iDisclaimer: CSI and its respective characters still don't belong to me.
No copyright infringement is intended. All characters other than those from
CSI are my own creations. Any relation to any real person is unintentional.
As far as I know, paranormalvisitors.org does not exist, but if it does, it
is not mine. In other words, please don't sue me. I can't afford it.
Author's Note: This is my first chapter fic, so please R&R. It's the only way I can keep myself motivated to finish the story. Constructive criticism is always welcome./i br ------------------------------------ br
The Denali rolled to a slow stop at the end of the forbidding driveway. Eyes wide, Sara stepped onto the damp ground from the passenger side of the vehicle, only to be greeted by a deafening clash of thunder as lighting snaked its way through the sky behind the looming silhouette of a mansion. A barely audible "wow" escaped her lips as she carefully chose her steps over the damp ground to make her way around the front of the vehicle, kit in hand, to join Grissom who was now exiting from behind the wheel.
"This looks nice," he commented blankly.
"Yeah, for a horror movie," Sara replied with a sarcastic glance tossed briefly in Grissom's direction before stepping aside. "After you."
An uncharacteristically cold wind blew through the night air, causing the two to shudder involuntarily as they walked down the gray stone path leading to the wrought-iron barred double doors.
"They went all out on this place," Sara observed, eyeing the gnarled limbs of two bare trees on either side of the walk.
Grissom simply nodded and ascended the steps onto the front porch that wrapped halfway around the building. Normally a place of welcome, the cracked concrete scattered with glass from the shattered windows had been transformed into a well-functioning warning.
Inside the door, Brass met them with a flashlight. "What do you think?" he asked in response to strange looks adorning both their faces when he illuminated the pair with yellow light.
Sara only met his question with a stare before taking out her own Mag- Lite to look around the room.
"This place has been deserted for years, as it's no trouble to see," Brass said, moving aside to allow them farther into the room. "We got the call from two kids coming up here for a 'ghost hunt'."
Grissom raised an eyebrow. "A ghost hunt?"
Brass nodded. "Apparently, they run a site called paranormalvisitors.org. They provide various media related to spirits and hauntings. I don't think I need to explain why this place was appealing."
"No," Sara affirmed, beginning to wander around the large entrance.
Dust coated everything and floated thickly through the air, reflecting a large fraction of the small flashlight's beam back into her eyes and allowing only a faint view of the landings of each of the four floors. Tattered curtains fluttered at the broken windows, casting eerie shadows along the floor with what little moonlight filtered through the remaining panes. On the wooden desk next to the stairs, several sheets of paper turned brown with age were strewn beside an empty inkbottle. An old fashioned telephone resided in its corner, earpiece dislodged from the base, covered by the remaining web of some spider gone long ago.
"Sara?"
"Huh?" She turned from where she had been standing crouched over the piece of furniture to see Grissom standing beside Brass at the base of the stairs. "Oh, sorry."
Sara joined the other two and began to ascend the stairs. On one side, an elaborate banister twisted up the slightly spiraling stairs opposite a once white wall covered in flaking yellowed paint and intermittent oil paintings whose eyes seemed to follow them all the way up.
Suddenly, one of the stairs let out a particularly loud creak, causing all three to jump. Brass released a long breath and adjusted his footing. "Sorry."
They reached the top, and as she looked out over the banister, Sara came eyelevel with an ornate but dirt-crusted chandelier hanging from the underside of the stairs that continued to the next floor. She gasped slightly when a draft stirred several of its glass pieces.
"In here." Brass tilted his head toward the left. He led them down the narrow hall covered with red and blue patterned wallpaper whose better days had well passed and turned into the third doorway.
Following Grissom into the dark room, Sara traced Brass's flashlight beam with her eyes to the spot he pointed out and felt her jaw drop. "Oh my God..."
Author's Note: This is my first chapter fic, so please R&R. It's the only way I can keep myself motivated to finish the story. Constructive criticism is always welcome./i br ------------------------------------ br
The Denali rolled to a slow stop at the end of the forbidding driveway. Eyes wide, Sara stepped onto the damp ground from the passenger side of the vehicle, only to be greeted by a deafening clash of thunder as lighting snaked its way through the sky behind the looming silhouette of a mansion. A barely audible "wow" escaped her lips as she carefully chose her steps over the damp ground to make her way around the front of the vehicle, kit in hand, to join Grissom who was now exiting from behind the wheel.
"This looks nice," he commented blankly.
"Yeah, for a horror movie," Sara replied with a sarcastic glance tossed briefly in Grissom's direction before stepping aside. "After you."
An uncharacteristically cold wind blew through the night air, causing the two to shudder involuntarily as they walked down the gray stone path leading to the wrought-iron barred double doors.
"They went all out on this place," Sara observed, eyeing the gnarled limbs of two bare trees on either side of the walk.
Grissom simply nodded and ascended the steps onto the front porch that wrapped halfway around the building. Normally a place of welcome, the cracked concrete scattered with glass from the shattered windows had been transformed into a well-functioning warning.
Inside the door, Brass met them with a flashlight. "What do you think?" he asked in response to strange looks adorning both their faces when he illuminated the pair with yellow light.
Sara only met his question with a stare before taking out her own Mag- Lite to look around the room.
"This place has been deserted for years, as it's no trouble to see," Brass said, moving aside to allow them farther into the room. "We got the call from two kids coming up here for a 'ghost hunt'."
Grissom raised an eyebrow. "A ghost hunt?"
Brass nodded. "Apparently, they run a site called paranormalvisitors.org. They provide various media related to spirits and hauntings. I don't think I need to explain why this place was appealing."
"No," Sara affirmed, beginning to wander around the large entrance.
Dust coated everything and floated thickly through the air, reflecting a large fraction of the small flashlight's beam back into her eyes and allowing only a faint view of the landings of each of the four floors. Tattered curtains fluttered at the broken windows, casting eerie shadows along the floor with what little moonlight filtered through the remaining panes. On the wooden desk next to the stairs, several sheets of paper turned brown with age were strewn beside an empty inkbottle. An old fashioned telephone resided in its corner, earpiece dislodged from the base, covered by the remaining web of some spider gone long ago.
"Sara?"
"Huh?" She turned from where she had been standing crouched over the piece of furniture to see Grissom standing beside Brass at the base of the stairs. "Oh, sorry."
Sara joined the other two and began to ascend the stairs. On one side, an elaborate banister twisted up the slightly spiraling stairs opposite a once white wall covered in flaking yellowed paint and intermittent oil paintings whose eyes seemed to follow them all the way up.
Suddenly, one of the stairs let out a particularly loud creak, causing all three to jump. Brass released a long breath and adjusted his footing. "Sorry."
They reached the top, and as she looked out over the banister, Sara came eyelevel with an ornate but dirt-crusted chandelier hanging from the underside of the stairs that continued to the next floor. She gasped slightly when a draft stirred several of its glass pieces.
"In here." Brass tilted his head toward the left. He led them down the narrow hall covered with red and blue patterned wallpaper whose better days had well passed and turned into the third doorway.
Following Grissom into the dark room, Sara traced Brass's flashlight beam with her eyes to the spot he pointed out and felt her jaw drop. "Oh my God..."