The Long Story

OK, here's a little more..Im still working here *G*

"Those boots aren't very practical for here." Willie commented more over concern for her tripping and breaking her neck then cattiness.
She stopped and looked at Willie then down at her boots and shrugged. "Yeah, I know but they make my legs look great, right?" She smiled.
"Right.." James was looking at her legs. Nancy elbowed his ribs. James oofed. "Sorry" He grinned apologetically at Nancy who was giving him the stink eye.
The wild looking woman grinned at both of them and held out here hand to James.
"I'm Stevie, we talked on the phone? You're James, right?"
James colored a little and furrowed his brow. "Uh, yeah, but how..."
Stevie sighed and removed her glasses. She folded then and slipped them into the breast pocket of the large white shirt.
"look, you called me because I'm a psychic. If you try and remember that, we can make this happen a lot quicker. I know shit. Thats it. Deal."
"deal?" Willie mouthed at Tim. Tim shrugged back.
"Uh, can I ask you, Why Halloween night?" Willie wasn't sure how she felt about this odd woman. She liked her directness but she seemed a little too cocky and kind of obnoxious to her.
Stevie grinned. "For effect!" she laughed a little to herself. "No, really its the time when the psychic energies are strongest."
Jessie snickered. James shot him a warning look. Stevie looked at him.
"I know, it sounds all Woowoo and hocus pokus but really its true. It doesn't have anything to do with the date really. It's just the mind set of all the people around us. Everybody is open to the idea of ghosts and weird stuff, so their psychic energy is more open. Otherwise, its not them," she pointed her thumb over her shoulder towards the house. "its you." and she pointed one long red fingernail at Jessie. She grinned and walked towards the house.
The warning glare from James was enough to remind Jessie that he was supposed to behave himself.
Stevie stopped on the top stair. "Whoa.."
"What?" James was right next to her.
"it's just... strong.." Stevie looked at James. She furrowed her brow.
"Are you... you're the owner right?"
"Yeah, It came with a real estate purchase a few years back. I haven't been able to do anything with the property since then." James grimaced.
Stevie laughed. "Yeah, I don't doubt that. There are people living here. Dead people, yeah, but still.."
She looked closely at James for a moment. "You'll be fine, you're the legal owner."
James grinned. "..and the ghosts know that?"
Stevie rolled her eyes. "They WERE people. They knew the law and they'll understand it and respect it."
James looked a little confused. "but how will they know I'm the owner."
Stevie looked a little annoyed at all the interruptions but she was used to having to explain all this stuff.
"The best I can tell you is that when you own something, it becomes a part of your consciousness and that relates to your psychic energies."
James looked skeptical
"yeah, I know I know, but thats how it goes. You'll see" Stevie started towards the door and stopped again. She cocked her head like a dog listening to a distant whistle. She looked around and her eyes fell on Cami.
"and you." she paused. She looked at Cami, but her mind was a long ways away. "water.." she said. "why do I feel water. It's important water. Where you in water today?" She looked right at Cami.
"Uh... I took a shower this morn... OH wait.. I was! I went in the creek! When my car broke down I walked down to the creek and soaked my feet."
"Here?" Stevie pointed to the ground and raised her eye brows.
Cami grinned. "Well, no, in the creek behind the house."
"But on the house grounds?" Stevie was very serious. Cami started to worry.
"Yeah, I guess so. I walked up the creek to the big oak tree out back and walked up the back yard to look at the house."
Stevie nodded. "Okay, that explains it. I keep hearing water and 'its in her, its in her' don't worry about it too much. But you'll be fine here." She paused and looked around at the rest of the group. "I cant promise the rest of you that. This place is like a psychic torrent. There are either a lot of energies in there, or a few really strong ones. Either way, it's going to get messy."
No one backed away.
"Okay then, lets do this."Stevie slipped her glasses on and started forward.
"Um Stevie? may I ask you a question?" Nancy had positioned herself between the psychic and her man. The whole boots thing had her rattled.
Stevie let out a deep sigh. "What?"
"Well, I just wanted to know, what's with the glasses."
Stevie removed them and stared at them like she hadn't noticed them before.
"Oh, well, for me anyway, psychic energy can be like really bright sunlight. It gives me a headache unless I protect my eyes." Stevie slipped her glasses back on. "Now, any more questions?" She scanned the crowd like a stern teacher disciplining a classroom. "No? so can we move on?"
No one wanted to say anything. A few just nodded their heads.
"Great! " Stevie turned and walked to the door.

