The House of Mr. Thorne

After a long week of schoolwork and chores, the weekend had finally arrived and all the children of Royal Woods were anxious for a fun weekend...except for one. After he finished up breakfast and got himself dressed, Rocky decided to use this particular Saturday to get started on his big plan. Of course, at first; Rusty acted like the typical overprotective big brother and tried to talk him out of it...but Rocky's mind was set.

"I'll be fine, Bro...really" he assured while heading out the door, "if anything; Mr. Thorne will have me do some house cleaning, tend to his yard or even ask me to help pick up some things for him...no big deal." With that, Rocky made his way towards the garage and got out his bike; ready to head on out. Mere moments ago, he remembered his dad offering to drive him to the address while on his way to work but Rocky refused.

Not only did he want to really earn his chances at getting the DVD boxset as a gift for Lucy. But despite the distance between his own house and Mr. Thorne's, Rocky claimed the exercise would do him some good. "I'll see you and Dad later this afternoon, Rust" he called out while putting on his safety gear, "and before you say anything...yes, I have the emergency numbers and supplies you packed for me in my backpack."

To prove he was telling the truth, Rocky unzipped his backpack and revealed a massive amount of medical and safety supplies (bandages, band-aids, ointments etc.) There were also a few "special supplies" Rusty talked his dad into giving Rocky in case of a "big emergency." These items included a string of garlic heads, a sharpened wooden steak and a jar full of weird goop (which, according to Lincoln, was some form of "ghost repellent.")

"Rusty...I'm just going to somebody's house" Rocky groaned in annoyance, "I'm not going into Dracula's castle or anything like that!" In response to this, the elder Spokes boy insisted that his brother keep the extra supplies on hand; claiming that nobody knew what a reclusive type like Mr. Thorne was capable of. "UGH! I don't have time to argue about this nonsense" Rocky grumbled, "I've gotta get to the house before it gets too late."

With that said; he got up on his bike, secured his backpack behind him, did a quick checkup to see if his safety gear was all on properly and then, he rode off on his way. As he made his way down the block, Rocky's mind kept thinking about all the stories Rusty and the other older kids told them about Mr. Thorne. He still remembered the video Clyde showed him, the one that featured an owl swooping down and snatching up the grocery bags from out of a bagboy's hands.

Why didn't Thorne come to pick up his bags in person, did he train the owl to pick up everything for him, did he have a legal permit to own such an animal and most importantly, where did he get the gold coins to pay for everything. "Whoever the guy is...he's got everybody I know thinking he's a nut" Rocky thought to himself, "but I know he can't be that bad...I hope."

(Line Break)

After riding for almost forty minutes, Rocky had reached his destination; the entrance into Huntington Oaks. Getting into the town was easy, much to the boy's relief...the real challenge was looking for any signs of Mr. Thorne's home. "I'll just take a quick ride through the neighborhood, see if any of the houses match what the guys told me in their stories" Rocky murmured under his breath, "shouldn't take me too long...right?" With this plan in mind; he got back on his bike, adjusted his helmet and started peddling along down the road.

He went through the north, south, east and west sides of Huntington but found no sign of any kind of old manor houses anywhere. At one point, Rocky even tried to get inside the more gated and ritzy community of Huntington Manor...but he couldn't get past the guard. "If you won't let me in, Sir; could you at least help me out with something" Rocky implored, "I've been looking all over town for the home of a Mr. Vincent Thorne, do you know where that is?"

Despite however strong the guard's stoic and proper demeanor was; upon hearing mention of the name Thorne, all the color suddenly drained from his face. This led Rocky to believe that he said something wrong and without hesitation, he offered up an immediate apology. But while the guard appreciated his manners, he assured the boy that he neither said nor done anything wrong.

"I was simply...taken off-guard by your request is all, young man" he stated, "very few people in town or up here in Huntington Manor ever dare to travel to Thorne's residence, you see." On the one hand, Rocky felt his body shiver slightly at the cryptic nature of the gate guard's words. But on the other hand; due to his age, he couldn't help but feel curious about what the man said and asked to learn more.

