Moving Forward

The Haunting of Charleston

Owen's P.O.V.

The different Haunted Houses that the Sorority Houses were putting on was turning out to be amusing. While Mr. Coleman was easily startled when someone burst out of nowhere, I was enjoying Dr. Green's reaction more. I don't think he realized what he was doing, but Sean had a strong grip on my arm. Every time something jumped out at us, his hold on me would tighten and he would press into my side. While he would never admit it to our brothers, Sean was not a big fan of the horror genre. He studied Japanese folklore growing up. Sean once claimed that his adoptive mother could see Yūreis, the Japanese version of ghosts. While he didn't talk about it any longer, he truly believed it. I didn't share his belief and made the mistake of mocking him when we were younger and he will no longer discuss it with me. It had been a mistake on my part. If I had handled it differently at the time, I would have removed his fear before now. Until he decided to confide in me once more, I could do nothing.

I had to admit, the engineers of the different houses had been quite inspired in their implementation. While we had vampire guides, the vampire acolytes kneeling before the Master Vampire had been excellent in its execution. The costuming, the music and the atmosphere were faultless. The low-lying fog and crypt were suitably spine-chilling in their appearance. I admired other presentations more than the rest. The Werewolf Alpha with his wolf guards, The Mad Scientist, The Songbird in the gilded cage, and The Three Fates. The boys' reactions to some of the scenes were entertaining. More than one of us smirked when Mr. Colman joined in singing with the Songbird. Their voices had blended well in their rendition of 'Somewhere Out There'. Mr. Griffin was quite pleased with the Zombies. Mr. Lee had tried to examine the lab of the Mad Scientist. Mr. Taylor and Mr. Korba seemed to be most interested in the Hall Of Shame, a small wax museum of people who caused the deaths of many with their inventions. The scientists under the Manhattan Project who had developed the Atomic Bomb. Fritz Haber who invented Zyklon B, the Nobel Prize winner who killed over one million people and who's fertilizer were used in gas chambers by the Germans during the war. There were many more and I understood their interest. People who thought they were helping their fellow man had not realized the danger they had formed instead. What made it interesting was that they weren't your standard killers. No mass murderers or violent people, they were Scientists who had believed they were on the right path.

The final Haunted House we went to was out of state. The Maguires flew us to Boston to spend the day going through the different houses there. Without hesitation, I can firmly state that our entire favorite was the one ran by the M.I.T. Engineering Departments. We were surprised to find a headless ghost of Victor playing a grand piano, his eyes from his nearby head following us. A girl was by him, also a ghost, dancing to the song he was playing. She was wearing a beautiful white gown, yet her chest was sliced open and her heart had been removed. She suddenly appeared in the middle of our group and begged us to help her and her husband. At the echo of maniacal laughter, she gave a cry of fear and dove through Silas's chest, disappearing. Sean was suitably disturbed and moved away from Silas. We found the senior Mr. Taylor in the kitchen where he was playing an insane chef who was cooking parts of people. He was roasting brains and buttocks in a large oven, fingers and toes were steaming on the stove with vegetables. A stew, I think. He was quite chatty while he squeezed our arms to test our muscles. He lamented over the loss of his love in between invitations for us to join him for dinner. The female ghost appeared and warned us not to accept, claiming we would be dinner. Drawing our attention to the heart being roasted in rotisserie style. Luke grabbed a cleaver and chased her away, threatening he would remove her head as he had done to her husband. Once she was gone, he turned back to us and started examining our fingers. Mr. Lee and mine were to boney, Mr. Coleman's were too short. Mrs. Maguire's were to thin while Sean's were too stinky. That left Mr. Maguire. Mr. Korba. Mr. Griffin and the junior Mr. Taylor to donate their fingers up for an epicurean meal that would be talked about for generations to come.

I admired the senior Mr. Taylor's performance, he never once let on that he knew us. He kept to his role, that of a psychotic chef who became a cannibal in his madness. I was disappointed in myself for have never noticed Mr. Taylor's acting ability. I could think of several past missions where it could have served us well. Now that I knew, I would make sure to use his ability to the best advantage.

After visiting the Haunted Farm, we returned to the city and had dinner at a local pizza place, Mr. Ericson and Mr. Nighthawk joined us. Mr. Ericson explained how Luke's school joined with the Engineering departments for the Scream Fest. While they sold drinks and snacks to earn the money to prepare pies for Thanksgiving for the local shelters and a bake sale later on to do the same at Christmas. That the Engineering departments used the entrance money to buy turkeys for the shelters and local families, they would sell the attractions from the Haunted House and use the money for Christmas. I was impressed. Most of the people involved were not Academy, yet, they still joined to help the downtrodden. I was amazed. College students were known for their nonstop partying, their drug use and heavy drinking. It was the reason I discouraged the boys from attending, one of them. I could not provide them with the guidance they required if they were all attending different colleges. Taking classes on-line was more suitable for our team, allowing us to remain together as a family.

The boys stuffed themselves from the buffet, comparing the different Haunted Houses we had viewed during the weekend. They seemed to have regained their zest, discussing their preferences animatedly. This pleased me, this was the happiest I have seen them in the past few years. Even Sean seemed more relaxed. I was bemused; something so simple had done more for them than our usual Academy camping trip. We had just finished eating when a large group of kids arrived. After paying our bill, Mr. Ericson and Mr. Nighthawk joined them. It was then that I realized that they were the crew from the Haunted House. I looked for Mr. Morgan and the senior Mr. Taylor, finding them laughing with a group of kids. They hadn't noticed us and the Maguires herded us out before we could approach them. When I broached the subject with Mrs. Maguire on the flight home, she informed me that they deserved to celebrate with those who had helped them make a success of their campaign. I was forced to agree with her. Mr. Morgan had shown no sign of his introverted nature; he was talking freely with his companions. As for the senior Mr. Taylor, he was joking with several others. The most astounding was the large plate of salad on the table before him. Sean and the boys had not noticed them, something I was grateful for. Mr. Coleman would not have been the only one who would have been hurt at seeing them enjoying themselves with people who weren't us. I would contact them in the morning; it was time to put my foot down and demand that they return home. Their brothers missed them and their place was at our side. I would inform Sean of my decision before I made my call.

The Toma Team were waiting for us at the airport to drive us home, providing us with chauffeur service. I hated to admit it, but we were too tired to drive ourselves home after our busy weekend. It pleased me that the Maguires had planned ahead for our safety. We were split up into groups for the last step of our journey home, divided by where we lived. We were too tired to care, barely able to stay awake during the ride. If asked, I knew my brothers would say that the weekend had been a success. I would agree with them. In the future, I intended to plan more one-day outings to provide a break in between missions. Charleston had several museums, art galleries and theaters that we could visit. It was time I broadened the boys interests, culture was never wasted when introduced properly.