Murphy Pendleton (
murphy_pendleton) wrote in
hartfieldlodge2014-05-05 10:22 pm
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[prologue]
There aren't a lot of places Murphy expected to end up - prison, most likely. Some shitty apartment back in Baltimore, maybe, if he's lucky. The general handyman/groundskeeper of a wilderness resort...thing? Not so much. It hadn't been an interview he expected to get much out of. Just some gasoline wasted on a pretty drive.
He's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, though. Hartfield's nice. Decent weather. Tiny town nearby. A nice lake and some rivers off in the forest, probably with some decent fishing. He hasn't gone fishing in a long time. He's looking forward to that, when he gets a chance.
Murphy's considerably less excited about the apparent onslaught of tourists coming out to watch the leaves all change. Tourists. Lovely. He's already hoping that he doesn't actually have to deal with most of them, though that's likely to be mostly in vain. Customer service might not be the main parts of his job description, but the summer staff is packing up and leaving. He'll have to pick up the slack.
For now, though, he's got a few things to keep him busy before this round of guests shows up. He still needs to build up the firewood stores considerably before winter hits - that's a big fucking task, because apparently his predecessors never replenished what they used. It's also one he can only do some much of in a day. Eventually, he's just got to give up and wander down to the lake with what amounts to his lunch, axe in hand still. He never know when he'll need something like that.
He's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, though. Hartfield's nice. Decent weather. Tiny town nearby. A nice lake and some rivers off in the forest, probably with some decent fishing. He hasn't gone fishing in a long time. He's looking forward to that, when he gets a chance.
Murphy's considerably less excited about the apparent onslaught of tourists coming out to watch the leaves all change. Tourists. Lovely. He's already hoping that he doesn't actually have to deal with most of them, though that's likely to be mostly in vain. Customer service might not be the main parts of his job description, but the summer staff is packing up and leaving. He'll have to pick up the slack.
For now, though, he's got a few things to keep him busy before this round of guests shows up. He still needs to build up the firewood stores considerably before winter hits - that's a big fucking task, because apparently his predecessors never replenished what they used. It's also one he can only do some much of in a day. Eventually, he's just got to give up and wander down to the lake with what amounts to his lunch, axe in hand still. He never know when he'll need something like that.
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She retreats farther under the water once he gets close enough that she can see the ax. Definitely not a good sign. She wonders if it's a coincidence or if he can tell something big's coming.
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There's something off about that lake. Murphy's gotten fairly prone to paranoia in general, feeling on edge - the axe he rests beside him is testament enough to that - but this is beyond his normal wariness. There's something there. He's been sure of it for a little while now. Not because of the spooky bullshit the rest of the staff talks about. That's tourist stuff. Bad Travel Channel documentary stuff. He tunes it out with very little difficulty.
No, this is pit of the stomach instinct. Murphy knows damn well when he's being watched, and there is most definitely something in that goddamn lake that's been watching him.
It's a scenic place, he'll give it that. Quiet enough that sitting here gnawing on his sandwich is otherwise pleasant, despite his furtive scanning of the surface of the water for something. Anything.
Why's it always water for him? Always lakes?
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She's just starting to relax when a sudden voice badly startles her. "Hey, uh, I heard there was a hiking trail somewhere around here? I think I'm all turned around, though." She hadn't even noticed the other man until he came strolling down from... she's not sure where, actually. She peers out of the water and the new guy... really doesn't look like much of a hiker. Mostly he looks awkward and kind of sheepish. He seems like someone she might have liked before. But she's at her limit. She drops down toward the bottom of the lake, leaving only a few ripples to suggest that anything might have been there.
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Tourist.
"There's a few on this side of the property," He answers between bites of sandwich. Shit, he should probably actually be helpful, shouldn't he? He glances back to the lake briefly, but it's the same as before. Oh well. "I can give you directions, but that'd depend on which one you're looking for."
Don't they have maps in the lobby?
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When he gets closer, he notices some odd rippling in the water. Hmm. He's pretty sure he remembers there being something about the lake in his files. He'll take another look when he gets back to his room. In the meantime, time to play the ditz. "Well uh," Vic starts, reaching up to scratch at the back of his head, "I think I probably should stick to one of the novice trails."
