Hey Readers!

A Happy New Year to you all! Quick shout-out to emyy250, the first person to follow and favorite this story! Thank you for your support and this chapter's dedicated to you!

Anyways, if you're new here, then welcome, and get ready for Chapter Four, 'cause it's about to get MAJORLY 90's in here! Enjoy!

Blockbuster Bust and Brooklyn

The day after meeting Hudson, Elijah made his way to the nearby town, biking along the road that snaked parallel to the beach on one of his uncle's bike he had found in the garage. The ground was still wet from yesterday's storm, but there was no forecast for rain, despite the still cloudy sky. He needed something to distract him from the fact that his uncle was friends with a living ad breathing gargoyle, so he dedicated to go return the rented tape and get another one.

New York City was a little over five miles away, visible in the distance, but he biked in the opposite direction, heading towards the closer seaside town of Weisman, New York. It was a picturesque little town, reminding him a little bit of Cabot Cove from Murder She Wrote, though he wished it at least had an arcade or something. But it had a Blockbuster, which was his current destination as he biked through the streets, the rented tape in his knapsack.

He parked his bike in front of the store, chained it to a nearby street lamp, and entered the building, immediately hit with the familiar smell of candy, buttered popcorn, carpet, and VHS plastic that seemed to permeate every store. Rows of shelves were lined up around the store, the tapes organized by genre and popularity. Shivering at the blast of AC that assaulted him [it was hot outside but nothing compared to a Summer's day in Texas], he walked into the store, sliding the tape into the drop off slot on one side of the counter.

Looking around, Elijah browsed the new releases for a few minutes, seeing if there was anything interesting out on tape. He then made his way towards the Mystery/Thriller section of the store, grateful that this Blockbuster had an almost identical layout to the one back in Galveston. Walking over to the shelf, he scanned the row of tapes, not finding any good new videos, so moving towards the older ones, trying to decide if he should rent one he'd never seen, or if he should rent one of his favorites.

"Do you really think he's deaf?"

The teen stiffened a little at the sound of the whisper, but he decided not to turn around, ignoring whoever was speaking as he looked over the selections. One would think that he would be used to people talking about him behind his back, but he still hated it. He did nt understand why people, upon seeing hearing aids in his ears, thought he somehow could not hear a word they were saying; what did they think hearing aids were for?

"Probably. Must be new too; I've never seen him at school before."

So they're teens, Elijah thought, finally finding a movie that looked interesting [The Maltese Falcon], turning the case over to read the back.

"What do we do if he needs help," the first voice asked, this one female. "I mean, we're supposed to see how customers are doing; should I just leave him alone?"

"I would," her male friend replied. "It's not like he'd notice you if you didn't."

"Oh I wouldn't say that," the Texan finally spoke up, straightening up and finally turning to face the two teens. "I think my eyesight's pretty good, thank you."

They obviously worked here; both wore blue polo shirts with name tags, along with tan shorts. The boy was tall, wore glasses, and had a pale face full of pimples. The girl, meanwhile, was a little shorter than Elijah, had long curly hair, and a face dotted with freckles. Their expressions were mixtures of surprise and embarrassment, their cheeks going red as they realized that he had heard their comments.

"You do realize that hearing aids help people hear, right," Elijah continued, not really in the mood to deal with these two idiotic Blockbuster employees. "It's not a fashion statement to get us more attention."

"I am so sorry," the girl [whose name tag read Amanda] said in a loud whisper, looking absolutely mortified. "I didn't mean-"

"Yeah, well don't worry," the deaf teen assured them. "I don't need any help finding anything. My eyes work perfectly fine, thank you."

"Are you gonna tell our boss," the boy, Brian, asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "'Cause I don't wanna get in trouble-"

"Really," Amanda chastised, rounding on her friend. "How could you be so insensitive?"

"I don't need your help," Elijah snapped at her, glaring at the two workers. "And as for telling your boss, that's my decision, not yours. But here's a quick ASL lesson for you two in case you think I'm too dumb to express myself."

He showed them a certain finger before turning away, walking with the tape down the aisle, smiling a little at the sight of their shell-shocked expressions. While he hated people treating him like he was an idiot, he enjoyed showing them up and making them feel like the fool. Though he did feel a little bad about flipping them off. Reaching the check-out desk, he handed the middle-aged woman the tape, reaching for his pocket to grab his walle and felt nothing.

"Sir!" He turned around to find the girl he had just flipped off coming towards him, holding out his wallet and refusing to look him in the eye. He gave an interior groan. "You… you dropped your wallet."

"Thanks," the teen replied, taking it to pay for his tape. Noticing she was still standing behind him, he turned back around, noticing she was wearing a worried expression. "Don't worry; I won't tell your boss."

"Tell me what," the woman behind the counter asked, looking over at the young girl with a stern expression. "Amanda, please tell me you didn't drop another VCR on a customer's foot! Because you know what'll happen if you did!"

