A Ghoulish Surprise

by Alexpv22

Rocky Spokes has been crushing on Lucy since they first met so long ago but he can't find the right way to show her how he feels, let alone tell her. But when he hears about her upcoming birthday celebration, he becomes determined to find her the one gift she truly wants; a Vincent Van Ghoul DVD set. But will Rocky be able to earn the money he needs for it before it's too late?

7. Chapter Seven: Intruder!

Intruder!

"I swear, you guys; I never felt so scared in all my life" Rocky exclaimed, "the way that hooded guy looked at me with...what I can assume were his eyes was worse than the time my dad yelled at me for staining a suit he finished fixing up for his work." After this, the poor lad ended his story by proclaiming he rushed out of Mr. Thorne's estate faster than he ever knew possible. Then, once his "tale of terror" had finally concluded, Rocky fell like a lump into his seat and slumped down slowly till his face just barely dipped beneath the table.

It had only been a day or so since the younger Spokes Boy's "untimely departure" as Mr. Thorne's helper but for him, the memories of what happened felt like it was hours ago. During the days that followed the experience; Rocky had barely paid attention in class, he was missing out on assignments and the last test he took had what looked like doodles on them. There was a ghostly-looking figure, a hunchback with sunglasses, an owl and what looked like a crystal ball.

As expected, Rocky's teacher was not at all pleased with this and gave Rocky a failing grade on the test. In time, news about the boy's behavior reached Principal Huggins' ears and he had no choice but to call Mr. Spokes at home. Most kids would feel terrified about their parent(s) or guardian coming to pick them up from school, much less receiving a phone call...but not Rocky.

Truth be told; his mind still felt so frazzled by his experience with Mr. Thorne, nothing else seemed to phase him. When the time came for him to tell his dad and Rusty about it all, they did everything possible to not break out in laughter in front of him. But the stories he told were so outrageous, the urge to do so felt too strong to resist.

Eventually, Rodney Spokes had gained just enough of his composure to will himself into giving Rocky the sympathetic ear he so desperately needed. "Son...I can't say that I fully believe all your work-related stories, unfortunately" he said with genuine sincerity in his voice, "but I can tell that you probably have been through a lot while working at Mr. Thorne's place, one way or another." On the one hand, Rocky felt shocked and disappointed in hearing that his own father didn't seem to believe what he was saying.

But on the other hand, he still felt relieved that his anxieties from working at the estate were proof enough about his experiences. In the end, the family came to an agreement; one that seemed like a mild shock to Rocky, at first but later felt it was definitely for the best. "I think it would be safer if you didn't go back to that old house again, Rock" Mr. Spokes stated, "if not for the stories you've told, you should definitely do it because of the lousy pay!"

In an instant, Rusty stepped forward and fully agreed with his old man's idea; claiming that any boss who was too cheap to pay up for somebody's hard work wasn't worth it. "Maybe you're right, Rust" Rocky sighed sadly, "but...what am I gonna do, now; Lucy's birthday is the day after tomorrow and I still don't have a gift for her." With these few yet simple words, the whole room suddenly fell into a stone-cold silence; as if someone had just dropped a major bombshell of dire news.

Not only would Rocky be attending Lucy Loud's birthday party without so much as a gift card for a present; even if he had earned a reasonable pay from Mr. Thorne before, it was too late now.

(A brief montage shows Rocky begrudgingly searching online for any more DVD copies of the Vincent Van Ghoul Show; only to find out that the last available online auction that had one had sold out days ago)

The moment this memory flashed by in his head, not only did Rocky fall to his knees and wept but the elder Spokes Men suddenly felt the weight of the situation crushing down upon them as well. It was as if they were feeling the feet of elephants squish them down to the floor. That's when Rodney came up with an idea, one that he knew the boys would love.

"Rust...why don't you take your brother down to Gus' tomorrow for some fun" he suggested, "maybe some pizza and games will help take his mind off of all this." Surprisingly, Rusty not only agreed to the idea but he also offered to pay for whatever kind of pizza Rocky would like. Although his still growing despair weighed heavily on his mind, Rocky ultimately accepted the offer and slugged his way up to his room; insisting he wasn't all that hungry to eat anything tonight.

"Oh...O-Okay, then; rest up, buddy" Rodney murmured uneasily, "we'll...see ya in the morning, then?" The only response Rocky gave was a soft yet noticeable grunt of indifference, just as he reached the top of the stairway. Afterward, he slugged his way off towards his bedroom and plopped face-down atop his bed; finally letting his tears pour freely.

Meanwhile, Mr. Spokes plopped himself down into his armchair in the living room and let out the heaviest of sighs while slouching. "Rust...I dunno if anything your brother's said about Mr. Thorne's place is true or not" he stated, "but something has happened to him there and I plan on doing something about it." Feeling curious, Rusty asked his father if he planned on speaking with the man himself or if he planned on calling the police.

As expected, Rodney proclaimed that calling 911 was far too drastic a step to take at the moment. He didn't want to risk getting the police upset with him by leading them on a possible wild goose chase; if Rocky's stories were, in fact false. Instead, he planned on notifying as many of the town's parents as possible about this.

"In the meantime, you take your brother out for some fun tomorrow" Rodney stated, "and if he mentions anything about Mr. Thorne to your friends...can you promise me you'll try not to laugh at him?" Now, Rusty would (under different circumstances) choose to not only go against these wishes but he'd also give into his "older brother instincts" and razz on his brother to no end about his weird ideas. But because Rocky was most certainly in need of some emotional support and relief, he pushed these urges deep down into the deepest part of his gut.

Still, Rusty made sure to tell his father that while he himself promised not to do anything; the same could not be said for his friends or anyone else at Gus' who might hear the story. "That's true, unfortunately" Rodney sighed, "but at least you'll do your part and try and keep calm about the whole thing, right?" Without hesitation, Rusty made yet another pledge that he would not tease his brother in any way about his work-related experience; even going as far as to give the "Scout's Honor" salute (even though he wasn't really a scout.)

Once that was said and done, the two Spokes Men decided to sit down for their dinner...but not before Rodney made a note to save some of it for Rocky, if he happened to get hungry later. He also made a more mental note to inform his "News Boo" about what's been happening with his son...once they had some privacy, of course.

(Line Break)

The following day; Rusty and Rocky took a trip down to Gus' Games n' Grub, as promised for some well-needed fun. Upon their arrival, the boys were greeted by the other members of their friends circle; Lincoln, Clyde, Liam, Zach and Stella. Each one of them greeted the Spokes Boys in the usual friendly manner, with Stella giving Rocky a soft yet nurturing hug as a bonus.

But in spite of however nice the hug felt, he could still feel the icy fingers of fear gripping at him on the inside. When the gang happened to notice this response from him, Rusty intervened and said that his brother "had a rough night's sleep." "Don't worry, buddy; you're among friends, now" Lincoln stated, "and we've got pockets bursting with game tokens and five hours worth of games to use them on!"

To prove he wasn't making up suck claims, every one of the pre-teens revealed the many metal coins that appeared to be brimming within each of their pockets. Yet in spite of this, Rocky's demeanor remained the same; sullen, dower and unresponsive. Other people would find such body language to be offensive, particularly adults but Rusty and Co. simply gazed at him with pure concern in their eyes.

Not wishing to say anything out loud, Lincoln took out his cellphone and started typing away a text message with as much speed his thumbs could muster. Mere seconds later, Rusty's own phone started vibrating and chiming before he decided to answer it; revealing the aforementioned message on the screen. "Wow, Rusty; you were right...this is serious" the text read, "but does your dad really think some games and food will take his mind off things?"

For almost ten seconds, Rusty neither said nor did anything in response; he mostly kept his gaze fixed down at his little brother's distressed form. Finally, he asked for Rocky to go have a seat at the crew's booth and wait for him; which was met with a soft "uh-huh" in response. Once Rocky had went off on his way, Rusty texted back Lincoln with near breakneck speed; typing out a message that read "promise me, guys...whatever happens next, whatever my bro might tell you; don't...laugh at him!"

As expected, the final words of this message left the group feeling rather confused but they ultimately agreed with Rusty's wishes. With that settled, everybody ventured off to join Rocky at their favorite booth; eager to get their grub on. But the moment they arrived, they saw Rocky weeping heavily atop the table with an ever-growing mound of used napkins situated beside him.

