Chapter 7
A Friendly Reunion
Hunter found himself once again staring at the familiar large front doors where he and Elly had first entered the bizarre mansion. It had been almost a full week since that fateful rainy afternoon when they had been dropped off at the mansion's front entrance. But to Hunter, it felt like it was just yesterday.
The sight of the magnificent oak doors brought back a flood of painful memories. Hunter remembered how awkward the taxi driver was during the long, tiring drive through the immense forest, and how bitter and desolate he felt from being taken away from the only home he had ever known. At least now Hunter was standing in front of those colossal doors alongside his beloved uncle. There, just the two of them awaiting his uncle's friend's arrival, he felt the sense of comfort with him, like he had finally got his family back.
Hunter and Joe peered through the large bay window near the front doors. It wasn't too long before he saw the bulky iron gates open from the winding dirt road that went through the harrowing forest. He watched as the friendly caretaker, Ms. Ellingbee, who was smiling as always, quickly welcomed two shadowy figures into the estate grounds. Hunter couldn't make out a clear vision of the two, but his uncle must have had better vision because the moment they came into view, Joe's eyes lit up with excitement.
"That's them!" Joe's voice showed his excitement. "I haven't seen Ben in years." He quickly unhinged the smaller hidden door within the larger double-framed entrance just as Ms. Ellingbee had the day Hunter and Elly entered the mansion. "C'mon, let's go meet them."
"Oh," said Hunter a bit too nervous to allow any excitement to get the best of him.
He decided to stay back. He waited and watched eagerly as his uncle walked out into the wintery mid-afternoon to meet his friends. Hunter had left his jacket upstairs and didn't feel like venturing into the bitter cold to meet a couple of strangers. In fact, Hunter wasn't all that thrilled to meet anyone new at this point. He would rather stay up in his room and watch over his little sister.
Uncle Joe made a quick jog through the snowy courtyard to meet up with Patricia and the new housemates. The snow had started to fall hard now as it grew ever closer to winter. Hunter watched contently from the warmth of the mansion as the large snowflakes fell diligently downwards from the grey sky, leaving behind a large wintery white blanket across the sprawling courtyard.
"Joe? You sly devil! How long has it been?" Benjamin ran up to Joe and the two men embraced in a mighty hug. Benjamin was about a foot taller than Joe and had a much slender frame.
"About a decade, right? Either way, it's been too long, my friend, and this must be your better half?" Joe threw out his hand for a ‘down-low' high-five towards the young boy standing next to his father. The blonde-haired child responded with a faint smile and a quick slap.
"Alistair, right?" Joe asked.
The boy nodded. He stood a little taller than Hunter but was just as skinny with blonde curly hair. Much like Hunter, he had a pair of thick-framed glasses that sat atop his cold red nose. He sniffled a bit from the bitter weather and did his best to keep up with the adults as the group made their way up through the courtyard and back towards the mansion.
"Yes, this here is my boy genius," Ben said proudly. "He knows more about computers than his old man. Plato may have just found his replacement."
"Awesome!" Joe smiled. He could feel how proudly Ben spoke of his son. "I can't wait for you to meet my niece and nephew." Joe pointed towards the mansion, where Hunter stared back at them.
"Now you boys better behave," Ms. Ellingbee added with a playful smile. "And I'm not talking about you, Alistair. Don't let these two ‘adults' fool you. Your father and Joe seem to find trouble-always." She winked at Alistair, who chuckled in return.
"Come on now, Patty. We weren't that bad, were we?" Ben playfully punched Ms. Ellingbee on the shoulder, and she gave him a stern look, clearly not amused.
"Don't think I forgot about the night you two snuck out and dyed all the young girls under garments bright pink," she added.
"Gross, you did that, Dad?" Alistair's lip curled.
"Well…" Ben smiled slyly. "It was Joe's idea."
"That was like… err… fifteen years ago. We've matured since then," Joe added.
"Yeah, we're a couple of model citizens," Ben boasted. He grabbed Alistair and hurled him up onto his back, giving him a piggyback ride up towards the mansion entrance.
"Wow, this place is huge." Alistair's jaw dropped as he finally took in his surroundings. He stared up at the towering double doors feeling a bit in awe of their sheer size.
