Shoutouts!
Magdalena Iris Roth: Okay, I think I understand now. Thank you for clearing that up. And let me tell you…this chapter will be fun…and you'll hate me at the end…bwahahaha!
TheAngryPrincess13: Yeah, the Torn Prince is hot in one aspect, but then you see the ugly side of him…bwahaha, that was really bad. But yeah…I think he looks way too much like James Dean. Creepy. And I love that quote!
LoKi-Shiver: Yeah…they didn't explain the plot too well, but that leaves room for the imagination, right? So it's a good thing for us writers.
Cookies to all of you. Cookies with icing on them in the shape of you favorite ghost. Or something like that. Here we go!
The alarm clock went off at 6 am, just like we planned. We wanted to get out of the house before her parents woke up and be at the lawyer's office when it opened at seven. We would have called, but it would be a whole lot easier to go and pick up a map if he had one. Hopeful thinking, I guess.
We decided to take my car since it got better gas mileage and we had no idea how far we'd be going. She left a note telling her parents that I'd given her a ride to track practice before school, and then we left for downtown.
Once again, I'd missed quite a few calls from my parents on my cell phone. I briefly considered calling them, but then I decided to wait until after I'd seen the glass house. I didn't want them to know what I was up to.
We pulled into a parking space and set it on the maximum; it probably wouldn't take more than an hour to do this, but there was no way of really knowing. We got bad looks as we entered the offices, and I walked to the information desk and found out that Thomas Johnson's office was on the sixth floor.
Once there, the secretary immediately approached us, asking what she could help us with.
"We're doing a school project on the influence of attorneys on the outcome of property disputes and major losses. We were wondering if we could speak to Mr. Johnson about it," Ashley said, sounding completely honest. The lady opened up her appointment book, clicking her tongue as she studied the page.
"Well…he has a board meeting in ten minutes, but if you really want to talk to him, you can just jump in right now and make it fast."
I nodded vigorously. "That'll be fine. Thank you so much."
She smiled and led us through to his office, knocking loudly on the large oak door.
"Mr. Thompson? I have a couple of students here who want to ask you a few questions…"
A pause. "Send them on in."
She opened the door for us and then closed it quickly behind us. This man's office was a whole lot like my father's; expensive decorations, impeccably clean, and books everywhere.
"Wait…aren't you the Thurston girl?" he asked immediately upon looking up from his papers.
"Yes. I had a few questions about my brother," I said, and he smiled weakly.
"Well, I'll tell you what I can."
"What's the location of the house in which he died?"
He hesitated, the blood draining from his face. "How did you find out about how he died?"
"I have connections. And I want to know where that house is."
He was beginning to look nervous now. "Look, there's an order that no one is to go on that property. It's under investigation."
Okay…I'd been denied information far too many times now, and it was beginning to make me mad. "I know it's dangerous. But I just want to see where my brother spent his final hours. I'm going to find that place, with or without your help, so you may as well just tell me!" I yelled, slamming my fists down on his desk.
He sat stunned for a moment, obviously shocked by my sudden outburst. Then he swallowed hard and opened up a drawer in his desk, pulling out a folded sheet of paper.
"If anyone asks…you did not get this information from me," he said as I unfolded it. The paper was the police report of what they thought happened at the house, and directions to the house.
"Thank you. I won't tell a soul," I said. I walked to the door, Ashley right on my heels.
"Julia," Mr. Johnson said, his voice weaker than before. "Be careful. That place is not safe. I'm trusting you to use common sense here and know where the limits are."
I smiled confidently. "Don't worry about us. We'll be fine."
With that, we filled up on gas and began the two hour drive to the glass house.
It was just our luck to get a flat tire when we thought we'd prepared for everything. I jerked the car over to the side of the road, spitting out a few curse words that my parents probably didn't even realize I knew.
"What now?" Ashley asked, just as frustrated as I was.
"Well…we call a wrecker, and go get the car fixed. Then we keep going."
