A Haunting on Water Garden Island

Author's Note: The horror genre has always been one of my favorites. I had a great deal of fun writing this one. If you enjoy it, please feel free to vote and comment. Thanks!

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The cool fall evening was beginning to turn dark as the sounds of dead leaves crunched underneath our feet. We could see the bonfire in the distance grow bigger with each step and my friends were starting to come into focus. This was the moment I've been dreading all week; introducing my new girlfriend to my super rude and immature friends. Girlfriend? That even seemed a bit premature. We had only been on a couple dates. This was a mistake. Why did I bring her here, I wondered.

Her warm hand gently gripped mine, comforting me that she wanted to be here. That she wanted to be with me. And also, probably to help with her own anxiety. I spent the entire drive and even the short boat ride over to this island explaining how my friends were like the uncensored version animal house. I don't think she believed me, but she soon would.

"Garret, you fuck face! What took you so long?" Paul shouted out as we came within earshot. Despite his average height, he had the confidence of a giant. "And who's the hottie? Oww Oww!" He howled.

We hadn't even reached the group yet and already my stomach was in knots. This was a mistake, I repeated in my head.

"I'm Julie." She said confidently as we took an open spot on a log, completing the circle around the dancing flames. "You must be Paul. Garret told me how charming you were."

"Damn straight." He said as he shot back a swig of beer and gave her a wink.

The group oohed and giggled. "Don't mind him. I'm Kelly. Paul's girlfriend. Please don't hold that against me." She slapped Paul in the arm. "It's great you could make it."

Kelly was by far one of the prettiest girls I knew. Her wavy, light brown hair fell just below her shoulders, always looking purposely out of place like she just woke up. I was always surprised how Paul ended up dating her, but I supposed it took a guy as obnoxious as him to even approach her. Her baggy, maroon hoodie that was clearly too big for her hid her toned curves as she handed us each a beer.

"And I'm Jim and this is Laurie." The remaining couple said with a friendly grin. "Seriously, we're not that bad. Unless we're drinking." Jim said as he finished his beer and grabbed another. "Unfortunately, much of this trip will involve drinking, though." He laughed and downed half of the new bottle.

Jim and Laurie were always a more reasonable couple. Still quick with a joke, but generally less offensive and seemed to tame Paul's behavior.

"Alright, guys. That's enough. You've made your point." I said trying to remain cool.

"I was expecting worse." Julie joked, taking a big swig of her own beer.

"Be careful what you wish for." Paul said, as he leaned back and his large grin was glowing in the shadows.

"What is this place anyway?" I asked hoping to change the subject. "It looks like..." I had barely been here and really the only way I could describe the place was creepy. The jagged, leafless trees seemed to stretch out like dying, bony hands as they reached for the cloudy sky. The old Victorian house in the distance looked like it belonged on the cover of an old novel from a different era. "It looks... fucked up." I finally gave in. As much as I had matured in the past few years after college, I couldn't help but stoop to their level whenever I hung out with this group. I'm not even sure when the last time I swore was, but it came easily just moments after seeing them again.

After the laughing died down, Paul began in an overly deep voice. "Welcome to Water Garden Island."

"Water Garden? What part of this island looks like a garden? Looks more like a wasteland. I said, not realizing how much I was complaining. "And who chooses a decrepit island for a getaway anyway?"

"People on a budget." Laurie chimed in. "Unless you wanted to pay an arm and a leg..."

"And a dick," Paul added.

"This was the best we could find and still get a whole house to ourselves for an entire weekend." Laurie continued. "It was surprisingly cheap. Like dirt, dirt cheap."

"Maybe there's a reason for that." I said with a snarky grin.

"Maybe no one wanted to take a long ass drive around winding cliffs only to then still have to take a tiny ferry the last mile to this shack of an island." Paul said already growing bored with the conversation.

"Not to mention it's prime thunderstorm season around here. Guaranteed to rain about 80% of the time." Jim added. "And I haven't had cell service since I got here. Just saying."

"Or, maybe it's haunted..." Laurie said with a subtle smile.

The group erupted with laughter. She was always trying to tell about some ghost here, or seeing some spirit there. It was hard to take any of it seriously she had cried wolf so many times.

"There is this legend..." Jim leaned forward and had a way of quieting the group. "They say on this island lives a terrifying creature." His eyes darted around, making sure we were listening.