"Oh no, ma'am," Elijah spoke up, giving the young Blockbuster attendant a quick sideways glance, not sure why he was defending the girl who insulted him, but it was too late to go back now. "I'm deaf, you see, and I had turned off my hearing aids earlier; I biked here, and the wind noise is a little annoying." He turned his head to the side, allowing the woman to see his hearing aid. "I'd forgotten to turn them on when I came inside, and I accidentally bumped into her and knocked over a display."

"Funny; I didn't hear a display fall over," the middle-aged Janet commented.

"Well, neither did I, for obvious reasons. I helped Amanda here pick it up, and I guess she thought I might tell you about it. But I wasn't planning on it; I mean, she helped me find the movie I wanted."

Amanda quickly hid her surprised expression by quickly nodding, turning away in faux [or possibly real] embarrassment. The Texan was not really sure why he did what he did; he did not know this girl at all, and he had nothing to gain by helping her. However, it was too late now, and the woman gave the girl a stern glance.

"Well, I can't blame you this time," she said, "but next time-"

"I know," Amanda replied quickly, face still pink with shame. "Should I just-"

"Go sort through the new tapes in the back." The frightened girl quickly left, giving Elijah one last look before disappearing through a back door.

"I'm so sorry sir," the woman told him graciously, checking out his tape. "She's only been here a month, and-"

"No trouble ma'am," the teen replied, taking the tape, popcorn and receipt, putting it in his knapsack. "Thanks."

"Have a great day."

As the boy made his way out the front door, he looked back inside the store and saw the back door quickly close, as if someone was just spying on him from the other side.

Whatever, he thought, going over to his bike and unlocking the chain. Guess I'm not coming here again anytime soon. He biked away from the store, heading towards the library; he needed to check to see if they had any good mystery novels, as well as check out that other Raskin novel his uncle had mentioned.

[][][]

Thursday night, nearly half an hour after the sun had set, Elijah had finally resigned himself to the fact that he was stuck spending the evening with his uncle and the gargoyle Hudson. Of course, there was still that small doubt that he had even met a gargoyle earlier that week [he could have hit his head outside and imagined the whole thing], but when he saw his uncle bringing out three cups for iced tea, he knew that someone [or something], was coming to visit. He was surprised, however, when he saw the blind man pull out his own braille copy of The Westing Game.

"How did you get that," he asked.

"I've had this for years," his Uncle Jeffrey replied. "How else did you think I knew so much about the book?"

"I dunno… I figured it was because you're an author and all that."

"I'm not that smart, but I'm flattered you think so."

Screw you, the teen thought bitterly, stalking over to the couch and sitting down with his own copy of the book. Who did his uncle think he was? He was not present all of his life, letting some petty argument stop him from being a present family member, and then all of a sudden, he thinks he could just pretend that he had been a loving uncle that cared about his well-being. Think again, Stevie Wonder; I'm no idiot.

There was a knock behind them, and Elijah turned in time to see Hudson slide the back door open. Seeing the gargoyle again in real life confirmed one of two things in Elijah's mind: one, that gargoyles, and in extent, magic, were real. Or two, he was absolutely crazy.

"Good evening, Robbins," the aged gargoyle said, folding his wings around his shoulders, then turning toward the teen and giving him a small nod and a smile. "Elijah. Glad you've come ta join us."

"Not like I had a choice, but thanks," the teen replied, noticing that the winged creature had brought his sword again, and immediately backed away from the creature.

"Anyone care for some iced tea before we start," his uncle asked, feeling around for the pitcher and a glass, pouring the amber liquid into the cup.

"Aye," the gargoyle replied, accepting the glass that the blind author handed him, taking a sip as he sat down in one of the armchairs by the fire, which seemed to be his regular spot.

"Elijah?" His uncle held out a drink for him as well.

"Thanks," the deaf teen muttered, taking the glass and stalking back to the couch and facing the fireplace, which was devoid of warmth today; his uncle had turned on other lights around the room to illuminate the space. He took a sip of his drink, and he begrudgingly had to admit that it tasted pretty good. His uncle sat down in the other armchair, Gilly sitting at his feet.

"So," Jeffrey spoke up, turning in his general direction, "usually Hudson and I take turns reading a chapter, but would you like to start with the first?"

"Sounds good," Elijah replied, opening his book as his uncle opened his, turning to the first page. If they only read a few chapters a night, he would read quickly and get it over with as soon as possible. The less time he spent with his uncle, the better. Hudson turned to the teen expectantly, ready to listen, and Elijah cleared his throat, starting at Chapter One.

"The sun sets in the west-"

"HUDSON!"

The teen nearly threw his book across the room as he screamed, glad that he was not the only individual shocked by the sudden call, which was accompanied by loud banging on the back door.

All three of them turned to the door to see a red gargoyle with a wild mane of white hair peering through the window obviously trying to get his friend's attention. This new gargoyle had a long beak-like mouth and jaw, beady eyes, and two horns poking out of his head. He wore no clothes, save a blue loincloth around his waist, and was a lot shorter and slimmer than the older gargoyle, being a little shorter than the .

"Brooklyn," Hudson exclaimed, leaping from his seat and going towards the door, opening it for the smaller gargoyle. "What're ye doin' here, lad? Is there trouble back home?"

