In the file that I'm basing this story in Eliza works as a detective. Maybe that's randomly generated to fill spots, I'm not sure. The fact that she has this career while also spending an unhealthy amount of time stalking my sims amuses me.

Also, I wanted to call out myself for the blatant typos in the prologue. And sometimes over-using words. Both are usually present in my stories, but I feel like it was really obvious there. I apologize if it's still like that going forward; I can't proofread to save my life.

Secrets Of Willow Creek

Chapter 1

Mathias couldn't help noticing the temperature dropped the closer he walked to the house. Just like those old dreams. He half expected the ground to open up on the way to the door, but he and Brandon managed just fine. As a matter of fact, Brandon was all smiles with his arms full of that platter of fruitcake.

How did it come to this?

Well, two days after the new family moved in Mathias' could barely close his eyes to restore his energy. Each time he closed his eyes, he saw ghosts float around in a void. They occasionally rushed close with arms outstretched as if to grab him but never did. Was that a dream or hallucination? He wished he knew. Meanwhile, Brandon found that frozen fruitcake his parents already told him was part of his inheritance. So at least they were prepared for the welcome ritual. Mathias was just trying not to shake like a leaf as he reached out for the doorbell the last family installed.

He was stronger for going through with this, he told himself. Brandon was there too in case they needed to team up and fight a ghost, he tried to believe. Brandon was more so the type to invite a ghost for a game of cards, loser packs up and leaves.

When the sound of the doorbell faded away, Mathias realized he was not strong. There was a muffled banging noise to follow, and he let out a gasp and instinctively grabbed a mostly confused Brandon and latched on like he was his lifeline.

There was more banging, followed by weak coughs. It was at that point when Brandon had to steady the platter with one arm while the other wrapped around Mathias protectively. A peek down at his face, revealed that Brandon was quite serious. Eyes flicking left and right, looking for the evil-

And that was the moment the nearby trashcan moved erratically, eventually falling onto its side with the covering flying away. A live sim crawled out.

The red-headed woman coughed and sat there on her knees. She adjusted her glasses and brushed through her hair while she slowly lifted her eyes to the two.

"Don't say a word." Eliza said tragically, rising back to her feet. "Judge me all you want, but I had to find some way into the house. You would do the same if your idol moved in."

Mathias exchanged a look with Brandon, positive his face was absolute confusion too. He realized his arms were still wrapped tight around his ribcage and probably crushing. Brandon didn't seem to be in pain, casually freeing himself and approaching Eliza with child-like awe in his eyes.

"Did... Did celebrities move in?" Brandon asked, voice shaky.

Eliza nodded, her own eyes blazing with passion. "Does the name Andrea Thompson mean anything to you?"

"Andrea...!" Brandon staggered backward as if this name sucker punched him. With trembling hands, he set the platter down right in a dirt pile and grasped Mathias' shoulders. "I need a doctor, Babe... My heart can't take it..."

"You're perfectly healthy!"

"Aw, you're right..." Brandon clutched his heart and stopped trembling. "I can't leave this world before talking to just one celebrity. That one time I passed out and knocked Dustin Broke into a bar counter with my face can't be my legacy."

"Now, I feel like I'm missing something." Mathias admitted, kneeling to gather the cake while the other sims cast looks of pity on him.

"Andrea Thompson is a nonfiction writer." Eliza explained, perfectly rehearsed. "She throws herself into research into the world as we know it, brave and determined. It gets her in trouble, though it's only because many places out there have their secrets to be unearthed and finally discovered. She makes it sound so fascinating, and when all I've had to listen to some nights was Bob's snoring her books saved me from falling back into my drinking habit."

"I can't believe Willow Creek is her next stop!" Brandon chimed in animatedly. "Nothing's changed in twenty-five years as far as I can tell. Just going through the motions until the grim reaper pops in to say hello, right?" He and Eliza seemed to agree, but Mathias tried not to make a face knowing what he did.

Before anyone could get this conversation back on track, the door creaked open. Everyone whirled immediately hoping to get a glimpse of this amazing celebrity and bask in her powerful glow. Instead, the man who she moved in with stepped out with a baffled expression in his bright blue eyes.

