Shifters in the Shadows

by Deveaux, Poppy

  Tanya looked at her seemingly straight-laced step-father and slowly nodded, “You’re right, I need to change. My wildness got two men killed.”

  The following Monday, Tanya switched her major to Religious Studies. For the next two years, she closed herself off to everything and everyone from her past. When she graduated, she immediately enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Indiana. Her single-minded dedication allowed her to earn her Masters in Religious Studies in just 18 months. Tanya wasted no time jumping right back into class, by enrolling into the school’s doctorate program.

  As Tanya relentlessly pursued her new educational goal, the apartment where Rick and Steve died went through numerous tenants. Few lasted more than a month. They all had the same complaints: cold spots, strange whispering, and the occasional phantom touch. The landlord, Bill Burkett, became nervous that his building would get a bad reputation, so he changed the name from ’The Owl’s Nest Apartments’ to ’The Tree House Apartments’ and he took the apartment off the market. He then increased the rent on every other apartment to make up the difference. The tenants complained, but he really didn’t care.

  Then in the fall of 2016, a new crop of students moved to Murfreesboro, Indiana. It turned out to be the largest freshmen class ever for Middle Indiana, which meant the dorms and apartment complexes were full. Shelly Henderson knew that problem all too well. She had decided at the last minute to transfer from Southern Indiana University to Middle Indiana, and was desperate for a place to stay. She placed her name on every waiting list, and had still found nothing. “You have to find me something, Mrs. Pruitt, please!” Shelly begged the head of Student Housing. “I am sorry Ms. Henderson, but there is nothing on or off campus that is available. I have checked with everyone.”

  Shelly put her head in her hands, almost overcome with emotion. Then she snapped back, determined not to cry, “There has to be someone in this town with an apartment to rent. I will take anything! I don’t care how small or how bad the neighborhood.”

  Mrs. Pruitt looked through her contact list again, searching for a name she may have missed. Her eyes fell on ‘The Treehouse Apartments’ and a light turned on in her mind.

  “I may know of an apartment, but if the rumors are true, you won’t want it.” Shelly smiled, feeling hopeful, “Where? I don’t care about rumors. I just need a place to crash in.”

  “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Go to this apartment building, and tell the landlord you want to rent apartment B20. He doesn’t normally rent it anymore, but he might if you agree to sign a six month lease and promise to pay for it no matter what.”

  Shelly took the card and got up to leave, “Thank you, Mrs. Pruitt.”

  “Don’t thank me until you’ve stayed a few nights there. It is believed to be haunted.” Shelly laughed, but then realized that the older woman wasn’t joking, “Really? Well the ghosts will just have to make room for me, because that apartment will be mine!”

  Bill Burkett couldn’t believe this little girl was so determined to rent B20. He revealed what the past tenants had said, told her about the murder suicide, and even threatened to take her to court if she left before the lease ended. Still, Shelly wanted the place.

  “Are you one of those goofy Ghost Hunters I’ve seen on TV?” Bill asked.

  “No, Mr. Burkett,” Shelly said, becoming exasperated by the man’s dogged refusal to just let her have the apartment. “I’m just a student who needs a home and you are my last chance. Can I please have the keys?”

  Bill stared at her for another five minutes, not saying anything until suddenly, “All right girlie, you can have the apartment, but don’t come crying to me about weird things happening in that there!”

  Shelly couldn’t stop smiling as she filled out all the paperwork. She even giggled as she wrote a check for the first and last month’s rent. When Bill gave her the keys, she hugged him and ran out of the office. As she stood at the door to B20, she thought back to the warning from Mrs. Pruitt.

  “Haunted, huh? Well guys,” she said, unlocking the door and pushing it open, “meet your new roommate.”

  The first week flew by for Shelly. She moved all of her stuff in and set up the apartment the way she liked it. Shelly also had a full schedule of classes to contend with, so she really didn’t have any time to wonder about the possibility of ghosts. As the second week started, though, Shelly did begin to notice a few strange things but she chalked it up to having a little more time to let her imagination work. Every once in a while, Shelly thought the corner of her eye caught the image of someone in the giant built in one-way mirror. She would turn to look straight at the mirror, but would see nothing. Several times as she watched television, Shelly heard what appeared to be static. When she muted the audio, the static would continue for a second before completely dying.

