Latham's Landing (8 page)

“
C’mon!” Marie shouted. Grabbing Sam’s
cold hand, she pulled him along, stumbling back towards the main
house. They clutched at the stone railing, moving slowly forward as
the mist grew thicker and thicker.

“
I can’t see a thing,” Marie said,
squeezing Sam’s hand. “Do you have your flashlight?”

Sam didn’t answer.

Marie turned to him. “Sam—?”

Dead eyes stared back at her in a bloated
face, the sagging mouth drooling water as his hand clamped down on
hers.

Marie let out a shriek, struggling. Sam
swayed, then fell into her, his dead weight sending them both back
over the low stone railing. Marie let out one last shriek as they
toppled together into the waves.

Damn woman, Sam thought irritably. He’d only
said it was smarter not to get wet and offered his services like a
polite guy should. Next thing he knew, Marie had stormed off into
the rain. Well, he’d be damned if he went out there after her. It
was much smarter to stay here and wait out the storm. It wasn’t as
if Daryl was going to leave them here, not in this weather.

Sam chuckled. Daryl probably didn’t even know
how to start the motor. No, he and Nikki were probably sitting
around the fireplace right now making up ghost stories to go with
those pictures. What a lame ass. If he were there with Nikki right
now, he’d be doing a hell of a lot more than telling her
stories.

“
Oh, be nice,” Sam said aloud. Daryl
wasn’t a bad guy, just a little on the bookish side. They’d been
friends since grade school. He deserved some slack, especially
after all those essay papers he’d helped Sam write…

The storm abruptly intensified, rain pelting
the glass. Suddenly there came the sound of footsteps below him
ascending the staircase.

He grinned widely, then turned. “Told you
you’d come back—”

A strange woman stood before him. She was
beautiful, dressed in a filmy white negligee, the material moving
lightly as if in a breeze.

Sam got to his feet. “Who are you?”

“
You wanted company,” the woman said
sensuously, fluffing her short curls languidly. “You offered
yours.”

“
Not to you,” Sam said, backing away.
“Are you a ghost?”

“
I’m a woman,” the figure said
emphatically, walking closer. “You’re a man. Why do you fear
me?”

Sam backed away, even as she advanced. He
trembled as her cool fingers touched him, stroking his cheek. Her
large dark eyes gazed into his longingly.

“
What do you want?” he
stammered.

“
Only a kiss,” she said sadly, her eyes
sorrowful. “Please.”

Sam recoiled, pressing himself against the
wall and shutting his eyes. Her cool arms enfolded him, then came
the touch of soft lips kissing his cheeks. He slipped his hands
between them, trying to push her away.

“
Please,” she whispered. “Please, don’t
send me away.” She hugged him gently, then began to cry.

If she was a ghost, she was the most human
feeling ghost he’d ever heard of. Sam shifted uneasily, then
awkwardly hugged the woman. She cried harder, her tears oddly hot
as they soaked his shirt.

“
I’m afraid,” the woman
whispered.

“
Don’t be afraid,” Sam said firmly,
patting her back.

The woman looked up at him, her face
tear-streaked. Then she lunged, kissing him full on the lips. Sam
started, his head knocking the glass hard as rapture flooded him,
his nerves singing with emotion and pleasure. The woman kissed him
harder, even as he crushed her to him, his passion erupting white
hot as they sank down together to the floor.

God, this was the best kiss of his life! It
was perfect, it was all encompassing, it was everything—!

Sam bucked against the woman, his sudden
orgasm intense and immediate, his mouth bloody. Then he went rigid,
sharp pain in his chest white hot. He broke free of the woman,
gasping for breath hopelessly, his feeble movements frantic. He
twitched twice, then sagged down on the floor.

The woman watched him for a moment, smiled
contentedly, then got to her feet. Light filled her, illuminating
the room, the mirrors and glass reflecting the searing light until
the room burned like a torch in the windswept sea.

“
They’re not here,” Nikki said
irritably. “What are we going to do, Daryl? You’ve called the glass
house, and no one answers. We spent the last few hours going
through this whole damn house yet again and there’s no sign of
them.” She swallowed, not wanting to mention the one room they’d
avoided returning to. “The boat’s packed with all the gear. Now the
sun is setting.”

