could see the grin on his face.
“Damien, I thought you were suppose to be the star athlete.” Before he said his next word, he ran in a blur down all three stories and stopped right in front of Graham.
“And Graham, well, I have been waiting to meet you for some time now.”
Graham just stared at Chase scrunching his brow and tilting his head slightly to the side like a dog would do when you make strange noises.
“How do you know our names?”
With a serious expression, Chase looked into Graham’s eyes. “I know pretty much everything about you, Graham. I have watched you as you sit in your perch at Wellington every Saturday. I know how you sneak around Greenwood listening in on conversations that are not your business, and I know you carry struggles which you keep buried deep down inside.”
Graham was stunned. He didn’t know what to make of it. He must have looked like a fool as he continued to stare at Chase with an even more inquisitive expression on his face.
Breaking the tension, Chase slapped Graham on the back and chuckled.
“Lighten up man. Ms. Winstone told me about you.”
Looking over at Damien, Chase said, “ y tú, mi amigo. ”
Relief washed over Graham like warm ocean waves.
“Thought I was a wierd-o for a second there, didn’t ya,” said Chase.
Graham looked at Chase relieved, but sill unsure how to respond. “Yea, you had me going for a second.”
Realizing that now was his chance to finally ask Chase some questions; to finally get some answers, Graham opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Damien.
“Hey, why did you run from us? Why make us chase you all the way down here?”
“Yea, that was a bit odd, wasn’t it. I guess I needed to stretch my legs, although I gotta say, it was very hard to move that slow.”
“SLOW? I could barely keep up!” said Damien, still panting.
“I may have seemed fast to you, but for me, that was a snails’ pace. I am sure by now, you understand why. The real reason, I suppose, is that I needed to get you away from the crowd so I could talk to you. It is hard to have a conversation while everyone is staring at the kid who almost became road kill.”
Chase laughed again as Graham’s cheeks turned light red.
“Yea, well, not everyone is a ‘Johnny McSpeed-ster’ like you,” Graham sarcastically replied.
“Touché,” Chased said with a nod of the head, acknowledging Graham’s sarcasm. “The real reason I brought you two back here is that I know you are searching for something. I hate to disappoint, as I am clearly not Cavaness, but I can take you to him if you like.”
Graham almost fell over with excitement. “Really?!”
The hope emanating from Graham was palpable. If he wasn’t so elated, he may have shed a tear.
“Really, really,” replied Chase. “Maybe you can even get some help with those nightmares of yours.”
“How’d you kn….”
“Ms. Winstone. I think we already had that conversation before the two of you crept into the Parlor Room last night. You are not alone on that one. You know, we three have one thing in common. We are orphans. We have screwed up pasts. Sometimes those things, those vague or horrible memories we tried to burry long ago force themselves to the surface.”
“No kidding,” said Graham.
“I don’t know what you guys are talking about. I don’t have no crazy dreams,” said Damien.
“Well, crazy dreams or not, I am sure there are more questions lingering in your heads.”
“Yea, like the question of how do you move so fast. You are like a blur when you run,” said Damien.
“All in due time. Like a good story, you need to hear it from the beginning. That is why I had to get you away from the crowd,” said Chase. “As I am sure you overheard, I am the caretaker of Portfield Manor. You know, the haunted place.”
Graham
“Damien, I thought you were suppose to be the star athlete.” Before he said his next word, he ran in a blur down all three stories and stopped right in front of Graham.
“And Graham, well, I have been waiting to meet you for some time now.”
Graham just stared at Chase scrunching his brow and tilting his head slightly to the side like a dog would do when you make strange noises.
“How do you know our names?”
With a serious expression, Chase looked into Graham’s eyes. “I know pretty much everything about you, Graham. I have watched you as you sit in your perch at Wellington every Saturday. I know how you sneak around Greenwood listening in on conversations that are not your business, and I know you carry struggles which you keep buried deep down inside.”
Graham was stunned. He didn’t know what to make of it. He must have looked like a fool as he continued to stare at Chase with an even more inquisitive expression on his face.
Breaking the tension, Chase slapped Graham on the back and chuckled.
“Lighten up man. Ms. Winstone told me about you.”
Looking over at Damien, Chase said, “ y tú, mi amigo. ”
Relief washed over Graham like warm ocean waves.
“Thought I was a wierd-o for a second there, didn’t ya,” said Chase.
Graham looked at Chase relieved, but sill unsure how to respond. “Yea, you had me going for a second.”
Realizing that now was his chance to finally ask Chase some questions; to finally get some answers, Graham opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Damien.
“Hey, why did you run from us? Why make us chase you all the way down here?”
“Yea, that was a bit odd, wasn’t it. I guess I needed to stretch my legs, although I gotta say, it was very hard to move that slow.”
“SLOW? I could barely keep up!” said Damien, still panting.
“I may have seemed fast to you, but for me, that was a snails’ pace. I am sure by now, you understand why. The real reason, I suppose, is that I needed to get you away from the crowd so I could talk to you. It is hard to have a conversation while everyone is staring at the kid who almost became road kill.”
Chase laughed again as Graham’s cheeks turned light red.
“Yea, well, not everyone is a ‘Johnny McSpeed-ster’ like you,” Graham sarcastically replied.
“Touché,” Chased said with a nod of the head, acknowledging Graham’s sarcasm. “The real reason I brought you two back here is that I know you are searching for something. I hate to disappoint, as I am clearly not Cavaness, but I can take you to him if you like.”
Graham almost fell over with excitement. “Really?!”
The hope emanating from Graham was palpable. If he wasn’t so elated, he may have shed a tear.
“Really, really,” replied Chase. “Maybe you can even get some help with those nightmares of yours.”
“How’d you kn….”
“Ms. Winstone. I think we already had that conversation before the two of you crept into the Parlor Room last night. You are not alone on that one. You know, we three have one thing in common. We are orphans. We have screwed up pasts. Sometimes those things, those vague or horrible memories we tried to burry long ago force themselves to the surface.”
“No kidding,” said Graham.
“I don’t know what you guys are talking about. I don’t have no crazy dreams,” said Damien.
“Well, crazy dreams or not, I am sure there are more questions lingering in your heads.”
“Yea, like the question of how do you move so fast. You are like a blur when you run,” said Damien.
“All in due time. Like a good story, you need to hear it from the beginning. That is why I had to get you away from the crowd,” said Chase. “As I am sure you overheard, I am the caretaker of Portfield Manor. You know, the haunted place.”
Graham
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