Vic pauses a moment to consider. There are a lot of trails around the lodge. Well. Since he's already here and curious... "Maybe, uh, the one around the lake?"
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"That one's not bad if you stick to the western half. Long, though. The lake's bigger than you'd think." Murphy's almost betting he's going to have to go find this guy in the woods later. It's not a big leap; he seems to be kind of lost already. "I'd suggest making sure you have a compass and one of the trail maps on you."
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He stuffs his hands in his pockets and looks out over the lake briefly before looking back at the man in front of him. "Oh hey, there's maps in the lobby aren't there." As if he didn't already have one of those and another of his own.
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He mostly just shrugs at the next comment. "Field trip, huh? Hope you remembered to bring your parents' permission slip." A couple ducks waddle towards the shore not far. Murphy tears off some bread to toss to them, but they seem mostly unimpressed with the groundskeeper's meager offerings. "The leaf thing is the standard seasonal tour that most of the tourists go for. Our guide does private hikes all over the property and surroundings, though."
Which from what he understands is generally to keep people from getting lost constantly.
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"Really?" He perks up a little. "That sounds more exciting. I might have to see about scheduling one of those." The groundskeeper isn't being very helpful, not for Vic's purposes at least. He can't tell whether it's intentional or not, though. Oh well. He made small talk, laid the foundations for more informative conversation later. Now if only...
"Well," he says finally, "I'd better go back and look for those maps. Nice talkin' to ya. I'm Vic." He could have faked an identity for this investigation, but he didn't think it was necessary.
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"Uh-huh. We haven't hit season peak yet, so they should have plenty of time slots available." That sounds... professional, right? Right. Nailed it. He smiles in a way that he hopes doesn't look as awkward as it feels; this has never been his forte. "Have fun. Uh, tell 'em Murphy sent you."
Maybe he can finish his lunch in peace after Vic here's wandered off.
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The forest isn't terribly different from what he's used to. No sign of anything of any particular interest, even off the trails. Nothing that stands out as unnatural. Nothing to make the trek really worthwhile. He's seen trees like this a million times before. And lakes like this, too. Stumbling across the shoreline again in his aimless forest wandering mostly just gets a vague frown of a reaction.
Sure it's pretty but that's not why he's out here.
Maybe the haunted stuff was just another tourist gimmick.
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Or so she thinks. Suddenly someone comes stumbling out of the trees. He's too close-- way too close. Close enough that she has to freeze in place instead of fleeing for the water which is what she desperately wants. Instead she backs away slowly and quietly. Maybe she can put some distance between them before he notices her. Maybe she can get far enough away to slip into the water.
...Or she can step on a twig. She winces and freezes. Why did she have to be a tangible ghost?
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Walter has never seen a ghost before, not a real one, but that woman is definitely not of the living. It's not the skin or the hair or the rags. Those could be fake. He just knows as soon as he sees her.
He's very careful when he moves to approach her. He's not stupid enough to believe for a second that she could be entirely harmless - despite not having been sure if there was anything out here at all a moment ago. He came all this way to this stupid lodge when he heard about this. He's gonna try and talk to the ghost, he has to.
"Uh..." He trails of for a very long moment. "...Hi?"
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He's closer when she looks back. Of course he is. And then he... talks to her. What. She wasn't really expecting that and doesn't know how to deal with it. Well. After a long moment, she opens her mouth. She tries to say something, but it's been a long time since she last said anything. (Mostly she remembers screaming.) She ends up making a croaky sort of coughing noise instead. That's... not quite what she wanted. She tries again.
"H...hello?" Now what?
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The death rattle croak is enough to startle him, but not alarm. It's just a noise. He's heard worse ones. What does surprise him is the talking.
"You're real." Walter's voice is quiet, maybe a tad bit reverent. He stretches out a hand towards her once he's close enough. His fingers light brush past some of that long hair, and lightly touch very very cold skin. As if the question of her tangibility had any kind of meaning.
Don't ask him why, though.
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She's too busy staring at him in confusion to realize what he's doing until he's touching her. She jumps slightly, or maybe it's more of a flinch. That's... that's definitely not something she expected. She's startled enough that some of her hair wraps around his arm without her meaning it to. It just... does things sometimes. She blinks stupidly down at her hair for a moment. Now what?
