Hey everyone! I'm new here, but most of you who do know me--know me as Hold On... To Your Bike. For some reason I can't seem to post any knew threads on that name anymore so I had to create a new one:-( Anyways--Some of you might've read this first chapter awhile back when I first posted it--but I'm reposted it becuase I was [again] having problems and couldn't post for some reason another chappy. I don't know if anyone could possibly tell me what's going on--but it's really driving me insane.
BY THE WAY--CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW TO POST ANOTHER CHAPTER ON HERE WITHOUT MAKING A NEW THREAD? I CAN'T SEEM TO FIGURE IT OUT. I SEE THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO POST ALL THEIR CHAPPYS ON ONE THREAD--AND I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THAT. SO IF ANYONE CAN HELP ME OUT HERE THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!
By the way--this story is a little slow at the beginning--so be easy on me here. But the thing with this is it is a MYSTERY so you really have to pay attention to little details.
I originally had this posted on fanfiction, and it did AWESOME! I ended with almost 300 fan reviews. But I want to see how you guys like it--and I've redone a lot of stuff since I wrote this so long ago. I hope you guys enjoy it just as much as I do! I LOVE FAN REVIEWS!!!!! So if you can tell me what you think of it I would be psyched!
MiniMe
*WARNING* If you guys like horror/blood/violence/edge-of-your-seat stories--this is one! If you don't--don't read.
A lie creeping behind stone walls...
The truth waiting beneath earth...
A restless mind...
A voice...
Tangled mysteries...
And the Seen and Unseen...
~Chapter 1~
The place seemed to stare down at him, ready to gobble him up at any second. He knew there was something inside; something just waiting for him to turn the knob and open the door; something he didn’t want to see. The ten-year-old boy standing at the old abandoned house’s doorstep wanted nothing more than to run and get himself as far away as possible—but he couldn’t. He could only stand there, contemplating whether it was worth sacrificing his life for. No matter what people told him, there was something inside that house. He could feel it even on the earth it sat on. It was like an unnatural energy—some force haunting its weary timbers. The boy wondered what his mother would say when she heard her son had been lost in the dark passageways of the old house—like, the little boy thought, so many other boys had.
“C'mon, Joe Jonas!” Jeremiah Williams taunted him with an evil smile. “You aren’t scared of a ‘haunted’ house are you, JJ?”
Joe looked back at him and glared at the twelve-year-old boy and his friends watching.
“Yes, I am, Jeremiah,” Joe snapped back at him. “Now can I please go home?”
Jeremiah laughed at him. He was the bully of their school, and he made sure all the new kids understood that clearly. Joe was one of them.
“You can’t go home till you walk through that house and out. You ain’t gonna make friends here kid if we label you a ‘scaredy-cat’.” He and his friends laughed. “Yeah, and we’ll make sure you stay miserable forever if you don’t do this.”
Joe swallowed. If only he wasn’t so much smaller than Jeremiah he might have a chance of getting away. He wanted to run so badly, but he knew if he chickened out he’d be made the laughing stock at school. He had to do it.
“W…well,” Joe stuttered, grabbing hold of the porch railing to steady himself. “If it’s so easy for you to say Jeremiah, why don’t you go inside?”
“Don’t be smart with me kid. I already passed that test long ago. Why do you think I have so many friends? Huh? Now get going! We don’t have all day.”
Joe sighed heavily and swiveled around to the door. He couldn’t explain it to the boys—but he felt something radiating off the door, almost as if it were truly alive. He slowly turned the knob, and then quickly he threw it open. And there, standing in the doorway... was a person. Joe nearly jumped off the porch. He gave a yelp and scrambled away as fast as his legs would let him. He tried running back to school, but Jeremiah quickly had him by the collar. He was laughing hysterically.
“That was hysterical!” Jeremiah cried, grabbing Joe’s arm as the boy fought to get out of his grasp. “You really are a lemon.”
“No! Let go!” Joe screamed in horror. “Don’t make me go near that house again! There’s something in there!”
Suddenly the person walked out of the house. Joe realized the boys had played a nasty prank on him. It wasn’t a ghost at all, just one of Jeremiah’s friends... but... that didn’t seem right. Joe blinked, confused. He was almost positive he saw something else…someone foggy and translucent.
“Still believe in ghosts, JJ?” Jeremiah taunted.
