A continuation by DyNaMoDave of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy
Chapter Two Saturday
When Mandy awoke the next morning she could hardly wait to get out of the house. Pulling her dress over her head as she ran down the hall she imagined all sorts of things about Ms. Doolin and her past. Normally, as a rule she never allowed herself to get overly excited about anything. Yet, here she was, getting all worked up about going to see Ms. Doolin in that condemned mansion the way Mindy would get if she was going to a glamour boutique at a trendy mall.
She was still trying to make sense of it all when she ran into Grim in the kitchen. He was sitting at the dinner table nursing a battered coffee pot and looked totally exhausted.
Mandy spoke in her usual caring way, "Well, don't you look like death warmed over." She gave him her best deadpan stare.
"Oh, aren't we the funny one?" Grim responded sarcastically.
"You know I don't do funny, Grim."
"Don't gimme dat bunk, child! I almost had you de time I dressed up as a woman when we had to trick dat health freak."
Mandy said nothing, and looked away as if dismissing the whole matter. "It wasn't funny, did I laugh?"
"You had to leave, admit it!" Grim pointed accusingly.
"I left of my own choosing, and speaking of leaving, we're going to the Doolin place." She looked at Grim, her message clear. He didn't have a choice in the matter. "We've been talking, and since you said you knew all about dat house there's a few teengs I want answered, mon." She concluded, mimicking his accent just to tease him.
When Grim heard that he gave Mandy a startled glance and quickly spoke, "For your information, Mandy, I have to visit me Granny Grim. Give Amanda my regards. Bye." Before Mandy could object, Grim stood, quickly spun his scythe, and stepped into a portal he created. Vanishing before her eyes, the last thing she saw was him putting a bony finger just below an eye socket and sticking out his tongue. Grim, it seems, was making a hasty retreat.
Mandy frowned, "Fine then." She crossed her arms and glowered at the spot where the portal had been. Oh, how he would pay for that gesture, how insolent! She had been getting lax on Grim lately and it showed in his behavior. When he got back she'd fix his little red wagon, she'd...suddenly her sharp mind locked onto something Grim said. "Give Amanda my regards."
Mandy pondered that and remembered the photos Ms. Doolin had shown her the first time they met. Photos of her beating Grim in several different sports. They obviously knew each other, but twice in two days now she had heard the name Amanda. What was the deal? Frustrated and irritated with Grim's recent actions she went over to the dinner table and poured herself a cup of coffee. A quick jolt and off she'd go. She poured the cup, no cream or sugar thank you, and was just about to take her first sip when her giggling and pajama clad parents unexpectedly walked into the kitchen.
Everybody kind of stared at each other for a moment. It was apparent that Mandy didn't expect her parents to be up, and her parents stared right back thinking the same thing about her. Mandy spoke first, "Aren't you two up way early for a Saturday?"
Claire closed her robe and answered, "We couldn't sleep, Mandy. So we...well, never mind." Claire hushed up and looked at Phil, her obedient and shy husband. Mandy drew back, looked disgusted and said, "That's Top-of-the-Line TMI, you got that?" Done with that comment, she then looked at her dad.
Phil looked at his wife, then Mandy, then at Mandy's coffee. They had asked her politely many times not to drink coffee unless it was Decaf, but by the robust smell, it was a regular, strong brewed coffee. Phil, not wanting to get Mandy upset so early, nervously offered up a suggestion instead, "You might want...umm...cream and sugar with that, it...uhh...smells really strong,"
Mandy took one baleful glance at him and took an especially long and loud slurpy slurp from her cup, "Naaah, I'm fine." She gave her dad a cold stare as thanks for his unwanted comment.
Claire picked up where her husband left off, "Mandy, honey, the three of us have to talk. There's something about the family you should know." Phil nodded in support.
Mandy was already becoming impatient with the morning's delays, plus the coffee was kicking in. She rapidly spoke, "Sorry to cancel your lovely idea of this wonderful family's Kodak moment, but I have to go back to the Doolin place. Maybe later, maybe NOT!" With that, Mandy bolted from the kitchen and out the back door of the house.
Phil looked at Claire and asked, "Did she say...back...to the Doolin place?"
"She did, and that implies she's been there before."
Phil continued, "...then that might mean?"
"Exactly." Claire finished.
