By Francesco Armada
Prologue
About a mile off HWY 77, you could take exit 3 towards Ortenville and follow the signs to the next rest stop. Upon reaching the rest stop, you could find a sign that read:
Steve's Rest Stop
The sign was no doubt old and broken down. Just barely hanging by a rusty nail that was bent out of shape. Passing that sign was the rest stop itself. It was old and dilapidated, I believe abandoned due to mold. In the middle of the rest stop was the central part of the stop. The two sides connected inside other buildings that had bathrooms and vending machines and the sort. On the far left side of the rest stop was a memorial of the founder of the rest stop, probably named Steve. On the far right side were the picnic tables -which was probably where the mold had started to grow- underneath mini gazebos already overgrown by the surrounding trees. In the central building, right between the hallways adjacent to the bathrooms, was a list of missing persons. The only strange thing about the board was that there was only one poster hanging by a half-disintegrated push pin. It was a family of 4 which included a father, and three boys. There is no last known location and no pictures of the family. The document looked official enough but the “Description” tab was distorted. Almost as if the strange symbols were alive and ever-changing.
Chapter 1
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Ride
The sun reflecting off the fresh droplets slowly falling down the windshield was blinding. That along with the constant passing by of trees made it seem like the sun was rapidly flickering. Driving the car was none other than Father of course, Mother had stayed behind because she was being sent to Europe for a job promotion. Father was driving his old Honda Civic, even though Axle and Eric had begged him not to. They were saying that they didn’t want to risk having their friends see them in such a beat-up, old, and rusty car. I, on the other hand, had not cared which car we had driven, since the ride and the destination were going to be the same either way. Although I was indifferent to the car we used, I could not say the same for where we were going. I had always wanted to move out of the old and familiar house we lived in. Mother and Father had decided that it might be best for a change of scenery since she was going away temporarily anyway. From what Mother and Father were told, we were renting out an old mansion that had been built somewhere around the 2000’s. I should probably state that the year was 2022 so to us, something built 20 years ago was quite old. The only reason we could afford such a huge house was because the owners were already wealthy enough and had known Mother when she was in college. The owners were old and wanted a little more money to move away. The thought had also come to the owners that we could buy it. Looking back now, I suppose they had good reason to let us rent it for so cheap.
The ride was generally pretty smooth, as far as I can remember, there was not a lot of bickering between us. If Eric and Axle did not have their phones, it might have been a different story. They were the type of kids to be on their phones even if they had a good reason not to. Father was also very lenient and soft when it came to punishments. Father was the good guy in the family, Mother was a different story. She was the one who upheld the law and made sure Eric and Axle didn’t burn the house down. When Father agreed to let Eric and Axle get a PS4, Mother was the one who shot down the idea. Later, however, she changed her mind. (Mostly due to Eric and Axle's persistent attempts to beg and show how it was a good investment for the family) Since Mother had not gone on the trip, Eric and Axle asked Father if they could bring their new PS4. Father enthusiastically said yes and even said he would with the setup since he wanted to play with all of us as a family. Once we had arrived at the mansion, I was already buzzing with enthusiasm, but not for the same reason that everyone else was. Eric and Axle already knew what they wanted to do; they wanted to set up the PS4 and tune out of the world until nightfall. (Which was their plan to get through the day, every day) Father wanted to research all the Victorian styles in the mansion and see how much they could go for. I wanted to explore; as someone who wanted to move to another house, I wanted to explore the new opportunities a new house came with. I wanted to leave some nooks and crannies unexplored so that I could explore them later. This was my way of savoring the meal I had been given. I’ve been told that I liked to explore even as a toddler. As soon as I had been able to get on my two legs and walk, I dashed to every corner of the house. Of course, this gave Mother and Father a run for their money but I soon found every corner and every little closet so I eventually stopped. This relieved Mother and Father as they now knew where I would be when they left me for a second. (I would be right where they left me) As I stepped out of the car and the other walked into the house, I took a second to take in the entirety of the mansion. It was a regularly sized mansion from what I could see, -as regular size as a mansion might be and I felt a sudden chill down my spine. I know that the phrase is somewhat of a cliche seeing as how it's used in the places it’s used, but the chill felt quite normal as it was that time of the year. I at least remember that it was somewhere around the end of October. That time where you slowly transition from fall to winter. From where we had lived at the time, there seemed to be no change outside except for the chilling cold somewhere around the end of November to the beginning of December. I noticed the huge doors that took Father nearly all of his strength along with Eric and Axle. It might have been the most effort I had seen them put forward.
- ”Everything had seemed rather normal at the time.”
- “And did you know what was inside the house from what you were told?”
-“I suppose not, but I do know it was the last moment of normalcy I had felt. That includes how I feel now.”
-“I know this is uncomfortable for you right now; we are not the enemy, but instead here to help you. Please continue.”
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