The whole group headed up the steps. As the porch creaked and moaned under the added weight, some of them decided to wait till the rest of the group moved on.
Cami stood on the ground below the porch with Jessie at her side. Tim and Willie had chosen to wait with them and bring up the rear.
Stevie stopped at the door and looked around. She motioned James to stand next to her then looked around till she saw Cami. She waved for her to join them on the porch. Cami looked trepidatious. Stevie was emphatic . Cami moved slowly past the others towards the front. Jessie followed her. Stevie held out her hand and stopped him. "you will have to stay back."
"No way, I go where she goes." Stevie stepped closer to Jessie and put her hand on his chest firmly. "Look, Cutie. This is serious. You are not welcome in this house. These two are. You could get me, US killed!. If you want to risk your life going in there, thats your business, but I'm flanking myself with safety here. YOU are not it!" Stevie gave him a gentle but firm shove back. "That goes for all of you. You want to come in, fine. Just stay back!"
Stevie reached for the door handle and stopped. It was large brass handle. It was brilliant and shiny as if it had been lovingly polished every day for the last 40 years. The rest of the house was falling down. The floor boards were buckled and splintered. The door itself was hanging on hinges ready to disintegrate with rust. It was warped and the paint was only a memory. But that door handle looked new.
"Did you replace this?" Stevie pointed at the handle and directed her question at James.
"No. We added some timbers to the entry way and reinforced some of the foundation to make it safe to enter, but we didn't bother to make it secure." James was studying the door handle carefully. "I don't think they even make these anymore. It takes this old skeleton key." James reached into his pocket and brought out an old fashioned skeleton key that shone as brightly as the door handle. "Weird! " James stared at the key. "I never even thought about the way it looked. It was just a key!"
Stevie stared at James. "You never noticed the shiny brass skeleton key before?" She was being facetious. James blushed "Well I, uh,.. no I guess not."
Stevie stared at him. "Uh huh. Well something funky is happening here. I guess we'll find out what."
She reached for the door handle again but pulled her hand away quickly as if she'd been burned.
"OW! .. well I cant open this. You'll have to." She turned again to James.
"Me?"
Stevie rolled her eyes again. "Yeah you. You ARE the owner right? Call it a psychic alarm system. I cant touch it, only the owner can."
James stepped forward and held out the key. It slipped easily into the key hole and the handle clicked and the door swung open. It was very dark inside but Stevie held her hand up to shield her eyes.
"Sheesh, damn, HEY, "she called into the house "Psychic here, could you turn it down a little?" She ducked her head and shielded her eyes, the stood straight and put her hand down. "That's better. THANK YOU!" She walked into the house holding onto James and Cami as if they were life preservers. The rest of the group looked at each other, shrugged and followed.
Stevie walked into the entry way and looked around. "Hmm... not much here. They aren't thrilled with your reinforcements." Stevie was looking at the raw wood beams and slats that had been added to keep the house from falling on them, then she looked at the rest of the group. Keeping a death grip on James and Cami, she pulled them into the dining area.