Mandy proceeded down the street towards the Doolin Mansion. Even though she was in a hurry she couldn't help but notice how peaceful it was on an early Saturday morning. There was no morning rush getting ready for school, traffic was light because of the weekend, and thankfully, hopefully, Billy and Irwin were still asleep. Suddenly, she had the distinct impression she was being followed. Whipping around rapidly she looked up and down both sides of the street. Nothing was out of the ordinary; just sanitation workers picking up garbage, a dog marking his territory on a fire hydrant, and a papergirl tossing some papers, everything was seemingly normal. Still, she looked about one more time and turned back around and ran slam into Irwin, knocking him flat on his back!
"Irwin, why are you up so early, and why are you stalking me?" Mandy demanded, with hands on her hips.
"Just going camping with my dad, Mandy. See?" He stood up, gestured backwards and Mandy could see Irwin's dad standing beside an overloaded SUV. He saw her and waved, "Hi, Mandy. Lovely morning for a family getaway, isn't it?" Irwin's mummy mom, who was dressed in something resembling a beekeepers uniform, also waved.
"Hello, Irwin's Dad and Mom." Mandy dryly answered back, clearly annoyed at having run into Irwin, literally. She turned to leave, but Irwin spoke again.
"Say, Mandy, wanna come with us and experience the great outdoors? This is special because mom usually stays behind, but dad bought her protective clothes for the sun. Otherwise, she'd dry up."
"You dry up, and leave me be. I'm going to the Doolin place." With that, Mandy turned and continued on towards her destination. After that Boogey thing with the kissing incident the thought of being close to Irwin in any shape, form, or fashion gave her the shuddering crawlies.
"I see how it is, you'd rather spend time in a creepy old house than with manly me. I'm too much for ya, huh? You'll be sorry one day, BABY!" Irwin was angry at yet another rebuff by Mandy.
Mandy stopped, sighed deeply, turned around, and stomped back to Irwin. Grabbing his shirt collar with both hands she lifted him off the ground, and spoke slowly and clearly, "Irwin, you kissed me without my expressed permission. I was unconscious, you took shameful advantage of me! Boogey's influence wasn't that great, a simple kiss from anybody would have done it, but for you it wasn't a kiss on the cheek, nor was it a quick peck on the lips. It was a kiss of passion like we were married!" She dropped him and he fell hard on his butt, having to push his hands out backwards to keep from landing totally flat. She bent over to look at him and he looked into the eyes of pure, cold fury! "Is that how you will deal with women in the future, Irwin? By taking advantage of them? If you ever hope to speak to me again it better be WITH A HUMBLE RESPECT, YOU GOT THAT?" She was practically screaming in his ear at this point. He tried to talk, but she pressed on, "Oh, and one more thing, I'M NOT YOUR BABY!" With that, she backed off, gave him the most frightful grimace she could muster, then did an about face and walked away quickly. She was late enough as it was.
Irwin tried to stop her. Stammering, he called out, "Please, I made a mistake, I lost my senses, can we talk? I just wanted to help you. Please, Mandy?" He looked genuinely hurt as if something she had said, after numerous attempts, finally registered. It was simple, really. Mandy had feelings too, and he had horribly insulted them. He stopped and watch her leave, trying to get her attention but it was no use. Desperate, he called out to her one last time, "Mannndyyyyy!"
Mandy just waved him off without commenting because she felt the discussion was over. Irwin gazed ruefully at her as she left. He wondered if that was her middle finger sticking up, but she was so far away now, he couldn't be sure. Turning sadly away, he climbed into the idling SUV and shut the door. He'd just have to give her time and hope for the best.
Having wasted enough time with Irwin and his parents, Mandy practically ran up the old broken sidewalk to Ms. Doolin's front door. She was just about to open it when it opened from the inside. Ms. Doolin was standing there and spoke.
"I had a feeling you'd be here early, so I made it a point to meet you." Ms. Doolin got right to business. "I wanted to say, before we go any further, that I'm sorry about getting upset with you yesterday. I apologize, there's much you need to know and I should have realized that."
Mandy, although eager to talk to her, still eyed her suspiciously without speaking. Ms. Doolin kept on talking to ease the moment.
"What's the matter, Mandy? Cat got your tongue?" Ms. Doolin was respectful and didn't use that other name Mandy disliked so much.
Mandy looked around and answered slowly, "No, no cats, not with Jeff around." Mandy looked past Ms. Doolin and into the doorway clearly wanting to go on inside. Ms. Doolin thought Mandy's remark was funny and chuckled, "Very good Mandy, you made a funny." Ms. Doolin, however, stopped chuckling when she noticed Mandy just staring at her blankly. She bent down to Mandy's eye level and asked her a pointed question.
"Are you upset, what's wrong?"