"That could take all day!"
I took a deep breath. "I don't want to wait anymore. 17 years of not knowing was enough. I want to do this as fast as I can."
"You shouldn't be too impatient…"
"I know, but I'm going to go insane if I don't get out there."
"You're already insane."
"That's beside the point."
I called a wrecker on my cell phone, and when he arrived I used credit card to pay him. I knew that my parents would be told of these out-of-town transactions, but I didn't care at this point.
He towed the car to the nearest body shop, and I used credit card to pay there too. My dad was going to kill me when I got back; I was only supposed to use the credit card in emergencies, not when I was playing hookie from school and preparing to confront ghosts. We also took the opportunity to call in sick to the school for each other.
It took all day to get towed, get service at the shop, eat and get back on the road. We still had an hour and a half to go before we reached the house, and that was if we didn't run in to any traffic.
It was a long, boring drive. Nothing but trees, more trees, and the occasional rabbit. We passed through a small town called Willow Grove, but other than that it was a straight shot right up the Parkway.
Soon we found the turnoff to take; it was overgrown, nothing more than a dirt road. A wooden roadblock stood in our way, but I easily drove around it on the edge of the road. And that's when I began to get nervous.
I hadn't really thought about it up until then. Those violent ghosts may have never left. And unlike Arthur, if they didn't leave, there were no 'magic walls' to protect us. But why would a ghost stick around a place like that?
You have to believe Dennis would, I thought. Otherwise this whole trip is a futile effort.
It was starting to get dark already; I really didn't want to walk into this at night, but we were too far our in the middle of nowhere to turn back now. I shot a reassuring smile at Ashley, even though I was the one who probably needed the most reassuring.
I swear, we drove on that road for fifteen minutes before we finally reached the clearing. Immediately an imminent feeling of dread and horror washed over me, and I barely resisted the urge to turn the car around and drive away at top speed.
Ashley definitely felt the same way.
"Julia, we need to leave. Now. Let's just go," she begged, her knuckles white as she gripped her purse close to her chest.
"Ashley…I have to do this. You…just stay in the car. I'll just go check it out, really fast," I said in a whisper. I wasn't quite sure why I felt I had to whisper; it was almost as if someone was listening.
"No. I'm not letting you go out there alone," she said, and that's when the ruins of the building came into full view in the evening light.
Twisted steel and broken glass covered the ground, and police tape that had been ripped down lay on the ground, fluttering in the light wind. A few panes of glass still stood upright, and the steel that remained upright cast ominous shadows all over the wreckage.
"Are you sure? I have a really bad feeling about this," Ashley said.
"Yes. I'm sure. Just stay in the car if you're too scared," I snapped, grabbing the flashlight and the glasses and throwing the car door open.
I shivered as the cold night air enveloped me, but the cold feeling didn't only come from the temperature. There was definitely something here…now I just had to figure out what it was.
Ashley walked up beside me, and we stood motionless for a moment, staring at the wreckage that used to be a grand mansion. Then I slipped on the glasses.
Nothing. No ghosts, from what I could see. We were safe for now.
"Come on," I said, practically choking on my own words. I began to walk toward the house, stopping beside the "power truck" that Dennis had used to get here and fool the lawyer.
"Hang on," I said to Ashley, opening the door of the truck and jumping in the driver's seat, and then I placed my hands on the steering wheel.
An odd, warm feeling came over me. A wonderful safe feeling. Dennis had sat in this seat. His hands had been on this steering wheel, less than a week ago.
I was so close to him; I could feel it.
"Julia…there's something out there…"
I broke out of my trance, the goosebumps returning to my skin as I looked out to where Ashley was staring. And I knew she couldn't see what I could see…because she was silent, and I was screaming in horror.
Bwahaha, cliffhanger! Don't worry, I'll update soon and kill the suspense. Or I'll just add more suspense. Guess you won't know until I update...
Wow. It's 3:30 in the morning again. I guess I should at least attempt to sleep…