"Well, here we are; let's get in and warm up." Ms. Ellingbee gestured towards the door as the boys kicked off the snow from their feet. She then closed the mighty doors and locked them tightly.
"It's good to be back." Ben let out a sigh of relief.
"Wow… is this really the place?" asked Alistair.
"Yep, this is it, my boy, your father's secret getaway."
"It's creepy." Alistair, now standing in the front foyer of the mansion, couldn't believe his eyes. He thought the mansion looked big from the outside, and this room alone made him feel small. Alistair looked all over, amazed at its eerie contents. The strange and gothic designs imprinted onto the big double doors, the weird, mounted animal heads on the far wall. He hadn't even realized Hunter was standing next to him until he took a step back to get a better view of the large stained-glass window on the eastern wall when he almost tripped over Hunter's foot.
"Alistair, this is my nephew Hunter." Joe smiled as he introduced the two.
"Hello," the boys said in unison.
"So I can imagine the mansion has changed quite a bit since you last stepped foot in it, aye?" Ben asked as he took off his scarf and gloves, shaking off the snow.
"You could say that," replied Joe.
"Well, if you boys don't mind catching up in your rooms, we're under direct orders to remain in our quarters until further notice," Patricia interrupted.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that email Plato sent me," Ben stated. "Any idea how the security breach happened?"
"Still looking into it. Plato hasn't found anything yet, but just ask Hunter about the seriousness of the situation."
"What's that now?" Ben's head cocked slyly to the left with an intriguing smile.
"Umm… let's follow Patricia up to your room while Hunter explains." Joe nodded to Patricia, who eagerly awaited their attention to press on.
"Time is of the essence," she added with a bit of seriousness about her.
"Do I have to?" Hunter didn't like the thought of revealing how his sister got hurt, and he felt a bit shy about sharing his troubles with strangers.
"I think Ben may enjoy what you have to say," said Joe, smirking.
The group moved on from the main foyer and up towards the balcony level, where the elevator sat waiting.
"Well," Hunter started, "I snuck out last night to explore the mansion. Of course, my little sister followed me even though I told her not to." Hunter went on explaining the situation, pinpointing all the reasons why he shouldn't be blamed for his sister's injuries.
"You're kidding me!" Ben was amazed at the story. A proud smile grew across his face as Hunter explained his little adventure. "You haven't been here for a week, and you already snuck out? That's fantastic!" he boasted loudly, giving Hunter a high-five. Hunter was completely caught off guard by his enthusiasm but was happy to oblige to the friendly gesture. Alistair and his father both seemed to be very friendly. Hunter felt bad for being worried about meeting the two. He should have known Uncle Joe would have awesome friends.
"Benjamin!" Patricia frowned at Ben's response, shaking her head in disbelief. She continued in a very motherly tone, "You're a role model now. I don't think you should be giving high-fives to children for sneaking out and getting into trouble. His sister could have died, you know. She is in bed now injured from their misjudgment, lucky to still have her life."
"Oh… um
, yea, of course. Sorry…" Ben stumbled over his words, a little embarrassed over his immature display in front of Patricia, who was definitely a mother figure to both Benjamin and Joe as they were growing up in the mansion. He leaned towards Hunter and whispered, "Still a pretty admirable feat. Like uncle, like nephew, I suppose," he added softly, away from Patricia's ears. "So, good old Dominick was called in to take care of the cryptid?" he readjusted his voice for everyone to hear.
That word set off a strange feeling in the pit of Hunter's stomach. Cryptid, what on earth was a cryptid? That one single word had haunted Hunter's mind, ever since he had read about it in the mysterious email.
"Well, everyone capable of eliminating the threat was out preparing for the festivities, such as yourself, Benjamin. Professor Calenstine wasn't happy about calling Dominick's group in, but he'd hoped to get everything sorted out before everyone showed up. We see how that turned out," Patricia explained as the elevator door opened. The group squeezed in, continuing their conversation.
"Well, it'll be fun once Abram gets here," Ben said jokingly.
"Those two still hate each other?" Joe asked.
