Joe
Admin of AWF
member is offline
![[avatar]](http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/4008/oiecanvastf8.png)
Joined: Jul 2007
Gender: Male 
Posts: 11
Karma: 0 |  | [mys][ptn] Colton House
« Thread Started on Jul 18, 2007, 9:43pm » | |
![[image]](http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/9852/coltonhousesiggyhb9.png)
Archie Coy stepped out of the fog, approaching the old house. Archie was now 42, but the last time he had been here was when he was just 15. The vines had spiraled out of control and the wooden doors had rotted, but the house was much the same as it had been 27 years ago. The trees were brown in a permanent autumn, and the once-beautiful lawns were now overgrown with weeds. Archie glanced back at his car, parked in the driveway. His brand-new Audi TT, the bright chrome standing out against the dull surroundings. The blue flickering of the Sat-Nav could be seen through the tinted windows, and the headlamps lit up the gravel through the dim evening light. A stone column stood a few feet from the door, with a dull bronze plaque embossed on the front. 'Colton House'. A bird, possibly an owl, flew out of a nearby tree, startling Archie. Archie's small grey eyes looked around, and his short, black-going-grey beard kept his jaw warm. Archie placed a heavy boot on one of the wooden steps leading up the the porch, causing it to creak and groan under his weight. Archi pushed open the old oak door, and peered into the dim hallway inside.
"Er.. Hello? Julie? Alex? Are you here?" Archie sounded unsure as he glanced around the corridor, his eyes easily adjusting from the evening light to the near-darkness of the interior of the house. The crimson drapes on the walls were rotten and moth-eaten, and the once bright paintings were now faded and forgotten. Archie flicked an ornate gold coloured switch on the wall, but the bare bulb suspended from the ceiling flickered and died. As Archie's heavy boots pressed against the floorboards, the wooden beams creaked and goraned, and his long leather coat stirred the dust from the floor. Several ornate doors led off from the main corridor, which eventually ended in a green-painted metal spiral staircase. Archie gently pushed the first door open, which led into a large lounge. The brown leather sofas were covered with white sheets, the fireplace was choked up with old ashes and there was a pile of rubble in one corner where the ceiling above had collapsed.
"Alex? Julie?" After receiving no response, Archie turned and left the room. The next room down the corridor was the Dining room, but Archie refused to walk through that door. Instead, he entered the room across the hall, a study. Someone, a woman, screamed as Archie pushed the rotting wooden door open.
"Alex, Shut up!"
As Archie entered the study, he saw the two women. Both were in their mid forties, but they both acted like teenagers.
"Hello Julie.. Alex.." Archie hugged each in turn.
"Is Cameron not here yet?" Archie enquired.
"Nope!" Replied Alex.
Alex was a tall, dark haired woman, with shocking blue eyes. She was wearing dark jeans and a baggy blue shirt. The other woman, Julie, was not as tall, but just as beautiful. She had short, strawberry blonde hair, and steely grey eyes. Julie was wearing a short skirt and a shirt similar to Alexs. The room they were in, the study, was lit by a modern electric lantern, and it had an ancient typewriter on a carved wooden desk.
"Cameron should be here by now.. Oh, and sorry i'm late!" Archie said quietly.
"Don't worry Archie, we only just got here." Julie was the one to speak.
"Where did you park the van? I didnt see it out front.."
Alex replied this time. "Oh, we parked it out back, we came down Allen Road."
Archie spun around as he heard footsteps outside.
"Cameron?" Archie called out.
The door to the study creaked open and a face peered in.
“Ah! Cameron! Come in!”
The man at the door stepped inside the study. The man, Cameron, was short and mousy with a tangle of wiry blonde hair. He was holding a briefcase and he had a professional-looking camera around his neck. Archie extended a hand, and Cameron took it with a weak grip.
“Cameron Allen, photographer and journalist.” he uttered, trying to sound business like. Cameron nodded to Julie and Alex, who returned the gesture. Cameron laid his briefcase on the decorative desk, next to the old typewriter. He undid the clasps and lifted the lid of the case up. Inside was a black laptop, and the lid of the case contained several small pockets, one had a leather-bound notebook inside. Cameron lifted out the laptop, pulled its lid up, and pressed the silver power button. After several loading screens, the login box appeared. Cameron spoke while he typed.
“As you know, i am here to ask you about this house, and the.. incident... that happened twenty-seven years ago. I hope you don't mind Archie, but I'd like it if you could give us an account of what you know, as you seem to be the key witness.”
Archie seemed uncomfortable at the idea.
“I know that it may be hard for you, considering what you encountered, especially at such a young age, but it would really help the story.
“Uh.. Sure.. But if you just wanted an account, why did you invite Julie and Alex, and why on earth did you bring us to this house?” Archie glanced at Alex and Julie.
“Well,” replied Cameron, “I invited the ladies in case you were.. reluctant.. to recall certain parts, and i asked for the meet to be here.. to.. jog your memory i suppose..”
Cameron opened a word processor on the laptop.
“Whenever you're ready...”
Archie took a seat in an old, dusty armchair.
“Well.. It was in the middle of July, and my father was taking me to a family get-together at Colton House..”
July 14th 1980
“Archie! Archie! Come here! Leave the daft mutt alone!”
A tall, thin teenage boy with short dark hair was sat on the lawn with a small Yorkshire terrier running circles around him.
“Archie! Leave Wilbur alone and come say hello to your auntie Jean.”
The man shouting was tall and bald, and he had the same face as the teenager.
“Fine! Coming, Dad!”
The teen, Archie, stood up and jogged over to his father, with Wilbur the Dog in hot pursuit. The father and son walked up the the house, where a woman was sat on the porch. She was about the same age as Archie's father, and had a mass of black hair on her head.
“My dear brother Malcolm! And feisty little Archie! I see you've already found Wilbur!”
Aunt Jean was very friendly, and she offered a plate of biscuits to Archie and his father, Malcolm.
“Biscuit?”
Archie took one, but Malcolm declined.
“Has anyone else arrived?” Malcolm enquired.
“Yes, our parents are inside with Beth. Do you remember my daughter Beth, Archie? She was away in Kenya last time you visited.”
Archie nodded, his mouth full of digestive biscuit.
“So Granny and Grandpa are here then?” Archie asked excitedly, finishing his biscuit.
“Yep, You should go see them, they haven't seen you for a while!”
Archie nodded and then ran into the house, with Wilbur bounding along behind him. The old house was dark inside compared to the summer light outside, so Archie was momentarily blinded.
“Granny? Grandpa?” Archie called out.
“In here, Archie!” The voice came from the study, to Archie's left. The teenage boy strode over to the door, and pushed it open.
|
![[image]](http://aycu28.webshots.com/image/21587/2002879229952546836_rs.jpg) |
|
![[Search This Thread]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/search2.gif)
![[Send Topic To Friend]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/buttons/sendtopic.gif)
![[Print]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/buttons/print.gif)
Author
Logged