“You’re such a jerk, Jeremiah!” Joe cried, still struggling to get away from his grasp. He hit him as hard as he could—but it didn’t do much good considering how much bigger the kid was than him. “Now let me go!”
“Why?” Jeremiah grinned, pushing him roughly to the ground. “It’s much more fun watching you scream.”
Jeremiah’s buddies crowded around Joe’s small form on the ground. The poor boy just watched helplessly as they got closer.
“Hey!” called a voice behind them.
Joe jumped to his feet. He knew that voice well.
“Kevin!” he cried with relief, seeing his twelve-year-old brother waltz up.
“What the hell’s goin’ on here? What’re you doin’ with my little brother?” Kevin asked the boys—who were in the same grade as he. “Huh? You think it’s fun pushin’ kids around?”
“Oh, c'mon Kevin!” Jeremiah cried, beginning to get a worried look on his face. Kevin was taller than him, after all. “You have to admit you gotta have some fun with them sometimes...”
Kevin stormed up to him, his face red with growing fury. Joe knew by the look of things—his brother didn’t like that answer… at all. Jeremiah would be real sorry.
“No one messes with my brothers...” Kevin hissed, and then instantly smashed a fist into Jeremiah’s jaw.
The kid yelped with pain, clenching his face in agony. Joe couldn’t help but let out a laugh as he saw Jeremiah and his friends flee back towards the school.
“Told ya you were a bullfrog, Jeremiah!” Joe yelled back at the boy.
When they were safely away, Joe rushed up to his big brother.
“You’re the best brother ever, Kevin!” he cried, giving him a relieved hug.
But Kevin grabbed him away and eyed him seriously.
“Joseph, what have I told you about hanging around with those boys?” he scolded.
“Well… I couldn’t help it, Kevin. All I did was tell Jeremiah he was a…well a bullfrog, like in that song? So he got mad and forced me into going inside the haunted house.”
Kevin snorted and shook his head, ruffling his little brother’s wavy black hair.
“He deserved to be called a bullfrog,” Joe grumbled. “But thank goodness I have you—or he would’ve… done something bad to…” Joe shrugged. “But what do I care? You gave that punk a good smash in the face,” he said with a big smile.
“Hey, that’s what brother’s are for, right?” his brother said, patting his little Joe on the back
“Just promise me you’ll never make me go in a haunted house again.” Joe said. “Not ever.”
“Alright little bro.”
8 Years Later...
“What! It’s a haunted mansion?” Joe Jonas cried as their cab drove into the driveway of the 1850’s hotel. It loomed above them in the night in an almost unearthly manner as the rain pelted down upon it. The glow of lights inside the mansion made the house look almost alive. The place seemed as cold as its stone walls, Joe thought, his stomach beginning to get little butterflies.
“I think I’m beginning to feel sick,” Joe said grasping his side with a hand.
His older brother at that slapped him.
“C'mon, Joseph, get over it,” he said. “It’s not one of those haunted houses at the fair…just an old mansion.”
“Doesn’t seem like just any old mansion to me, Kevin,” Joe muttered, not too thrilled about their vacation spot already.
“Yep, it’s an unusual place,” said the driver, not helping Joe feel any better. “They just recently made it back into a hotel. For a while it just stood there, abandoned and mysterious. But the owner finally decided to fix it up about five years ago, and now it’s a thriving hotel. People been sayin’ they’ve seen stuff in there—like ghosts and all that, but no one ever hears from those guests again. Kinda’ odd if you ask me. But either way it’s a first rate place to stay. And don’t you go believin’ those things about ghosts boys, ‘cause they aren’t true.”
Joe glanced over at his older brother, Kevin, who was twenty. He hoped he’d see some hint of worry in his face, but as usual Kevin was perfectly calm.
“Thank you sir for your time,” Kevin said in his usual gentleman-like manner, getting out of the cab. Joe followed him, and lastly came their younger brother Nick, who was fifteen.
“Dad could’ve told us ahead of time it was ‘haunted’,” Joe muttered, dolefully shoving his hands in the pockets of his coat as they made their way up the steps to the revolving glass doors.
“Would you quit going on about that?” Nick snapped. He was always the logical minded one.
“Did I not say the word ‘haunted’ clearly enough because you guys don’t seem to be fazed by it?”
Kevin patted him on the back and smiled.
