Chapter1: Welcome to the Manor

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Manor1

“Another genius Herron vacation.” Addison Herron rolled her eyes and stared out the car window. They had been driving for hours and she had tried to convince her parents that they were lost, but they were as stubborn as wood.2

“Don’t say that Addison, were right around the corner from Aunt Judy’s.” Darryl Herron said looking around vigorously at the forest like terrain.3

“I don’t remember Aunt Judy ever living in a jungle.” Mathew Herron exclaimed as he pressed buttons on his game boy.4

“Get your face out of that game it’s so annoying, or at least turn the volume off.” Addison grabbed for the game and Mathew pulled away.5

“Get your hands off!” he yelled as they fought for the game.6

“Cut it out now!” Nicole Herron said as she turned a huge map sideways and upside down. “I can’t concentrate with all this yelling.” She turned around and looked way into the backseat. “Don’t wake your sister up.” Addison and Mathew turned around and looked in the backseat. Denya, their two year old sister lay in her car seat sleeping soundly. Both Herron kids knew how much noise Denya could make if she was awake. They both turned around slowly and shut their mouths. 7

“Addison, give me your phone please.” Darryl asked as he made a left turn.8

“Why…” Addison strung out the word suspiciously.9

“So I can call Judy, now would be nice.” He had his hand reached out behind the seat. Addison quickly deleted all her text messages from her inbox.”Some time today would be appreciated.” He said getting impatient now.10

“Okay ok.” Addison handed her phone up to her dad and sat back. Darryl pulled over for a moment as he let the phone ring. 11

“Judy? Yes I can barely hear you. Were lost!” 12

“Now you admit it…” Addison whispered under her breath and Mathew muffled a laugh.13

“Okay okay..Yes okay umm…” Darryl looked around for any street signs. “I see one called north Bunsen…and entranced boulevard...are you kidding me!” Mathew and Addison flinched, they hadn’t heard there dad be this loud since their mom told him she was pregnant again. “Oh great..that’s just great Judy so what now? Alright fine. Sure, we can find it goodbye.” He handed Addison her phone back.14

“So…?” Nicole said.15

“Your SISTER sent us to the northern side of New England. When we are supposed to be in the Southern side!” he said waving his arms fugitively. Addison, Mathew and Nicole starred at Darryl blankly. “Do you know how far away we are from Aunt Judy’s?” they all stared blankly again. “THIRTEEN HOURS! THIRTEEN FREAKING HOURS!” He yelled slamming his fists on the dash board. Addison looked out her window again16

“And it’s starting to get dark; it’s almost 5 o’clock.” Addison said pointing to the sky.17

“Great, what now?’ Nicole asked sighing loudly.18

“Well your sister helped me a bit; she said that if we follow Entranced Boulevard to Key Cove there used to be a hotel back in the day. And only god knows how long that was...-“19

“Darryl!” Nicole said disapprovingly. Addison and Mathew laughed.20

“But it might still be there.” He said stressing the ‘Might’. 21

“Then what are we waiting for?” Nicole asked. 22

“Christmas…” Mathew whispered in Addison’s ear. They both started cracking up laughing.23

It began to get darker as they drove on when finally they saw a sign called ‘Key Cove’ with an arrow pointing over a bridge. The sign was swigging loosely from a tree and make a creaking sound in the wind. All four of them looked forward over the bridge. They could see a long trail and a big hill, then finally a little ways up the trail was a building. They could see a flickering light from one of the rooms.24

“Well what do you know?” Darryl said brightening up a bit, “Judy is good for something.”25

“Seems like a long way up dad.” Mathew said, a sense of fear in his voice.26

“Don’t be a baby, your 13 years old for goodness sake.” Addison said flicking him in the head.27

“I’m not the one crying when my boyfriend breaks up with me, Waa Waa!!!” he made crying noises and rubbed his eyes. They both started fighting and yelling getting louder and louder. Nicole jumped in with the “stop! Right now!” and soon Darryl was yelling “quiet!” Finally Denya woke up. Everyone got quiet and looked at her, but she didn’t cry. All she did was look around. Finally she said:28

“Juice.” Nicole promised as soon as they got to the hotel that she could have some juice.29

“Now you kids listen, Addison your 16 years old. You shouldn’t still be fighting with you brother. Be an example-“ Nicole gave them the whole lecture until Darryl finally reached the end of the trail.30

“Here it is.” Darryl said parking the car in the driveway. 31

The hotel looked more like a mansion. The driveway circled in a horseshoe shape with a marble walkway leading to the front doors. The only strange thing about it was that it looked as if it had been abandoned for years. The windows were smeared with dirt, and Addison even noticed that a few were broken, some were even boarded up! Leaves and debris covered the walkway and the bench outside was broken. Mathew noticed a Bmw parked a few feet away.32

“No way that belongs to the owner of this dump.” He said walking with his sister up the walkway. 33

“Be nice now Mat.” His dad warned him. Denya looked around from her mother’s arms and pointed to a window above the double doors.34

“People!” she said excitedly.35

“Should we just walk right in?” Addison asked as they all stopped in front of the door. Darryl knocked loudly and shouted ‘Hello’ but no answer came. “Might as well go in.” he said pushing open the doors. 36