Now, it wasn't really the sight of this that left the group feeling a little leery. It was the looks of disgust/discomfort being sent his way by several other patrons that seemed the most worrisome, not to mention the few others that chose to laugh at Rocky's expense. But no matter how many people chose to mock him or call him a crybaby, it was all white noise to the boy's ears.

While still looking rather uncomfortable themselves, Rusty and Co. all sat down beside Rocky in the booth; all while giving him the softest words of comfort they could offer. "What's got into you, Rock" questioned Liam, "yer actin' more emotional than my Mee-Maw whenever she watches her stories." After taking a moment to wipe his tears away, Rocky sighed heavily and claimed that everybody would either not believe him to just plain laugh at his misfortune.

In response to this, Lincoln revealed that he gave Rusty his word to behave himself around him; adding that he had his own fair share of outrageous stuff happen. "I mean...we can't speak for the others around us here" Stella said matter-of-factly while gesturing at some passersby, "but rest assured...none of us are going to laugh at what you have to say." For a moment or two, all was quiet among the children; save for the sounds of the games and laughter around them.

Then, Rocky let out a sigh and slid himself out of the both; just so he could properly dispose of the pile of napkins he had used up. Afterwards, he made his way back and noticed the waitress coming to take their order. "Just...give the six of us the usual pizza and knots, Ma'am" Lincoln stated, "what about you, Rocky...what would you like to eat?"

Alas, the only response they got from him was a simple "whatever's best;" followed by the request for the biggest mug of root beer they could offer. "Keep the tap open, please" Rocky murmured, "we might all be here a while." As expected, the waitress felt that a kid as young as Rocky seemed too young for their biggest root beer mug (that being the "Mega X-tra Large.)

So, while she did agree to keep the tap open (customer's always right and all that;) she offered to go with a simple large cup for the young man. "That's fine...whatever" Rocky murmured sadly, "and don't worry about paying for it, Rusty...I've got this." With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out something that seemed to gleam in the fluorescent lights...a gold coin.

The sight of this not only caused Rusty and the others to almost fall over in shock but also the waitress as well. But she managed to hold herself together well enough to jot down the orders, take the coin from Rocky's hand and give the usual "your order will be ready soon" before departing. After that, all was quiet at the table yet again...until Rusty decided to speak up first.

"Okay, Bro...I've got questions and I hope you'll answer them without any kind of sass or argument" he said firmly, "do we have a deal?" At first, Rocky didn't seem to answer his brother's plea; his face still carrying the look of exhaustion he had yesterday. Then, after letting out a very heavy sigh, Rocky accepted the terms with a nod of his head.

As if Fate was listening in; mere seconds after this, the waitress returned with the table's orders. When the waitress started pouring the root beer into everyone's cups, she took a look at Rocky's sullen expression and frowned; not out of disgust or scorn...but out of pure concern. When she finally finished pouring everyone's cups, she gave the boy a light pat on the shoulder and told him she'd be back with refills in a bit.

"Okay...now that that's all settled, time to get down to business" Lincoln said while taking a bite off a garlic knot, "tell us what's going on, Rocky and don't hold anything back."

(Line Break)

Almost a half an hour passed by since the group had sat themselves down and during that time, Rocky retold the others everything that had happened with him the past week; right up until recently. Of course, they had heard several of these stories during the days before from the time Rocky cleaned out the cage of Mr. Thorne's pet owl to the time he had to go "grocery shopping" for him. But none of it compared to what he was telling them now.

"I'm totally serious here, you guys...I had no idea who the hooded guy was or where he came from" Rocky cried in exasperation, "but the look in his eyes left me so scared, I didn't want to stick around to find out!" After that, he announced that he was now under orders by his dad to never set foot back into Mr. Thorne's estate under any circumstances. Of course, it didn't matter all that much to Rocky anyway in the end.

It was too late for him to earn enough money to buy Lucy a birthday gift; even if it wasn't the DVD. With this in mind, the poor kid slumped down low in his seat in shame; drowning his sorrows in yet another mug of root beer. Meanwhile, at the other side of said table; Rusty and his crew simply stared at him in stunned/confused silence.

Although none of the kids had spoken a word during Rocky's story, even after it finished; each of their expressions showed a different reaction towards it. Lincoln's face had a look of mild dread, Clyde looked so terrified that he appeared on the verge of needing his inhaler, Zach had a mixed look of terror and mild excitement in his eyes, the raised eyebrow on Liam's face showed a sort of "you gotta be kidding me" kind of look.

As for Stella; while on the outside, it appeared as though she was also rather spooked by the whole story, her brain insisted that Rocky could be making the whole thing up. But after taking another look at Rocky's face, she could tell by his expression alone that he wasn't joking. "I think he really is telling the truth, guys" Lincoln stated, "one time, he placed an order to-go for my dad's Poppers down at the restaurant and...just as Lynn was about to head out and deliver them, she sees an owl fly down and snatch the bag right out of her hands!"

Upon mentioning this, he added that the bird in question happened to bear a striking resemblance to the one in Rocky's story. That's when Zach went into "Conspiracy Mode" and started coming up with all sorts of theories about Mr. Thorne. "What if he has some sort of mental hold over animals" he suggested, "which he uses to have them pick up stuff for him 'cause he doesn't want people to track him down?" At first, the group was prepared to outright dismiss Zach's ideas; thinking they were half as crazy as the alien ones his parents would think up.

But after hearing what both Rocky and Lincoln had said, they were starting to have some second thoughts. However, what they didn't realize was there were others listening in on their whole conversation. There were some younger kids who heard it and thought it sounded like the plot of a "big kids movie" they watched.

Their parents on the other hand, saw it as typical childish nonsense and didn't pay much attention to it. But there was one group there who overheard the story with very keen interest. Not too far from where Rocky and Co. sat; we find Chandler McCann, the self-named "Coolest Kid in Royal Woods" and his own posse listening in as well.

There was Lance, Trent, Freddie (or as everyone called him Faux Hawk Kid,) Boy Jordan (not to be confused with Girl Jordan) and the only female of their group, Kat Ketchum. At first, none of them paid much attention to Rocky's story...that is, until Chandler caught a glance of the gold coin in Rocky's pocket. With this in mind, an idea began to form in his devious lil' mind; one he knew his crew would go along with.

"I'm not sayin' I fully believe Lil' Spokes' story or anything" he whispered, "but...there's obviously something twisted going on at this Mr. Thorne's place and I think we should look into it." Initially, some of the "cool kids" were slightly hesitant in going along with the plan; mainly because they felt Rocky's story seemed too ridiculous to believe. But at the same time, while they've often gone along with a lot of Chandler's plans; trespassing on someone else's property was not one of them.

"Besides, why should we bother going to this Thorne guy's place anyway" questioned Kat, "he's just some crazy old man." As if expecting this, Chandler smiled and claimed that no one in town has ever seen Mr. Thorne in person before. Hypothetically, if someone were to get a picture of the guy or anything he owned, the pics would make them pretty popular online.

"Plus, people would probably pay big money for a pic" Chandler said with a devious grin, "think of what we could get with it all!"

(Quick Flash Montage of Chandler's crew living the rich life; riding limousines, hearing their peers cheer for them as they pass by, being the first in line for everything and having lavish parties)

As the group sighed blissfully at the ideas for their possible future, any and all fears they had were swiftly pushed aside by their sense of adventure (as well as some sliver of personal greed.) After that, they came to a unanimous decision; they would seek out Mr. Thorne's place, as soon as school was dismissed for the day. "But what if we don't make it back home in time" inquired Lance, "my mom promised that if I didn't make it home before curfew, I'd be grounded until I'm 80."

Yet again, Chandler seemed to have expected these sort of concerns from his "friends;" which led to him making a rather half-baked promise that each and every one of them would definitely make it back home on time. "We're gonna hold ya to that promise, buster" Kat said threateningly, "I can't afford to get in trouble with my folks again...not after the C- I got on my last test." His confident yet smug grin never fading; Chandler, for the final time that day, vowed that he would keep everybody safe from harm (or at least, getting in trouble with their folks.)