We couldn't help but mirror his body language, and soon we were all leaning in, listening eagerly.

"It only comes out at night and goes after girls in particular. They say a hot girl brings out the beast in him."

We were half giggling and slightly on edge. I felt Julie hold on to my arm as he continued.

"In fact, they say on a night like tonight, underneath a full moon, the hairy creature hangs. Oh God! Julie it's right next to you!"

Julie turned to her side and screamed, as Paul was bent over with his pants down, mooning her right in front of her face. Without hesitating, she slapped his hairy dick and balls that dangled below his spread cheeks.

"OWW!" Paul screamed as he quickly turned around and sat back down, before even pulling his pants back up. He held onto Kelly as the group erupted in laughter once again.

Kelly gently patted his exposed penis, "careful with that thing...I'm going to need it later." She said playfully.

Julie's eyes were fixed on the sight. Still breathing heavily, she reached over and gave it a squeeze. "Sorry, didn't mean to hurt the hairy monster underneath the full moon." She said as her hand trailed off of his shaft.

The group was speechless as they watched, even Paul didn't know what to say. "Uh, no, my bad. Sorry." He said awkwardly as the whole group stared at the strange sight of her hand on his dick. "It was a stupid joke." He added while he finally pulled up his pants.

Julie cuddled back into my side as if nothing happened, and the group stared silently into the mesmerizing flames.

"Anyway..." Laurie started again, "I was being serious. Whether you believe it or not, there is a legend about this place. A real spirit that supposedly haunts this island."

"Oh please, that's a crock of shit and you know it." Jim said, going against his girlfriend.

"No, she's right." Kelly said. "At least that there is a legend about this island. Whether or not you believe it, it's at least a well-known tale."

The group grew silent, hoping she would continue.

"Well don't make us beg for it. What is this tale?"

Kelly grinned, enjoying the attention. "Legend has it..." she started slowly and watched as we all leaned in. "This island is haunted by a beautiful temptress who will make you do...unusual things..." she had a gentle, high-pitch laugh that echoed through the crisp air.

"Paul does unusual things wherever he is." Jim interrupted.

Paul had his wicked grin on full display, nodding his agreement.

"It's all nonsense, anyway." Jim added. "Sorry Kelly, but it's just a dumb legend."

"I've heard it too." Julie jumped in. "I actually read about it."

"You read about it?" I asked a little surprised.

"You think I'm going to some creepy island with people I don't know and not read up on everything I can find about this place?" She said quickly.

"And what did you read?" Paul asked plainly, while locking eyes with Julie.

"A bunch of things. It used to be a retreat location for a strange group of hippies in the 70s. Free love for all. But not all of them made it back." Julie said staring right back into Paul's eyes.

"And where, pray tell, did they go?" Paul asked, inching closer to Julie.

"No one knows. But there's no record of them after this trip. Some crazy lady lured them here with promise of unending pleasure. Nobody really knows after that." She said in an almost amused whisper.

"Do you believe any of that?" Paul asked, taking a final swig of his beer.

"Enough to keep an eye out while I'm here." She said, jabbing right back.

Paul chuckled, breaking the tension. "Suit yourself." He stood up and threw his empty beer bottle deep into the woods. The eerie sound of glass breaking on dying trees pierced the air.

"Dude, global warning." Jim said in a tone just hard enough to tell if it was sarcastic or serious.

"From one bottle?" Paul asked as he turned his back to the group and loudly unzipped his fly.

"Gross, go in the woods or something!" Kelly called out.

"We're already in the middle of the woods." Paul said back, and soon the sound of his stream hitting the crunchy leaves filled the air.

"I wouldn't do that." Julie said seriously. "These are her sacred grounds."

"She can suck my sacred dick!" Paul added as the sound of his stream strengthened. "It's all bullshit."

The growing tension between Paul and Julie was starting to make me uncomfortable. "Alright, alright. Everyone calm down."

"If it's all bullshit," Julie wouldn't back down, "why don't you turn around and piss in the fire and call her out?"

His stream stopped immediately, and his head cocked to the side looking over his shoulder at the group with an unsettling grin.

"Paul, that's enough." Kelly yelled.

"Now, now." Paul's voice turned raspy and cold. "I don't want to be impolite and disappoint our new friend here."