“Oh my god.” Addison cried. The room opened up into a fireplace right in the center of the room. Stairs wound around it up to a second floor. A couch was on the left side next to a book shelf and some reclining chairs. A old oil lamp sat on top of a bedside table and a red shag rug laid on the wooden floor. To the right was a check in desk with tons of old papers on it. An old telephone hung on the wall and a small bell sat on top of some papers on the desk. The room would have been a sight, but yet again, it was filled with dusk and cobwebs as if abandoned years ago.37

“Where’s a motel 6 when you need one” Addison cried staring at a painting on the wall.38

“Hello?” Darryl cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted. “Weird, no one is answering but the fireplace is lit…and the light down the hall is on.”39

“HELLO!” he said louder. So loud, in fact, that it echoed 4 times. Addison gasped because someone was coming down the stairs. Whoever it was was taking it slowly one stair at a time. Mathew and Addison ran to their dad. Suddenly, a girls head peaked from behind the banister. She looked about 15 or 16 and had long blonde hair in braids that came to her waist. She stepped out a little closer and Addison examined her more thoroughly.40

She had on a skinny pink dress with shimmer form the waist up. She had white tights with black maryjane shoes. She was very tan and had a few barely noticeable freckles over her nose. Her blue eyes twitched once as she glanced for a better look at the Herron family.41

“Mom.” She uttered from somewhere in her throat. She had a heavy English accent. Soon more footsteps could be heard from the floor above them. A woman appeared behind the girl and smiled slightly. She put her hand on the girls shoulder. “Hello.” She said softly. Her voice was thinner than the other girls and had a lighter scent. She had brown curly hair to her middle back and she had on an even more stunning outfit. 42

A white ruffled blouse with a brown three button up vest over it, and a white gold cross hung nicely around her neck. She had brown pants that came all the way past her shoes. He shoes were black heels with little bows on the front. She smiled again showing a row of sparkling white teeth.43

“Do you own this hotel?” she asked.44

“Umm no.” Darryl said, “We just arrived here and were trying to find someone to check us in.”45

“My daughter and I have searched every room upstairs and couldn’t find anyone. All we found was a bunch of furniture covered in white sheets and tons of cobwebs.”46

“Even a few spiders!” the girl chimed in as if that was a good thing.47

“Ewe spiders.” Addison said.48

“Forgive me for being so ill mannered.” The woman said as she walked her daughter down the stairs and stood in front of the Herron’s. “I am Isabelle Roding and this is my daughter Jillian Roding.” 49

“I prefer Jill.” Jill said smiling, her teeth, unlike her moms, were lined in a row of braces top and bottom. Some were still crooked while others were straight. Addison thought it actually made her look cute; she had always wanted braces. 50

“Well I’m Darryl Herron; this is my wife Nicole and my kids Addison and Mathew and my baby daughter Denya.” Darryl said pointing to each.51

“Actually I prefer Addie.” Addison said in a fake English accent which actually sounded believe able.52

“And I Mat.” Mathew said in an even more perfect accent. Jill studied them for a moment. How she had always wondered what true Americans looked like. Addie had on a pair of black pants that looked as tight as anything she had ever seen. She had black shoes with red and pink hearts on her feet. Her hair extensions were in so she had three layers of hair. One short one about 5 inches, the next about 12 and then the extensions to her hips; all the color black. Addie had her contacts in so her eyes were purple. Her shirt was black with a red guitar and silver stars. “How do you do. “She said shaking Addi’s hand.53

Next she turned to Mathew. His pants, unlike his sisters, were baggy and hung low on his butt. His shirt had skateboards printed all over it. His hair was blonde and hung barley below his eye brows. His eyes were a piercing blue and Jill found him strangely cute. “Hello there.” She said shaking his hand.54

Nicole leaned forward to shake Belle’s hand and her blonde hair fell flossy out of her bun and around her shoulders. Her blue eyes gleamed and she smiled an almost same smile as Belle. “My how much you look like your son.” She said to Nicole. Darryl felt left out for a moment. He looked nothing like his son to begin with and his daughter had changed her whole look so she was out of the question.55

Darryl ran his fingers through his curly brown hair and shook Belles hand. He easily had 5 inches on her. “You sure are tall.” She said stepping back by Jill.56

“How did you end up here?”Nicole asked Belle.57

“Well, we were on our way to a wedding up in Super Springs when we got lost. It began to get dark and I saw a light on here so I decided to stop. But when we pulled up, no more light! It had just disappeared.” Belle said shockingly.58

“My, my , my…” a man’s voice came from under the stair case. Everyone spun around and Addie and Jill screamed. Denya giggled and said “Man!” A man around his late 30’s came from under the banister. He had tall hair and his eyes were a little blood shot. He wore a black suit that had been faded from some sort of washing machine, most likely.59

“Who are you?” Darryl asked.60

“I’m Mr. Sims, Tyler Sims if you will and I own this here hotel. I’m so sorry about the wait; we haven’t had customers in ages.” He smiled a smile non comparable to Jill’s or Belle’s. His teeth were crooked and not as white. “So, 7?”61

“No, no. We are separate families.” Nicole said pulling Addison and Mathew in to their circle.62

“Okay then,” Mr. Sims said shuffling through the papers and writing down some information. He grabbed two rusted keys and handed one to Darryl and then one to Belle.63

“These are your room keys, my son Adam will be up in a second to help with your luggage..” he thought for a moment about what to say next. “Check out is at 11am any day and the fee is 30$ a night…Oh and Welcome to the manor!” He bellowed letting out a laugh that echoed off the walls of the Manor. Addison and Mathew starred at each other eyes wide.64