  Then there was the dream, the same one every night. Shelly had always dreamed in color. It was one of the reasons she had become a photography major. In her dream, she walked down the apartment building hall, and heard the voices of two men calling out a name. Despite not being able to understand the name, Shelly turned around but no one was there. The voices said the name again, and Shelly found herself walking towards her apartment door. A third time, the voices called, and Shelly reached for the doorknob. The door opened by itself, and revealed that two well built naked men were inside.

  “We knew you’d come back,” the brown haired man said, extending his arms to envelope her in a hug. In the dream, Shelly saw a woman move forward for the hug, but it wasn’t her. As the first man hugged the woman, the second one stood behind her and embraced them both. At that moment in the dream, blood poured from the two men, covering all of them. Shelly always woke up at that point, gasping for breath. She didn’t know who the people were for sure, but guessed the two men died in the murder suicide. So who was the girl? After having the same dream five days in a row, she became determined to find out more about what happened.

  Shelly’s first stop was the internet, where she found a picture of Rick and Steve. They matched the men in her dream, but there was no mention of a woman. Reading through the newspaper reports, Shelly became convinced something was missing. Rick and Steve’s friends never mentioned the guys having girlfriends, but they also balked at claims that either man was gay.

  “So who is the mystery woman?” Shelly said to herself. She decided there was only one way to get an answer, and the idea scared and thrilled her at the same time. That night, Shelly lit several candles and turned off all the lights. Almost right away, Shelly felt a different charge in the air as she looked into the one-way mirror.

  “My name is Shelly Henderson, and I want to talk to Rick Ellington and Steve Cooper. I sense that you have a message for me, or at least a message you want to deliver through me. Can you reveal yourself to me?”

  Shelly stood in silence for 15 minutes, and then tried again, “Rick? Steve? Please speak to me, show me you are here. I want to help you.”

  Her answer was more silence, but then Shelly heard a name whispered, almost a question, “Tanya?”

  The hair on Shelly’s arms stood up, as if an electric current was nearby, “No, my name is Shelly. Is Tanya the woman you show me in the dream?”

  After a minute of silence, another whisper, but a different voice, “Where...Tanya?”

  “I don’t know who or where Tanya is. Please Rick, Steve, show yourself to me, give me more information.”

  “Naked,” said the first voice.

  “Are you naked or do you want me to be naked?” Shelly asked, “I’ll get naked to make you feel more comfortable.” She shed her clothes without hesitation, revealing her thin frame, with its boyish hips and small B cup breasts. As soon as her panties hit the floor, she sensed more electricity in the air. Shelly looked into the one-way mirror and let out a gasp. In the reflection, Rick and Steve stood on either side of her. Their naked bodies looked solid in the mirror, but when Shelly looked on either side of herself, she saw n
o one.

  “Thank you, Steve. Thank you, Rick. I appreciate you trusting me. How can I help you?” Shelly asked.

  Steve looked at Shelly’s reflection, and whispered, “Not Tanya...still beautiful.”

  Shelly blushed, and then laughed at the fact that she was blushing over the compliment from a ghost. When Rick turned to her and caressed her arm, Shelly stopped laughing and shivered.

  “Rick, I felt that. It feels wonderful. Please tell me, who is Tanya?”

  Rick ran his hand up and down Shelly’s arm, and Steve joined in the touching, by moving his fingers over Shelly’s stomach, “Tanya...lover,” he said.

  “Girlfriend,” Rick added as his hand moved up to Shelly’s shoulders and then across her upper chest. Shelly’s eyes rolled back as she enjoyed what they were doing. Their touch vibrated against her skin and sent waves of pleasure through her body.

  “What...mmm...what is Tanya’s last name?” Shelly managed to say. Neither ghost answered at first, prompting Shelly to look again into the mirror. She watched as Rick moved to face her straight on, while Steve moved behind her. Both ghosts pressed themselves to her body, and the result thrilled Shelly. She could feel the pressure of their bodies against her, and that vibration spread across her skin. Shelly couldn’t keep see because her eyes were closed in ecstasy, but she felt Rick move his hands to her breasts. Behind her, Steve squeezed her ass and then ground what could only be his dick into her crack.