He turned slowly, with his exposed penis fully on display as he stood facing everyone.

"That's enough, Paul!" Kelly shouted louder but the words didn't seem to register. He stepped closer to the fire, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Ohhh eeeevil spirit." He chanted in a deep voice. "Please take my piss as a personal invitation to come suck my dick. I promise to let you know before I cum in your mouth." The smoke billowed as his stream arched high and sizzled as it hit the flames.

Slowly, he raised his arms out to the sides. "Wait, guys...I think I'm getting something."

"What's that evil spirit? You want me to fuck my girlfriend in the ass for the first time? I don't want to, but if you think it's best." He couldn't hold back his smile any more as the group threw pebbles and dirt at him.

"Oh shut up, Paul." Kelly called. "You're such an asshole."

"Come on, it's all bull shit. But just to be safe, we should probably try anal tonight." He added with a goofy grin.

His last comment earned him a punch in the arm from Kelly. "Keep dreaming, bub." She said, tucking his thick penis back into his pants. "It is getting late, we should probably turn in." As she patted his bulge, she added, "I'll see what we can do about this. NOT THAT!"

Jim and Laurie turned in as well, apologizing for the nonsense before leaving Julie and me cuddling at the fire.

"Wow." Julie said softly. "You weren't kidding."

"You've been here all of a couple hours and already saw my friend's penis." I paused, "but you still haven't seen mine." I said, unsuccessfully trying to conceal my jealousy.

"Your friends are crazy." She said. "In a good way." She laughed.

"You just liked seeing his dick." I joked, again confronting and ineffectively concealing my jealousy.

"That's gross. Don't be ridiculous."

"Whatever. You even touched his..." I said, wondering why I couldn't just leave this alone. My friends would have scared off almost any other girl, and here I am admonishing her for being a good sport.

"No, I didn't. That's disgusting." She said it so seriously and convincingly, I wasn't even sure if she knew she did slap it...and then later rub it. Did I make that part up? Now that I think about it, why didn't Kelly say anything about it? She probably would have been pissed if she saw another girl touch her boyfriend's dick, right? Maybe I'm going crazy.

The fire crackled and then began to sizzle. "What is that, the haunted spirit peeing on the fire?" I joked.

"No, I think that's one of the storms they were talking about." Julie added with a playful squeal as the clouds opened up, quickly soaking us to the bone. "C'mon!" She grabbed my hand and soon we were sprinting across the woods towards the house.

A few near slips and several laughs later, we were inside the old Victorian house. The dim chandelier barely lit the foyer. Our damp clothes clung to our bodies, and we finally locked eyes. I could see her chest beating rapidly, with beads of rain and sweat dripping down her face and chest. I dove in first, gripping the back of her neck as we made out as if our lives depended on it. My hands grabbed her hips, pulling her in tight. Wasting no time, my hand slid up and over her soaked shirt, feeling her heaving breasts.

"Not here." She whispered and took my hand, heading up the dark stairwell. Each step creaked louder than the last. As we ascended the fragile staircase, I noticed the half-illuminated portraits on the walls, and the tan and burgundy paisley wallpaper with detailed filigree. Just as we neared the top, a giant bolt of lightning lit up the room, before the room went completely dark. It must have fried the circuits as I appreciated the dim light from the chandelier all the more now that it was gone. The creaking continued, but as far as I could tell neither of us was moving.

"Was that you?" I asked, suddenly on full alert.

"Was what me?" She asked in between kisses on my neck as we were practically falling on the stairs.

"Nothing." Returning to the task at hand, letting my fingers wander, circling her hard nipples poking through the dampened fabric. I pushed her up against the wall once we got to the top of the stairs and was ready to have my way with her right here in the hallway. Her moans were nearly sending me over the edge.

I felt her hands move down my stomach, gripping my belt buckle in one hand and rubbing my bulge with her other.

"Fuuuck." I muttered in a breathy whisper as another bolt of lightning in the distance brought a little light to the pitch-black house as shadows flickered down the empty hallway. The curtains blew off the window at the end of the hall and clung to an invisible silhouette, giving it a solid form.

"Holy fuck!" I shouted and pulled away from Julie. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" She asked slightly annoyed.

