Chapter 1

The four door red sedan rolled down the road on a midsummer's day. Behind the wheel sat a middle aged mother with two teenagers as her passengers. Sarah O'Neill was out to start a new life after losing her husband in Afghanistan. The widow and mother of two had taken a job as a real estate agent. Sitting in the seat behind her was her son, Charlie who just turned fourteen. In the front passengers' seat was her daughter, Jackie who was three years older than her brother and dreading the move after losing her father. They sat in silence all wishing they were someplace else to escape the grief.

Charlie asked, "Are we there yet?" He was rather bored from looking out the window at nothing but fields. He wore blue shorts and red t-shirt and had brown eyes and hair which he kept short.

"It's not much further." Sarah assured him. She spied the large looming house up ahead. "It's right there!" she pointed.

Jackie looked ahead and spied the old creepy home that was rather large with peaked roofs and a gothic feel. She winced, "Where did you get this place from again, Mom? The Munsters?" She wore a white tank top with a light plaid red and white shirt and tan cargo short with boots. Her hair was brown and matched her brown eyes. Both teens reflected their deceased father's features.

Charlie had to agree, "That looks creepy, Mom."

"It's an old estate. I bought from Catherine Langford's estate. She inherited it from her father who a professor who used to go on digs in Egypt. Isn't that cool?" she asked them.

Charlie asked, "Was he like Indiana Jones?"

She shook her head, "I don't think so honey."

Jackie wondered, "How much did you pay for this dump?" She had yet to be impressed as they pulled up the old driveway.

"I bought it as is." she informed. "It needs some work. A new roof, upgraded electricity and plumbing. It's fully furnished though."

She repeated, "How much did you pay for it?"

"One hundred thousand." she told her.

"It's a dump, Mom!" she countered.

"Housing is kind of expensive." she rebutted. "It's a steal for that kind of money. It has twenty acres of land, a garage and a barn. There is a pool, tennis courts…it used to be a mansion in it's heyday." She parked the car before the old three storey house.

The trio emerged from the car and looked upon the looming house that seemed nearly sinister. It was like a scene from a horror film to Jackie as she looked upon the faded white paint and cracked glass of the broken window. She winced, "I hope we don't find an ax murderer inside." she complained.

"It's just your imagination, Jackie." she soothed the girl. "A little spit and polish and this place will look good as new."

Charlie shook his head, "This place will need more than spit and polish, Mom." He couldn't help but wonder, "I wonder what dad thinks of all this."

Jackie had to admit, "Dad would love it! He would go around and calling himself Herman Munster and tell everyone he lives in the creepy house."

Sarah had to agree, "Your father would love this place." She held a key in her hand and went for the front door, "Get your bags, kids." She opened the door and led the teens inside.

Inside the home the furniture was covered with sheets to keep the dust off. The walls sported vintage wallpaper with a red printed outdoor scene. It was adored with oak floors and accents and a chandelier hung in the entry. Sarah smiled, "Look at how marvelous this old estate must have been. Professor Langford was rather wealthy."

Charlie only saw work. He soured, "It's going to take a lot more spit and polish, Mom."

She agreed, "But it will be worth it."

Jackie lifted the sheet from the sofa. She found it looked antiquated and out of date. She soured, "This stuff is so old, Mom. It could break." she assumed.

"Good furniture will last a lifetime." she told the girl.

Charlie soon found the staircase. He called, "I'm going to check out the bedrooms, Mom."

She hollered back, "Be careful up there. Could find some spiders and mice."

"Right, Mom!" he replied and made his way up the stairs.

Jackie figured, "I better go with him."

Sarah assured, "He will be okay. I doubt the spiders are that big and there is no food in the house for mice."

She rebutted, "It's not that! I don't want him to get dibs on the good bedroom." She then followed her brother up to the second floor as Sarah shook her head amused.

The bedrooms were much as they expected. A large master bedroom and four smaller rooms. Each room had furniture and seemed to be set up as guest rooms. They did not find any sign of a child's room or even old toys. They discovered a single bathroom at the end of the hallway. At the other end was a door. Charlie opened the door to a set of stairs going up.

Jackie stood beside him and looked up the old, cobweb laden staircase. She made a face, "That looks dirty."

Charlie retrieved a small pocket military flashlight that he inherited for the deceased man and shined it before them.

He teased her, "You're not afraid of spiders, are you?"

"It's not the spiders." she soured. "It's the sticky gross webs they make."

He laughed, "You wouldn't make Special Forces."

She countered, "I did pass the entrance exam for the Academy."

He paused a bit taken. "Did you tell mom?"

She shook her head "After dad died, I thought it might too much on her. Me going into the Air Force like dad did will worry her too much. So, I'm not going."