  “Oh My God! You both feel amazing....Ohhh...but please tell me Tanya’s last name. I can help you reunite with her or find your real killer...OHHHH!!!” Shelly couldn’t say anymore, because both ghosts forced her legs apart and together, had rammed into her pussy. Shelly looked down at herself, and her eyes still did not see any physical proof this was happening to her. Shelly’s body and nerve endings told a different story. She could clearly feel the presence of two cocks inside her pussy, and at this point she did not want anything to change that.

  “Fuller,” the two ghosts whispered in her ears.

  Shelly did not understand at first, “No, this is fullest. I have never felt this full before.” Together, the two ghosts slowly moved their dicks in and out of Shelly and whispered again, “Tanya Fuller.”

  “Ungh...ohhhh...that makes more sense...oh please don’t stop...wait...fuller...as in Gerald Fuller, the president of the university?”

  Another five strokes, and Steve said, “Yes...Gerald’s daughter...we miss her.”

  Rick moved his lips to Shelly’s right breast, “we love her.” “I’m sure she misses and loves you..mmmph!” Shelly said, as Rick flicked one nipple, Steve pinched the other, and they both moved deep inside her. “I am going to cum if you two keep that up.” In answer, they moved faster, their dicks vibrating and penetrating inside her. It all became too much for Shelly’s senses, and an orgasm overtook her, making her toes curl and her hair straighten. She fell to the floor, on the verge of unconsciousness. Before she blacked out, she received one more message from the ghosts.

  “Bring her here...she is lost..bring our genius multi-tasker home.”

  Ten hours later, Shelly woke up in her bed, nicely tucked in. At first, she believed the whole session was nothing but an incredibly vivid dream. When Shelly tried to walk to the bathroom, she knew better. Her legs felt like she had run a marathon in six inch stilettos, and her vagina felt stretched, as if someone had gradually shoved a baseball bat inside her. After slowly making her way through her morning routine, Shelly grabbed her laptop. She had one mission -- find Tanya Fuller.

  Ten minutes later, Shelly knew almost everything about how Tanya spent the last five years. How she had graduated from Middle Indiana and moved on to get her Masters and Ph.D. Now she was back in the ’Boro, working as an associate professor. Tanya never married, never seemed to do anything other than teach and preach.

  “How does she figure into the deaths of Rick and Steve. It looks like her crotch is sewn shut,” Shelly said. Then she spotted a picture of Tanya from six years ago. She clicked on it, and it showed Tanya dancing with a man at The Fighting Owl, her ass plastered to his groin. From the guy’s smile, and the expressions on the faces of everyone watching, Tanya was giving them a show. Shelly found a few more pictures like that from The Fighting Owl’s webpage, which made it seem like Tanya was a regular. As she clipped through a series of pictures, she hit the dirt -- a photo of Tanya and Rick kissing in the background. There was a third man in their clutch, but it wasn’t Steve. Shelly clicked on the next picture, which was taken from the same spot, a minute earlier. There Tanya and Rick were, but this time she was turned to the medium sized black man, and she was kissing him as Rick watched.

  “Now that puts another piece into the puzzle,” Shelly mumbled to herself, “but it also opens up the possible suspect file. I have to talk to her.” She looked at her watch. Her first class was in thirty minutes. She could stop by Tanya’s office after. All she needed to do was figure out what to say.

  Standing outside Tanya’s office two hours later, Shelly still hadn’t come up with a way to begin this conversation.

  “Hi there, the ghosts of your last two conquests fucked me last night, and want to see you again,” she mumbled, “yeah, that will work...if by working I mean get me landed in an insane asylum.”

  Shelly was still pondering her opening line when Tanya opened her door, “Are you here to see me?” she asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. I have a couple of really strange questions that I hope you can answer.”

  Tanya didn’t smile, just waved Shelly inside, “It’s Dr. fuller, not ma’am. And if this is some kind of sorority activity where you question God, you can leave now.”