Then, after everything was said and done; everybody sealed the deal with the usual "hands in the middle" cheer before going back to their meal. But as he started nibbling on his slice of pizza, Chandler turned his head slightly and sent a rather cold over-the-shoulder stare towards Rocky. At the moment, he looked much calmer than he was earlier...but something in his eyes still carried that same sense of fear he had when he arrived.

"Mark my words, Spokes...your stories better be legit" he thought bitterly, "because if me or my crew end up getting in trouble, you're gonna take the fall for all of us!"

(Line Break)

The next day, just as the final bell rang; everyone stampeded out the door like wild animals. As many students happily discussed their plans on what they planned on for the weekend, Rocky didn't quite feel so excited. In spite all the time that passed, the poor kid still saw images of the hooded stranger in his dreams; glaring down at him with those creepy green eyes.

To add further fuel to the fire, Lucy's birthday was tomorrow and Rocky still didn't have a present for her. Yup, this weekend was going to suck eggs through the craziest of crazy straws for everyone involved. "Don't look so down, Lil' Bro" Rusty said while patting him on the shoulder, "just make her a real nice card...that might make her happy."

Shockingly; Rocky, whether it be due to his stress or the initial idea, bitterly scoffs at his elder brother. While most people often found satisfaction in a heartfelt card, Lucy Loud wasn't like most people. He felt that such a gesture would seem either trivial or meaningless to a Goth kid.

"Yeah, I guess you're right" sighed Rusty, "but maybe...maybe Lucy might like a gift card; you could get one for the Burnt Bean, her favorite bookstore or maybe find one for the next Casket Con." Upon taking a moment to think, Rocky soon felt that these ideas sounded more akin to Lucy's interests. Yet in spite of that, he thought they seemed relatively small for a cool girl like her.

Still, he knew that stores wouldn't sell out of gift cards as quickly as they did DVDs; especially since these were places most people in Royal Woods rarely visited Casket Con. But while the Spokes Boys were busy conversing, they didn't realize they were being watched from afar. Down by the school sign, Chandler and his crew were watching Rocky in secret; as if spying on him.

Once the coast seemed clear enough, they started trailing the Spokes' as sneakily as possible; hiding behind every mailbox, trashcan and passerby along the way. Of course, there were a few adults who did happen to notice where they were doing. "Are you sure this is a good idea, dude" questioned Freddie, "what if somebody catches us?"

With a soft grunt of annoyance, Chandler clasped his hand over the faux-hawk kid's mouth; shushing him irritably. Afterwards, he insisted that nothing bad would happen to them and that he knew what he was doing. Furthermore, if someone actually did choose to stop them; Chandler vowed to step in and "work his charm."

"I'll just tell anybody who stops us that we're following a possible burglary lead and that Rocky is a key suspect" he explained, "it's that simple." On paper, this idea sounded pretty strong but the real test was finding out where Mr. Thorne actually lives. That's when Chandler "saved the day" yet again; proclaiming that since Rocky quit, the old guy would probably have a backup delivery service (or whatever his job used to be.)

"We'll just keep following Spokes for a bit and if he happens to cross paths with the other worker, we'll follow them" he said matter-of-factly, "now...do you guys have anymore questions or do ya wanna get moving?" While still feeling a little iffy about the plan, the crew ultimately decided to keep on following Chandler's lead and resumed their trek.

(Some Time Later)

It had been almost forty minutes since they left school and the time was now close to 3:30 in the afternoon. Yet Chandler and Co. kept on following Rocky's lead everywhere he went, no matter what. Sadly, their bodies were already starting to feel the stress from all the sneaking they were doing.

Their legs felt sore, their feet were burning from all the walking and they felt so tired that they struggled with trying to keep their eyes open during most of the way. Yet Chandler demanded that they keep going, insisting that they had come too far to give up. "Too far towards what, exactly" Kat growled irritably, "we've followed Rocky through most of town and hadn't seen hide or hair of whoever else he was working with from Mr. Thorne's place!"

Just as Chandler was about to berate his lady friend, a loud screeching sound echoed from above; scaring all who heard it. The few people who were out in the open (Chandler's group included) shrieked slightly in alarm and took cover wherever they could find a hiding place. The only one who didn't appear quite so frightened was Rocky, who simply cast his eyes upward to see what made the noise.

At the same time, Chandler and his crew also looked up but mostly because they thought something was about to attack somebody. That's when they saw it, a large great horned owl flying down from the sky at near breakneck speed. At first, Kat assumed it was dive-bombing for a rodent down below for a meal.

But after taking a closer look, she saw that the owl was actually heading straight for Rocky. In spite of themselves, the group couldn't help but watch the scene with worry and a mild sense of morbid curiosity. "That kid better move it" she whispered in a worried tone, "or else that thing's going to claw his eyes out."

As Kat covered up her eyes in alarm, dreading the carnage to come; the boys simply looked on in silence while smiling naughtily. But at the very last second, they noticed that the owl had slowed down the speed of its nosedive until it changed into a more graceful glide. It floated down slightly for a few more seconds until at last, it perched itself atop of Rocky's hair.

This entire scene left the boys feeling not only disappointed but also a little confused. "NUTS! I wanted to see some chaos" Lance said in a hushed yet furious whisper, "looks like Spokes got off..." Before the preteen could finish his statement, he suddenly felt Chandler clasp his hand tightly around his mouth; silencing him. Naturally, he protested this sudden "sneak attack" but everybody just ignored his muffled words.

After a while, Chandler finally released Trent from his hold but sternly ordered him to keep quiet. "Look at Spokes up there" he ordered, "I may be wrong here but it looks like he's...talking to the owl." With this short yet intriguing statement, not only did the boys' curiosity suddenly perk up but so did Kat's; who had finally decided to uncover her eyes.

When she finally took a look at the scene for herself, Kat felt so shocked that she actually rubbed her eyes clean three times over; making sure she was actually seeing what was happening. Upon taking notice of her behavior, Chandler felt a slight yet relatively smug half-grin form on the right side of his lips. "Yup, pretty much had the same reaction myself" he chuckled, "c'mon, let's try and get a little closer so we can properly eavesdrop."

With that in mind, Chandler began tiptoeing his way up the sidewalk and taking shelter in whatever hiding spots he could find. As for his crew; against their better judgment, they followed behind Chandler as closely and quietly as they could. Then, without warning; Lance's foot had suddenly struck a discarded soda can that was lying in the way.

The resulting clatter caused both Rocky and the mysterious owl ceased their supposed "argument" and turned in their direction. With a yelp, Chandler ordered his crew to take shelter in whatever hiding spots they could find...no matter how nasty or cramped they might be. As expected, this order caused them to cry out in protest with Kat's complaints being the most vocal.

But they had little time to argue, as they soon noticed the owl ruffling his feathers slightly in irritation. This gesture was just enough to force the group to stop bickering and hide. Trent took shelter within a nearby trashcan, Lance hid himself as best as he could within a mailbox, Chandler plucked up a discarded newspaper and hid himself by posing as an adult reading on a bus stop bench and lastly, Kat (much to her chagrin) took shelter in the only other space that was within the area...a dumpster outside a nearby store.

In the end; thanks to the group's quick actions, neither Rocky nor the owl noticed they had been there. "Huh...guess I was just hearing things" the young Spokes boy muttered softly, "of course, it was hard for me to hear anything with you screeching in my ears so loudly!" Offended by the boy's tone, the owl glared at him intensely and affirmed that it was no less pleased with being there itself; proclaiming that such "silly business" was getting in the way of his naptime.

"I wouldn't even need to 'screech' in your ears, you twit; if you had only chosen to act more reasonably" the owl said firmly, "Mr. Thorne demands to know why you chose to leave his service without notice?!" With a bitter look on his face and his arms crossed firmly over his chest, Rocky proclaimed that he had no further need to go someplace where he wasn't welcome. He referenced all the times the staff talked down to him, all the humiliation he had endured and how poorly he was repaid for his help; especially from the owl.

Within seconds, their "civil disagreement shifted into a heated argument; one that didn't go unnoticed by the people around them. Of course, some passersby simply shrugged it off as nothing more than a pet owner arguing with his companion. But to the eyes and ears of Chandler's crew, it all looked too freaky to be real.

