from between her legs, sending warm chills and shivers everywhere. When they both slowed down and Chris lay on top of her, holding her close, there was only one word that came to mind- delicious.

In the haze of her eyes, she saw the door open but didn't care. She saw a flashlight's beam glide over their naked bodies but didn't give it a thought.

"I swear I heard the piano," a girl said.

The boy with her approached them at the piano and said, "See, Amber. There's nothing here. A few broken keys, but nothing here."

"Nothing here? I'm here. You're staring right at me!" Adeline yelled at the jerk and then noticed Chris. Well, noticed his absence once again. She stood up and released her elbows from the keys, making them jump up and the couple moved away with a horrified gasp.

The girl screamed, "See! I fucking told you! I knew this place was haunted!"

They ran out of the room before Adeline could even say, "stop" or "wait."

Haunted?

She stood back and saw her clothes were gone. Damn it, did he leave and steal her clothes? She turned and felt a tingle... something over her body. Looking down she saw she was fully dressed again. Ok, she REALLY didn't remember dressing now.

"The first night is always the hardest."

Adeline whipped around and saw Chris leaning, clothed as well, against the window. "The confusion is so over whelming. It's hard to even believe. And even that takes time to..." he grinned and let out a small laugh at a joke she didn't get, "to live with."

He turned and that's when she noticed his back. The same back that she clung to for the mind blowing kisses and the same back she held onto when they made love. It was a complete ruin. A mess of bone and meat spread over a ripped shirt. What was left of his spine was showing and everything else around it seemed to be pulled to it. He turned to look at the terror on her face.

"Ten years ago. It was a show with a new band I just joined, our first with me officially as part of the band. Some guys showed up that looked like they were bad news but, at the party we all try to invite people in no matter what they look like."

As Chris was talking, Adeline began to tremble, not taking her eyes away from his wound. Even when he would turn to look at her and then peer out the window again, she still couldn't get the picture out of her mind. How can he still be walking with those kinds of injuries? And what was he talking about?

"I went upstairs to look for the bathroom and I walked into here." He looked around with a hint of a smile. "I liked this room and the ancient instruments. That's when one of them found me. As I turned to walk away, he pulled out a shotgun. I've been here ever since."

As if the gears of a clock clicked into her head to midnight, she realized, "ghost."

Chris was dead.

"They killed seven people that night as well as raped four girls- one a piece."

She ran out of the room in a panic as she heard his voice, sounding like it was right in her ear, "Don't be afraid." Every time she heard him say that, she tended to have another reason to be frightened.

She faced the top of the steps- and froze. At the base of the stairs, lay a body. But before she could scream or move she felt Chris come up behind her nudging her closer. Numb with the fear of being around two dead bodies, she stepped forward, stepping down the stairs.

She walked closer and looked at the body, crumpled at the base of the stairs. It was girl. She knew because she was wearing a skirt similar to the one she had on. Actually, just like it.

The gears clicked once more.

"My God, that's me."

Chris stood behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders as they heard the first scream peel through the empty air as the body was discovered. "I told you the first night is always the hardest."