"As I said, very few people ever dare to visit Thorne's home" the guard stated, "the property itself looks like something from a horror film piece, which is enough to drive even the bravest of souls into retreating." Whether it was the creepy way the guard chose to describe the place or his use of fancy talk; either way, Rocky didn't know if he was being serious with him or not.

Regardless, Rocky wasn't going to let such stories stop him from doing what he had to do. So, he stood his ground and asked the gate guard for directions to Mr. Thorne's home; not caring about how "scary" it might be to the people of Huntington Oaks or Huntington Manor. "Very well, young Sir...but don't say you haven't been warned" sighed the gate guard, "go back down this road and ride to the very edge of the eastward side of Huntington Oaks."

After recording these directions on his phone, Rocky thanked the guard for his help and was ready to ride off. But before he left, the young Spokes boy made one final attempt to learn more about Mr. Thorne's home; specifically how to spot it in the neighborhood. "It's really not that difficult to notice it, young Sir" the guard said politely despite his nervous tone, "the manor itself looks ancient, the grounds around it appear untidy and while the rest of Huntington is blessed by the golden rays of the morning sun, many passersby claim that a perpetual rain cloud seems to loom over the place."

Once again, Rocky felt a little freaked out by the man's rather ghoulish description of Mr. Thorne's home; wondering if he was actually being serious or if he was just messing with him. Either way, he knew there was no turning back now and thus; he went off on his way back down the road.

(Line Break)

Once Rocky had arrived back at the eastern edge of Huntington Oaks, he made his way down the road at a much quicker pace. But in spite of this, he had the same amount of luck in finding Mr. Thorne's home than he did everywhere else in town...until he caught sight of something that almost made him fall off his bike seat. Off in the distance at the farthest end of the block was a massive estate that seemed to tower slightly over the other houses along the way.

There were vines growing on the left-hand side of the building, there were small gargoyles resting atop the roof, a large marble fountain sat in the middle of the main yard, the hedges were cut to resemble rather interesting shapes and designs (like smaller versions of mazes) and the house's foundation was made out of some kind of stonework Rocky had never seen before. But as interesting as all this looked, he could also caught sight of the creepier side of the property. The yard looked slightly overgrown, there was a collection of crows roosting atop a nearby oak tree, the fountain's water looked a sickly green and as he drew closer, Rocky swore he saw one of the gargoyles was staring down at him.

Up close, the whole place looked just as creepy as her family and the Huntington Manor gate guard all described. But surprisingly, Rocky did his best to swallow his fear and make his way towards the house. "I know this place looks like a medieval haunted house" he thought to himself, "but remember why you're here...if you do a good job, you'll get paid and you'll be able to get your gift for Lucy!"

With this in mind and after he took a moment to pump himself up (emotionally speaking,) Rocky puffed out his chest and approached the front door. However, much to his slight surprise; he found no sign of a doorbell anywhere. All that was there was some sort of long piece of fancy-looking rope.

"Wait...I think this one of those bell rope things people use at the marina" Rocky deduced, "but why would Mr. Thorne have one outside of his front door?" No sooner had he said this out loud, the boy was suddenly reminded of how Mr. Thorne chose to collect his goods from people; by carrier bird. With this in mind and after taking note of the style of the man's house, Rocky realized just how old school Mr. Thorne truly was.

"Well, I'm here...may as well ring the bell and get the guy's attention" the boy murmured dryly, "I just hope he'll hear it." After letting out a sigh; Rocky reached up as high as he could, grabbed hold of the rope and gave it a strong tug. Upon doing so, the sounds of a large bell sounded off; creating a resounding echo that seemed to travel all the way down the block.

It was as if Rocky had just caused a church bell to ring, it was so powerful. The noise carried on for almost ten seconds until, at last...all was still and quiet once again. "Okay...this is getting really creepy" Rocky thought to himself, "since when does somebody's doorbell sound like that?"

