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Well, I've made up my mind. Faux-NaNo starts in 4 days, so I'll shelve Seasons until then. Might as well keep plugging on Dreams. So I did a bit more on the backstory of the Elephant House, which I'll snip below, and am very pleased with. Now I know why Sapph's carrying around so much guilt.
I might not finish this short yet. I know now why she's so guilty, which is what I needed to know. Yes, I know I'm leaving you guys hanging. Sorry. :) Just know that in the end, she's going BACK to the Elephant House, so you'll eventually learn the entire story.
He crossed the room to me and leaned down, brushing his lips over mine in greeting. I tasted honey and sugar and smiled, even as he sat down next to me. –Stopped at Dunkin’s, huh, love?- I asked him mentally as he settled himself.
-Don’t worry, yours is in the refrigerator downstairs,- he replied, not missing a beat. –Although they were out of the lemon crème ones. So I got you chocolate crème instead.-
-Bah.- He doesn’t usually leave me alone, but I’d promised to stay in the house while he ran a couple of errands. David hadn’t wanted company, and I hadn’t pressed. I figured it had something to do with his mother. He never spoke about her, but I’d done some investigating on my own and found out that she was in a mental institution in New Haven. I didn’t ask him, though. He’d tell me when he was ready.
After all, there are worse things in life than a mother-in-law in a mental institution. Really.
“Okay, are we all here?” I looked around, counting noses. “Good. Now, everyone listen up. Heather’s found us a case.”
“Hell, tell it like it is,” Heather snorted. “I’ve found us THE case.”
I chuckled. “Whatever. Tell the story.”
She summarized it quickly, while everyone took notes. We didn’t need too much backstory – we’d all grown up in the area. EVERYONE knew about the Elephant House’s reputation.
“So we finally have a chance,” she finished, and heads nodded. “The chance to really make our reputation.”
“This is almost too good to be true,” Alis said slowly. “I mean, I like the chance, but this is the Elephant House. How many people have died there?”
“Too many,” David said. “Which is why we’ll have a plan. Right?”
“Right,” I agreed, pulling up the papers in front of me. “This is going to be a two-team situation. We’re going to cover as much ground as possible in the shortest amount of time on the first run in. I want us to do a large information sweep. There’s obviously more than one ghost in that house – we need to find out exactly how many. So Peter, you and Heather get to shadow Erik in the east wing of the house – Peter in the Ghostlands, anchored to Kassidy, and Heather walking physically with him. Meanwhile, Kate and I are going to partner together through the west wing, with David anchoring us. Alis, you get home base. I want to keep everyone safe. Any questions?”
I was watching David while I laid out the plan. I could feel his disapproval of it, but he was politic enough not to say anything in front of the others.
“Can we get copies of the floor plans before we go in?” he asked neutrally.
“They’re on file at the library,” Heather said. “The thing’s a freaking monstrosity, though. I wouldn’t be surprised if the plans were wrong.”
“What, you think the house is changing itself?” Peter snorted, and Erik chuckled along with him. “Are you serious?”
“I wouldn’t put anything past this house,” Heather said darkly. “Trust me. I’ve lived there, remember?”
“Dude, it’s just a house,” Erik scoffed. “With creepy ghosts in it, but still, just a house. You know how the stories get around.”
“Even stories have a basis in truth,” I reminded him sharply. “Which is why we stick to the plan. I catch you wandering off without Peter and Heather, and I will toss you out of the house myself, boyo.”
He flushed, but I meant it. I held his eyes until he sighed, bit his lip and nodded agreement. Only then did I look at everyone else. “Any other questions?”
“Not until I see the house plans,” Peter said, and Alis nodded.
I punched a button on the phone on my desk. “Hey Danielle, do me a favor. Call the library and get copies of the Elephant House plans for me.”
“We’re investigating the ELEPHANT HOUSE?” Her shriek nearly fried the speaker box, and everyone in the room laughed.
“Glad to see you’ve got no opinion on this, Danielle,” I said wryly. “How soon can you get those plans?”
“Let me make a few calls, boss.” The intercom clicked off, and I looked around.
“We’ll reconvene in the morning, once we get those plans,” I said, feeling a bit like Admiral Ackbar saying that. Everyone nodded and headed out.
Everyone except David, of course.
He didn’t like my plan. I could tell, by the way he just sat there, toying with a pen, not looking me in the eye. I tidied up my desk, putting all the other letters in a folder, as the silence grew oppressive. Finally, I spoke.
“You don’t like my plan.”
“I didn’t say that.”
Ah, his usual response when he didn’t like something. My mouth tightened. “You didn’t have to.”
David looked over at me, dark blue eyes hooded. “Then why are we having this discussion?”
“Because, dammit, if I’m doing something wrong, I need you to tell me!” Frustration boiled over into words. “What is wrong with you?”
“You know how dangerous this house is, Sapph!” he finally snapped back. “Why the hell are you splitting the team?”
“Because that gets us in there and out again,” I replied evenly, trying to keep my temper under control. “Minimizes the time that we’re in that damn place. I don’t like it, but I like spending a lot of time in there a hell of a lot less.”
“And halves your ability to protect all your teammates,” he reminded me. “How do you justify that?”
“I don’t have to justify anything,” I said, and watched his face redden. “I gave you my reasons. I’m the one in charge, and I’ll decide how we’re going to attack this house.”
