Cursed

Author: CK

Rating: K+ / P12

Contents: Uncommon circumstances require uncommon ways to solve a case... don't they?

Disclaimer: Nothing mine; this absolutely fabulous show belongs to Bruno Heller and his team :)

A/N: I started this story in April 2009, when my favorite radio station played Michael Jackson's "Thriller" quite often (although it was still before his death, as we all know). I don't know why, but because of this, I had the idea for the following story. So - don't blame me! ;) (And don't blame me that it sounds how the promo for this week's episode looked. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw it a few days ago *grr*

Prologue

No one would invade his home. His kingdom. No one was allowed to disturb the peace of this building. It was his! Only his! How dared those entities to break into his home and dishonor it? They weren't worth those honorable grounds and walls!

He needed to banish them from his land, and his mansion. It was his holy calling - and he was going to follow it. Come what may...

"Carla? Are you there?"

"Sure, right behind you." She giggled when he jumped and turned around, looking at her reproachfully.

"You scared me!" he whined and put his hands on his hips.

"Oh, poor Danny is scared. Help my memory - who wanted to spend the weekend in this old, haunted mansion?"

"I thought they were joking! I mean, come on... I had no idea that it would be such a ramshackle building."

"I doubt...," Carla started, but was interrupted by some horrible laughter. "What was that?" she whispered and looked around.

"A puck?" She rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.

"Great, Dan. Now we're back to sarcasm?"

"I was only naming the obvious facts."

"You jumped," she remarked and stuck out her tongue at him.

"I got it, thank you. Do you also want me to tell you that it was a bad idea to come here while we're not allowed to stay in this officially closed building?"

"Nah, that would be too easy."

Again, the laughter filled the old building, and the two young people now looked frightened.

"Let's leave, Dan," the red-haired woman said to her boyfriend and began to walk downstairs into the big hall.

A few seconds later the earlier laughter finally was answered - by a bloodcurdling scream Carla gave when Danny fell down the stairs, coming to lie at its foot with a gaping head wound and his dead eyes wide open.

Just when Carla managed to overcome her shock and disbelief to run to her boyfriend's side, the laughter echoed through the mansion again, even more bitter and jeering now, coming closer and closer, till she jumped up and run to the front door. She screamed again, this time in panic, when she discovered that the door was locked.

And then, she started to run - wherever her feet would carry her in this building...