"OH now this is interesting..." She briefly loosened her grip on her two body guards and took a good look around. She stood very still and closed her eyes "Uh huh... uh huh..... yes... " It was like she was talking on a phone. "There are many of them here..." .
Everyone was very quiet, watching and listening. Stevie opened one eye and looked at James. "Did you hear me?"
James startled. "OH me? yeah.. I heard. How many?"
Stevie closed her eyes again. "um... I don't know, lots. It's like a crowded train station here. They are ignoring you. You're the owner, umm.. kind of like another passenger on the train. They don't care you're here." She turned her head towards Cami. "You they like. They're thrilled you are here." Stevie opened her eyes and looked at Cami. Her brow furrowed. "Have you been here before?"
"Me? no. I've never heard of Eaglesville till my car broke down on the highway. I've only been here for a few hours."
Stevie grinned. "They're good! You are supposed to be here. They say you belong to them."
Cami's jaw dropped and she turned a little white. "What? I.. I'm not.. I've never... What are you talking about?"
Stevie was still smiling. "Really they are brilliant! GOOD ONE!" she shouted into the air. "Did you plan on driving this way when you left where ever you came from?"
"Uh, no.. I just got in the car and drove.."
"and your car, where did it break down?" Stevie was leading Cami's thoughts.
"right out on the highway.." Cami gestured halfheartedly towards the Dark Desert Highway. She was beginning to understand where Stevie was leading with this line and she really did not want to believe it. She shook her head disbelievingly.
"No, no thats not possible. Its all just a coincidence"
Stevie shrugged.
"Believe what you want. But, you're here. They wanted you here. " She closed her eyes again and turned the two who flanked her in circles slowly till she faced a door at the far end of the room James held up his flash light to illuminate the door. It was a swinging entry into what James assumed was the kitchen. Stevie Stopped turning and faced the door. Her brow wrinkled and she cocked her head again. She took an unsure step towards the door then another. They were standing directly in front of the door. The rest of the crowd stood at the entryway to the dining room, afraid to come in. Willie stood by the corner of the archway peeking in. Her arms were curled around herself. It had been in the 80's outside the house, it was probably about 45 degrees inside. She shivered. Tim wrapped his arms around her for warmth and security. Don held Jessica similarly but they stood directly in the archway and watched with interest as Stevie, James and Cami explored the room. Nancy and Jessie were the only two who stood in the room directly but didn't move far from the archway. Danielle and Almanzo manned the other side of the archway. She kept her face buried in his chest as he petted her hair comfortingly. None of the group was able to move further into the room. None of them really wanted to.
Stevie moved very close to the door and turned her head as if she were going to put her ear to the door. She moved very close and listened at the door without touching it.
"Push the door open slightly." She turned her head directing her request at James. He raised his hand slowly and put it on the door. It felt cold and hard, like any old door. He pushed gently. The door opened a crack.