For what felt like ages, he stood frozen in place; waiting for someone to open the door but no one came. "There's no way Mr. Thorne couldn't have heard me ringing this bell" Rocky grumbled in mild annoyance, "I bet people back in Royal Woods heard it earlier." With a frustrated grunt, he took hold of the rope and rang the bell again; this time giving it a few extra strong tugs.

The chimes rang loudly throughout the block, causing several people to either poke their heads their windows or come racing out their doors in alarm. Meanwhile, the rest of the townsfolk appeared rather angry about the loud noises and demanded for whoever was causing it to quiet down. "Oh, man; I better stop this or else these people might call the police on me" Rocky murmured in alarm, "or worse...my parents."

Not wanting to get involved with either party, the young Spokes boy grabbed hold of the bell rope; hoping that it would stop the bell's ringing. When it finally died down, Rocky heaved out a sigh of relief; happy that things were quiet once again. But just as he let go of the rope and was about to leave the porch, Rocky suddenly heard the sound of the doorknob jiggling violently; causing him to freeze in place.

"Oh, man...OH, MAN! OH, MAN! OH, MAN" he thought fearfully, "that must be Mr. Thorne...he's probably upset that I woke him up with the bell or something!" More than anything, Rocky wanted to run down the steps and get as far away from this house as quickly as possible. But try as he might, the poor boy was so overwhelmed by fear that his feet felt like stone blocks.

He was barely able to inch himself over towards the stoop when suddenly, the front door flew open; causing Rocky to stumble down the steps and fall unceremoniously onto the sidewalk. Although the fall left him feeling pretty dizzy; overall, Rocky was pleased to see that there were no signs of injury or scars on him. "No more lollygagging Spokes; get a move on" he whimpered fearfully, "I don't wanna be here when Mr. Thorne..."

Just as Rocky was mere seconds away from finishing his train of thought (as well as making a run for it,) the front door of the house suddenly flew open and a figure soon made their way onto the porch. He was a rather...odd-looking fellow; to say the least with his bony hands, curled finger, unkempt reddish-brown hair and even though he wore a suit, it had a few tears and appeared rather worn out. But it wasn't all this that made the stranger stand out the most, in Rocky's eyes.

No, it was his unusual posture, coupled with his equally unnatural hunched back. In the boy's mind, he looked like an extra from a horror movie...but he was dressed like a man-servant. The strange man then gave an angry huff, marched his way down the steps and made his way towards Rocky; his shadow slowly looming over the boy like a shroud.

"YOU THERE! What is the meaning of this, young man" he inquired angrily, "what reason could you have in toying with the doorbell?!" Try as he might; poor Rocky was barely able to get a single word out of his mouth, he was so scared. Sadly, all this seemed to do was make the hunchbacked man even more frustrated; which was the last thing the young Spokes boy wanted.

"Well...what have you to say for yourself" the man demanded, "and look me in the eye, when I'm speaking to you!" No sooner had this been said, the man removed his black sunglasses to reveal a set of unfocused eyes; giving his face a rather crazed look. Naturally, said look did leave Rocky feeling a little nervous...but he'd seen stranger things on people before (such as Flip's twin butt cracks.)

In any case, Rocky still tried to behave as politely as he could and quickly apologized for the noise from earlier. "I didn't hear anyone come to the door, after I rang the bell the first time" he explained, "so, I...uh, I thought I'd ring it again; in case Mr. Thorne didn't hear me." No sooner had he said all of this, Rocky stared at the hunchbacked man intently and asked if he was Mr. Thorne.

"I am his man-servant, Farquard; I help attend to the house while the master is busy with...other duties he is involved with" he stated while slipping his glasses back on, "on that note, I shall ask you once again...why are you here?!" After taking a moment to swallow down the nervous lump in his throat, Rocky looked Farquard in the eye (or at least, one of them) and asked if he or Mr. Thorne needed a few extra hands.

