You're investigating a murder with Marcus Pike at a creepy house. You think it's haunted, but Marcus refuses to believe you.

Until you both end up witnessing some phenomenon that neither of you can explain.

Some mild swearing and some scary imagines.

.................

Ugh. You so hate the look of this place. If there's actually such a thing as a haunted house, this is definitely how one would look.

And the dead body lying in the middle of the creaky old floor isn't exactly soothing your anxiety over this place.

You wander around, slowly, taking everything in. You sneeze. Ugh! This place is allergies central, what with all the dust and cobwebs scattered around.

You slowly make your way back into the main room and...bump into somebody or... something. You scream, automatically reaching for the gun at your hip.

"Easy!" You open your eyes, realizing that you'd squeezed them shut.

"It's only me!" Marcus. You clutch your chest, your heart fluttering wildly.

"Don't do that!" You practically scream at him.

"Sorry. I was just looking for you. Come on. I got something I wanna show you."

Your heartbeat slows down some as you carefully follow Marcus into a study. He shines his flashlight around until the beam lands on an old desk, sitting in the center of the room.

He walks over and you gingerly follow, unsure of how stable this flooring is.

"Look." Marcus pulls open the top drawer and reveals an old, antique gun and some crystalized gin. You peer at them, but make no move to touch, either.

"That's disgusting," you say as you turn away. A family portrait hanging on the wall catches your eye and you shine your own flashlight over it, trying to get a better look.

The old fashioned way that the people are dressed, clearly show that this portrait was taken ages ago. Their solemn expressions give you the willys.

You turn and see...a faint shadow dart away from the room. Your poor heart starting pounding again and you hurry back over to where Marcus is standing.

"Did-did you see that?"

"See what?"

"A.. shadow." Crap! There it is again!

"Marcus, let's get outta here, okay? I'm starting to freak out just a little."

Marcus steps closer and takes your hand. He gives it a warm squeeze, which is helpful.

"Y\N," Marcus says. "You probably just saw your own shadow and got spooked. There's nobody here but us and the rest of the team."

He leads you back to the main room, where the body is getting loaded up. Marcus releases your hand and you immediately want to grab his back.

The coroner and his team are putting the body into the back of her truck. Then...there's low moan and you immediately shriek, making a grab for Marcus.

"What has gotten into you?" Marcus asks.

"There's... spirits or something here! And they're not happy we're around. We need to go!"

You hurry towards the door, but stop short as a faint whitish figure floats by you. You nearly pass out from fright.

You look at Marcus, whose face has gone white. He saw it, too. Sure, nobody else is around here! What a joke!

You rush to Marcus, grab his hand and practically drag him outside into the cool night air, gasping for air.

"I...I..told... you!" You manage to gasp as you bent over at the waist, fearing you'll throw up.

"Okay, okay. So I was wrong! So sue me!" 

"What's wrong?" The coroner asks as he steps closer to you and Marcus.

"There's... ghosts in that creepy old house!" You burst out.

"I'm not surprised," the coroner says. "A place like this? Especially when a murder takes place. There's bound to be something hanging around. Well, I'll be seeing you!"

With a wave, he joins his team and they head out. Only you and Marcus are left.

"Do we really have to go back inside and check everything out again?" You ask Marcus.

"We'll come back in the morning. Once the sun's out, it won't seem as scary. And we can bring reinforcements."

You slip your hand into Marcus' and head for the car, grateful to be getting away from this spooky place. At least until morning anyways.

With any luck, you won't have to stick around here for much longer.

"I think after a encounter like that, " Marcus says, once you're both safely inside the car and driving away.

"This calls for some late night dessert. What'd you say? You up for some peach pie and a vanilla milkshake at our favorite diner?"

"I could use something sweet after that freaky encounter." Marcus chuckles and reaches over for your hand.

"Me too."