more coming...

Good work Ticky!! Sounds like Eaglesville is the type of town you can check out of but never leave!

Love it! Can't wait to see what comes next.

Has anyone seen the film U-Turn? I watched it the other day and couldn't help thinking of Eaglesville. Although the latter is MUCH cooler!

Excuse me Ticky--Where are you? It's been almost 20 hours without an entry here!!! You shouldn't leave us hanging like that-of course you left me in Timothy's arms so I guess I can wait awhile longer...:)

Ok ok ok! cheeeez woman! IM not a machine! heheehe I think I have enough for the next post. Here ya go...



Stevie held up her hand to shield her eyes as if a bright light was bursting from the room. She turned her head towards the others by the arch way.
"You guys get out of here right now! Its not safe!"
Suddenly, it was as if there was explosion that only hit Stevie. It threw her back across the dining room and she landed on her back beneath a set of broken bay windows.
Jessie and James ran to Stevie. Nancy stood frozen in shock by the arch way. Don started towards Stevie "Take the rest out please, Don"
Don gathered Jessica, Almanzo and Danielle and pulled on Nancy's arm.
"NO, Im going to help" Nancy went to Cami and led her stunned away from the door. It had slammed shut, as much as a swinging door could, and hadnt moved since.
Stevie sat up cursing a blue streak.
"WELL THAT WAS TOTALLY UNNECESSARY!" She shouted at the door. "...bastards....slam me against the floor.." she was mumbling as she stood. Don and Jessie were trying to help her but she shook them off. "IM fine... Lets get out of here. Our 'HOSTS' are somewhat LESS then poilte!" she directed her words towards the offending door. Nancy and Cami were already heading for the front entry and Jessie, seeing that Stevie didnt need his help, ran to catch up with Cami.
Stevie was obviously rattled and stocked out the front door mumbling about the abuses thrown upon her by the rude arrogant spirits. James followed her out and locked the door behind him. He wasnt sure it would make any differnce but better safe then sorry. He joined the group who was garthered in front of the house. Every one was safe, but scared. "Lets meet at the cafe. We need to get away from here." Everyone agreed and hopped in to cars and trucks Stevie had headed for her car, an old Volkswagon bug in need of a paintjob, but she was having a hard time with her keys. James and Nancy looked at eachother. James made an apologetic face and shrugged, Nancy rolled her eyes and nodded her head.
"Uh Stevie?, would you like to Join us at the cafe? We really need to talk about what happened tonight."
"Is there coffee at the cafe? I need coffee." Stevie was indeed rattled.
James smiled. "Oh yeah, if there is one thing the cafe has, it's coffee."
"Good." She kept trying to put her key in the door lock, then she'd look at it and switch to a different key.
"Well, maybe you'd like to go with us? In my truck? then after, I'll bring you back here for your car." James was being as gentle and diplomatic as he could.
"Yeah, whatever.." Stevie stocked over to James truck. James looked at Nancy and shrugged. Nancy returned his shrug and turned to Stevie.
"Are you alright?" Nancy's concern was genuine. She may not have been thrilled with James attraction to her, but Stevie was a remarkable lady and had been through a lot in that one night.
Stevie looked at Nancy as if she hadnt realized she had been there. "Yeah, im fine, who are you?" Nancy smiled and held out her hand. "Im Nancy, Im with James."
"Nice to meet you Nancy, Im sorry I cant shake your hand. I need to bathe in warm salt water first. Once you've been charged by negative ions via psychic energies, you have to realine with saline or I could give oyu one HELL of a shock."
Nancy closed her hand and pulled it away. "I see, Im sorry. Did it hurt?"
James Opened the door for them and Stevie slid into the truck.
"Hell Yeah it hurt! I mean if you call 65 volts of electricity coursing through your body and out your head hurting!" Stevie moved gingerly in the truck. She was sore, there was no question. James helped Nancy into the truck giving her hand a squeeze before shutting the door. Nancy sat awkwardly next to Stevie who was holding her ribs as if she'd been punched in the stomach.
"Gonna have a nasty bruise tomorrow. Damn it. I just get healed and.."
James opened the drivers side door and hopped in the truck. It was a cozy fit. "..shoulda drove the Mercury.." James mumbled and they drove down the dirty drive away from the old mansion.


More coming..