“
We’re going to give them until full
dark,” Daryl said for the second time. “They may be stuck out in
the Sea Room. I told Marie about it last night, and she wanted to
make a couple drawings. The storm is still raging anyway, Nikki. We
can’t use the boat, and risk it capsizing or breaking up on the
rocks. We’ll probably have to stay here tonight and head back in
the morning.”

“
Aren’t you worried anymore about being
caught?” she retorted.

“
Right now that’s the least of my
worries,” he replied. “I’m more worried that the boat’s going to
wash offshore in this storm and strand us here.”

“
We tied it down with rope from the
shed—”

“
And we tied the doors last night,
too,” Daryl replied evenly. “I should’ve brought some holy water or
something.”

Nikki made a face. “Since when are you a
believer?”

“
I’m not. I’d be feeling a hell of a
lot more at ease if I was.”

“
I’d feel better if there was a real
bathroom,” Nikki said sarcastically. “Remind me next time you ask
for a favor not to help. Even my boyfriend’s shitty outhouses are
preferable to—”

There was a sudden scrabbling at the front
door. Nikki let out a cry, both she and Daryl turning in fear.

A loud ragged scream sounded. “Let me
in!”

“
Don’t do it!” Nikki cried.

Daryl was already moving. “That’s Marie.” He
went to the door, undid the makeshift barricade, and opened the
door. A sodden figure fell in the door, clutching at him. Nikki
slammed the door, quickly.

“
Marie, what happened?” Daryl
asked.

“
Sam’s dead,” she rasped, pushing back
her wet tangled hair from wild eyes. “He walked and talked, but he
was dead.”

“
What happened to Sam?” Nikki demanded.
“Where is he?”

“
Dead,” Marie said hollowly. “Dead,
dead, dead—”

Daryl slapped her hard, making her head rock
back. Marie let out a cry, then began to sob quietly.

“
Stay here with her,” Daryl said, going
to the door. “I’m going to get the boat. We’re getting out of
here.”

Nikki held Marie, flinching at her clammy wet
clothes. “What about the storm?”

“
Better to risk drowning,” Daryl said,
then darted out the door.

Nikki turned to Marie. “Can you tell me what
happened?”

“
She can’t,” a soft voice said near her
ear. “But I can.”

Nikki let out a scream, scrambling away.
Beside her stood a woman dressed in a long green gown, her short
curly hair done up in jewels and bows. She was smiling, her dark
eyes lit with reddish tints that glowed in the dim room.

“
What do you want with us?” Marie
screeched.

“
You know,” the strange woman said,
smiling. She spread her hands, light rising from her and
illuminating the room.

“
Leave us alone!” Nikki
screamed.

The woman smiled, advancing, menacing
excitement infusing her dark eyes.

Thunder rocked the room, as lightning split
the sky. The woman began to raise her hands, the odd light that was
filling her intensifying, the brightness becoming blinding.

Gunshots rang out. The menacing woman
recoiled, then flickered, her light wavering.

“
Run for the boat,” Daryl screamed,
firing again. “Run!”

Nikki grabbed hold of Marie, then ran out
into the storm. Daryl fired again into the apparition, the bullets
thudding into the floorboards beneath her.

The woman smiled, then lowered her hands.
Abruptly, she disappeared.

Daryl ran outside. Water was rising rapidly,
spreading over the island. It had engulfed the granite landing and
the stone wall, and was now lapping at the porch steps. Amazingly,
the boat had stayed tethered, but the tie was now a few feet
underwater. Nikki was in the boat trying to start the motor, Marie
hanging onto the side trying to climb in. Large pounding waves were
hitting the boat, threatening to smash it free of its mooring. It
would be tossed like driftwood. If they capsized now in such
shallow water…

“
Stop!” Daryl screamed futilely. “It’s
too rough! The water’s too shallow! Come back!”

“
They’ll be back,” a comforting voice
said. “Bet your boots.”

Daryl turned slowly. A middle-aged man stood
beside him to his left, dressed in a dirty brown workman’s
uniform.