"No," the red gargoyle replied, gasping a bit for breath. "But… you left very... suddenly so... Goliath sent me… to check on you."

Goliath who, Elijah thought, still staring at the new gargoyle in shock.

"I did not," Hudson told him indignantly, probably annoyed at having been scared as well. "And if Goliath sent ye all the way out here, it's not my fault he's paranoid!"

"Sorry," the red gargoyle muttered annoyedly. "Not my fault either." That, combined with the monster's voice, made the teen think that the new gargoyle was also young.

"But it's a good thing to have friends who care about you, Hudson," Jeffrey told him.

"Hi Mr. Robbins," the winged creature said, giving the man a small wave and a smile as he wrapped his wings around his shoulders, seeming to have not noticed Elijah yet. "Didn't see you there; sorry for scaring you two."

"It's fine," the blind man assured him. "I admire your eagerness to check up on your friend. But I believe some introductions need to be made. This is my nephew, Elijah."

"Elijah?" The red gargoyle seemed confused, but then finally caught sight of the teen, his eyes going wide and his mouth dropping open a bit. The two strangers stared at one another for a few seconds, taking in one another's appearance. Elijah wondered if Hudson had told the rest of the clan about him, or if this gargoyle was just realizing that a human with working eyes could see him.

"Uh… hi," the teen said cautiously. "I assume you're a friend of Hudson's?"

"Yeah," the gargoyle said, offering out a hand for him to shake. "Sorry if I freaked you out. I'm Brooklyn."

"Like the borough," the teen replied, tentatively shaking the winged creature's hand.

"Yeah." He looked over at Hudson. "I take they know that we're-"

"Aye, lad," the old gargoyle replied.

"Do you all have names related to New York City or something," Elijah asked.

"Most of us do; Gargoyles usually don't give each other names, but when we woke up in New York, we figured we might as well have some."

"I'm sorry ye had ta travel all the way out here on my account," Hudson said.

"Would you like to stay for a while," the blind author asked. "We were just about to start a new book."

"I dunno," Brooklyn replied. "I mean, I'm supposed to meet the others in half an hour; we were thinking of seeing a movie."

Elijah had no idea how they were supposed to see a movie, given their non-humanness, but he forgot all about it right as his uncle suddenly suggested, "Why don't you all join us instead? It would give everyone a chance to meet Elijah without any more sudden or unintended introductions. And you can see a movie any old time."

"What," the teen asked weakly, unnoticed by the author or the two gargoyles.

"That would make sense," Hudson said thoughtfully. "The lad here's already had ta deal with two scares in two nights."

"You don't have to change your plans on my account," Elijah said quickly, but it seemed as if his comments were falling on deaf ears.

"Okay." Brooklyn spread his wings, as if ready to take flight. "I'll just fly back and let them know-"

"No need," Jeffrey spoke up, getting up from his seat and going over to the telephone. "Detective Maza gave me her phone number, so I'll call her and have her pass along the message. Take a seat if you want."

The younger gargoyle sat down on the couch next to a dazed-faced Elijah, who was still trying to figure out why he seemed to have the worst luck in the world. He did not want to be around anyone right now, but it was as if his uncle was purposefully forcing him to be friends with the gargoyles. The teen did not know how large a gargoyle clan was, but if Brooklyn was as curious as Hudson had been, then he was in for a long night of questions. And speaking of questions…

"What're those things in your ears," Brooklyn asked, pointing at his left hearing aid.

"No way," the teen said, getting up from his chair and walking towards the door. "I'm not doing this again."

"Elijah," his uncle started to say.

"Shut up," the boy suddenly snapped, whirling around to face the blind man. "Just shut your freaking mouth for one minute and open your PERFECTLY WORKING EARS! Just because I'm deaf doesn't mean I shouldn't get a say in what happens around here! I don't need your help making friends, I don't need to read something or meet anyone to help distract me from the pain or whatever you think I'm going through! I don't need everyone acting like I'm some delicate flower because my parents died! And the last thing I need is to meet a group of monsters! Why can't any of you take a hint and just LEAVE ME ALONE?!"

Jeffrey and the two gargoyles stared at him in shock, but Elijah did not stay long enough for them to reply. Turning on his heel, he left the library, slamming the door behind him.

This chapter was a lot of fun to right. I'm a HUGE 90's fan, so just setting a story in this time period was like a dream come true! For those of you that don't know what Murder, She Wrote or Blockbuster are... I hope I've enlightened you. If any of you out there are also 90's buffs, then I hope you've enjoy this story, and to be on the look out for more 90's references as the chapters continue.

Also, do any Gargoyles fans out there recognize the name of the town? Obviously, it's a fictional place, but I hope you enjoyed that little Easter Egg!

Have a great day, and I wish you all a Happy 2020!

-aggiefrogger

Note: I do NOT own Murder, She Wrote, Blockbuster (may she rest in peace), Cabot Cove, The Maltese Falcon, Ellen Raskin or The Westing Game in ANY way, shape or form!