"Who the f-"

"Welcome to Willow Creek!" Brandon yelled with a big grin as he held out the cake.

"Welcome!" Eliza yelled too, sacrificing the rest of her dignity. "We decided to prepare this lovely cake for you, may we come in and help you cut it?!"

Mathias just stood farther back, trying not to be noticed. Any moment, the door was going to be slammed in their faces and police sirens were going to wail in the distance-

"I can't believe it took two days for the neighbors to visit." The man said, chuckling lightheartedly as he walked out and accepted the platter. "You know what? Come inside. My wife never turns down a chance to meet the locals..."

Mathias tried not to look visibly uncomfortable as he followed everyone inside. Along the way, the man introduced himself as Reilly and mentioned things like the impressive architecture of Willow Creek and how breathable the air was. None of that mattered to the three visitors, however. Most notably Brandon and Eliza were holding hands, knuckles pale as their plasma flow decreased... That was going to send a wrong signal, surely.

The walls and floor of the house were such dark shades of wood that it added to the unnerving factor. Mathias' eyes were naturally strongest in darkness, but that didn't mean he liked it. That was why he and his father kept candles lit, not just a mourning practice after Mother's death. He found himself being led through a spacious living area. There was barely any furniture or belongings to be seen, and decorations except for somber old paintings and antique lamps were few and far between. Mathias made sure to scan everything from the one door in the right corner and think bookshelf next to it to the kitchen and dining room areas on the left that were easy to see into due to the archways. In the center there was a very dirty looking old staircase that Mathias hoped he would never have to scale. He didn't want to know what the rest looked like if he could help it. So why was he making note of the bottom floor layout? Simple: it would give him an edge if he encountered a ghost.

It certainly seemed that apparent celebrity Andrea over there by the unlit, brick fireplace was trying to summon a spirit of some sort. She kept pushing one palm against the wall, smacking the top and even intentionally making the painting of a field next to it crooked. She only stopped to take the most graceful sips from the steaming mug in her other hand. To the common eye, it looked like she was some a self-proclaimed ghost-hunter on one of those cheap TV shows.

So that meant Mathias had common eyes, while incredibly starstruck Brandon and Eliza kept looking between their idol and each other practically choking down squeals. Seeing all of this, it was Reilly who finally separated the cake from Brandon and placed it on the end table by the small flaxen yellow couch.

Andrea's back stiffened. "Reilly, who was at the door?" When her husband just cleared his throat, she swiveled and her green eyes quickly brightened with interest.

"Andrea Thompson!" Eliza burst before a rational thought struck her mind. She rushed forward, somehow dodging the hot mug to shake Andrea's free hand manically. "Oh my goodness! I'm such a fan of your work! I love your work more than anyone else's in the genre! My favorite book is the one on Strangerville! How were you allowed access like that?! You have to tell me!"

During Eliza's, um, moment... Mathias looked to Brandon, shocked to see him still frozen with his hands in position like he was holding the platter. It was certainly out of character of him to have such a wrinkled brow the way he did, worried frown on his face.

"M-Mathias, I've never looked up Andrea Thompson's face. I saw her across the street the other day, and she just looked like any other sim..." Brandon said in a hushed, shaky voice.

"Well, you're somehow great at knowing things without being a gossiper." Mathias assured, stepping closer and squeezing his hand. "This is your chance to make up for that incident with Dustin Broke."

"Okay, but that dance didn't make my legs feel broken like this."

"What a minor inconvenience."

With that, Mathias looked right in Brandon's eyes as he stepped forward. Their connected hands meant starstruck Brandon had to move with him, and he wobbled like a drunkard. They traveled like that all the way to Andrea, just in time too since Eliza backed away to compose herself and look around at the minor decor.

Mathias knew that encouraging Brandon to chat it up with the new neighbors would only prolong their stay. It killed him to be so cowardly about this house when there was a contradictory... Spark, maybe. There was something inside his mind, possibly a strand of insanity telling him he should investigate this place, settle whether or not it's haunted once and for all. And even though Mathias' head kept telling him to bolt and was louder than that spark, it was ultimately Brandon keeping him there.

"Ma'am, this is Brandon. He's quite the fan of yours..."

