A New Turning Point

Part 13 (3/7/11)

                The next day I awoke once again to an eerily vacant room. Charlie’s bed remained perfectly made and completely untouched, exactly like the day he left. I rolled myself to the edge of the bed and hit the alarm clock until it stopped blaring at me. After a few minutes of refusing to move I finally dragged myself out and across the room towards the bathroom.

                After speedily getting ready, I made my way out into the corridor towards the science labs. As I entered I saw the teacher standing impatiently at the front of the classroom as she waited for the students stumbled to their seats. The contempt for Monday morning could be seen in every kid’s face as they entered single file.

                I slid into my assigned seat and flipped my notebook open to a clean page then propped my head up with my arm and waited for the lecture to begin. After the first bell sounded pencils began to slide across notebook pages like clockwork as the teacher began droning on about the practical uses of science in everyday life.

                After several minutes my attention shifted from the teacher to the clock hanging above the door. I stared at it with great intent attempting to make the hands turn forward with my mind. Just as I felt as though I was making progress a shrill voice called my attention back to the room,

                “Theodore,”

                I turned my head to find the teacher scowling in my direction.

                “Is there something unsettling in that doorway I should know about before I continue onward with my class?”

                I looked down at my book and mumbled,

                “No ma’am.”

                “Good,” she snapped, “now if you will all turn your textbooks to page 149 and begin reading example 3 silently.”

                After I was dismissed from my first class I began walking towards the English wing of the school. As I turned the corner and began making my way to my classroom I felt a gentle tapping on my shoulder. I turned to find Bridget standing behind me smiling.

                “So where are you headed Theo?”

                I pointed down the hall towards the last door,

                “English, and yourself?”

                “Math, just around the corner.”

                We began walking down the hall until I reached the door to my English class.

                As I turned to open the door Bridget said,

                “Hey Theo,”

                I turned back to Bridget before turning the handle,

                “Do you want to get together after classes?”

                “Sure, I don’t have anything planned.”

                She smiled at me again,

                “Okay, see you then.”

                I opened the door and walked into my next class as she rounded the corner out of sight.

                After classes I made my way over to the courtyard closest to my dorm and sat down at the bench where Bridget and I first began talking. Shortly after, I saw Bridget making her way through the courtyard towards me as a smile formed on her face.  

                “How’d you enjoy classes on this lovely Monday?”

                She said as she sat down behind me.

                “They were okay, nothing too exciting.”

                After I answered Bridget stood back up and motioned for me to do so as well,

                “I have something to show you.”

                I stood from the bench and began following Bridget as she led me silently across the courtyard and through a corridor to the outside wall of the school. As we walked across the neatly trimmed grass to the edge of the woods that lay behind the academy a nervous feeling began tugging at the corners of my mind. When we began pushing through the trees I finally broke the silence,

                “What exactly are we going to see?”

                “If I told you now, then you would never appreciate it as much as when you see it for yourself.”

The forest began to thicken and the trail became even rougher, as we fought our way through the a multitude of branches and small bushes that grabbed onto my pant legs Bridget looked back to see my uneasy expression,

                “We’re almost there Theo, just trust me.”

After another minute or so battling our way through the unkempt woods the trees finally began to thin out and opened onto to a small field barren of trees.

                “Welcome, to the home of the old groundskeeper that once owned this land.”

                As I scanned the field my I noticed the ivy covered remains of a foundation of a small wooden cottage. As we approached it I noticed that cobblestone has once been sloppily laid inside the home, but was now being overtaken by nature once again.

                The old doorway still stood weakly in its rightful place as well as a few parts of the main foundation wall. As we walked through the old doorway I was surprised to find stone slabs lay in a circle around a small fire pit.

                “They say this was the old groundskeeper’s house back in the late 1800’s.”

                Bridget sat down on one of the stones and patted the spot next to her inviting me to sit,

                “The story goes, that this groundskeeper was a bitter man who drowned his sorrows in liquor and gambling, spending all his money on things of that sort. Then, one day he found that his wife had been cheating on his with a local man from the village and was leaving him for this very same man. After hearing this he immediately left his home fuming with hatred and anger and made his way towards the nearest bar where he found a few men sitting around a small table playing poker.

                After a few drinks he decided he was ready to the join the game and show off to all the men exactly how poker is played. He took the contents of his wallet and emptied it onto the table as well as the deed to his home and all the land surrounding it. When the game began and all the cards were dealt he found himself with four of a kind and happily laid them down calling out all of the other players to try to top his hand. As he leaned back in his chair satisfied as all the men folded, the man across from him, who was a local mason, laid down a royal flush shocking everyone.

As he collected his prizes the groundskeeper jumped to his feet in a fit of rage kicking over the table and smashing his glass on the ground, he then proceeded to take multiple bottles of whiskey from the bar and ran out quickly as the men tried to help the mason to his feet. When he reached the home that was no longer his he uncapped the large bottles and began pouring the alcohol throughout the house covering the floor and furniture with whiskey.

                As the men from the bar approached this very opening in the field they were met by the sinister laughter of a madman, which resonated throughout the surrounding woods. After the echo died down they hesitantly moved forwards a step to be met by an explosion of flames that began igniting the house rapidly as the fire traveled across the alcohol covered floors; since it was the early morning they found themselves without any means of dousing the flames so they had no choice but to leave and wait until the following morning.

                The next day the mason, bar owner, and chief of police returned to the remains of what formerly was the groundskeeper’s cottage to find only the charred frame still remaining. The walls were still glowing red as the embers continued burning in the early morning light. As they entered the house they found nothing but the groundskeeper’s body burnt beyond recognition. It was only his devilish grin that remained recognizable as they looked into the face of what once was a man.”

                She leaned away from me and fell silent when she finished her tale. As we sat in the heart of the old burned foundation I felt a chill run up my spine.

                “So, do you think this place was haunted Theo?”

                I shook my head,

                “I don’t believe those types of things.”

                “And just why not?”

                “Because there’s no way to prove they’re real.”

                “Ahh, yes but there is also no way to prove it isn’t real, now is there Theo?”

                To Be Continued…