After watching the two bicker for a few more seconds, Chandler gestured for them "Holy schmoley...you weren't kidding, Chandler" gasped Kat, "Spokes really is talking with that bird and it looks like the bird's winning!" While he fully agreed with such a comment, Chandler still chastised his lady friend for speaking too loudly. Unfortunately, both Rocky and the strange owl happened to overhear the commotion and turned slowly in their direction.

Not wanting any of them to be spotted, Chandler ordered everyone to hide themselves immediately; even if it meant taking shelter under trash (which was something Kat openly protested against before finally relenting.) With near cat-like reflexes, every member of the group took cover in their earlier hiding spots or found entirely new ones. Afterwards, all was deathly quiet from both sides; not even the owl dared to make even the smallest "hoot."

Finally, the owl shook its head in what seemed to be disappointment and took flight into the air. At the same time, Rocky gave his shoulders a light shrug and continued on with his walk. Meanwhile, Chandler and Co. slowly poked their heads out from their hiding places and watched the strange owl fly off into the distance.

The whole time they were observing them, the "popular group" had many questions; how did the owl know where to find Rocky, what were the two of them doing and if Rocky actually was conversing with it, how was the owl able to understand him so easily? "Something fishy is going on here" Chandler murmured suspiciously, "and I'm willing to bet that weird owl is part of it." With that in mind, he ordered his group to follow him in pursuit of the bird in question.

But much to his surprise, every one of them outright refused to move an inch; even Kat. "C'mon, guys...you heard all of Spokes' stories, didn't you" urged Chandler, "if that owl thing does belong to Old Man Thorne, who knows what other kinds of critters he might have." Once more, the group refused to follow his lead; proclaiming that exotic animals were not a good enough reason to intrude on the creepiest house in the state.

"Well...then, what about the other cool stuff he might have" Chandler suggested, "remember what Spokes said; he's got a weird library, creepy knickknacks and all sorts of stuff in his house." Upon hearing mention of the knickknacks, Freddie's morbid sense of curiosity suddenly sparked up a bit. As for the others, they still refused to follow Chandler's lead.

It was here that the young trouble-maker decided to take a more dastardly course of action. "Fine, then; if you don't wanna go with me...it's okay" he stated, "but just to let you know that whoever sticks with me to the end gets the first invite to my next sewage plant party." Upon hearing this reveal; Lance, Trent and Freddie suddenly found themselves having second thoughts about their defiance towards their "leader."

Next to Girl Jordan's pool parties, Chandler's parties at the sewage plant were beyond legendary; something he'd only let the "coolest of the cool kids" at school attend. Meanwhile, Kat wasn't feeling quite so conflicted about her choices. "As I seem to recall, Chandler; my hair reeked of raw sewage for two months after your last party" she said firmly, "my mom had to blow half her salary just to find the right products to get rid of the stench!"

The boys all quivered violently with disgust at this reveal, remembering all the times they had to practically beg the cafeteria staff to let them take their lunches outside; whenever Kat entered the room back then. Meanwhile, Chandler appeared undaunted by his friend's bombshell; as if he had expected her to refuse his offer. With this option now a bust, the time had come for him to really play hardball.

"Fine...I won't hold my next party at the plant" he said with a light shrug of his shoulders, "but what if I decide to hold my party someplace better, like Gus' or Jean Juan's?" The instant these two different yet equally tantalizing options now revealed, Kat and the boys could really feel their brains working overtime. Should they still refuse their "friend/leader" and leave Rocky be or continue in their pursuit, whether or not they'd all be rewarded in the end?

"So, gang; what's it gonna be" Chandler inquired with a conniving tone, "best make your decision soon before we lose the trail on that owl." For what felt like ages, the rest of the group contemplated on their choices; much to the impatience of Chandler. Fearing he might lose their help, he decided to add a small cherry on top of their prize...private access to either establishment.

"If I play my cards right, my old man can convince either Gus or whoever run's Jean Juan's into letting us have the place all to ourselves" he proclaimed, "no lines at the games or buffet line, no dorks to get in our way and best of all, we'll have all that good food to ourselves." That was it, while the idea of a private party at the sewage plant didn't leave them very excited...the idea of having all the delicious food at either place to themselves was too good to pass up on.

So, in the end; the agreed (albeit begrudgingly) to continue on and hurried off into the distance. "Great, I knew you guys would see things my way" Chandler said with a proud chuckle, "now, we'll just have to try and find that bird again." The instant this little snag in the plan was brought up, Kat looked at the ground and saw something that caught her eye; a feather.

Of course, the boys were rather quick to dismiss it; insisting that it may have fallen off another bird that might've flown overhead. "Trust me, guys...this here is an owl feather" Kat stated, "I've seen pictures of them in my latest Rip Hardcore book." Upon examining the item more closely and feeling it slightly with her fingers for a few seconds, she came to the conclusion that it was a freshly lost feather.

"If my hunch is correct, our little bird friend might've shed a few more feathers during its flight" deduced Kat, "if we follow that trail...we'll find out where it might live." After that, the boys stood back in a sort of stunned silence before Trent finally decided to speak. The first thing he asked, of course was if Kat's "knowledge" was legit or if she was just trying to weasel out on their plan.

In response; she threw down her backpack, opened it up and pulled out the very book she mentioned from inside. "I've read this thing from beginning to end SIX...TIMES" Kat said while waving the book emphatically, "Rip knows his birds and now, so do I." Rather than argue about her knowledge, the boys decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and follow her lead on the trail.

During the trek, she mentioned how this particular species of owl might not be able to stay airborne for very long. Therefore, it would need to take rest stops along its flight back home. With this in mind, the group felt they would still be able to follow behind it after all.

(Line Break)

The time was now a few minutes to six and the sun had almost completely disappeared; thus giving way to the night. The owl had taken up a temporary roost atop a light pool just on the edge of downtown, finally having a chance to give his wings a stretch from flying for so long. Meanwhile, the children could be seen almost six miles behind from this location; all of whom appeared to be panting heavily from exhaustion.

For almost three hours, they followed the owl's trail as best as they could. Unfortunately, without any bikes or parental transport; they could only move so fast on foot...but they made it. Of course, the group couldn't help but wonder if the owl intended on flying any further through town.

That's when Kat noticed that they were all standing near the Royal Woods town line. She also looked ahead and happened to notice the steel gates leading into Huntington Manor, one of their neighboring communities (besides Fern Valley, Beaverton, Hazeltucky and others.) The Billion Dollar Question, of course was why the owl led them all out this far and why did it stop?

"You think that bird belongs to someone here" questioned Freddie, "maybe if we tell them we helped bring it back, the owner might give us a reward." In spite of their exhaustion and anguish from running, this idea suddenly caused some soft yet hopeful grins to appear on the "cool kids'" faces. Kat in particular hoped that they would be rewarded from traveling so far.

Due to all strong amounts of sweat coming off her body, she was going to need so much money to pay for her laundry. Meanwhile, Chandler wasted no time in pointing out a "gaping hole" in the plan; where was the bird's owner? That's when they heard it, the sound of the steel gates slowly creaking open.

Alarmed, Chandler commanded everyone to take cover in the bushes. Afterward, they poked each of their faces out slightly to see what was going on. Much to their surprise, the gates to Huntington Manor slowly opened wide.

Not long after that, the group could see what looked like a dazzlingly sleek limousine exit through the gateway; only for it to suddenly stop in the middle of the road. Unfortunately, they couldn't see exactly who was riding inside of it from their hiding place. This coupled with the fact that the limo's windows were shut made Chandler feel rather annoyed.

But then, as if Fate had sensed his thoughts, they saw the passenger window open slightly; which caused the strange owl to suddenly dive downward. The kids could only watch in silence but their collective thoughts were all the same, a mix of stunned confusion and mild intrigue. Then, they could see what looked like a gloved hand reach out slightly through the opened window.

Without the slightest hint of hesitation or even the softest "hoot," the owl immediately perched itself atop the hand. Then, it was safely brought in through the window. Once that was done, the limo's engines revved slightly and drove off down the east end of the road.

Chandler waited patiently (or rather, impatiently) for the vehicle to fully disappear out of view and then, he leapt out of the bush; the others followed soon after. "Did you guys see that" he whispered, "that owl thing must belong to whoever was riding in that limo!" Naturally, the group wanted to make some sort of a comment on their "leader" stating the obvious...but they chose to remain quiet.