“Easy now bro,” he said as they walked into the revolving door. “You don’t actually believe in all that stuff, do you? It’s just people making up a story to get attention, that’s all…”
All three suddenly stopped in awe at the scene before them. Inside was beautiful. The carpets were crimson red, and the furniture intricately carved cherry oak. There was a huge glimmering chandelier above them, and in front of them down the foyer was the grand staircase.
The front desk was to their right. Kevin, followed by the others, walked up to the woman standing behind it.
“Welcome to the Melone Hotel,” she said with a sort of pleasant smile. She was around forty and had blond hair and cold, penetrating blue eyes that seemed—in Joe’s opinion—to search one’s very soul. “How may I help you boys?”
The three boys assumed a very rigid stance, knowing this lady wouldn’t tolerate any fooling around.
“We’re looking for our father, Redmond Jonas,” Kevin explained in his naturally professional voice, “he sent us here to meet him?”
Her eyebrows suddenly furrowed as she realized who they were. She nodded and smiled.
“Awe,” she said, a look of excitement on her face. The boys didn’t know they were so popular. “So you’re his sons?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kevin answered. The others just nodded.
“So what’s it like having a detective father?” she asked after paging Mr. Jonas’s room. “Do you guys get to help solve any of his cases?”
“Not… usually,” Kevin said, looking slightly uncomfortable. Most of their fathers business was very confidential; he didn’t talk about it much with other people. And to be honest, though they were his sons, their father never really told them anything about what he was doing either.
Kevin stole a glance back at his brothers. Nick was standing quietly as usual. Joe on the other hand had wandered off to a painting on the opposite wall. Kevin wanted to strangle him as he saw his younger brother run his fingers down the portrait. Joe could never seem to hold himself back from touching things. “Joseph!” Kevin scolded. “Get over here!”
Joe turned and walked back to them, his hazel eyes wide with either excitement or horror—Kevin couldn’t tell.
“Is that a picture of the first owner?” Joe asked the woman.
“Yes it is,” she said. “Mrs. Scarlett Vona Glen. She was my great, great, great grandmother.”
All three boys stared at her.
“You’re a relative?” Joe asked, astounded. “So does that mean you’re the owner of this place?”
“Yes it does actually. It was eventually passed down to my mother—who wanted nothing to do with it, then down to me. I fixed it back up to a hotel as it once was. This place holds more than just mere memories—”
“Mrs. Scarlett’s ghost, right?” Joe interrupted.
Kevin looked back at him and slapped him.
“Joe!” he growled. “Stop being so immature.”
“I’ve told all our guests here this,” Ms. Johnson explained seriously, “and now I’ll also tell you. No matter what people’ll try to get you to believe, there are no ghosts in this hotel. I assure you you’re all perfectly safe here.”
Just then Mr. Jonas walked up. He wore a nice suit and his normally curly black hair was flattened to the side. His face was beaming with a smile in seeing his sons—showing his handsome features.
“Hey, boys!” he greeted, hugging them. “How was your trip?”
“Oh… interesting,” Kevin recalled. “Joe didn’t stop talking the whole way, but, yeah, it was alright I guess.”
“Didn’t like the flight,” Joe added suddenly. “Never have liked flying. Just the thought of being so high up… yeah. Didn’t really like it.”
His father patted him on the shoulder.
“I know son, neither do I.”
“Well to get on the positive side of things…” Kevin said, glaring a Joe, “We’re happy to finally be here and see you. A month of being away is a long time.”
“Yeah, well, that’s being a detective for you. It’s hard work boys. But it’s harder staying away from you guys so long—and that’s why I brought you here. I thought you’d like staying with me a while in this hotel to get away from things back home. I’m sure things have gotten a little rusty back there since I’ve been gone, but I’m sure it’ll be a nice break for you guys anyhow.”
“It sure beats doing nothing but school,” Nick added.
“Yeah, it’ll be fun… I hope anyway,” Kevin said with a smile. Then he looked at Joe’s worried expression. “Except for Joseph here. He’s not too thrilled about the whole ‘haunted’ business.”
His father walked over to Joe, grinning, and put an arm around him.