He got up and strode to the doorway. Turning around to look at me, he said simply, “Just remember this conversation when it all goes to hell, Sapphire.”
And then he left.
I might not finish this short yet. I know now why she's so guilty, which is what I needed to know. Yes, I know I'm leaving you guys hanging. Sorry. :) Just know that in the end, she's going BACK to the Elephant House, so you'll eventually learn the entire story.
He crossed the room to me and leaned down, brushing his lips over mine in greeting. I tasted honey and sugar and smiled, even as he sat down next to me. –Stopped at Dunkin’s, huh, love?- I asked him mentally as he settled himself.
-Don’t worry, yours is in the refrigerator downstairs,- he replied, not missing a beat. –Although they were out of the lemon crème ones. So I got you chocolate crème instead.-
-Bah.- He doesn’t usually leave me alone, but I’d promised to stay in the house while he ran a couple of errands. David hadn’t wanted company, and I hadn’t pressed. I figured it had something to do with his mother. He never spoke about her, but I’d done some investigating on my own and found out that she was in a mental institution in New Haven. I didn’t ask him, though. He’d tell me when he was ready.
After all, there are worse things in life than a mother-in-law in a mental institution. Really.
“Okay, are we all here?” I looked around, counting noses. “Good. Now, everyone listen up. Heather’s found us a case.”
“Hell, tell it like it is,” Heather snorted. “I’ve found us THE case.”
I chuckled. “Whatever. Tell the story.”
She summarized it quickly, while everyone took notes. We didn’t need too much backstory – we’d all grown up in the area. EVERYONE knew about the Elephant House’s reputation.
“So we finally have a chance,” she finished, and heads nodded. “The chance to really make our reputation.”
“This is almost too good to be true,” Alis said slowly. “I mean, I like the chance, but this is the Elephant House. How many people have died there?”
“Too many,” David said. “Which is why we’ll have a plan. Right?”
“Right,” I agreed, pulling up the papers in front of me. “This is going to be a two-team situation. We’re going to cover as much ground as possible in the shortest amount of time on the first run in. I want us to do a large information sweep. There’s obviously more than one ghost in that house – we need to find out exactly how many. So Peter, you and Heather get to shadow Erik in the east wing of the house – Peter in the Ghostlands, anchored to Kassidy, and Heather walking physically with him. Meanwhile, Kate and I are going to partner together through the west wing, with David anchoring us. Alis, you get home base. I want to keep everyone safe. Any questions?”
I was watching David while I laid out the plan. I could feel his disapproval of it, but he was politic enough not to say anything in front of the others.
“Can we get copies of the floor plans before we go in?” he asked neutrally.
“They’re on file at the library,” Heather said. “The thing’s a freaking monstrosity, though. I wouldn’t be surprised if the plans were wrong.”
“What, you think the house is changing itself?” Peter snorted, and Erik chuckled along with him. “Are you serious?”
“I wouldn’t put anything past this house,” Heather said darkly. “Trust me. I’ve lived there, remember?”
“Dude, it’s just a house,” Erik scoffed. “With creepy ghosts in it, but still, just a house. You know how the stories get around.”
“Even stories have a basis in truth,” I reminded him sharply. “Which is why we stick to the plan. I catch you wandering off without Peter and Heather, and I will toss you out of the house myself, boyo.”
He flushed, but I meant it. I held his eyes until he sighed, bit his lip and nodded agreement. Only then did I look at everyone else. “Any other questions?”
“Not until I see the house plans,” Peter said, and Alis nodded.
I punched a button on the phone on my desk. “Hey Danielle, do me a favor. Call the library and get copies of the Elephant House plans for me.”
“We’re investigating the ELEPHANT HOUSE?” Her shriek nearly fried the speaker box, and everyone in the room laughed.
“Glad to see you’ve got no opinion on this, Danielle,” I said wryly. “How soon can you get those plans?”
“Let me make a few calls, boss.” The intercom clicked off, and I looked around.
“We’ll reconvene in the morning, once we get those plans,” I said, feeling a bit like Admiral Ackbar saying that. Everyone nodded and headed out.
Everyone except David, of course.
He didn’t like my plan. I could tell, by the way he just sat there, toying with a pen, not looking me in the eye. I tidied up my desk, putting all the other letters in a folder, as the silence grew oppressive. Finally, I spoke.
“You don’t like my plan.”
“I didn’t say that.”
Ah, his usual response when he didn’t like something. My mouth tightened. “You didn’t have to.”
David looked over at me, dark blue eyes hooded. “Then why are we having this discussion?”
“Because, dammit, if I’m doing something wrong, I need you to tell me!” Frustration boiled over into words. “What is wrong with you?”
“You know how dangerous this house is, Sapph!” he finally snapped back. “Why the hell are you splitting the team?”
“Because that gets us in there and out again,” I replied evenly, trying to keep my temper under control. “Minimizes the time that we’re in that damn place. I don’t like it, but I like spending a lot of time in there a hell of a lot less.”
“And halves your ability to protect all your teammates,” he reminded me. “How do you justify that?”
“I don’t have to justify anything,” I said, and watched his face redden. “I gave you my reasons. I’m the one in charge, and I’ll decide how we’re going to attack this house.”
He got up and strode to the doorway. Turning around to look at me, he said simply, “Just remember this conversation when it all goes to hell, Sapphire.”
And then he left.
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