However, they couldn't help but feel equally curious about what they just saw. Why would the owl lead them to Huntington Manor, who was the guy in the limo and more importantly, why would someone who lives in such a ritzy neighborhood hire a nobody like Rocky to work for them? "Spokes is keeping some big stuff secret from us" Chandler murmured suspiciously, "and it's up to us to find out what it is."

Now, the time had come for the group to speak their minds on things. The first to speak up was Trent, who presented the idea that Rocky might not have been up to anything nefarious at all. "He's right, dude" Freddie murmured, "plus, how do you expect us to get through the gate without the guard noticing?" No sooner had this been said, the rest of the group sounded off in soft protest.

It was one thing to risk skipping/missing out on their curfew but if any one of them got caught trespassing, they would all be in deep doo-doo. Of course, all their complaining was causing too much of a ruckus; which made Chandler feel all the more annoyed. Then, just as he was about to tell everyone to shut up...he suddenly saw the guard stepping out of his station.

"Nice work, geniuses; he must've heard you" he whispered harshly, "quick, hide before we're spotted!" Not needing to be told twice, everyone dove straight into the bushes and remained silent as church mice; all while they kept a close watch at the gate. Much to their surprise; when the guard emerged from the small station house, he appeared to be dressed in more casual attire this time around.

Then, he locked the door up tight before stuffing the key-ring into his pants pocket and walking off down the sidewalk. Now, it seemed like the coast was officially clear...but the kids still felt relatively nervous. "Now's our chance, gang" Chandler chuckled, "if we can get through that gate, we can find out where Spokes has been going off to all this time!"

Before now, the group had been...semi on-board with their "leader's" scheme but while they felt bothered by his previous ideas, this one was stepping far over the line and they made sure to let Chandler hear it. But in spite of their rather loud disagreements, the preteen remained undeterred by it all. As if expecting that they might try to "weasel out" of their investigation, Chandler brought out the "Party Card" once again.

"Real shame, too...because my dad just touched base with Hunter Specter from ARRGH earlier this month" he stated, "rumor has it he plans on filming a new episode in the town sewers...and he might be able to get me and a friend a backstage pass to watch it all happen." Surprisingly, this reveal created a bit of a mixed reaction from the group.

Kat and Boy Jordan felt their jaws almost hit the floor at the mention of being backstage for an episode of ARRGH. Chandler had expected this, of course; the duo's love for the show was no secret amongst their peers. As for Lance, Trent and Freddie; they were more on board for the party reward Chandler had mentioned moments ago but even that wasn't enough to risk what they were about to do.

With all this in mind, Trent decided to be the one to speak on the group's behalf. "This whole thing had better be worth it in the end, McCann" he growled softly while getting up in Chandler's grill, "because if any one of us takes the fall...somehow, someway; I will get you for it!" Rather than be intimidated by his "friend's" words, Chandler simply gave him his trademark smug grin and patted him firmly on the shoulder in gratitude.

With that final hurtle out of the way, the time had finally come for the group to make their way into Huntington Manor.

(Line Break)

After almost ten minutes of awkwardly trying to squeeze their way through the gate bars, Chandler and Co. could now be seen sneaking about the streets of the ritzy neighborhood. They ducked behind every bush, dove into any reasonably-sized hole and hid themselves as inconspicuously as they could from any passersby. But during the whole trek, each one of them did their best to keep a lookout for signs of Mr. Thorne's mansion.

Sadly, just about every house on the street they were in seemed to look as identical as the last one they've passed. It felt as though they had been walking through a loop of the same street for ages. After a while, Kat felt the pains of fatigue weighing down upon her and fell to her knees with a groan.

"THAT'S IT, I'M DONE...RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW" she cried while throwing an arm up in defeat, "we've looked at almost every house here and haven't found any sign of Mr. Thorne's place!" No sooner had this been said, Freddie and Boy Jordan suddenly collapsed in equally tired heaps; all while crying out in agreement with their lady friend.

As for Chandler, he was the only one foolish enough to keep moving forward...despite the gallons of sweat that had started to stain his clothes. With a heavy sigh of exhaustion, he glared at his crew with tired impatience and told them to simply "keep an eye out for anything creepy in the neighborhood." Naturally, the group all felt this order made absolutely no sense and sounded annoyingly vague.

But before any one of them could bring this up to Chandler, Boy Jordan took a quick glance in the distance and saw something that made his face go pale. When the others happened to notice this, they asked what had him so spooked. With trembling hands, Boy Jordan told everyone to look down at the very end of the road.

Upon doing so, the group all saw what looked like a house straight out of a horror flick; complete with its own gloomy cloud looming up above it. Soon, the whole group went as white as ghosts...all except for Chandler, who did his best to appear unfazed by the sight of the old house. With a light scoff; he proclaimed that with Halloween fast approaching, Mr. Thorne must've been the sort of kooky guy that goes all-out on the décor.

"There's just one itty, bitty problem with that theory, Chandler" Kat interjected, "why is Thorne's the only house on the block that's been decorated?" After taking a moment to examine their surroundings, the boys all suddenly noticed the same thing Kat did. Compared to Mr. Thorne's alleged home; every other house just had some Fall themed cutouts, a Jack O'Lantern or two on their porches or some fake cobwebs hanging off their stair railings.

With all this in mind, they were moments away from fully siding with Kat's complaint...until Chandler offered up a quick rebuttal. "This is a rich neighborhood, guys" he said matter-of-factly, "they're probably too stingy to go as hardcore as Mr. Thorne on decorating." For a brief moment, the group was prepared to call Chandler out on his theory. But then, they quickly remembered the likes of Lord Tetherby and how much it hurt him to spend even a nickel on something as cheap as a Flipee.

Yet even with this in mind, there was something about the house that just screamed "Danger" in every existing human language they knew. But as much as they hated the idea, the group realized it was too late to turn back by now. So, after each of them swallowed down the nervous lumps in their throats; they slowly marched their way down towards the ominous mansion.

(Line Break)

As the group stood in the shadow of the creepy house before them, their bodies started to shiver violently. Yet they couldn't figure out if it was from the autumn chill blowing past them or if it was their own crippling sense of fear. But in spite of this, they all knew it was far too late to leave.

"So...we're finally here" Freddie murmured with a whimper, "what do we do now?" Without missing a beat, Chandler proclaimed that it was time to investigate this place. But the minute he said this, Kat questioned exactly how he planned on getting them inside the place; adding that using the front door would be too big of a risk.

"You're right, Kitty; it would be too risky to use the front door" Chandler stated, "that's why one of us will go through that way while the others will find other entrances." No sooner had he said all this, he referenced every other known place that could be used to enter a house (windows, the basement, the backdoor etc.) "This way, if even one of us is in danger of being spotted, they can find their own hiding spot" Chandler explained, "it's better than having all of us be at risk of getting caught at once...trust me."

Yet again, the group found themselves feeling conflicted in trusting their "leader's" word. But after being taking a moment to think over the idea, they realized that it was better than nothing and decided to split up. Lance and Trent made their way towards the back of the house, Kat ventured off to find any open windows, Freddie was searching the underside of the front porch (hoping to find a key) and Boy Jordan was trying (and failing) to open up the cellar doors.

As for Chandler...for what felt like ages to him, he remained all by himself on the front porch; arms crossed and his foot tapping impatiently. "C'mon, you guys...how long does it take to get into somebody's house" he grumbled softly, "I could've jimmied the lock open myself by now, if I wanted!" Just then, there came a sudden crashing sound from inside.

This came so suddenly that it caused Chandler to leap in alarm; only for him to cool down and pretend like nothing happened, seconds later. Still, a small part of him couldn't help but wonder if the sound was one of his crew falling over or something else. Then, the doorknob suddenly started to jiggle violently; which caused Chandler's fears to come back in near full force.

"Okay...just to give whoever's in there a fair warning" he decreed with a mildly uncertain tone, "if you even think about hurting me, my family will sue you and tear this dump down!" Unfortunately for Chandler, his threats didn't stop the doorknob from turning and it jiggled far more violently than it did before. This, to him meant that he only made the residents angry; which could mean big trouble for him and his crew.