Mandy answered back, "As I am forever explaining, I don't do funny. My statement was simple fact." Mandy paused, then let out a long sigh of exasperation. "Two things; One, I just chewed out a clueless moron who constantly hits on me, and two, I'm not used to having an adult talk to me as an equal, much less actually apologize for something. My folks barely talk to me at all, and as for my teachers, to them I'm just another nameless little kid in a big system."
"I see, well come inside and have a long, adult talk with me." She took Mandy by the hand and led her inside. "I'd enjoy it, and I think you would too."
Just a few hundred feet down the sidewalk were Claire and Phil. They watched in amazement as Mandy and Ms. Doolin walked inside and closed the door. Claire angrily hissed to Phil, "I just knew it was her, I knew it!" Mandy's instincts had been correct, she was followed, and by none other than her own parents. When she spun around to check, Clair and Phil ducked behind a garbage truck and had to pull their feet up to keep from being spotted.
When Ms. Doolin closed the door they waited a few moments then proceeded to the house. Claire whispered, "Mandy really lit into Irwin, I wonder what that was about?"
Phil spoke, but it was a useless comment, "They're just kids, who cares?"
Clair answered firmly, "I do." She then looked at house and let out a low whistle, "It's been a long time, the place has really gone downhill."
Phil nodded and bowed to the door, "Yeah, well ladies first." He smiled.
Giving him a somewhat playful shove she slowly opened the creaking door and muttered, "Coward."
Phil just shrugged, and together the two quietly entered the house. Claire grabbed the door as it closed, careful to let the spring pull in slowly lest the door make an unwanted slam.
Ms. Doolin took Mandy upstairs to her bedroom. When they arrived she asked, "I have fresh melon, would you like a piece?" Ms. Doolin pointed to an ornate silver tray on a mahogany end table. On it were melon slices accompanied with silver saucers and utensils that matched the tray. Mandy began to feel really at ease with the familiar ritual and the comfortable, homey surroundings of the house. She took a plate and helped herself. Sitting back in a rocker, she waited for Ms. Doolin to speak.
"My, where do I begin? I think I'll start with how I know Grim, then go from there. Over a hundred and fifty years ago my family built this mansion. Afterwards, the Endsville Chamber of Commerce convened in the building and wrote the very first city charter. As such, that makes it an historical landmark that should not be destroyed. I am desperately looking for that charter, the original is in here somewhere."
"What does that have to do with Grim?" Mandy asked.
"I'm getting to that. A few years later my great-grandmother many times over lay dying in that very bed you're sitting next to." Mandy looked at the bed, an old, but well kept, four poster bed with a thick hand sewn quilt. At the end of the bed was a cedar linen chest, which was used to store the quilt, sheets, and blankets. Atop the chest stood a pair of silver candlesticks. As Mandy gazed around and ate, Ms. Doolin continued, "When her life began to fade away I'm told the room filled with an unnatural light, and when that light dimmed, the Angel of Death, the Grim Reaper Himself had manifested in front of my grandmother. Completely petrified of death, as most people of that time were, she tried to bargain for extra time. Grim, even back then, it seems, could not resist a bet. She hung on long enough to beat him in a simple game of checkers."
Mandy just shook her head in amazement, "Why am I not surprised? Then afterwards, Grim spared her and she lived for several more years, right?"
"No."
"What, Grim took her anyway? What a dirt bag!"
Ms. Doolin kept on, "The deal was, grandmother would still have to die, but the Grim Reaper would have to fulfill a promise, and that was servitude, a binding some call it, to grandmother's oldest daughter. When the oldest daughter died she tricked ol' Grim in a game of Blackjack. That tradition of beating him in some kind of game has been passed down with the help of this house." Ms. Doolin looked at Mandy for any reaction.
"The house, how?" Mandy asked, her expression one of intense curiosity.
Ms. Doolin nooded. "This house feeds off negative energy. It has a life of it's own, a symbiotic spirit that decided to live here. However, that spirit is very particular about it's diet and feeds off the energies of my family only. The trick to keeping the Grim Reaper bound to our family is this house, it amplifies our aggression, our grit, our feistiness and our strength and uses it to suppress the Grim Reaper's powers. In return, the female members of this house usually live long and healthy lives. If this house is destroyed, ultimately we'll lose dominion over the Grim Reaper no matter how hard we try to keep it. He'll escape, our family will lose the benefit of the spirit, and that will be the end of that."
"How does the charter help then, why is it so important?" Mandy asked.