"There was someone there. Something. At the end of the hall!" I pleaded. "Look. Just look and tell me if I'm crazy."

"The only thing I want to see is right here." She said and grabbed my crotch once again, teasing my length and nibbling my ear temporarily distracting me.

How did she do that? I found myself wondering I was now sliding my hands under her shirt, feeling the patterns of her lacy bra. Just as I unhooked it, the lightning struck and lit up hallway in tempered bursts. The silhouette returned and disappeared in the flickering light, growing slightly bigger each time when I finally realized it was getting closer to us.

"Julie!!!" I whispered in a painful screech, "It's right there!"

Julie's hand slid in my boxers and felt her way down to my shaft, unaware of what I was seeing.

"Right there!!!" I whispered with all the voice I could muster.

"Right there? Yeah, like that?" She said now starting to grip my length pulling the skin gently. "Right there, baby?" She moaned in my ear.

The floor creaked as bits of the mysterious silhouette came into view when the sporadic lightning resumed. "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!" I screamed forcing Julie to turn and see the figure that was right behind her.

Paralyzed I had nothing left in me as the lighting finally subdued. Total darkness once again. Julie clung to me as she started to sense it as well.

An eerie high-pitched laugh formed all around us. I felt the fingernails dig into my flesh, as Julie held on for her life.

The flickering light buzzed and the dim chandelier came back on.

"Boo."

"AHHHHHGHH!" Julie and I screamed in unison as we finally realized what was in front of us. "Jesus fucking Christ, Kelly. You nearly gave us a heart attack."

Kelly was holding her belly she was laughing so hard. Now that the light was coming back the whole thing seemed rather foolish.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She paused again to catch her breath. "I only came out to use the bathroom. It's all the way in the basement, and I didn't want to...uh, interrupt anything...." She lightly chuckled. "Just so you know, you guys are staying in the room on the end. Power comes and goes as you've learned by now, but there are flashlights in your dresser." And again, she laughed silently.

I was starting to gather myself and realized she was wearing only a loose white T-shirt. "Fucking hell. You look like a damn ghost in this stupid shirt." I said still trying to calm down.

"This? This is Paul's. Didn't bring anything to sleep in." She gave us a sly wink as she held out the bottom of the shirt far away from her body, revealing a little more of her bare thighs in the process. "But clearly, I'm not going to just come out here in my, well...you know." She giggled again and her soft, high-pitched laugh hung in the air.

"Anyway, now that you know where your room is, I suggest you go there and pick up where you left off." She gave me a playful look and a smirk to Kelly before wedging herself between us. I looked down and her loose shirt barely fell below her waist as her round cheeks poked out, nearly rubbing against my crotch as she squeezed between us making her way down the stairs. My eyes not-so-subtly followed her bouncing cheeks as she disappeared out of view, earning me an eye roll from Julie.

Once Kelly was gone, we laughed softly and went into our own room. It was dark, and the air was stale. "I can't believe..."

"Shhhhh...." Julie interrupted me mid-sentence. "Yes, I get it, but let's not let that take away from where this evening was headed." She gave me a deep kiss, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and neck.

"Mmm, you're right." I kissed back immediately returning to groping her breasts like a teenager.

"Not so fast." She said playfully and placed a hand on my chest, gently pushing me until I sat down on the bed. "Let's make this a night to remember." She took off three of the pillow cases and used one to tie my wrist to a bedpost and then tied the other.

"Oh wow, kinky. Didn't know you were into this..."

"Shhhh!" She snapped. "No talking." She said with a wicked grin and used the third pillow case to tie around my eyes as a makeshift blindfold.

"Is this really necessary? I can barely see it's so dark already." I added.

"Quiet! I said no talking!" She snapped. "I'll be right back. I have a surprise I have to go get...don't go anywhere..." She said teasingly and I felt the soft touch of her lips on mine one more time before hearing the floor creak as she left the room and closed the door.

This was so weird. I couldn't help but wonder if her new attitude was partly from me staring at Kelly's ass a moment ago. Laughing to myself, I tried to remain calm. So many fucked up things this evening and she still wanted to have a crazy, kinky night. There are worse things than this, I reminded myself.

The blindfold left my world completely dark, and my senses were on overload. I heard the old house settle, the storm outside had slightly calmed down and the stale smell of the room seemed to grow fouler.