Eric, dragged along to go 'ghost hunting'

"So.... What are we doing here, again?"

It was a dark night, the moon hidden behind clouds. There was no rain, though the wind was chilling. All in all, it was a bad night to be out and about, and a good night to stay inside a nice warm house.

Eric, for some reason, was going to be spending his night doing neither. The lean, brunette young man hadn't expected it to be as cold as it was, and aside from his basic outfit of a t-shirt and jeans only had a hooded sweatshirt for warmth, which he was holding as tightly to himself as he could.

"The Bertram estate is one of the most widely 'haunted' houses in the state," said Carrie. Carrie was a tall girl with short dirty blond hair, and a morbid sense of curiosity in all things folkloric and gory. Currently, she was dressed in a long skirt and a heavy jacket, hauling a backpack full to bursting, and despite the little emotion apparent on her face, her long time friends could sense the excitement in her voice. "The story goes that Elizabeth Bertram, the lady of the house, died of shock when a burglar barged in on her in the bath. Now, the spirit of 'Bathing Betty Bertram' is said to remain."

"And what evidence is there to support this?" said the third member of their group, aiming a camera back at Carrie. Maria wasn't actually skeptic, so much as she wanted an explanation on camera, as the excitable, somewhat pudgy redhead had been babbling on about their 'ghost hunt' since they had set out. She was dressed about the same as Eric, but the cold didn't seem to be slowing her down any.

"Despite being vacant for the better part of a century, there have been lights and a woman's silhouette seen in several of the windows on the upper floor, as well as the sound of running water in the house by previous explorers." Carrie continued, her face still stoic in the face of Eric's rolling eyes and Maria's giddy grin.

"And we," Maria added, "are here to catch her on video."

"Okay," Eric said between shudders, "makes sense. Here's another question: what am _I _doing here?"

"Supporting your friends and sharing an adventure with them!" Maria said, swinging the camera onto him.

"We needed a second camera, and you fold easily if we bother you enough," Carrie said, more honestly, not looking back at him.

"That too!"

"Ugh, whatever," Eric said, sighing. It was going to be a long night; they'd trekked this far off the road, and only just gotten to the steps of the dilapidated old mansion. No lights were visible, no running water could be heard, but only Eric seemed discouraged.

"Well, let's go!" Maria said, and with few moments struggle, pried open the mansions creaky doors.