The Nightcolt Manor

(12)

Nadine peeked out the stained glass window before opening the door a crack. "Hello, ma'am," greeted a tall and bearded older man. She gazed suspiciously at him, "Hi, can I help you with something?" She asked, genuinely confused on how this random man got here. It was a private road after all, and there was an iron gate blocking any car that tried to come up.

"Yes, I'm actually with a production company that specializes in ghost activity." He said in all seriousness.

She held a straight face, although she wanted to laugh. "Listen, sir, I don't know how you found this place, but this private property." She said, crossing her arms as the older man tried to peek into the manor over her head.

He finally looked back down at her and insisted, "We've done plenty of research on the history of this building, if I could just have a quick look, that would be fantastic!"

"I really don't think that's a good idea, I'm here for work as a restorationist and renovator and I would like to get back to work." She countered, not budging for this strange ghost hunting man. She sighed, "How'd you even find this place? It's on a private road through a forest and there's a gate." She said, pointing in the direction of the old stone and iron fencing around the house.

"We got a tip off from a guy named Dave, said he did some work here and had a scary encounter." The bearded guy grunted, his hands on his hips as he looked around curiously. Dave.. Dave, Dave, Da-- that's right! That weirdo electrician from the other day. She thought to herself, feeling ten times as annoyed as she did with this man interrupting her and Heath. Wait, interrupting? We weren't doing anything. She internally rolled her eyes at her own thoughts, remembering that there was someone at the door still.

"Oh yeah, that guy. He's crazy, nothing happened." She blatantly lied. She never was that good at it anyway. "I work here all day and I haven't seen or heard anything." She lied again. She was about to close the door when he stopped her, holding out a card, "The name's Cole. My number and company are on there. If you do happen to see something, just call."

She took the card, nodded thanklessly, and stuffed the card in her pocket to forget about and find later once she washed them. At that the burly man walked off, hopping in his truck and driving away.

She shut the door and locked it, shaking her head in disbelief, "Dumbass, should have scared him more.." she muttered to herself, walking into the living room.

"Scared who more?" Heath materialized, a quizzical look on his slim face. "You remember that weirdo electrician that I had you use your ghostly powers on?" She replied, trying to jog his memory.

"Dave. Yes." He said quickly, recalling him immediately. His face turned into a frown, his black eyes narrowing in annoyance at the mere recollection of the man. Great memory. Guess that's to be expected of a ghost.

"Well, apparently he told some ghost hunting company about his 'encounter' here." She snickered, flopping down on the couch lazily. "I wouldn't be too bothered by it. They don't have permission to be on this property in the first place." She yawned, draping her legs over the edge of the couch.

Heath hummed, "I should hope not. I've already done a lot to get the last couple of tenants out of my house. People looking for fame and fortune do not belong here."

Nadine shot him a look, "And how do you know I'm not looking for fame or fortunes here?"

Heath walked over so he was standing right next to the couch, "If you were, you would have run away by now."

"So you've scared off everyone who ever tried to move in here?" She laughed at the thought of people running fearfully out of the manor. Heath huffed, "Yes, actually. But you modern people seem to find everything old somewhat scary.."

"Alright old man.." she muttered, giggling a little. Heath looked incredulous, "I was only 26 at my time of death."

"Yeah, you were 26 nearly 132 years ago." She replied, shifting around on the boney old couch and trying to get comfortable. "So that would make it 2023 as of now?" Heath said, looking rather surprised, yet she could tell there was a hint of something else in his face. Sadness, maybe? She thought, feeling sympathy for the trapped spirit.

"Oh!" Nadine said, sitting up abruptly, "I'm gonna try and get the gas up and going so I can at least cook something here. Maybe once I do, I'll let you try some!" She said excitedly, standing up after her short break to get back to work.

"Food?" Heath said nervously, following behind her like a puppy. "Yeah.. I figured if you could drink, you could eat as well." She said, walking upstairs slowly as they spoke. Heath hummed in thought before leaving her to go work.

_________

It was getting dark by the time Nadine finished the multiple repairs needed in one of the guest rooms. She wiped her brow, sighing in accomplishment. She checked her phone's time and it read seven o'clock. Shit. Maybe I should spend the night like last time.. She thought to herself, turning to walk out of the room when a light from outside caught her eye.

The hell is that? She wondered, her hazel eyes narrowing in suspicion. She carefully peeked out the window which looked out onto the back gardens that had since rotted away from years of neglect. She kept seeing a light flashing from down below on the first floor. Is someone lurking around down there, or it just Heath messing with the lights?

Although, the thought of Heath flicking the lights on and off out of boredom didn't really make sense to her. "It's gotta be squatters or something." She muttered, walking downstairs.

Carefully, she crept along the hallways-- luckily most of the floors were tiled, otherwise she was sure there would be loud creaking in her wake. She stopped at the back door to the garden of the manor and she glanced out of the window, only to see a man dressed in dark clothing carrying a flashlight.