Considering the Sad Cafe was closed, it was doing a bang-up business. The parking lot was filled with cars and inside, the booths, tables and counter were filled with patrons. Everyone was quiet. The experience they had just shared had shaken them all. Tim was the first to speak.
"There's no such thing as ghosts, right?" He wasn't speaking to any one in particular. It was more like he was talking allowed to himself.
"Right.." Willie was sitting with him in a booth. Tim was turning a packet of sweet n low around and around in his finger tips.
"So what was that?" He turned and looked at her.
Don shook his head and grinned. "I don't know about the rest of ya'll, but I'm just coming down off a 24 hour binge! As far as I'm concerned, that was a hallucination."
Jessica smiled. "I saw to Don. Are we sharing hallucinations now too?" She raised her eye brows. Don't grinned back at her.
"It couldn't have been a hallucination. I saw it too and I've been sober for years." Almanzo had taken Don's comment seriously, trying to consider all possibilities. "Unless we were all drugged! Maybe there was something in the air!"
Just then Stevie, James and Nancy came in the door. Stevie let out a sarcastic laugh and pulled up her shirt to reveal a large star shaped bruise starting to appear on her abdomen. "Is this a hallucination? You think drugs did this? I don't think so." The group gasped. Jessica jumped up and ran to the back for an ice pack.
Nope, what you've got up there is a whole bunch of psychic entities being held captive, if you will, by one really nasty and down right rude little piss ant. Well not so little." Jessica handed Stevie the ice pack. She placed it carefully on the bruise cringing and gasping a few time.
"Thanks.."
Jessica smiled warmly.
"I'm a nurse, I could look at that if you'd like."
Stevie cringed at the cold ice on her belly.
"nah It's ok, I get this more often then I'd like to admit. Although, this one is a really nasty son of a bi.."
"So how do we get rid of it? Don't the rest of those poor.. uh entities need to be released?" James had interrupted another assault on his ears.
Stevie looked up at James, then over at Cami. "She's the key. I don't know how or why, but they were really happy to see her. Well, most of them were. That's why She's not where I am right now. They protected her, ..and you," Nodding towards James. "Being the owner of the property, you have a free pass, well, for now anyway."
"Wh..what do you mean for now?" James was working hard at keeping his cool, but he was shaken. Nancy took hold of his hand and held it tight. HE took it in both his hands. Obviously both were in need of some comfort and support.
"Well," Stevie eased into a chair by a table in the middle of the room. This had already been a long night and it looked like it might get longer.
Danielle jumped up to make coffee. She was familiar with it now, why not, she figured.
"Ghosts, or entities or whatever you want to call them, were, once, just people like us. Some are good, some not so good and some are just evil." She readjusted her ice pack, cringed and started again. "They new our world, or the world the way it was when they died. Most of these spirits are from about the same era. I'd say somewhere around the 1920s or so. They understand deeds and ownership. Once you own something, you leave an imprint on it psychically and it on you! So James, your ownership of that place is a part of who you are, whether you like it or not. They recognize that and respect that. However, this big guy, he's strong and he's bad! Now I say HE because I don't know, it could as easily been a she. But he or she may not recognize the law or things like titled ownership, just like there are people alive who don't recognize the law or ownership or just don't care."
Danielle came by with coffee cups and fresh coffee for anyone who wanted it. She poured a large steaming cup and placed it before Stevie.
Stevie opened three sugar packets and two creamers and dumped them in her cup. "Oh, I need to wash up." She stood up slowly holding the ice pack to her belly. "Is there a large sink and some salt in the back?"
"Yes, of course, I will show you." Danielle lead Stevie to the back of the cafe.
James let out a deep sigh and leaned heavily against the counter.
"You dont believe all this bull shit do you?" Jessie was watching his big brother. The weight of the world had just landed on his shoulders, like it had many time before.
"Jessie, I don't know what to believe, but I saw that with my own two eyes. I felt her being thrown across the room, and I've seen the bruise. How do you just explain all that away? It'd be one thing if it had been on TV or a show put on for our benefit, but we saw it! We felt it!" Nancy wrapped her arms around James waist. He hugged her to him. All the couples seemed to pull close seeking some comfort away from that growing cold feeling. Even Jessie and Cami found some comfort in holding each other. The amount of time that had passed between them didn't seem to matter as much as the experiences they had shared.

Awww! That was fantastic. Lovely last couple of lines :grouphug:

