Penelope was preparing herself to take a shower. She was exhausted from her earlier travels and had chose to distance herself from both her mother and aunt. Especially since her aunt had been acting so peculiar.

She was obviously hiding something. Something dark and heavy. She'd sensed it from the moment she'd stepped inside this unique and strange place.

Penelope went into the bathroom, which was freezing cold, noticing that the window was wide open. She hurried to quickly close it as goosebumps rose on her skin. She struggled with the window finally managing to shut it firmly, shivering from the cold air.

She hurried over to the shower, twisting the hot water knob on and adjusting the temperature before moving to quickly to undress and slip beneath the hot stream of water, enjoying the feeling of the heat. Penelope stood there for a few minutes before finally beginning to wash herself.

Once she finally finished, she stepped out, the bathroom filled with steam from the hot shower. Penelope wrapped up in a fluffy, white towel. She turned and gasped. Written on the fogged up mirror said, "BOO."

****

Quinn Casey was driving down the road, as the sun dropped down low on the horizon, her eighteen year old niece, Laina Walker, seated in the passenger seat, scrolling through her phone.

"I do hope you're not going to be on that phone the entire time you're here," Quinn said. Laina didn't respond. She was too wrapped up in whatever she was looking at on her phone.

As they crested the hill, Quinn noticed that Esper Hall was all lit up. Usually there was only one or two lights on that she'd see whenever she'd have the nerve to drive past the creepy old manor house at night. That place really gave Quinn a fright. She'd heard the unsettling stories that surrounded the property.

Apparently there had been multiple murders in the place and a possible suicide or two. Some friends of Quinn's had actually been inside the old structure and said they'd seen things. Things that no one could explain.

"Is that the haunted house you're always talking about?" Quinn jumped at the sound of her niece's voice.

"Yes. That's the place. We'll have to drive by when it's lighter outside so you can have a proper look at it."

"It's look pretty spooky in the dark," Laina said, leaning forward, trying to get a better look at the massive place as her aunt slowed down just a little bit. They gawked for a few minutes before Quinn picked up speed again.

"It looks spooky regardless of the time of day."

"How old is it?" Quinn glanced over at her niece briefly. She remembered that Laina was interested in the supernatural and was constantly searching up old stories.

"Over two hundred years old, I believe," Quinn replied. "Some rich ancestor built it. Why someone would want something that big, I can't fathom."

"Probably had too much money to know what to do with," Laina remarked. Quinn couldn't disagree. She never understood why people did that shit. Probably because they didn't have much sense.

As Quinn continued onwards, heading for home on the dark road, her mind began to drift, thinking about the old manor house and what really happened there.

"Aunt Quinn, look out!" Laina cried suddenly, causing Quinn to slam on the brakes in a hurry. The car screeched to a halt just in time. Quinn saw a man, dressed entirely in black clothing, standing by the front of her car. His expression was blank and Quinn thought he must be high or drunk.

He simply stared at her and Laina for several minutes before finally walking away. Quinn's heart was pounding as she watched the man slip away, his retreating figure swallowed up by the darkness.

"What the hell was that?" Laina looked as scared as Quinn felt. She took her foot off the brake and put it back on the gas, urging the car forward. She didn't answer her niece because she had none.

***

"You really didn't need to come on my account." Jane had made some tea for herself and her older sister to have before they retired for the evening. Jane had noticed how jittery Lenora appeared, jumping at the slightest noise.

"I didn't necessarily come for your sake," Jane said, taking a seat across from her sister, wrapping her cold hand around the warm porcelain of the mug, taking a sip of the hot liquid.

"Oh?" Lenora cocked her head, giving Jane a quizzical stare.

"It's Penelope. She's been having the.. visions." Jane saw how her older sister tensed up at her words, sitting rigidly on the edge of her chair.

"That's..to be expected. We come from a long line of psychics." Lenora sniffed, lifting her mug of tea and taking the tiniest sip.

"It's unfortunate neither of us have the gift. What a waste!"

"You mean you," Jane said irritably, sipping her own tea, watching her sister out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm the eldest!" Lenora stated hotly, her face turning crimson. "It should have been me!"

"Oh for God's sake! You're such a damn martyr!" Jane set her cup down, scowling. "You think that just because you're the oldest, you should have it all! Including...Oliver!"

Lenora scowled right back at her sister. She knew damn well how Jane felt about him. They all did. Oliver wasn't interested in them. He only wanted that pathetic little thing who was ill and was never going to recover.

They'd tried warning him. He refused to see reason. He was too smitten with that simpering bitch. Never mind that she'd made a deal with the devil, selling her soul just so she could return to life. It was pointless. The bitch died in the end, regardless and Oliver disappeared. Lenora figured he must be dead by now.

"I was in love with him!" Lenora's voice rose slightly. She didn't care if Penelope heard her angry rant or not. She was sick of losing everything she cared about. Everything except for this wretched house. Which wasn't worth shit anymore.

"We all were!" Jane snapped. "He was charming and handsome and knew how to make women fall in love with him. It was disgusting, really, when you think about it."

"I should have been the one he wanted! Instead he chose that sickly devil child, who died in the end! He was stubborn and stupid."

"Yet you still wanted him," Jane remarked wryly, sipping her tea. She glanced around the lounge. It looked exactly the same as it did when they're grandmother was alive and living here. Nothing had changed. No, that wasn't true. She'd changed. Lenora had changed.

"He loved me! He just wanted to do what he wanted because he was selfish!" Lenora was on the verge of hysteria and Jane knew she needed to calm her down before Penelope came downstairs.

