A Haunting in New Orleans

"Strange," she thought, "She must have forgotten her phone when she went to work."

Katrina took her things and put them in one of the storage closets so they would be out of sight, then went to the kitchen and left Jen a note, telling her where they would be when she came back. When she moved into the living room, though, she stopped dead in her tracks. The temperature had suddenly dropped at least 20 degrees in a matter of seconds. It was like walking into a wall of cold air. She checked the air conditioner. It was off. Katrina knew some of these old homes had drafts, but it was at least 90 degrees outside!

"Great," she brushed her arms to rub away the gooseflesh, "now how am I going to explain this one."

Before she could finish the thought, the cool air went away just as quickly as it came, but it left her with a weird, creepy feeling that she couldn't shake off, like someone was watching her now. She recalled Jen telling about a "creepy" feeling she also had when in the house. Where WAS she anyway?

Katrina stood silent for several minutes, half-expecting someone to come walking into the room. Nothing happened, and like the cold air, the feeling went away. She shook her head and laughed nervously.

"OK girl, get a grip on yourself."

She decided there was still time to grab a quick lunch before the 1:00 walk-through, and hoped the couple would be here waiting when she got back. Grabbing her briefcase and coat, she quickly headed for the front door. It was then, she noticed the door to the cellar standing wide open.

"Odd. Wasn't that closed when I first came in?"

She set the coat and briefcase down, then went over to the door and stood at the top of the steps.

"Jen?" she called out. Silence.

She tried the light switch on the wall but it didn't work.

"Probably the circuit breaker outside," she thought to herself. "That's easy enough to fix."

Katrina then reached for the door to close it, when suddenly, a breath of icy air wafted up the steps and brushed against her silk blouse. She drew a breath. She felt a tinge of arousal course through her body, with the same force one might feel after receiving a shock from touching an empty light socket. Her nipples tightened and pressed against her bra. She wanted to move away from the door, but she couldn't. Something was holding her!

"Get out of there!" her own voice inside warned, but it sounded far away, and weak.

She stood in the doorway for what seemed like an eternity, looking down into the black void. Looking past it. If Katrina could see herself, she would have recognized the same thousand mile stare she saw in her friend's eyes the day before. She took one step forward, then another. She paused a minute and waited for her voice to warn her again, but it was gone, replaced by another voice; a masculine voice. She continued again, down the dark cellar steps.

"I'm coming," she whispered, and the door closed behind her.

End