“
No one gets off,” the man said,
turning to Daryl with a smile. “I didn’t.” The right side of his
face was caved in, his skull smashed, brain and blood smeared and
dripping. “Stop trying—”

Daryl brought the gun up and fired. The man
disappeared as swiftly as he’d come, the bullet thudding into the
stone, chipping it. Shaken, he whirled back to the boat.

It was gone.

“
Help!” a desperate voice
shouted.

Yards out, a figure was swimming hard, the
current forcing her toward jutting rocks. Kicking powerful legs, it
made a last frantic lunge toward shore.

Daryl dropped the gun and waded in quickly,
grabbing a reaching arm. “Marie!” He helped her up onto the
porch.

Marie sank down, shivering. “Nikki’s dead,”
she coughed. “She’s on the rocks, I saw her hit them. I barely
escaped myself.”

Daryl glanced back. Nikki’s body floated
nearby, her head smashed in, her limbs waving in the churning
water. “What happened?”

“
I dove into the waves just as the boat
went over. Nikki kicked hard. She was fighting to swim against the
current. It dragged her back to the rocks.” Marie coughed. “I’d
have been killed too, if I wasn’t a professional
swimmer.”

“
It got you more than your
scholarship,” Daryl replied. “It saved your life.”

“
I’m not going back inside,” Marie
said, coughing again. “I’m going to swim for it, as soon as I catch
my breath.”

“
We’ll drown in the water,” Daryl said
calmly. “We have to go back inside and wait out the storm. It can’t
rise too much higher.”

Marie looked at him, incredulous. “How do you
know for sure?”

“
This is a man-made lake. This house
has stood here for almost a hundred years. We’re safest indoors,
either in the house, in that Sea Room, or in that little boathouse
near the bridge.”

Marie sank down, still coughing.

“
Marie, we can handle one ghost,” Daryl
said, clutching her hand. “Nikki and I already blocked the doors
again, and we have enough food for another night. The storm can’t
last much longer. We’ll be okay as long as we work together.” He
paused. “When I shot the ghost, she backed off. Maybe objects
disrupt her materializing—”

“
The boat’s gone,” Marie said
hollowly.

“
We have to stick together,” Daryl said
raggedly, his eyes flashing angrily. “Maybe there’s another
boat—”

“
That’s your plan?” Marie said
sarcastically. “Our friends are dead, we’re surrounded by ghosts,
but we’re okay, because you’ve got a plan.” She began to laugh, the
sound brittle and cracked.

“
Screaming and having hysterics isn’t
going to help us,” Daryl said, gritting his teeth. “Being calm and
thorough might.”

“
And it might not,” Marie said darkly.
“You haven’t seen what I’ve seen.”

“
I saw that woman,” Daryl yelled,
losing his composure. “Stop being a bitch. Do you think she’s gone?
Whatever that ghost wanted, it wasn’t to light our way
home!”

Marie leapt to her feet. “Are you trying to
scare me, ass? Is that why you dragged us all out here, to use us
as experiments in your damned paper?”

“
Maybe I was hoping for something to
happen,” Daryl yelled back. “And it did. I’ve got a paper now,
maybe even a bestselling novel.”

Marie stared at him.

Daryl held out his hand to her. “Come inside
with me. Let’s get our stuff, and head to the boathouse—”

“
No,” Marie said, stooping to pick up
the gun. “I’m not waiting. I’m getting off this island now.” She
pointed the gun at him. “But you aren’t. Get inside.”

Daryl gaped at her.

“
This was your idea,” Marie hissed.
“You wanted to know about fear. Here’s your answer, Daryl. Go
inside.”

“
No,” Daryl said calmly. “You won’t
shoot me—”

Marie fired. The bullet took a wad of flesh
from Daryl’s arm. He screamed.

“
Go in,” she growled. “Or die out here
instead right now.”

Daryl gave a final anguished look, then went
inside. Marie shut the door.

“
Good play,” a charming voice said in
her ear.

Marie whirled around. A handsome young man
stood there, dressed in a riding suit. Behind him a bay horse
stepped nervously, the leather of the English saddle he bore
shining. The water was receding.