"Would you kindly shut up?" Jane hissed. "You're going to upset Penelope."

"Heaven forbid." Jane set her mug down, leaning closer to Lenora and grabbed one of her hands. It was ice cold. She gently began rubbing Lenora's hand between her own until she felt her relax.

"I'm...sorry," Lenora said stiffly. "It's just every time I think about that horrible time, it makes me so angry." She sighed.

"I thought he truly loved me." Jane patted her sister's arm, soothingly.

"We both thought that. Even if it wasn't true."

***

Oliver Esper wandered through the darkened passageways of Esper Hall, a flashlight gripped in his right fist. He limped a little on his left leg from the fall he'd had after the...attack. Mostly the leg didn't bother him. Sure it ached on occasion but for the most part, he rarely noticed.

He reached a point in one of the passages that split, one going toward the right, the other, the left. Oliver knew where each path ended. He lived in solitary amongst the passageways. Most people when they learned of them fell into two categories. They were either afraid or intrigued by them.

Oliver never thought much about the passageways either way. To him, they were a sanctuary in which he was allowed to live his life in peace, where no one could judge nor condemn him for what happened all those years ago. He supposed he was becoming eccentric, living alone, rarely having contact with the outside world. He preferred it.

He took the passage to the left, this particular one leading to his living quarters. It wasn't much. Three tiny rooms, a bigger room where he slept or read or whatever. A small bathroom that included a cracked old shower, a toilet and another small room, which Oliver used as a kitchen. He had a small refrigerator, like those used in university dorms, a small stove which used kerosene and a small sink.

It wasn't much but he wasn't the type who needed a lot of personal belongings. Oliver entered the largest room, limping over to turn on a floor lamp and switching off the flashlight, setting it aside and he headed to use the toilet. Once he was finished, he lowered himself down into an old wing back chair, absently massaging his aching leg.

As he rubbed his leg, he thought of the girl who was here now. The one who had the same gift as him. He'd been pleased when he'd seen her arrive, knowing that she'd received the visions he sent her telepathically.

He was most anxious to speak with her. But it would have to wait until her aunt and mother weren't so spooked by the ghost woman's restless spirit. He'd need amble time to speak with her. No interruptions. None. Otherwise she wouldn't understand what he meant and why he'd called her here.

Oliver stopped massaging his leg and as soon as he did, he could hear the angry voices coming from the front room. Lenora was having hysterics again. Carrying about how his former beloved was a devil child. How she'd willing sold her soul. It was utter nonsense. Lenora thought she knew the whole story. She didn't.

"He loved me!" Oliver's blood boiled. Selfish bitch. He'd never loved Lenora Esper. Nor Jane. Although he had been rather fond of Jane. Unlike Lenora, Jane was enduring and sweet. Lenora was so melodramatic and high stung. Oliver didn't have the patience for that sort of behavior.

As Oliver continued listening to Lenora and Jane's conversation. Just because he was in a pensive mood, he decided to screw with them. He hoisted himself to a standing position, leaning over to grab the flute he'd kept from his beloved and limped closer to a small part in the wall, and began to play a low, haunting tune.

He paused, listening, waiting to see how they'd react. Oliver heard the sharp, frightened gasps and he chuckled softly. Served the crazy bitches right for dissing his beloved. Especially when she was lying in the cold, hard ground, rotting away.

"Did...did you hear that?" Lenora sounded faint. Oliver wished for a peep hole just to see the terrified look on her face.

"Yes." Jane sounded just as frightened as Lenora. Oliver played a few more notes on the flute before setting it aside and returning to his chair. He was weary and only wished to rest. First he needed to write a letter to the girl, Penelope. He hoped she'd understand and not be too frightened by him.

****

Penelope had fallen asleep not long after climbing into bed. After her brief fright earlier she wasn't sure she'd get much sleep. But luckily she had been just exhausted enough that sleep came quickly.

She'd suddenly awoke suddenly, heart pounding away from a dream she'd just had. Penelope laid there in the darkness, trying to recall the exact details of this particular dream.

A man was seated beside her. He was the same man that Penelope remembered from the earlier dream. The man was frowning fiercely. He wasn't looking at Penelope, although she was just beside him.

His attention was being drawn away from her by someone else. Penelope couldn't see who it was. They were dressed in transparent clothing making them nearly invisible. The man stood, wobbling slightly as he made his way over to the figure.

"You have to let me go, Oliver. You have to." The man was silently sobbing, the tears coursing down his weathered face, dripping off his chin.

"No! I won't! I'll never stop loving you! Never!"

The figure began to drift away before Penelope's eyes. The man was crying out as he fell to his knees, wailing louder and louder. But the figure evaporated into thin air, leaving the man in tatters and Penelope confused.

Penelope sat up, climbing out of the bed and heading for the bathroom to get a glass of water. She hurried, still feeling unsettled from that odd dream. As Penelope went to climb back into the bed, she saw the envelope lying on her pillow. She picked it and opened it, scanning the contents, her heart constricting.

Dear Penelope,

You don't know me yet. I wish we could speak face to face, although that will have to wait until the proper time. For now, all I can say is: I'm the one who called you here, in your dreams. I share the same psychic ability as you and in due time, I will reveal all to you. Thank you for answering my call, Penelope. I can tell you're a strong young woman and will endure this madness. I look forward to meeting you in person just as soon as we're allowed.

Yours truly

Oliver Esper.

Chapter 2

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