“Aw, c'mon now Joe,” he said. “Where’s that adventurous side of you we all know of? I mean, you’re the kid who used to swallow quarters so he could brag to all his friends—and you’re afraid of a ghost that doesn't even exist?” He glanced at Kevin and Nick with a grin. “I’m surprised at you son. You’ve always been the stronger out of the three boys.” He patted him. “Now where’s that enthusiasm I want to see? Hmm? Put back on Joe Jonas and stop being a wimp. You’re eighteen, boy, get over it.”
Joe grinned.
“Fine, I’ll try,” he said.
As their dad began talking to Nick, Kevin looked at Joe.
“I forgot Joe… how much did all the quarters you swallowed add up to?”
Joe counted on his fingers for a minute.
“A dollar and… fifty cents. That’s as high as I got. I couldn’t do anymore after that though, because I began getting these really bad stomach aches…”
Kevin had to laugh. He putting his arm around his brother, and followed their father and Nick up the stairs.
“Man, we were an interesting bunch of kids,” he said.
“Yes we were… and are,” Joe smiled.
Kevin snorted.
“You can say that again.”
Next morning Kevin and Nick were the first up. They met their father in the foyer downstairs just as they were going to the dining hall. Mr. Jonas seemed in a hurry.
“Listen boys,” he said quickly. “I know I told you we’d go do some stuff together today, but I have a last minute appointment that I have to do. It’s concerning the case I just finished. I’ll try to be back in a reasonable hour, but while I’m gone—watch on the two younger boys will you Kevin?”
“But…” both boys tried to protest—but their father was already out the door.
Kevin sighed heavily.
“Well so much for having ‘fun’. I guess we get to sit around doing nothing all day.”
“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” Nick said, trying to sound positive. “Where’s Joe?”
“Last time I checked he was in the shower. It figures.” Kevin shook his head and sighed. “Seriously, Nick, if I have to share a room with that boy again, I’ll literally go insane.”
“Oh, c'mon Kevin. He can’t be that bad. I’ve never heard him snore once,” Nick said, who shared a room with their father.
“No, no, no!” Kevin said quickly, waving his hands in Nick’s face. “Listen… All night he talks in his sleep. That creeps me out—I don’t know about you, but it’s pretty creepy to me.”
“Really? What kinds of things was he saying?” Nick asked smiling, interested.
“He’d be like, “No mommy, I promise I didn’t put Nick in the washer machine…” Yeah, things like that. Come to think of it—I remember the time he did that…” He sighed. “Man, what I would give to know exactly what that boy thinks sometimes.”
“Well… maybe he’ll give us an idea of what to do,” Nick suggested. “He’s always doing something…”
Just then they heard a sound and both looked up to see none other than their eighteen-year-old brother sliding down the stair railing. His sudden appearance was impressive but not unusual. Joe was notorious for these sorts of thoughtless stunts. He slid down the railing with almost perfect balance.
Kevin sighed heavily and laid his head in his hands. How immature could his brother get?
“Just tell me when he falls,” he said to Nick.
There was a screeching sound and next moment Joe was flying through the air. As he collided on the floor the whole mansion seemed to shake. Kevin looked up as he felt the impact.
“Ow,” they heard Joe mutter after a minute. They both saw him get painfully to his feet. “Man! Why does that never work in real life?”
Nick snorted and turned around trying to hide his laughter.
“Ya know… at least you’re hardheaded, Joseph” Kevin admitted, “Cause if normal people fell off stair railings as much as you did, they’d probably have brain damage by now. Although… I think some of your… issues come from hitting the ground headfirst so many times…”
Joe rubbed his head and grimaced.
“Um, no,” he said. “Actually my brain damage comes from the time you busted my head open. Remember that?” Kevin, embarrassed about the subject, turned away. Joe suddenly looked over at Nick. “Hey, how do I look?”
Nick looked him over, and nodded—even though he wouldn’t have picked it to wear himself. Joe’s choice of clothing could sometimes get a little interesting.
“You look… unique—as always,” Nick answered. Then he looked at Joe’s dark wavy hair. “But, seriously, Joseph, don’t you think the hair’s getting a little… long?”
Joe’s mouth dropped.
“Long?” he cried. “Long? My hair is my most prized possession, Nick. I am never cutting this thing. How could you say that?”
“O—K,” Nick said shrugging. “Just a suggestion. You asked for it.”
“Well, for future reference,” Joe said with a smile, “You’re only allowed to tell me how good I look.”