"It's an historical document that connects this house and this town. If I can find it, you can show it to City Hall and they'll have to call off the demolition. If they do that, the house will be spared and most likely restored. The spirit will stay, and the Grim Reaper will remain bound." She gave Mandy a dejected look, "Unfortunately, I can't seem to find it and Monday is just two days away." Ms. Doolin sat down in weary resignation. "I've searched from attic to basement, but it's just not here. That document is the ammo you spoke of needing earlier." Ms. Doolin then did something that caused Mandy to make a silent gasp. She pinched her nose like Mandy did when she was frustrated.
Mandy decided to not speak about that just yet, but looked around instead. She noticed several faded places along the walls as if furniture had been there for a long time, then moved. She remembered seeing many places like that throughout the mansion. As she browsed around, one very large blank spot on the far wall caught her eye and piqued her interest. It wasn't just a plain rectangle where a desk might have been, instead it was a fancy shape, as if possessing spires and pinnacles.
That spot, what was there, can you tell me?" Mandy pointed towards the spot.
"It was a dresser made of Philippine Mahogany trimmed in Indonesian Teak wood. It had a crystal mirror and was completely hand made and inlayed with silver and gold reliefs. It was my mom's favorite piece of furniture, and I remember admiring it as a little girl. I used to love exploring in all the drawers and compartments looking for her jewelry. The thing weighed a ton, and I hope whoever took it got a sore back for their trouble." Mandy looked at the spot and thought about the other blank spaces she had seen. Clearly, the place had been looted over time, and whatever valuables were in the furniture were also gone.
"I find it odd, Ms. Doolin, that the one thing you need so badly is the one thing that is missing. That can't be a coincidence."
Ms. Doolin nodded and said, "I think you're right, I feel the same way." She paused for a moment, then offered up a suggestion. "You know, this talk is going to take a while, so let's make it easier by using our first names. Please listen, I am also called Amanda, but you're certainly welcome to call me Mandy, or Grandma, if you wish." The older Mandy looked at the younger Mandy and smiled.
Mandy just stared intently, then spoke, "For now I'll keep calling you Ms. Doolin if that's all right? This all feels a little strange to me still, OK?"
"As you wish, I understand, but there are others we need to talk to. It's a family matter."
"Others? Family matter? Explain."
"Oh, I'll do more than that." Ms. Doolin walked out to the hallway and called out, "You can come in now, I know you're there." At first, nothing happened, then two people walked into the room. Mandy was absolutely flabbergasted when she recognized them as her parents. She leaped from her chair and confronted them angrily, "I knew I was being followed, I just knew it! How dare you?"
Ms Doolin spoke, "Hello Clarice, Hello Phillip. My, how you've grown." Mandy turned and stared at Ms. Doolin after that comment.
Claire spoke and in doing so gave Mandy the final clue to put it all together, "Hello, Grandmother. Would you please not call me that?" Claire looked annoyed at being called Clarice; just like Mandy did earlier when she was called Amanda.
Mandy looked at her mom, then at Ms. Doolin. She tried to speak, but only stammered as the older women and Phil looked on. Finally, she was composed enough and spoke to her mom, "Did you just call her, Grandmother?"
"Yes, I did." Claire nodded to her perplexed daughter.
Mandy looked at Ms. Doolin, "Then, that would make her my...?"
"Great-grandmother." Ms. Doolin finished finished for a very surprised Mandy.
After that incredible statement Phil grabbed the candlesticks off the linen chest, formed them into a cross and thrust them into Ms. Doolin's face, "BACK, you foul thing, go back from whence you came!" he commanded. Ms. Doolin was seemingly unaffected, except for a slight twitching in her lips. She appeared to be close to laughing out loud.
Claire spoke sharply, "Phil, you idiot, she's not a vampire!" She sighed and pinched the top of her nose in frustration. Mandy saw that and did a double take at her mom. It seems that little gesture was a family trait.
Ms. Doolin corrected Claire, "Actually, I'm an earthbound spirit. There are unfinished matters that keep me in the physical world. Once they are taken care of, I will be able to depart." Mandy turned quickly after hearing that, clearly not liking what it implied.
Phil put the candlesticks back on the linen chest and asked, "Matters, what type of matters?" Mandy looked at him, then at Ms. Doolin and rolled her eyes in embarrassment. Grabbing the candlesticks, she opened the chest, chucked them inside, slammed the lid back down, and then sat on the chest.
Claire nodded approvingly to Mandy then asked her grandmother the same question, "Yes, what's kept you here for so long?"
"I think you know, Claire." Mandy looked at her mom.
"Well, I don't. Tell me." Mandy looked back at Ms. Doolin.