  “No ma-- I mean Dr. Fuller, I am not in a sorority,” Shelly said as she sat down, “I don’t really know how to start.”

  Tanya stared at the younger woman, “Well, why don’t you come back when you do. I don’t have time to waste.”

  Shelly realized she had to come up with something quick, so she plunged forward, “Ok, how about this. Is there anything in the Bible about ghosts. I don’t mean the Holy Ghost, I mean the other kind.”

  Tanya sat back in her chair and thought for a second, “Yes, the Bible mentions ghosts and spirits, but mostly in the Old Testament. Many present day scholars don’t give it much weight. Why do you ask?”

  Shelly cleared her throat, “Well, ever since I moved to my apartment in Murfreesboro, I have felt what I believe is the presence of other people. I hear noises and feel phantom touches.”

  “Interesting,” Tanya said, “but excuse me for asking, do you take any kind of illicit drugs or drink excessively?”

  Shelly laughed, “No, but if this situation continues, I may need to start. Everyone warned me about the apartment, but I was desperate for a place to stay. Now I am stuck with it.”

  “Where is this apartment?” Tanya asked, leaning forward in her chair.

  Shelly noticed the other woman’s interest increase, “Oh it is very close. The building is called The Treehouse Apartments. Do you have time to walk over with me?”

  “Treehouse? I’m not familiar with that place,” Tanya said, “and I don’t know what good I could do by entering the apartment. I don’t perform exorcisms.”

  Shelly tried another tactic, “I understand, but the whispers are getting louder. The other day I actually understood a full sentence. It was a male voice, and it said, ’genius multi-tasker’.” Thud. Tanya sat back in her chair so fast that the force caused it to roll backwards against a wall with a “Dr. Fuller, are you okay?” Shelly asked, amazed at the other woman’s reaction.

  Tanya did not answer, just sat there, eyes closed, her chest moving quickly with each breath. She had a recurring nightmare in which Steve called a genius multi-tasker, and then someone plunged a knife into his throat. Now, to hear this young woman use the same phrase, it brought everything back to the surface.

  “This Treehouse Apartments,” Tanya finally said, “wouldn’t happen to be on Oak Street, w
ould it?”

  Shelly smiled, “Yes it is...do you know anything about it? I know there was a horrible crime committed there, but not much more.”

  Tanya stood up and walked around the desk, “I know a little bit, but you are going to take me there to confirm my suspicions. Shall we?”

  Shelly was on her feet in a second, “Yes, thank you Dr. Fuller. I believe you can help me get to the bottom of this.”

  The two women made the short talk to The Treehouse Apartments and walked up the stairs to B20. Although she expected it, Tanya was still shocked to be standing in front of Rick’s old apartment. Since that horrible night, Tanya had not set foot in the building. Being back there made her realize how much she missed Rick and Steve even though they only had one night together. Their lives had ended, and in a way, so had her life. She had closed herself off from the world, for fear of getting hurt and hurting others again. Tanya’s eyes filled with tears as Shelly unlocked the door.

  Before Shelly opened it, she looked at Tanya and noticed she was crying, “Dr. Fuller, it is going to be all right. You don’t have to go in if you don’t want to.”

  Wiping her eyes, Tanya said, “No, it is time I faced this. And please call me Tanya. I have a feeling we should be on a first name basis.”

  Shelly nodded and opened the door, inviting Tanya inside. When the door closed, both women sensed the presence of others in the room with them. Tanya saw the semi-translucent ghosts first, in the mirror, and shrieked.

  “I see them! How can they be here still??”

  Shelly looked in the mirror and reached out for Tanya’s hand, “It’s okay. They just wanted to see you. They told me they missed you and loved you.”

  Tanya squeezed Shelly’s hand, but kept her eyes on the mirror, “Did they tell you what happened? Will they speak to me?”

  As an answer, Rick whispered, “Beautiful...naked.” He moved behind Tanya’s reflection and tried to undo the buttons on her blouse, but couldn‘t do it. Tanya felt the pressure of Rick’s naked body against her back, and craved a better connection.