Disclaimer:

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of it's characters used in this fictional story.

A Few of My Notes to the Reader:

I would like to use this time to thank all of you who reviewed including:

~*~ Thien Huong ~*~  

Thank you very much for reviewing. Yes, this is my first fanfic and it was no problem at all R&Ring your stories because they are all REALLY great and I hope you continue with your excellent writing ^__^

Chapter 2

Serenity finally broke the silence. "Haunted? You have to be kidding."

      "There're no such things as ghosts – are there?" Tea tried to laugh, but she moved closer to Yami.

      "Oooohhhhh." Yami raised his arms in a menacing motion toward Tea. Then he grabbed and hugged her. "If there are, I'll protect you."

      "Hey, guys, renting the house might be fun." Joey grinned. "I can write some ghost stories when I get home."

      "You do that, Edgar Allan." Mai shook her head. "Maybe we can find you some ravens out there while we're at it."

      "There is a bird sanctuary near the old house," the woman behind the counter said, ignoring Mai's reference to Poe's famous poem. "The place is fairly isolated – for beach property. Never saw so much development as we've had in the last few years. Despite the hurricanes, people seem to want to live out here."

      "You aren't expecting a hurricane this week, are you?" Mai was through being funny for a few minutes.

      "Oh, no, too early in the season. But I think rain is predicted by the end of the week." She started bagging their purchases.

      "Then we'd better not worry about ghosts," Yami decided. "A roof over our heads is our number-one priority."

      "Where did you say we can find this Mr. Minor?" Tea asked.

      "Let me call him back. The line was busy, so he's there…Eldon? Myra Adams here. Some young people want to rent the old Jamison place. You made much progress at getting it livable?" She listened and nodded.

      "She looks positive," Serenity whispered to Tea. "Let's go talk him into renting. Surely he'd like the money if he's fixing it up."

      Mrs. Adams smiled and nodded. "He said yes if you aren't too particular. I told him you weren't. I didn't say desperate. The old fool will try for more money."

      "Is the electricity on?" Tea asked.

      "Sure. Everything works out there, but if I were you, I'd take some drinking water with you. Pipes are probably old and haven't been used much."

      Joey lifted four gallons of spring water onto the counter and paid for it. Yami and Mai gathered their groceries, while Tea got directions to Eldon Minor's house.

      "Think we're doing the right thing?" Tea asked Serenity.

      "Of course. And besides, what choice have we got? We're lucky to find anything." Serenity slid into the car, hoping for the best.

      She wasn't quite so sure when she met Eldon Minor. He was a creepy little old man, all hunched over, with a permanent crick in his neck. He had only a fringe of hair left around his neck and ears. His face was long and thin, and his ears must have belonged to someone else at one time. They were much too big for his own face. His eyes were a faded blue, but they had a little sparkle left. He smiled a crooked smile at them.

      "Sure you want to stay out there?" he asked again. "Pretty far from town, and no near neighbors."

      "Then no one will complain if we play loud music or stay up late partying, will they?" Yami laughed.

      "I may be out there working a lot if the weather holds," Eldon warned. "I don't mind a little noise, though. Just so you don't disturb my birds."

      "Your birds?" Mai raised her eyebrows and looked at Serenity.

      "Well, they ain't mine, but I like 'em to feel comfortable living in that marsh behind my property. Might be some migrants from Mexico this time of year, too. You like birds?"

      The five of them looked at each other. Did they have to answer that they liked birds to get the rental? "I do," Joey answered for them. "Are there a lot of varieties?"

      "You'll be surprised." Eldon gathered some tools and prepared to leave.

      "Any ravens?" Mai asked, avoiding Joey's eyes.

      "Well, might be, but more likely waders." He headed for his truck, motioning for them to follow, but then stopped and stared at the Jeep. "Nice car."

      "Thanks." Tea shrugged and hopped into the driver's seat. She put the Jeep into gear and crept along behind Eldon Minor.

      "Waders?" Serenity asked, picturing birds with rubber boots on, carefully stepping into the surf.

      "He's the birdman of Galveston," Mai quipped. "Do we like birds? I'm sure."

      "I have nothing against birds," Tea said with a grin.

      Tea had no trouble following all the bends and turns of the road, since Eldon drove about twenty miles per hour.

      "Jeez, look at that," Serenity said, hanging out the side window.

      The first view of the old Jamison house in the fading light made her think it deserved a ghost. Why had someone built such a huge mansion this far out of town and so near the ocean?

      "I'd be disappointed if it wasn't haunted." Joey stood up for a better look.

      "You're good with words, Joey," Mai said. "Describe this place."

      "Well, it's a three-story, kind of square, except for the trimmed-off corners on either side of the roof. I'll bet there's a big room behind that dormer in the front with the rounded window and the deck."

      "That's not a deck, it's a balcony. There are balconies all across the front of each story," Serenity added, not able to keep her mouth shut. "What fun to sit out there and look at the ocean."

       "Maybe it was once a small hotel," Yami said.

       "Or a sanatorium." Tea pulled in beside Eldon Minor's truck at the front of the house.

       "Oh, not a hospital, please," Mai said. "Not with all that – that fancy trim."