There's a small part of her that considers tightening her grip and breaking his arm. The part of her that's angry all the time. But... she doesn't actually want to do that. He keeps badly startling her, but so far he seems to mean well. "I..." It's getting easier to talk, but it's still... not something she's used to doing anymore. "Why are you..." Why are you touching me? Why are you out here? Why aren't you afraid? She has a lot of questions for him that start with why.
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It never happens.
"Why am I what?" He curiously tugs at the hair around his arm with his free hand. It does not budge.
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She looks back up from staring curiously at his hands. "Why are you..." She trails off, unsure of which question to ask first. She finally makes eye contact. He's... she can't quite remember the word, but the odd look on his face matches the way he spoke to her before. Something clicks in her brain finally. Awed. That's the word.
"Why are you here?" she asks finally.
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He guesses he got his answer. He fidgets with the hair still wrapped around his arm, for lack of anything better to do.
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The hair around his arm coils a little tighter. Not in a threatening way. It just... hold on more securely. She doesn't know why. "You aren't afraid of me." It doesn't quite come out as a question... because it isn't really. If he's frightened at all, he's doing a very good job of hiding it.
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"No." He furrows his brows at her. "Should I be?" It's probably a fair question. That she's still got a firm grip on his arm with her, uh, hair tendrils would probably point to the answer to that being yes. At least, for most people. But Walter's not most people.
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As ridiculous as it is for a ghost to find things physically uncomfortable, the tree is digging into her back unpleasantly. She cautiously takes a step forward. She doesn't think he'll mind any, but she braces herself anyway. Oh. He's taller than she thought. If she stood up straight, they'd be about the same height. "I..."
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She moves forward, but it takes a moment before he registers just how far she's moved. She's very close. That's... he has no idea what to do, now. She's standing very close and his hand is still on her arm. He'd let it drop, but... her hair is still very much around it. Oh. He should do something, maybe. Or say something. Mostly he just feels weirdly nervous. "Have you... have you been out here a long time?"
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He seems to have changed moods suddenly. She's distracted enough wondering why he's suddenly frowning that she doesn't realize she actually took more than one step until he asks her a question. Then instead of looking over at him she's looking up at him. He is very close. "I um," she stammers a little. "Yes." That's not much of an answer, but she's suddenly out of sorts again. "I'm-- I don't-- Years. I think."
And that's about when she realizes she's reached out and wrapped her hand around his arm much like he did to her. She looks down at her hand then back up at him, blinking. Why did she do that? She has no idea... but she also doesn't let go. She...
She doesn't want to. Oh.
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"Do you have a-" He attempts what he figures is a reasonable question even for not dead people. He doesn't quite manage to spit it all out before abruptly cutting himself off when she puts her hand on his arm. It startles him enough that he half-stumbles. It's not even how chilled her hand is, or that she's a ghost. Someone is willingly touching him and that's more than enough to throw him off balance in basically every way.
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"Do..." She's now eye to eye with him, instead of looking up. Her throat feels scratchy even though it shouldn't. She tries again. "Do I have a what?" Now that he's not in danger of falling (if he ever actually was), she should back up. She's not sure she wants to.
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"Do you have a name?" He chokes out after a moment. She's very tall. She's not moving away. Her hair and hand is still on him, and... it occurs to him that he hasn't moved his, either. Um.
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She's not sure anymore if she truly doesn't remember or if she discarded it in anger. It doesn't really matter. "What's your name?"
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That's what you say, right? He's pretty sure.
He wants to scootch forwards but mostly ends up shifting awkwardly in place, fidgeting with the hair wrapped around his arm again. "I'm Walter."
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He looks upset again. She frowns. "Walter," she starts, testing out his name. It's nice. "Are you... okay?" It occurs to her that he probably doesn't appreciate his space being invaded. Oh. Right. She should probably let go and back up... but she can't bring herself to do it. Not until he asks, anyway.
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He's a mess.
She's frowning, too. And... bleeding? He furrows his brow at the trickle of red down her face. "You're hu--" He cuts himself off mid-sentence, squinting his eyes closed briefly in frustration at himself. Of course she's hurt, idiot, she's dead. "You're bleeding," He says after a short moment. And before he quite realizes what he's doing, he moves his hand to wipe that off her.