"I'm afraid Master Thorne has a surplus of hands already in his study" the hunchback said bluntly, "so...if that's all you wished to ask; please, leave." With that, Farquard made his way back up the steps and was moments away from closing the door shut...until Rocky stopped it with his foot (which felt incredibly painful.) After the stinging sensation died down, Rocky asked more clearly if Farquard or Mr. Thorne needed some extra help in looking after the place.

"I...I-I mean, this house is pretty big; which must be a lot of work for one guy like you to handle" he said bluntly, "so...would you mind if I...helped out with a few things here?" At first, Farquard was moments away from pushing Rocky back and locking the door...but a quick yet sudden sting quickly shot through his left leg; causing him to take a knee. It was here that Rocky could faintly hear him muttering angrily about the garden giving him a hard time again.

That's when he made one final plea to come into Mr. Thorne and Farquard's temporary service, stressing that while he didn't know much about gardening; he did know a few things about yard work. "I can also vacuum for you, dust for you, feed any pets you have around the house...even pick up whatever Mr. Thorne needs from the store" Rocky listed off enthusiastically, "just...give me a chance to help." Once more, Farquard felt tempted to shun the boy but the pain in his leg told him that a little extra help around the manor was a wise idea.

That being said, he did the wise thing and asked the young Spokes boy what he would want in exchange for his service. "Just the usual fare a kid would get for helping tend to one's housework" Rocky replied, "that...and maybe something to drink, all the peddling I did to get here really made me thirsty." For a moment or so, Farquard simply stared at the boy in silence; as if studying him.

Then, he took a slight glance over his shoulder and into the main hall of the house. When he saw the sheer size of the space, Farquard was soon reminded of just how arduous his position was and that...a little help would do him some good; even though it would be temporary. "Very well, then" the hunchback sighed in submission, "come inside, I shall put on some tea and...we shall discuss the terms of your service here."

With that simple statement; he cleaned up Rocky from his earlier fall, reopened the door and gestured for the lad to follow him inside. As Farquard made his way into the main hall, Rocky took a moment to think things over; wondering if it really was a good idea to work in a place this weird. That's when he heard it, a faint yet almost angelic voice echoing through his ears.

"Rocky...Rocky, don't let fear of the unknown stop you from your goal" the voice urged him sweetly, "besides, strange stuff is what you love most about me...right?" Although the voice was distant and almost ghostly in tone, something about it actually made the Spokes boy feel rather calm; as if it sounded...familiar to him. Then, all of a sudden; he felt something rest lightly upon his shoulder like a hand.

With a soft yelp, he spun around and saw what looked like the "ghostly" form of Lucy floating before him. "Okay...now I know my head is messing with me" Rocky murmured, "Lucy's not dead, she's back at home with her fam." The "ghost" of Lucy chuckled softly at his words and assured the boy that there was no reason to be afraid, that she was simply a figment of his own imagination.

"She" reminded Rocky of all the time he spent with Lucy doing all the things she though were fun, however morbid the activities were...but he never once ran away. "If you can handle what Lucy does for fun, cleaning a creepy place like this will be easy" the "spirit" stated, "plus, what's the worst thing that could happen here?" Just then, Farquard's voice called out loudly from inside the house; telling Rocky to hurry inside and close the door immediately.

"You'll let the cold out of the house, if the door stays open for too long" he exclaimed, "and if not that, you might also release some of Master Thorne's...pets into the neighborhood and no one wants to see that." Not needing to be told twice, Rocky stepped inside and closed the door shut behind him; making certain that there weren't any gaps open. The whole time he was doing this, he couldn't help but wonder why Mr. Thorne's pets getting loose would be a bad thing.

"I mean...it's not like he's got the same kind of pets Lincoln's sister, Lana has" he chuckled, "frogs, rats, hamsters, snakes or..." Before the lad could finish with his statement, a collection of shrill screeches could be heard above his head. With a soft murmur, Rocky looked up and saw something familiar yet...also mildly alarming; a full colony of bats lying upside down from the room's ceiling.

