Braxtonburg

Chapter One

Chapter One

Tuesday September 8th 1938

The tin bell on my clock was ringing. I woke up from my sleep. I took a deep breath and stretched, flicking the switch that causes the little hammer to hit the bell to stop. I groaned, wanting more sleep. However that couldn't happen; it was the first day of High School.

My name is Max Parker. I'm fifteen years old and I have black hair and dark brown eyes. I'm average height, about 5'8". My skin tone is a little pale because I spend most of my time inside. The reason being I don't have a lot of friends. To be precise, I have one. Her name is Blaire Sullivan. Her and I have been friends for the last few years. We met in the fifth grade. Some girls were picking on her and I stood up for her. Ever since then our relationship grew. Nothing romantic or anything, we've just become very good friends.

I got out of bed and got ready for my first day of High School. Once I got dressed, I opened my door, stepped into the hall and shut it behind me. My room was at the top of the stairs. To either side of me there was a hallway. On the right was my parents' bedroom. There was a door on the back wall of the room that lead to my father's study. On the left was the trapdoor that led to the attic. When you pulled on the rope, a ladder would slide down from above and you could tie the rope off on a hook to the right to the trap door stays shut. If you turned left from there, that was my bathroom. I walked downstairs. My footsteps were very loud as I walked across the mahogany floorboards. In front of me to the right was the kitchen, and directly to my right was a small hallway. At the end of it was the door that led to the backyard. To the left was the foyer and the front door. In the space between the kitchen and the foyer was the den. I found my father Maximillian (whom after I was named) and my mother Esther in the kitchen.

"Good morning Max!" My mother said in a cheery tone, flashing a white smile.

"Good morning mom, hey dad." I greeted.

My dad looked over the newspaper he was reading.

"Good morning, champ." He said with a small smile.

He then went back to reading the paper. My father was a doctor at the local hospital and my mother was unemployed. I went to the cupboard and fixed myself a bowl of cereal. I took it back to the table and began eating it with my spoon. The kitchen floor was black and white tile. There was a window behind me. This is where I usually sat for meals. I shoveled some cereal into my mouth with the spoon, it was crunchy. I didn't like it with milk, it got all soggy and nasty and... You get the idea.

After I finished my cereal I quickly washed my plate and spoon in the sink and put them away.

"I already packed your school supplies into your backpack." My mom told me.

"Thanks." I replied.

I went upstairs to brush my teeth in the bathroom. After that I came back downstairs and grabbed my bag off the hook by the door.

"I'm going to school, bye!" I called to the kitchen.

"Bye Max, I love you!" My mom called.

I opened the front door to find a man standing there with his hand raised and ready to knock. He was pretty tall, just under six feet. He had blond hair and brown eyes.

"Hey Max." He greeted with a smile.

I knew this man, he was my Uncle Connan Barker. My mother came out of the kitchen.

"Connan, what are you doing here?" She asked.

Uncle Connan was my uncle on my mom's side of the family. He was the kind of uncle that your parents didn't want you to be around. Personally, I liked him. He was a good guy.

"Good morning Esther, I just wanted to talk to Max before he left for school." He explained.

My mom's shoulders sagged and she sighed.

"Fine, but you'd better not make him late!" She warned with a raised finger.

She then walked back into the kitchen.

"Hi Uncle Connan. Did you need something?" I asked.

He smiled, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I think I found a place that's actually haunted! This place isn't going to be like the last one in Fordsville, no. this one's the real deal!" He exclaimed.

Oh yeah, there was that. His incredible obsession with the supernatural.

"Uncle Connan, how many times do I need to tell you? There is no such thing as ghosts, or hauntings for that matter." I told him with a chuckle.

He shook his head quickly, his eyes acquired an excited glint, as they usually did when he talked about the supernatural.

"No, no, no Max! You've got it all wrong! The supernatural is as real as you or me, it exists I tell you!" He stressed his every word.

I just laughed and shook my head at him.

"Well regardless of what you say, I'm still going. The place is in Skyline County." He stated proudly.

"Skyline County? That's quite the drive. How long will you be gone anyway?" I asked.

"I reckon it'll take me about two days to get there. Not sure how long I'll be staying, but I'll be back before you know it." He said with a wink.

"All right, have fun. I need to go before I'm late." I laughed, walking past him.

I stepped out into the cool, early September morning air.

"I'll show you that ghosts exist! You mark my words Max!" He called after me.

I chuckled to myself. My uncle was a great guy. Heck, he was probably one of the nicest people I've met, but he had this weird obsession with the supernatural. He was also a self-proclaimed supernatural expert. When I was little he would always try to get me to believe in it, but I've always brushed it off as impossible. Even as a child I was never scared of goblins, ghosts or ghouls. I knew they didn't exist. That's why horror movies don't scare me; because I know that all those creatures don't (and can't) exist.