Charlie stated, "Dad would want you to go."

"But dad is not here anymore and mom needs our help." she countered. "Let's see what's in the attic." she suggested.

Soon the pair waked up the stairs and into the attic. White dust covers were all that could be seen of the furniture. The room was well lit with large windows. Charlie went to a large contraption sitting before the window and pulled down the cover. Beneath was a telescope pointed out the window and up at the stars. Jackie removed the dust cover from the large wooden desk. She found a wall lined with book cases and filled with hardcover books. She read the title, "Homer. Egyptian Gods. Greek Gods and Myths. Astrology. Wow, the Langfords had a collection of weird stuff here."

Charlie was busy checking out the telescope. "This is cool. I wonder what they were looking at?"

Jackie guessed, "The stars." She walked to another covered item. She pulled the cover to discover a large mirror with a golden stand. She cocked her head for the mirror seemed out of place to her. "Why a mirror?"

Charlie shrugged, "Maybe to look good."

She was about to touch the mirror when Sarah called.

"Jackie! Charlie! The moving truck is here. Help me unload." she yelled for them.

"Let's go!" Jackie instructed.

Charlie let out a sigh as he wanted to explore the third floor more. "Alright."

Later

Jackie and Charlie both chose their bedrooms with only a minor argument, which was a step in the right direction, for they often clashed. Jackie stood in her bedroom after hauling in her luggage. She looked around and found a bed, a desk, a wardrobe and a large bookshelf. Oddly, the bookshelf was nearly empty with only a few books on the bottom. She took a cloth and dusted off the shelf before using it after removing all the dust covers. She then opened a box and began to retrieve a number of trophies and place them on the shelf.

Charlie walked by with a box in the hallway and noticed she was already unpacking. He stepped into her room still holding the box. "Hey! That bookshelf looks like a good place to put those trophies." he had to agree. He placed his box down and went over to her side to assist. He lifted a trophy out of the box and looked upon it. "Youth competitive shooting. Second place." He handed her the trophy, "You still gonna go shooting without dad?"

"I don't know." she sighed. "He made it fun. Not so sure anymore. Might just give it up." she replied a bit depressed.

Charlie wondered, "How did you even get into it?"

"You don't remember?" she asked.

He shook his head.

She recalled the story, "We were sitting in the living room watching TV when dad came home from work. He put his pistol on top the TV and told us to not touch it. You got up and went for it because you wanted to play with it. I stopped you and Dad then heard us fighting. He came back in and found I had unloaded the gun and ejected the round from the chamber and I was telling you that could have shot yourself. After that he put the gun in the safe and we started shooting lessons. I was good at it and before I knew it he had me in competitions."

He admitted, "I don't even remember that." He grinned, "With twenty acres of land we can do our shooting in the back woods. Maybe mom will let us go hunting."

She soured, "I don't want to go hunting. I don't want to kill anything cute and fuzzy."

He replied, "Fishing then?"

"That I can do." she nodded.

He recalled, "But I have to take the fish off the hook because you get freaked out by the slimy feel of scales."

"But I'll eat fish." she responded. "And fish is not cute and fuzzy."

He rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

Sarah hollered from downstairs, "Charlie! Jackie! Pizza is here. Come eat."

"Coming, Mom." Jackie yelled.

Charlie placed the trophy on the shelf, "Think mom will let you keep your rifle in your room?"

"Why not?" she asked him. "I'm very careful with it."

He wondered, "Think she will let me keep mine in my room?"

She thought for a second, "Probably not. I bet she will let you keep your bb gun though."

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not a kid anymore."

The pair soon made their way down stairs. Much to their surprise a visitor arrived at the door after the pizza was delivered. He was a tall man with brown hair that seemed a bit long. He wore a blazer over a dress shirt with jeans and sported glasses. He stood on the front porch as Sarah would not let him in the house.

He introduced himself, "I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson. I know this seems a bit out of the ordinary but I was wondering if you would let me see the work of Dr. Paul Langford. His daughter Catherine came to see me at a lecture a few years back. She offered me a job but I didn't take it. Could I possible see what the professor was working on?" he pleaded.

Sarah shook her head, "Not at this time. Do you have a card? I can maybe contact you later."

He handed her a slip of paper, "Here's my number. You can even just send me whatever he has. I'll pay for shipping."

"Right now I'm trying to unpack. I'll call you later." she told him and then closed the door on his face.

Jackie and Charlie both stood bewildered. Charlie asked, "Who was that, Mom?"

She waved it off, "Some professor who knew Professor Langford's daughter. He wanted to look at some books or something. Like we really need some total stranger barging in right now." She folded the paper and placed it in her pocket, "I'm sure he might take some of these old books off our hands." She grabbed a paper plate, "Let's eat. I'm starving."