“All right, Joe,” Kevin said, tired of his brother’s fooling around. “Listen… Dad just left, and we’re stuck here with nothing to do. We were wondering what you had in mind.”
“Well, I was planning to work on my balance on the stair railing if you wanted to join me…”
Kevin smiled and put an arm around his brother.
“Listen, Joseph, I know you’ve been practicing that all night—while everyone was asleep, but let’s not do that again, alright? We don’t want to get in trouble with Ms. Johnson, do we?” Kevin looked over his shoulder at Nick and whispered, “Thank God she didn’t see that.”
Joe laughed.
“All right, Kevin,” he said shoving his brother away. “I get it. You don’t have the guts to do anything extreme. But don’t feel bad about it bro. I understand.”
Kevin just snorted.
They all walked over to the dining area, which was to the right of the front desk. Ms. Johnson waved to them as they passed.
“How was your sleep, boys?” she asked politely.
They walked up to her.
“It was entertaining, that’s for sure,” Kevin said, smiling, but wishing she could cut the conversation short. He was getting hungry. “Joe talks, you see, to himself at night. It’s kinda’ interesting.”
“Oh, well if you guys would rather have separate rooms, I’d be glad to get you some,” she said. “I can understand sibling rivalries; I had three younger brothers who were always fighting. Do you boys get along very well?”
“Yeah,” Joe said with one of his good citizen smiles, “We do.” He put his arm around Kevin. “We’re like best friends. We only fistfight twice a day.”
Nick couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah… well…” Kevin said, trying to get away so they could eat. “We’re going to the dining hall to have some breakfast. So we’ll see yah.” He pulled his brothers away.
When they were far enough from Ms. Johnson, Kevin looked at Joe.
“Joseph, when are you gonna learn to grow up?” he asked.
“I dunno. Man! Why do you have to ask such tough questions?” Joe laughed, unfazed by his brother’s scolding. “Is there a rule book that says you have to grow up at eighteen? ‘Cause if there is, life just got real boring.”
“But you never take anything seriously,” Kevin said, looking for a table.
“That’s because there's no reason to,” Joe said, grabbing a chair to an unoccupied table. “Life is good.”
“But Joe…”
“So anyway,” Nick interrupted Kevin, trying to keep his two old brothers from bickering. “We still haven’t figured out what to do today. Does anyone have any input? Or are we just going to sit around doing nothing? There’s got to be something to do here.”
There was silence for a moment. Then Kevin’s eyes widened as he got a sudden thought.
“Hey…” he said sitting straighter in his seat. “Maybe we can ask Ms. Johnson if she’ll let us explore the house. It’s bound to have something interesting—like a library or something. What do you say?”
Nick nodded his agreement.
“I say,” Joe said looking at the menu, “it sounds boring. What could possibly be in a library except books? Books are boring. Sliding down the stair railing is a lot more fun…”
“Yes, Joseph, you’ve already informed us of that,” Kevin said, still frustrated with him. “But, as I said before, the stair railing is not an option.”
Joe slapped his menu down and stared at his older brother.
“Why not?” he cried. “Mom let me at home!”
“Yes. But this isn’t our home, Joseph!”
“But how are we supposed to have a vacation if we don’t have fun, Kevin?” Joe cried back.
“We can have fun, Joe!” Kevin snapped. “It’s just your definition of fun isn’t normal peoples idea of having a good time!”
“So what’re you saying? That I’m not normal?” Joe fumed.
“No! You’re not!”
“Hey! Boy’s c'mon!” Nick interrupted. “What’s with the arguing all the sudden? Jeez, you’re worse than our neighbors!”
“Well, Joseph—with the big-mouth here—started it!” Kevin grumbled.
Joe glared at him, then grabbed his menu and twisted his seat around so he was sitting directly away from them.
“Joe come back here and sit at the table like a civilized person!” Kevin scolded, slamming the table with his hand.
“Nope.”
“Joseph Adam Jonas!”
“Not talking to you anymore, Kevin…” Joe muttered, his face buried in the menu.
“Well… you…”
Nick put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder to silence him.
“C’mon, Kevin,” he said. “Leave him be. He’ll snap out of it in a while.”
And he did. After they ate, Joe was back to his normal self—as if nothing between him and Kevin had happened.
SO yeah... tell me what you think! Give me points if you think it's good so I can get up on the charts (or forum I guess;-)
MiniMe