But as the door flew open, Chandler saw Freddie and Boy Jordan on the other side; which caused his fear to give way to relief/mild annoyance. "Took you guys long enough in there" he whispered while passing through the doorway, "what was with all that noise?" With a sheepish giggle, Boy Jordan claimed he would've opened the door sooner.

But after failing to get the cellar doors open, he and Freddie joined up with Kat and snuck in through the window. "That explains the crash I heard before" Chandler said dryly, "don't know how to be quiet while sneaking?" Offended by this, Freddie proclaimed that they only fell because Kat pushed them through the window.

As if on cue, the young lady in question soon arrived and she had a rather bothered look on her face. "I only did it because you two were taking too long" she grumbled, "plus, I heard footsteps and didn't want to risk us getting caught!" Just as Chandler was about to make a comment, he suddenly remembered that Lance and Trent were still at the back door.

"Let's just focus on regrouping here, alright" he stated, "then, we can really start investigating this place."

(Line Break)

A few moments later, the "Cool Kids" went about exploring as much of the house as they could and what they found was nothing short of strange. First, they visited the parlor; where the walls appeared to be decorated in all manner of odd items (from strange looking paintings to animal parts.) Next, the group found themselves inside of the library and it looked like a storm had raged inside (as evident by the books and papers that were scattered everywhere.)

Upon seeing the mess, the first thing the "Cool Kids" asked themselves was "doesn't the old man clean up after himself." "I think I heard Rusty say his brother was doing that for him" Lance stated, "looks like he didn't do a very good job here." With a soft murmur of agreement, the rest of the group felt that Rocky may have been too overwhelmed by the workload Mr. Thorne gave him; thus leading him to quit.

Of course, they also remembered the crazy stories the kid had told about his experiences here. With all this in mind; the "Cool Kids" believed that while Mr. Thorne may have been a sloppy housekeeper and a collector of odd things, he couldn't be as weird as Rocky said...could he? "Let's go find somewhere else to explore" Freddie suggested, "being around all these books makes me think about school.

After taking a moment to shake out that "disgusting" image from their minds, the "Cool Kids" made their ways back out the door; completely unaware of the fact that the room's statues seemed to be "watching" them.

(Line Break)

Sometime later, the group could be seen wandering through one of the house's upper hallways. Of course, Chandler originally insisted that they should split up earlier; claiming they'd have an easier time investigating the rest of the place. But the idea was immediately shot down by Boy Jordan, who brought up the age-old "never split the group in a haunted house" cliché from the movies.

"Okay, dude; first off, this house isn't haunted, it's just creepy" Trent said bluntly, "second, you do know that only happens in the movies, right?" While he knew his "friend" spoke the truth, Boy Jordan still believed splitting up would be dangerous in a place like this. With a begrudging groan of defeat, Chandler ultimately agreed to keep the group together; on condition that everyone would give him extra protection (by acting as human shields.)

Naturally, they objected to this idea and openly called out Chandler for his cowardice. But then, their bickering ceased the moment they heard the sound of footsteps from close by. "Quick, duck inside that broom closet" Kat ordered, "there should be room for all of us." Almost immediately, the boys all nodded in unison and dove through the closet door while Kat simply walked in and closed it behind her slightly.

The children were filled with such a great sense of fear, most of them felt their situation was far more terrifying than being caught loitering in the halls by Principal Huggins. But this...they were breaking into somebody's home, just to razz on a schoolyard peer for "making up stories." If any of them were to get caught, they would face some serious consequences; either from their parents or whoever lived in this house.

But in spite of these thoughts, Chandler did his best to keep up his "brave face" and ordered for the group to remain silent. After that, every one of the "Cool Kids" shut their mouths tight and closed their eyes; hoping to remain unnoticed. At the same time, the footsteps outside seemed much louder now and it sounded as though the mystery person was right outside the door.

Sadly, not one of the kids could properly make out who this person was. All that they could see were glimpses of their suit and their shadowy form, which seemed to give the person a sort of odd hunchback. For what felt like ages, the figure lingered outside the door in silence; which made the likes of Kat, Boy Jordan and Freddie think they were waiting for someone to step out.

But then, the figure finally decided to speak in proclaiming "how many times must I tell Octavia to not leave the hall doors open!" No sooner having said this, the figure griped at the doorknob and proceeded to slam it shut; trapping the children inside. Naturally, this along with being plunged into sudden (albeit slight) darkness filled them with great fear but the "Cool Kids" dared not to risk even the softest gasp; lest they risk getting the stranger's attention.

Ironically, though; the sound of the door slam did seem to catch someone's ear because at that moment, another voice suddenly spoke up. "Farquard, must you make so much noise" it called out irritably, "I'm in the midst of a very important piece of research and mustn't be disturbed!" Upon taking a moment to calm down, Chandler noticed that while the first figure's voice sounded like a crazed goofball; this one sounded older and more refined like that of an English nobleman.

Straightaway, Kat deduced that the speaker must've been Mr. Thorne and from the tone he used on the one called "Farquard;" he did not seem like a pleasant fellow. But she chose to hold her tongue on the matter, for now and waited until everything was quiet once again. Finally, a voice outside murmured the words "yes, Sir" and was later followed by the sound of something being dragged along the floor.

The kids sat still in the closet as quiet as can be while listening in until finally, the sound seemed to have disappeared down the hall. After that, every one of them let out a heavy sigh of relief; as if they'd been holding their breath in for years. When one of them, namely Kat, finally decided to speak; she gave Chandler such an earful that it almost rattled the door.

"Nice work, McCann" she growled in a hushed yet irritated whisper, "you had us sneak into Huntington Manor, break into someone's house and now, we're trapped in a closet!" Not wanting to take the blame for their situation, Chandler gruffly proclaimed that the group had every opportunity to turn tail...but they didn't. "That's only because you kept blackmailing and bribing us, dude" Freddie retorted sharply, "we wouldn't be in this dang mess, if it weren't for you!"

Mere seconds later; Lance, in a chill yet irritated tone, further proclaimed that no party of Chandler's was worth the kind of trouble they now found themselves in. The whole time these was going on, Boy Jordan was pushed deep in-between a bunch of coats that were hanging in the closet by the others. The feel of all the leather and (presumably) fur sleeves touching his lips caused him to spit with great disgust.

"Well...we may all be trapped in the dark closet of a spooky, scary manor" he thought dejectedly, "but hey, at least things can't get any worse." After that, everything finally became calm again; which gave Chandler the chance to get back into his "team leader mode" once more. The first thing he did was order Kat to pry open the lock on the door.

"Okay, dude...first of all, I do not take orders from anybody, much less you" she retorted, "second of all, how would you expect me to unlock the door in the first place?!" Almost immediately, Chandler reached over and started digging his hand slightly inside of Kat's hair until he found what they needed; a hairclip. "Hands off of that, dude" Kat exclaimed irritably, "my granny gave me that for my birthday!"

In response to this, Chandler assured her that he would "take care of it;" only to add that the pin on the hairclip could be what they need to get them out of their situation. "Just trust me on this, guys" he whispered, "and if this fails, Kat...you can give me a wedgie as revenge." While the idea of touching her friend's underwear utterly repulsed her, Kat had all sorts of wedgie ideas as punishment; should he ruin her favorite clip.

With that, Chandler took the item in hand and went about picking at the keyhole as carefully as possible. For what felt like hours, he fiddled with it with as much "skill" as he claimed to have. Then, at that moment; Lance felt something prodding roughly up against his back but did his best to dismiss it.

When he felt that prodding sensation happen again, Lance looked over his shoulder slightly and demanded for the others to stop poking at him. "Uh...dude, what are you talking about" Trent inquired, "how can any of us possibly poke you when we are all in front and you're in the back?" As Lance prepared to challenge his friend's words, he soon felt the prodding hit at him yet again; causing his earlier anger to immediately slip.

Soon, cold and fearful realization started to grip at the poor boy's heart but he couldn't bring himself to scream. Meanwhile, Chandler was trying (and failing) another attempt at opening the lock on the door but realized the lack of lighting made it that much harder. "Could one of you guys give me some light or something" he asked impatiently, "I can't see the hole that good."