"The family ledger that contains the original city charter, don't tell me you don't know." Ms Doolin answered with a touch of irritation. It was becoming a sore subject with her. The fruitless searching for so long was beginning to get on her nerves.
"Grandmother, I swear, WE swear," she looked at Phil, then back at her grandmother, "that we don't know where it's at. I haven't seen it since I was Mandy's age, and that was when you placed it in the family safe."
"Well, it's gone. The safe is open and empty!" Ms. Doolin answered, her voice cracked and trembling with frustration.
Phil offered up a theory, "Well, any ideas on who took it, or might want it?"
Ms. Doolin shrugged, "Some drifter looking for a trinket to sell, no doubt."
Claire, calm but curious now, asked, "Why are you so concerned about that charter, what's really going on?" Mandy looked at Ms. Doolin who seemed unable to speak for the moment. She waved Claire off for a moment as if taking a brief break from the stress.
Mandy continued for her, "The charter is an historical document, a valuable original. If it's found, the Endsville City Hall is certain to cancel the demolition scheduled for Monday. The house stays as a landmark and our family keeps control of Grim."
Claire answered in astonishment, "Mandy, this house is possessed, I know it, your dad knows it, she knows it! I won't have her putting you in danger with stories about keeping the Grim Reaper under our control. I heard enough of that family rubbish growing up, we're all in very real danger. It ends here; when the house comes down, you won't have a reason to stay Grandmother, and you, Mandy, will be a normal little girl again without the Grim Reaper poisoning your senses. I've had enough of him in our lives!"
Mandy and Ms. Doolin both looked at Claire with shock in their eyes, Mandy stood atop the linen chest to confront her parents eye to eye, "You did it, didn't you? Somehow, you two got the City Hall convinced that this house had to be torn down!" Claire motioned for Phil to continue.
Phil nodded, then spoke again, this time with a bit more authority and information, "We wanted the house torn down and through the use of phone calls, e-mails, and letters we finally convinced City Hall to do just that. Claire wanted the place gone because it reminded her of the past, of things she'd rather forget, and of a family legacy she wanted to end. Knowing Mandy was more like her grandmother than Claire would like, we focused on getting the house demolished." Phil moved next to Mandy and finished speaking. "Mandy, you're our child and we love you. This house is a different matter, it can go, and with it, the Grim Reaper."
"This is MY HOME, you have no right!" Ms. Doolin found her voice again and was definately using it. Mandy, almost red in the face, looked mad enough to chew nails. Her parents had crossed a line that was unforgivable!
"NO RIGHT?!" Claire was using her voice too. "No right, you say? Mandy, did she tell you what happened to one of the very first owners of the house, did she?" Claire looked at her grandmother already knowing the answer.
"I'll tell you, she went all psychotic with an axe and killed her parents!"
Ms. Doolin tried to explain, "It wasn't the house, Elizabeth was already disturbed with childhood issues. When she moved the house's influence over her dissipated and she became insane. The house actually calmed her, made her functional so long as she remained here."
Claire sighed loudly, spread her arms in frustration and repeated a very old nursery rhyme for Mandy's benefit. It went something like this:
"Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother forty whacks; And when she saw what she had done She gave her father forty-one."
Claire approached Mandy who was still standing on the linen chest. Standing next to Phil they both confronted her as a team. Claire asked sharply, "Now, do you understand? This house twists everyone who lives in it, just look at her!" She pointed accusingly Ms. Doolin. Mandy just stared back at her parents in stubborn defiance, upset with the recent revelations and leery of their close proximity.
Ms. Doolin lost her temper at this point, she'd had enough. "How dare you? That's it, get out!" When she finished her demand, the room grew dark as a coal mine at midnight. The air became really chilly and everybody could see their breath it was so cold. Everybody looked around, but there was no Ms. Doolin to be seen. They were still trying to determine their next course of action when it was determined for them by an enormous and deafening thunderclap! The noise shook the room so hard that dust and plaster fell from the ceiling and walls. As they coughed and spluttered they were totally overwhelmed when the windows shattered outwards into a billion pieces with another deafening crash!
"GO NOW!"
Claire and Phil grabbed Mandy and left much faster than when they first arrived. Ms. Doolin's high pitched cackle provided more motivation and they took the stairs three or four at a time! In just a few seconds they were in the front yard. Looking back, they saw all the shutters and doors slamming shut. Ms. Doolin, it seems, was done entertaining for the day.
Mandy summed it up quite nicely, "Gee Mom, way to dis' your Grandma!"