Startled by this, Rocky stumbled back slightly until he came into contact with a large and rather fancy-looking couch. Unfortunately, despite however nice it looked; it was also quite dusty and Rocky crashing into it caused some of that dust to fly up into the air. The boy hacked and coughed softly, as the dust cloud suddenly overwhelmed him.

When he was finally able to calm himself down, Rocky did his best to clean the dust off his shirt. That's when he caught sight of something that actually looked rather normal. Sitting atop of a stone pillar by the staircase was what looked like a statue of a great horned owl (or perhaps a taxidermy version of one.)

Either way; it was a very impressive item and perhaps, the most "normal-looking" thing in the room. "Wow...this thing is so cool" Rocky whispered while approaching the owl, "it looks too real to be a stuffed owl." No sooner had this been said, the owl's head suddenly turned in the boy's direction and glared at him in offense.

Then, if the thing's sudden show of movement wasn't shocking enough; Rocky swore he heard it say, "I may look big for my species, child...but I am not as stuffed as you claim I am!" Now...the colony of bats resting on the ceiling, the gargoyle outside and the house's overall style were all creepy in their own rights. But the instant Rocky heard this supposed stuffed bird speak to him...that finally caused him to faint.

Mere seconds after that; Farquard came out of one of the side doors, holding a pitcher in one hand and two glasses in the other. When he happened to see the young Spokes boy passed out on the marble floor, he let out a long and weary sigh. "You did it again...didn't you, Ibid" he grumbled while glaring at the owl with annoyance, "I thought you learnt your lesson after giving the mail carrier a scare just last month."

The owl (known as Ibid) held up his wings in defense and proclaimed that Rocky was the one "at fault" in the situation; what with him calling him stuffed and all. "You could stand to eat just a few less voles from time to time, old boy" Farquard chuckled while prodding his finger against the owl's belly, "how can you expect to attend to your duties as the master's carrier bird if you're too heavyset to carry anything home?" Offended by such words, Ibid let out an irritated shriek...but he was quickly silenced by Farquard's shushing.

Not long after this, Rocky could be heard letting out a soft moan but swiftly fell back to sleep afterwards. "Oh...this land and its normies will be the death of me, one day" Farquard grumbled softly, "summon Octavia and have her help me bring this boy into Drawing Room." With a reluctant squeak, Ibid spread his wings out wide and took flight up to the second floor of the house; laving Farquard behind to watch over Rocky's sleeping form.

"Dear boy; whatever your reasons, I still applaud you for coming to help out the master" he whispered, "but if you think Ibid was a frightful sight...you have not seen anything yet."

(First AN: Well...Rocky's decided to go along with his brother's plan to help out Mr. Thorne after all. But it looks like this won't be anything like helping paint Mr. Grouse's fence or manning the Flippee machine at Flip's. What sort of oddities and secrets lie in this weird house, who is this Farquard guy and more importantly, where is Mr. Thorne?

Find out the answers to these questions and more, as the story continues)

(Second AN: Farquard is a character that actually comes from the Scoobyverse; specifically, the move Scooby Doo meets the Boo Brothers; just like Mr. Van Ghoul from earlier. Just like in the movie, Farquard is working as the man-servant for Thorne's estate. The question is, how did he end up all the way in Michigan from the Deep South?)

(Third AN: Ibid is based of the famed Owl of Athena from Greek Mythology; coincidentally, that particular owl is also named Ibid)

(Last AN: As established in the opening chapter; Mr. Thorne built his home long before the days Huntington Manor was built near Huntington Oaks. Yet, in spite of whatever canon my story follows; I still feel confused about whether or not Huntington Manor is actually part of the Huntington Oaks town...or if it's yet another separate town in Michigan like Beaverton, Fern Valley or Hazeltucky.

Feel free to help explain things to me in your review and thanks in advance)