Against their better collective judgment; Lance, Trent and Kat reached into their pockets and pulled out their cellphones. After that, they turned on the lights and held them over the keyhole ever so slightly. This gave Chandler just enough lighting to see what he was doing.

But just as he was about to give picking the lock another go, a voice suddenly spoke up from the darkness behind them. "Oi! What are you lot doin' in 'ere" it said in a sort of cockney accent, "this is my room!" Upon hearing this, not only did Chandler freeze up but the rest of his crew was practically shaking like a pack of fearful puppies. After swallowing down a nervous lump in his throat, Boy Jordan braved a look over his shoulder; all while shining the light behind him.

Upon doing so, he was met with a sight that sent icy chills flowing through every inch of his body; a skeleton. Under normal circumstances, however; such a thing would only...mildly creep him out. After almost a year and a half of seeing a skeleton hanging in the Science Class at school, it wasn't anything too terrifying.

However, as Boy Jordan eased the light up towards the skeleton's face; he noticed that it seemed to be glowering at him in annoyance. As for the others, each of them felt just as terrified as their buddy did; Lance's teeth chattered violently, Trent's entire body shivered as though he were standing inside of a freezer, the hair of Freddie's faux hawk was standing on end and all the color seemed to have drained completely out of Kat's face.

As for Chandler himself; on the inside, he felt just as scared and confused as the others...but on the outside, he tried to appear unshaken by the sight of the skeleton. "C'mon, Chan-Man; this is obviously a trick" he thought bluntly, "just some dumb Halloween decoration like everything else in this weird place!" With this in mind, Chandler realized he didn't want to risk losing face in front of his crew and decided to test out his "theory."

After taking in a deep breath for luck; he got up to his feet, turned around and marched his way towards the skeleton (much to the shock of his crew.) With a mild whimper, Chandler raised his hand up and eased it towards the left side of the skeleton's ribcage. At first, he half-expected to feel the touch of plastic or paper mache against his fingertips.

Instead, not only did the rib feel like real bone but upon touching it; the skeleton's hand suddenly grasped itself tightly around Chandler's wrist. Then, it glared down at him and proclaimed "MIND YOUR 'ANDS THERE, MATE; I'M TICKLISH!" That did it...that was the moment that finally made the "Cool Kids" realize this was not a decoration; it was a real skeleton and it was speaking to them!

Within seconds, any remaining bravery and bravado left in the children instantly dissipated. With their faces pale with fear and their hands trembling like mad, each of them opened their mouths and screamed bloody murder!

(Line Break)

Elsewhere, Farquard was in the eastern hall of the estate and appeared to be giving Octavia quite an earful about the opened hall closet. Of course, the eight-legged housemaid was quite put off by such an accusation; proclaiming that she had yet to venture down that very hallway all morning. "Don't be coy with me, luv" the hunchback muttered harshly, "I saw the door open for myself and I also happened to notice several footprints along the..."

Before he could even conclude his train of thought, realization suddenly fell upon Farquard like a ton of bricks. Not only was Octavia actually right about not venturing through the west hallway, she had no feet to leave footprints behind. Of course, this revelation led to him making yet another one but he secretly hoped he was wrong.

"It seems as though the young Spokes boy has decided to make his return" muttered Farquard with a dry tone, "hurrah for us." While she herself wasn't quite so thrilled about the human coming back either, something felt off about all this. Why would he enter unannounced, could he be hiding from all of them and if so, why? Just then, the duo's conversation was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Ibid; who appeared to be quite alarmed about something.

"Hoo! You two, I have news" he exclaimed, I was in the midst of going about my daily flying exercise regiment downstairs and I saw something that might interest you!" Not long after this, the owl went on to tell his colleagues about the Drawing Room window being opened along with both the front and back doors being unlocked. This report not only filled Farquard with a great sense of shock, he also felt a slight twinge of outrage boiling within him as well.

"All of this must be that Spokes boy's doing" he thought angrily, "he must've broken in and brought some of the townspeople along with him!" With that thought in mind, Farquard quickly instructed Octavia to follow him upstairs while also asking her to "activate the security system" as well. She nodded obediently, reached towards a sconce on the wall and pulled it sideways; causing veins of strange light to spread along the floor and walls.

As this light continued to spread further, several strange phenomenons began to occur. First, the gargoyles perched along the highest points of the estate suddenly came to life; opening their eyes and spreading open their wings with a yawn. Once they had awakened, Farquard's voice sounded off inside each of their heads; ordering them to seek out and capture any unfamiliar individuals on the premises.

"Bear in mind; there is to be no eating, maiming, mauling or dismembering of any intruders you might find" he instructed, "simply catch them and bring them to the front stoop in one piece." Almost immediately, the gargoyles all grumbled in disapproval at the order while also professing how hungry they were. But Farquard's voice boomed softly in the gargoyles' heads, reminding them that they had finished eating a dozen Scream Cheese Finger Sandwiches just an hour ago.

"Take care of this one duty for me and I promise, you will have the weekend off" Farquard's voice assured, "do we have a deal, gentlemen?" After only ten seconds of consideration, the gargoyles team agreed to the terms and leapt (or flew) into action. After each of them bellowed out a fierce screech, the stone creatures split up to different areas of the grounds; hoping to catch the intruders in at least one place.

(Line Break)

Back inside, the hall closet door suddenly blast open wide due to Chandler and Co. racing out in a fearful rush. Afterwards, they all raced down the hall like a herd of stampeding cattle; wanting nothing more than to find the nearest exit and leave this place. Of course, during the whole time they ran; the "Not-So-Cool" Kids were desperately trying to make sense of their situation.

They only wanted to peek in on the place, see what kind of person Rocky Spokes had been working for all this time. What they found instead, was the possibility that he had been working for a lunatic (if not a monster or a magician with really convincing stage craft.) It wasn't until they saw the literal skeleton in the closet speaking to them that the kids finally realized this place was too freaky for their liking.

Now, they found themselves running for dear life; not because someone (or some thing) was chasing them but because they just wanted to find a way out. Unfortunately, every door they checked only revealed one ghoulish surprise after another. Their only other option was to keep on running until they reached some form of an exit point.

"I told you we had no business coming here, McCann" Kat screamed while running in fear, "but NOOO, you NEVER take my word seriously on things; YOU'RE always the one with the answers!" While also running for dear life, the rest of the crew couldn't help but agree with Kat. What started as a simple "investigation" ended up trapping them all in the freakiest house in all of Michigan.

As for Chandler, he wanted nothing more than to act cool under the pressure and give some sort of snappy comeback towards everyone's comments. But due to his current situation, he was too scared out of his wits to do so. All that he could do was either roll his eyes sarcastically or simply mutter "whatever" in a sarcastic (yet still terrified) tone.

The whole time this was going on, not one of the "Cool Kids" seemed to notice that the veins of magic shining through the walls had suddenly whizzed ahead of them. At one point, some of the energy had entered inside the empty suits of armor that were stationed along the hall. At one point, Chandler called for his crew to stop running and pointed towards one of the suits up ahead.

They watched as the red energy poured through the metal and started flowing through every limb and joint of the armor. When the glow finally faded away, the arms of the armor started twitching slightly until the right one slowly raised itself up. The kids could only watch silently with grim anticipation, wondering how and why the armor was moving on its own.

But then, Chandler finally got enough courage to give one simple command to his group; keep quiet and don't make a sound. "Let's just back away slowly, nice and easy" he whispered softly, "if we're lucky...that thing probably won't come after us." Without even the slightest hesitation, the other "Cool Kids" nodded in agreement with this idea and started moving backwards as slowly as they could.

The whole time they were doing this, the arms of the knight armor slowly began to move more fluidly; as if the thing was alive. Then, the right arm slowly reached over the suit's shoulder and brought forth a steel longsword; which was then pointed dangerously towards the Cool Kids. Finally, a pair of gleaming red eyes appeared beneath the helmet's visor and glared angrily at them.

But just when Chandler and Co. felt they had seen it all, they soon heard a faint voice whisper one word in a most eerily creepy tone..."intruders." As if on cue; the moment this was said, all the other suits of armor suddenly sprang to life and armed themselves as well. At the same time, the other suits also whispered the word "intruders" in the same creepy voice as the first one.