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Oh. Right. "Oh, that just hap--" She inhales sharply as Walter reaches out and touches her face. More tendrils of hair shoot up and wrap around his hand and wrist, which isn't quite as subconscious as it was the first time. It takes a long moment to realize that she's leaning into the hand on her face and that she's probably gripping Walter's arm a little too tightly. Oops. She loosens her grip slightly.
"I um..." She's not actually sure if she can blush anymore. It seems like something a ghost shouldn't be able to do, but she does a lot of things she didn't think ghosts could do. Whether she's actually blushing or not, her face feels heated like she is. She looks down at nothing in particular. She... she shouldn't, but she shuffles closer anyway. She knows it's a bad idea, but she can't make herself care right now. At least the only real consequence is emotional. There are some perks to being a ghost.
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More of that hair coils around him, and again he finds himself distantly waiting for some kind of pain that never actually happens. Then she leans in to his hand, scooting closer. Her face is very cold and maybe a little pinker than it had been a moment ago.
Walter's face, however, suddenly feels more warmer than it should be. Is that normal? He's never been good with normal, even when not dealing with ghost women. He should probably say something, too; he just doesn't know what. He manages the beginnings of a going-to-talk noise, not really noticing he's leaned a little closer in the meantime. He's too busy trying to figure out if he should maybe talk more or not.
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She kisses Walter before she can think better of it. There are a lot of reasons why she shouldn't. Instead of thinking about any of them, she slides her hand from his arm up to his shoulder. More of her hair reaches up to wrap around him, but she's aware that might not be welcome. So instead the tendrils of hair hang in the air tentatively, not quite touching him.
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Then she kisses him. He freezes in place, eyes wide, brain not quite catching up to what's happening until it's very much happening. She's kissing him. People don't kiss him; people don't even touch him. He can't even manage a real reaction to it. He just... goes blank. Shuts down completely. Even breathing requires too much brainpower, and he is very much incapable of any, at the moment.
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Is she doing something to him without realizing it? She breaks the kiss and pulls back. No, he doesn't look any different. He just... oh. Oh. Right. "I-I'll just-- I--" If she were still alive, she'd be having a hard time breathing right now. As it is, she still can't finish a sentence. She backs away, down towards the water.
"I... sorry." She turns to disappear into the lake, stumbling a little in her haste to just get away.
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Left to his own devices, young Mr. Chekov quickly realizes there's a lot of interesting things about the lodge. Lots of things... for Instagram. His accomodations are the first thing he goes on a picture taking spree in. Not long after, and he's lurking around the main lodge, snapping away with his cellphone happily. At anything that even looks remotely interesting, too, because why not.
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"It's really uh, scenic here, isn't it?" Vic calls from his little table. He's got a coffee and a newspaper he's been ignoring. The latter, not the former. He'd never ignore a good cup of coffee.
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Once he's over the initial surprise, he turns to smile politely at the other man. Guest? Probably. "Oh, yes. Wery scenic." He awkwardly shuffles his ceel between his hands. It's rude to keep fussing at its screen, isn't it? "Wery... rustic, I think is the right vord?"
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"This place has a lot of history too, I hear," he adds after a minute and a sip of coffee. "And ghosts, if you're into that." Vic scratches at the back of his neck like he's embarrassed to have brought it up.
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"I heard a little bit about the ghosts." That's a lie; he heard a lot, mostly ridiculous sounding things from his friends. Ghosts? Really? "Wery spooky," He adds, emphasizing it with a dumb spooky ghost noise.
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"Not a fan, huh?" He chuckles at the spooky noise. "Maybe it was the groundskeeper in a mask the whole time."
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"Not really. Seems a bit... silly to believe in zat stuff." He laughs quietly, a tad apologetically. He actually feels bad about that, as if he's somehow insulting the hotel people with his vocal skepticism.
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Vic shrugs good-naturedly. "Yeah, probably. I always thought it was kinda silly people believe in Bigfoot when it's obviously Elvis in hiding." He gives the kid a grin somewhere between 'I can't believe I just said that' and 'Vics gonna Vic.' He winks for good measure.