       Any paint left on the house was peeling badly, leaving a silvery sheen where winds of the ocean had weathered the wood.

       "The house is lonely," Serenity said, without meaning to.

       "Houses don't have feelings, Serenity." Joey stepped out of the car behind her. "That's your imagination."

       "Did I imagine that a curtain moved just now – on the second floor, to the left?" Tea clutched Yami's arm.

       "Surely you did. No one is supposed to be out here." Yami called to Eldon Minor, who had finally gotten out of his truck, "Anyone living here now, Mr. Minor?"

       "Nope. Not for years. That's why I bought it cheap. All the furnishings came with it, too, but they're old and not very fancy.

       "Do you think the house is haunted?" Mai asked.

       "He-he-he." The man's laugh turned into a wheeze, then a coughing fit. "That what Myra told you?" he said finally.

       "You don't charge extra for ghosts, do you?" Paula said, heading for the trunk to get her suitcase.

       They struck a deal with Eldon Minor, a lot less money then they'd thought they'd have to pay for a place to sleep, which pleased them. He took them inside and showed them the fuse box, the switch to the water pump, everything he thought they'd need to know in an emergency.

       Serenity let the guys and Tea take the technical tour. She hung back and started upstairs. She looked at the central staircase that split on the first landing, sending a separate set of steps to the right and left. The stairs were covered with old carpet, richly patterned in purple and blue, now faded in the center to lavender or heather. Turkish or Persian, surely expensive. Who would haunt a house so richly elegant at one time? And why was the house abandoned? Who left so abruptly, leaving all their furniture, even photographs and paintings, behind?

       The biggest question, though, was, did she really want to go up to the second floor by herself?

       When Angie reached the first landing, a rush of shivers slid up and down her body and her legs froze in place. She clutched the railing and waited for the chill to go away.

        Slowly she was able to back down, never taking her eyes off the closed doors to the rooms she could see. Had there been someone – or something – in one of the front rooms watching them arrive? Was it still there?

        Serenity was sure she was just being silly, but she'd wait until they all went up together to explore. That was for sure. Shaking off the spell she was under, she turned and flew back to the sound of voices in the kitchen wing of the house.

        She took Mai's arm. "Let's all sleep in one room – the girls, I mean."

        "Suits me." Mai looked at Serenity. "You look as if you've already seen the ghost. Did you go upstairs by yourself?"

        "No, I couldn't. I went part way and backed out. The place is just so big. I mean, we could have brought have the junior class with us."

        "Get your suitcase, and then we'll go up and pick a room." Mai had brought her suitcase in already. But she waited to go upstairs until Serenity had come back.

        "See, you didn't go up there by yourself, either. Come on." Serenity practically ran up the staircase now that she wasn't alone.

        The first bedroom that faced the ocean was huge, plenty big enough for three people. "Look, there are still beds here. Wouldn't you think whoever moved out would have taken their furniture?" Serenity sat on one bed, testing the mattress. The covers sent up a musty smell and felt slightly damp, as if morning fog had come inside and never left.

        "I think this was some sort of rooming house," Mai said. "I'm going to put my sleeping bag on the mattress. No telling who slept here last."

        "It's so damp in here." Serenity pulled her shoulders up to her ears and hugged herself. Then she jumped up and ran to check the view.

        Serenity pushed open the double doors with full-length glass panes that led to a small balcony.

        "Mai, come out here. Oh, look."

        There was enough light left to see navy blue swells starting way out, turn green closer to shore, and then become foamy white surf as water slid onto the beach. Serenity would have thought she was in paradise if Eldon Minor hadn't chosen that time to come out the front door. He stood looking up at her and grinning. Leering was more like it.

        Serenity didn't know Mai had come out onto the balcony until she spoke quietly. "He gives me the creeps," Mai said. "I hope he won't hang around all week."

        "Let's wave to remind him he was leaving." Serenity stretched her mouth into as big a smile as possible and waved her hand back and forth. "Bye. Thanks. And don't worry about us. We'll be fine out here."

        He took the hint and crawled into his truck cab. Serenity and Mai watched until his taillights disappeared.

        "Thank goodness he's gone," Tea said, coming in with her own bag. "This is great." She plunked down her suitcase and set her portable CD-tape-radio player on the old maple dresser against the wall opposite her bed. She unzipped her smaller bag and tugged her swimsuit from the top layer. "Let's go swimming before it's pitch dark."

        "Yami and Brandy are already in the water." Serenity pulled Tea out to see the view off the balcony.

        The three girls watched Yami throw a Frisbee up the beach for Brandy. The dog often caught it before it hit the ground.

        "Last one in's a -- " Serenity stopped her dare in mid-sentence. "Listen . . ."

        Mai grabbed Serenity's arm on one side, Tea's on the other. The three stood in the doorway of the bedroom, listening.

        Then the music started. Not a proper, eerie tune, suitable for a haunted house. But dance music, party music. And faintly, behind and between the notes, came the sound of someone laughing.

To Be Continued:

Thanks for reading my story and I appreciate you all very, very much!

Until next time,

~Mai Charity Rose~