Once they had all been given life, the suits marched their way towards the children and they looked fully prepared to fight them (if necessary.) But surprisingly, the mere sight of all this happening was just enough to finally push the remaining bravado out of them. One by one, each member of the so-called "Cool Kids" fell to their knees...and cried, cried like little kids lost in a shopping mall.

"PLEASE, GUYS...DON'T HURT US" cried Boy Jordan, "NONE OF US EVEN WANTED TO COME HERE...IT WAS ALL CHANDLER'S IDEA!" Soon, every other member of the "Cool Kids" crew started crying out and jabbing their fingers accusingly at the boy in question; who was currently shaking like a leaf (despite his slightly indifferent expression.) Sadly, the suits didn't listen to them and continued marching forward with weapons drawn.

Closer and closer they came, their eerie voices murmuring the simple word of "intruders" like a pack of skipping records. Then, just as Chandler saw the tip of one suit's sword inch dangerously towards his forehead...a sound suddenly echoed through the hall. It was the sound of fingers snapping slightly, which was quite soft for sure but the resounding echo it created through the hall sounded as though the person doing it was dangerously close.

Regardless, the moment this sound resonated through; not only did the veins of energy suddenly fade from the walls but the suits also froze in place like soldiers standing at attention. After that, the children watched as each suit of armor marched itself back to where it stood in the halls and reassume their earlier positions. Once the last suit had gone back to its post; all was quiet in the hallway, once again.

This gave the "Cool Kids" a moment to finally breathe and calm down after...who knows how long they've been running. "Okay, dudes; looks like all that weirdness is gone now" Chandler said proudly while putting on a shaky grin, "I told you things would..." Just as he was about to finish his train of thought, Chandler saw his friends all pointing fearfully behind him; all while muttering in fearful voices.

This alone was enough to tell the "Cool Guy of Royal Woods" that they weren't out of the woods just yet. With a fearful whimper and a nervous gulp, Chandler glanced over his shoulder slightly and saw something that almost made him pee his pants. Gliding along the floor was some sort of living shadow, which managed to find its way in front of the children.

For almost thirty seconds, the shadow circled around them rapidly like a hungry shark waiting to strike. Then, the "Cool Kids" watched as the shadow started to rise up from the floor; slowly taking on a new shape. Soon, a figure in a hooded purple robe appeared before the children and glared down at them with its piercing green eyes.

Upon seeing the aforementioned eyes, the "Cool Kids" started to quiver with fear like a pack of newborn kittens. None of them knew who this hooded person was but they assumed it could've been Mr. Thorne, which meant they were in for a world of trouble. At that moment, two new figures arrived at the scene and looked rather displeased by the sight of their new "guests;" a hunchback and a strange woman with octopus legs.

"Dude...those are the weirdoes we saw while we were in the closet" Chandler thought fearfully, "are they seriously into the same weird level of cosplay as the hooded guy?" The whole time he was in his own thoughts, Chandler failed to notice his crew pleading for the hooded stranger to let them leave. This, of course made him inwardly groan with disapproval; calling them bigger scaredy cats than "Lincoln Lame and McBride."

"Please, everybody; you've gotta let us outta here" cried Freddie, "none of us even wanted to come here!" Not long after this, Lance tagged himself in and proclaimed their whole situation was purely the fault of their "leader." "He's right, our 'friend' over here blackmailed us into sneaking into town and trespassing" Trent proclaimed, "we just wanted to stay at home and study for..." Before the lad could finish his train of thought, the hooded figure raised his hand slightly; causing everyone to go silent almost immediately.

After that, the figure started pacing about the group; their eyes staring down at them with great intent (as if they were studying them.) Meanwhile, the hunchback nervously toyed with the collar of his shirt and did his best to save face over the whole situation but the figure was undeterred. Finally, after they stopped their pacing mere seconds later, the figure suddenly spoke.

With their hand raised slightly towards their left, they said in a silky yet stern tone "clean yourselves up, go down the main stairway and leave this place...now!" The instant he said these words, the candles on the walls suddenly lit up; which revealed a path leading towards the aforementioned staircase. Not needing to be told twice, the "Cool Kids" picked each other up and started dusting each other's bodies of any dust or signs of muss.

That's when one final thing appeared to help "move the children along," shall we say. The instant the candles lit up, Boy Jordan caught sight of a great owl resting atop the hooded figure's left shoulder. He watched as the creature's head turned itself around to face his group, its eyes appearing shut as if it were sleeping.

But then, the owl's eyelids flew open wide and it gave a very boastful "HOOOOOOO" sound; which echoed loudly around the house. This seemed to be just the kick in the pants the group needed to move themselves along. After letting out a quick "I'M SORRY," the "Cool Kids" raced down the steps and out the door like bats out of the underworld.

(Line Break)

Once that was settled, the trio suddenly let out a series of disgruntled moans and sighs of relief with the hooded figure appearing the most exhausted from the whole spectacle. Meanwhile Farquard wasted no time in bowing his head rapidly in fearful submission to them while Octavia also looked rather penitent. "We are so sorry for all this, Sir" murmured the hunchback, "I don't know how those children found their way into the house but be assured, I will..."

The figure said nothing in reply during their manservant's tirade, his thoughts seemed to be firmly focused on their "guests" from mere seconds ago. Finally, the figure called for his staff's attention and asked if either of them had seen any of those children before. "Nein, ve have not" Octavia replied, "but if I may guess, mein Herr...they could be affiliated vith ze young Spokes boy who vorked here sometime ago."

Upon hearing mention of Rocky (albeit not by name,) the figure soon fell into a state of deep thought. The owl, Ibid happened to take notice of this and asked if they were feeling well. "Yes, my fine feathered friend; I'm quite alright" the figure said with a light yet reassuring tone, "it is just...I think it's time for me to do something drastic." Upon hearing this; Farquard, Ibid and Octavia all gasped in alarm.

When one of them finally managed to work up the nerve to speak up, they asked what the hooded figure intended to do next. "Today's events have led me to realize that I cannot hole myself up for much longer" they explained, "somehow, someway...the people of this town and beyond will find their way into my life again." Unsurprisingly, the house staff was still at a loss of what the figure was saying and asked him to help them understand.

It was here that the figure proclaimed that they planned on doing something they never thought would happen since they moved to Michigan. "On the morrow, I shall be going into town" they said firmly, "and I shall speak with this young Master Spokes myself."

(First AN: WHOOO, DOGGY! This is without a doubt the longest chapter I've done for a fanfic yet, maybe even longer than my Gal Pals ones. So sorry for the long wait, everybody; between the busy holiday season last year, finding some quiet time to focus on writing and the stupid technical issues caused by Fanfiction's partnership with Cloudflare...making this chapter took longer than expected. But rest assured, this story is not dead and I look forward to doing the next part for ya.

Anywho...looks like things are starting to get juicy here! Not only did Chandler and Co. get an up-close look at where Rocky's been working at but it looks like Royal Woods may be getting a visitor soon. What will happen next, what will this stranger do when he meets Rocky...and will our young friend find a way to get a gift for Lucy's birthday?

Tune in next time, to find out)

(Second AN: A few notes about some of the characters...first, Boy Jordon is the kid in the red shirt and brown hair from Frame on You; he's not to be confused with a background character who slightly resembles Girl Jordan but without the ponytail. Second, the character known as Freddie/Faux Hawk Kid can be found in Save the Date. He's the one with the red hoodie, unibrow and odd haircut. Finally; in this story's universe, Kat is still a part of Chandler's "inner circle."

In other words, the Gal Pals don't exist here...but as shown in the chapter, there will be moments where Kat will question why she hangs out with Chandler in the first place)

(Final AN: While we're on the subject, I know some readers *emphasis on "some* will look at my depiction of Chandler here and think I'm being too mean with him. But here's the thing...although he SEEMED to have changed at the end of Jeers for Fears; later episodes that followed showed that Chandler is still an arrogant, foul, egotistical, selfish, self-absorbed, vile character towards others...Lincoln in particular.

But in this case, it's Rocky who "Chan the Man" chooses to make his prime target for ridicule. Don't worry, though; I won't say when...I won't say how but he'll get his just desserts for what's happened here and for trying to get in on what Rocky's been up to)