Brandon mostly tensed from head to toe, the only exception being his fingers twitching madly as he struggled to meet Andrea's curious gaze directly. He was barely sputtering a yes, so Mathias stepped forward as fake casual as he could.

"You'll want to hear what he has to say." Mathias informed Andrea, making sure to give her a signaling wink. Just in case he was too vague by some freak accident. "Brandon is a very knowledgeable sim, and he knows a lot of details about the oldest residents in this house."

"Does he?"

"The both of us grew up hearing stories about it. Really, if you've grown up in Willow Creek then it would be impossible to not know the names... Carol and Luna..."

Mathias stepped back for Brandon to have the theoretical spotlight, but he ensured he was close enough to be supportive. Brandon sent him a grin that was on par with his normal energy, before clearing his throat theatrically like that nervous guy who mysteriously swapped places with him was gone.

Mathias wasn't paying too much attention as Brandon gave Andrea and even Reilly information. Reilly busied himself with cutting into the fruitcake with Eliza, the two of them only having fair weather conversation about things like the local fishing spots and what their careers were. Mathias didn't know how a fisherman and detective could have so much in common, but those two made it work. Really, the whole atmosphere was different than what Mathias expected... Warmth. Like, actual neighborly warmth. And just for a moment, he could forget that when he exhaled he saw his own breath and sometimes he heard tapping under the floorboard. No, no don't worry about that.

Mathias felt out of place, so he just tried to concentrate on the wild tales Brandon told Andrea. Andrea's eyes were sparkling excitedly the more she heard, and Mathias almost wondered if one of her fans was encouraging her to write a new book focused on Willow Creek. After all, the story of sisters Carol and Luna would be dark enough to induce sales. However, the exact details of what they did weren't preserved. Even then, a lot of information except their names, being related and this place being their childhood home were just speculated so long that some decided it was fact.

It was generally agreed that the sisters had a ten year age difference, with Carol being the eldest yet dying at thirty-nine. Luna lived for an unrecorded time after her. Both sims most certainly met their end as their corpses were recovered, not a hair out of place and looking like they lied down for a nap and never woke up. Peaceful deaths... For the two sims who, at least according to the limited genuine information, had done some disturbing things to quite a decent chunk of the neighborhood population seemingly at random.

"But what did the sisters do, exactly?" Was the big question, one Reilly had no problem asking from his seat on the couch.

"See, we don't know." Brandon groaned, agitated. "The nicest sims were lured into this very house, and they were almost always found days later in... Let's say strange places with shocking causes of death, just to let that fruitcake digest. It's fair to assume Luna was the one who invited sims in, and helped Carol with her dirty deeds. Carol wasn't known for being the friendliest, usually more involved in scientific pursuits."

Andrea seemed overloaded with this new information. She and Reilly exchanged a glance, and although Andrea was the most pumped about finding out secrets even the fisherman got off the couch to walk back to the spot Andrea was before and start rapping a fist to the wall. It was too awkward to begin to describe.

"Carol! Luna!" Reilly shouted in between raps on the wall. "If you haven't moved on to the afterlife, show us you're still here! I know you're listening!"

"What are you doing?!" Eliza beat Mathias to the question, suddenly she looked like she regretted coming here.

"That's a trick I picked up over the years of visiting cemeteries." Andrea explained casually, looking back to her visitors. "If you make just as much ruckus as an actual ghost in their habitat, you can summon them. I suppose it's more like... Waking them up. Aren't you three lucky to witness it?"

"Excuse me?!" Eliza's face turned distressed, and she launched off the couch. "Reading about this stuff is one thing – I'm far away from the paranormal! Being married has completely taken me away from excitement in life; even at work I'm almost never lucky enough to have a case!"

"Oh, please calm down." Andrea said soothingly, grasping a near hyperventilating Eliza by the shoulder. "Ghosts are merely sims who can't pass on. I'll go as far as to say they're sympathetic; the grim reaper has taken their soul, forcing them to wander the world feeling the way they did when they died and sometimes never being allowed to exist beyond where their remains were stored."

Mathias didn't want to jump in and look ridiculous in front of everyone too, but his hands clenched into fists as he was reminded of his childhood dreams. They always seemed so real. It left him wondering if there really were ghostly presences in Willow Creek, not just in this house but his own. And they were bitter because he was "dead" with a loophole. He was able to have a physical form – why wouldn't a ghost be jealous?