Stevie came out from the back room and surveyed the room full of couples hugging. She sighed and shook her head. "Look, it's not as bad as you think. All you need to do is find out this ones," she pointed to Cami " connection to that old place. Once you find that out, it should be obvious what needs to be done. Do it and it will all go away."
Stevie picked up her coffee mug, drained it and walked to the door. She stared over at James and Nancy who were Holding each other tightly. "I hate to break this all up, but do you think you could give me a ride to my car?"
James kissed Nancy's forehead and whispered, "Ill be right back. You want to wait here? or meet me at the ranch?"
Nancy smiled up at him. "I think I'd better wait here and try and get everyone calmed down a little."
James looked at her with a concerned brow. "You okay?"
Nancy hugged him. "Yeah I'm fine. You go. I'll be here when you get back"
He held her tight for a moment more. Stevie cleared her throat. James kissed Nancy's temple and let go. James and Stevie walked out the door to his truck and pulled out of the drive.
After James and Stevie left, the entire room seemed to turn to Cami. Jessie held on to her as if to protect her from the burning stares.
"I have no idea." Cami was shaking her head. She held on to Jessie. He was her life line here. "I don't know much about my family, but my own life has been down right dull! I was born and lived in the same town all my life! I worked at the college there from the time I was 18 till just a few days ago!"
"Why did you leave?" Almanzo spoke up.
She looked at him. She was frightened. "Look Almanzo, Cami doesn't have to answer to us. She's an victim here as much as any of us."
"No, It's ok Jessie. I don't mind." Cami looked up into his eyes. He searched her face and touched her hair. "You don't have to."
She smiled. "I know." Cami turned to Almanzo, Danielle and all the rest of the group gathered there. "Academia sounds like a wonderful place. If you've been to college and lived on campus, you know what I mean. But if you work there, you'll discover its a cut throat, dog eat dog world. It takes a very competitive person to thrive there. I just got stabbed in the back once too often and I walked out. I got in my car and drove. I don't know what brought me here. Maybe she was right." Jessie put his hands on her shoulders rubbing them gently. Cami leaned back into him and closed her eyes. It felt good to have someone on her side. She hadnt had that for a long time.
Fiddler was the first to stand. He'd been quiet till now. He wasn't the type to believe any of this ghost and gobblin garbage, but there had been no denying what he'd seen. "Look. I don't know what happened tonight, and I don't really see as how it's much of our business. I do know, however," He turned and smiled down at Cathy. "I promised this beautiful lady I'd see her home before too late," He held out his hand and Cathy took it. She stood next to Fiddler and looked at all the others around her. "Good night everyone. It's been an interesting night." Cathy smiled and walked out the door with Fiddler.
"I think they had the right idea. It's late and we're all exhausted. Let's call it a night." Don took Jessica's elbow and led her to the door. Almanzo jumped up. "That's my ride. Good night Jess, Cami, it's been nice to meet you." Danielle trotted over to Cami and gave her a small hug. "I am so glad you are here. Please stay a while." She smiled sweetly and ran after Almanzo.
Nancy looked around the diner.
"Let's get this mess cleaned up a little."
Jessie kept his eyes one Cami. She was'nt looking too strong. He wanted some time to talk to her and let her know she wasnt alone in all this.
"That's okay Sheriff. We can get it." Jessie grinned. "My brother should be back any minute."
Nancy colored a little and smiled. "Right. Okay then, I'll see you two tomorrow. G'night." She walked to the door, looked back at Jessie and Cami, smiled and left.
Jessie and Cami were left alone in the diner. Cami began to collect coffee mugs and walk behind the counter. Jessie followed her and helped clean and put them away.
"I'll walk you to the Last Resort. It's not the Hilton, but it's the best we got, and it's not that bad." Jessie grinned. Cami looked at him skeptically and smiled wanly.
"Look, Cami. Don't put a whole lot of meaning in what they say." Jessie nodded his head towards the door where everyone had departed. "It was a strange night all around and they're just trying to make sense of it all."
"Me too." Cami said quietly. She looked down at her feet and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. She suddenly felt very cold inside. Jessie stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. she was stunned at first. Her spine tightened and her head pulled back, but he didn't let go. Soon she found her head laying on his shoulder and her arms slipped around his waist. It felt so good to have someone who cared about her. Someone who would comfort her and make her feel human again. She'd been hard and cold too long. As her heart melted, silent tears eased from her eyes and seeped into Jessie's shirt. He lifted her chin and looked into her face. His large, warm strong hands touched her cheek and one calloused thumb wiped away the tears. He smiled softly and pulled her forward. His lips were soft on hers as they brushed by like a breeze. He brushed her lips again and then pressed them gently spreading them and kissing her deeply. She melted in his arms giving in to him. His body molded to hers and they stood pressed together in the empty cafe.



Let's get back to the fun stuff *G*

Well, i've finally gotten all caught up on the Long Story and i gotta say that i'm completely hooked. Ticky, you have quite a talent. I look forward to seeing what you come up with next.