Topic: A Haunting

Fiora Shantalaine

Date: 2010-10-09 21:37 EST
Drip.

Drip.

The steady monotonous sound roused her from her hard slumber. Pushing up from the mountains of pillows she huffed an irritated sigh that sent a wayward russet curl spiraling upward.

Drip.

Drip.

Really? She frowned at the annoyance. It had been a slow week in realtor showings and she was having a difficult time re-booking the Gardens. With a groan she levered herself up and out of the cushiony warmth of her giant bed, ignoring the bear claw slippers that awaited at the foot. She didn't plan on being out of bed long.

Drip.

A shuffling step led her in the direction of the noise.

Drip.

Rubbing a tired hand over her bleary eyes she stepped around the screen that separated her bedroom from the rest of the loft. Moonlight spilled in from the balcony door and cast the apartment in a soothing blue.

Drip.

Drip.

It took a minute for her tired mind to register that the noise was not coming from the direction of the kitchen or the bathroom. This didn't make sense as that was the only source of water she could fathom making the noise.

Drip.

She took a half step backward to turn and face the living area of her loft when her bare foot slid into something slickly sticky.

"What in the--?!" She caught herself on an awkward skate forward, nearly going to one knee as her feet slid out from under her, a hand flying wide and connecting with...something.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

There was something moving in the dark with her. A survivor's instinct caused her heart to clench tightly in her chest, her breath sucking in sharply as she scrambled back from the swaying weight that apparently hung from her ceiling.

At that moment the cloudbank that had settled over the moon slid away to allow the full muted beams to illuminate her setting.

Her mouth opened to scream but no sound emerged as her legs trembled and buckled, spilling her onto the crimson soaked floor. The woman hung from a rope, swaying back and forth, gashes gouged in deep rents and tears along her body and causing that dripping red liquid to drip and puddle.

Drip, drip, driip, drip, dripdripdripdrip driiiip.

It was this that her hand had touched when she had stumbled and it was blood that soaked her calves and the palm she had used to catch herself. Gaping, soundlessly she worked her mouth, the piercing scream only given birth as the corpse swayed full circle and brought its face towards Fiora...the eyes blinking and the lips curving into a macabre smile.



Fiora's piercing screams echoed and rebounded throughout the building.

Fiora Shantalaine

Date: 2010-10-18 11:40 EST
It had taken her two days to work up the nerve to return to her apartment. After her screaming escape she'd nearly bowled over a very disgruntled Mr. Cheung. His glower had for, some reason, immediately calmed her nerves and she'd overran his usual stoic disregard with her nervous chattering.

Out of defense for his sanity he had plied her with enough brandy laced tea to put her to sleep. The next morning he'd been up and about working and she'd hightailed it to the Plaza.

JhaiNein put her foot down to her Boss sleeping a third night at the offices and had escorted her home. A formidable bodyguard should something go wrong.

Of course, despite Fiora's fervent belief that her apartment was coated in blood, the loft looked surprisingly normal.

Only after convincing JhaiNein that she spend the night with her did Fiora agree to stay. Finding them both jammie sets and popping some popcorn as she flipped on the television. In a mercurial mood swing she decided to have fun with this whole impromptu sleepover thing.

Fiora Shantalaine

Date: 2010-10-21 18:58 EST
After nothing untoward happened that night, Fiora felt silly for insisting on staying away or having company.

A busy day at the office culminated with take out sandwiches from her favorite Deli. And now, snuggled up in front of the television she munched contentedly.

She wasn't actually sure when she nodded off, after all, she wasn't really paying any attention.

It was only the lack of light spilling in her balcony window that gave her any real sense of time's passage. The light of the television screen dim.

Reaching out a hand for the lightswitch she thought she heard a whisper of sound and froze.

...did she hear it again?

There!

Twisting her head about sharply she looked in the direction she thought she'd heard something and laughed nervously at the lack. Rolling her eyes at her ridiculousness she reached again for the switch at the base of the lamp. Her fingers depressing the button and flooding the room with light...

...and there...

...sitting next to her on the couch...

the dark eyed little girl stared at her from soul deep eyes that dripped bloody tears...

As Fiora's chest tightened and her breath stopped somewhere in the passage of her throat, the little girl looked up at her in frozen silence.

"You're." Breathless gasp, "Not," sharp inhale, "real!" she wheezed.

At that...

...the little girl drew back her lips from her teeth in a painfully slow semblance of a smile.

Fiora Shantalaine

Date: 2010-10-24 10:29 EST
"Don't go." She whispered plaintively as the first flickering light of dawn spread across the sky and began to filter through her balcony windows.

The little girl in her arms stared at her with soulful eyes that bled tears of crimson. While she said nothing, Fiora knew that with the coming of the dawn the spirit must depart.

Just as she knew all the details of her hellish life and her horrific death. While no words had passed those dark ebon lips, Fiora found herself able to understand the diminutive child. And her heart ached for what she had experienced.

The vision of the murderous father swam before her eyes as with a soft sigh of pain the little girl began to dissipate.

"Wait! I don't even know your name!" Fiora cried trying to hold onto the weak spirit.

Mina...

The name was simply there within her mind and with it the protective, nurturing desire quite nearly overwhelmed the realtor, wrenching a painful sob from her small frame.

"I'll help you Mina, I will. I promise."

The spirit lingered, a faded transparency that stained the air and as Fiora crumpled into herself, sobbing, the ebon lips pulled back from her sharp teeth into a grin of demonic proportions. It fed upon the pain it had inflicted upon the realtor, even as it deliberately prodded her mind with the images of the necklace.

"I'll find them and I'll destroy them, I promise." Fiora whispered fiercely through her heartwrenching cries: the vision of the necklace and earrings filling her mind in compulsory waves.

She would find the owner of that horrendous jewelry and she would do whatever it took to free poor little Mina.