"Babe?" Brandon spoke up, suddenly at his side watching him worriedly. "You don't look so-"

Frantic taps in the wall filled the whole room, leaving not just Mathias and Eliza tense. Everyone else completely froze in their positions. Most notably Reilly with his fist hovering in front of the wall under the painting, not making contact as the taps turned into furious thuds that seemed to chaotic at first before assuming a pattern. Then again, maybe Mathias with his pointed ears beneath the shampoo commercial hair were just more sensitive to tune into that.

Andrea approached the spot in the wall too, and she responded with a much softer rap on the wall. "Show us who you are. Carol? Luna? Or both? I know it might be difficult-"

The tapping in the wall became downright thunderous, and seemingly wouldn't stop. It sent everyone except Andrea and Reilly covering their ears in pain, and Andrea's motherly expression never changed... Right up until some kind of invisible force seemed to slam into her mug and shatter it. Mug pieces and caramel scented coffee rained all over the floor, to which Reilly pulled her close and become her shield. Mathias, Brandon and Eliza were frightened enough scramble into a group hug as the coffee streamed down the floorboards and pieces of the mug landed at their feet.

No one dared to say anything, move or perhaps even exhale for several moments as the leaping stress level fell a bit. Just a bit. Mathias had to force himself to lift his head from Brandon's chest, at first seeing his wide-eyed look before glancing over at Andrea and Reilly... Separating so they could both take places on the farthest sides of the painting with raised fists to the wall.

"Are you for real?!" Mathias asked so fast and painful that he could feel his throat go sore and raw. It was unpleasant, but he hoped the two would experience a reality check.

"This proves we made the right choice for a house." Reilly responded first, his content tone clashing with his shaking hand.

"There must be another way! Anything!" Mathias' was left struggling to get the words out so fast, feeling like he was going to cough up any recent plasma juice. He was hysterical before he knew it. "Aren't there ways to communicate directly with the grim reaper?! Let's get him to fix this crap! Better yet; a spellcaster or witch! Spellcasters and witches always have to deal with freaky crap! I say we leave; let's just leave before whatever that was kills us! Come with me!"

"Excuse me – Mathias?" Andrea gave him a reassuring smile, or at least that was her intention. "If that presence wanted to kill us, they would have. They're obviously feisty, wanting to make a scene now that they've an audience. Think about it from their perspective."

"Not if that's one or both of the real life murderers!"

"Hey now, you said nothing was set in stone."

"Well I've lived here-" Mathias bit his tongue, the real amount of years about to slip out. He looked back to Brandon and Eliza, who were watching him unsuspecting. "I've spent my whole life here, and if it's okay with you there's nowhere I'd rather die but Willow Creek. Just not today."

"That won't be today." Reilly cut in, sounding like he believed every word. "Andrea's shown me much more threatening entities than this. Or these. I wouldn't have married her if I thought this lifestyle was risky. It might look that way, but when you start communicating like civilized-"

Thumping burst from under the floorboards, seemingly right under Reilly's feet since he made a fascinated expression. Good for him having the spine to deal with this, but Mathias felt like he was close to a mental breakdown and regretted waking up that morning.

"Sorry if we've disturbed you." Reilly actually said soothingly toward the floor. "Andrea and I just want to live here long enough to learn more about this neighborhood. We have no intention to get in the way of your daily activities, and if possible we'll help make this house more comfortable for you to live in."

As if in direct response, a series of faint, agonized whispers rose from the floorboards. It was impossible to determine what this voice was saying, or maybe that was because of the plasma roaring in Mathias' ears while he looked back and forth at the new neighbors completely appalled.

Friendly conversation with anything involved with the world opposite this mortal one- No, alright? No. Mathias could handle a certain amount of crazy. Welcome to the neighborhood parties can get a little out of hand when someone decides to open a bottle of juice, but that only ever leads to cheating secrets being uncovered and at least one person using the downstairs computer without permission.

He wanted to believe that if he was going to live forever, his fear would eventually be cured. But that wasn't going to happen today, and he bolted for the door.

TBC