"Are you kidding me? My cousin holds grudges like none other. Not to mention, Dominick isn't exactly the nicest guy in the world. I'm glad he's from Abram's side of the bloodline and not mine. We keep it pure, right, Alistair?"
Alistair nodded, not quite knowing about what though.
"Who are they talking about?" Hunter whispered as the grown-ups continued their conversation. He had heard the word ‘bloodline' tossed around a few times in the mansion, but he didn't quite understand what was meant by it.
"I dunno," Alistair answered, a bit perplexed as well by the meaning of ‘keeping it pure.' "Abram is my uncle. He works here with my dad. I don't know who Dominick is though," he whispered back.
Hunter found it interesting that Alistair's dad and uncle both worked in the mansion where his parents also had a second home. Hunter started to wonder if perhaps his parents worked here in some capacity as well and it wasn't just a room for rent when they left for their expeditions. He was excited to get a chance to speak with Alistair alone to see if he knew anything more about the strange mansion.
"How about we go to Hunter and Elly's room so you can meet my niece? I want to check up on her anyway," Joe suggested.
"We'd love to," Ben answered. "Kim and Geoff always spoke so highly of them." He paused for a second; he hadn't given it too much of a thought that Hunter had just lost his parents, and Joe had just lost a dear friend and his sister. He had gotten lost in the moment of reuniting with an old friend and had forgotten about all the heartache their family was dealing with. It wasn't until just then that the dark truth of the current situation settled in around them. Hunter almost instantly felt the mood change.
"That's a great idea," Patricia said, lifting the natural tone of her voice a pitch higher to try and lift the mood a bit. "I'll go whip up some of my famous marshmallow mint hot chocolate."
"That's sounds amazing!" Hunter smiled.
"Yeah! Can I have extra marshmallows?" Alistair beamed with excitement as well. Hot cocoa was just the thing he needed to warm up from the bitter winter cold.
The group settled in the kids' room where Trayer excitedly jumped onto Hunter's shoulders and knocked him to the floor. Trayer's excitement got the best of him, and his tongue followed suit with a slobbering assault of licking and playfully nibbling on Hunter's face. Trayer had been by Elly's side since they brought her back from the library, unwilling to leave her, not even to eat his dog food.
"Err… is that dog safe?" Alistair hesitated at Trayer's sheer size, taking refuge behind his father's back.
"That's a Cusith," Ben answered his son, bending down to allow Trayer to sniff his hand. "Don't let his size scare you." He scratched Trayer's belly, and the dog rolled over, delighted. "Old Bernadine had her pups. I'm guessing she didn't make it… I'll miss that old dog." Ben's voice was sad at the thought. Bernadine was Trayer's mother.
"They said he was the only puppy to make it," Hunter added, noting the sadness in Ben's eyes-something he was very used to seeing now.
"Well then, you have a very important pet to take care of. He may be the last of his breed in the entire world." Ben stood up, pushing back the grief from his voice.
"That's sad." Alistair now warmed up to the pup and replaced his father, scratching Trayer's ears.
Joe sat next to Elly on her bed, hoping to see improvement. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully, tightly tucked into her bed sheets. He placed his hand on her forehead. Her fever had broken-a good sign indeed.
When Joe had first seen Elly that morning, his niece's face had been pale and clammy. Thankfully, now it had returned to its natural pinkish hue. He was worried for a while; he wasn't sure how he or Hunter would have dealt with the sudden loss of Elly. The three of them were going to be relying on one another for quite some time to come.
"Here we go." Patricia entered the room with a platter of steaming-hot mint cocoa, topped off with melting marshmallows. The delicious sweet fragrance warmed Benjamin and Alastair's still freezing bodies.
The drink brought back fond memories of Hunter's parents. They would always share a cup of hot chocolate with the kids every Christmas morning before they were allowed to open any presents. It was a bittersweet memory. He was happy he had so many fond memories, but they always left him hurting more than helping. In fact, Hunter had decided he hated how everything he seemed to do brought up some lost memory of his parents. He really wished he could just forget about them forever and not have to deal with the dulling pain that continuously crept up on him. Suddenly his hot cocoa lost its flavor.
"Why don't we let the children be for a while? Elly is doing well, and I can show you both Joe's new living quarter," Patricia suggested.
"Please tell me you moved him next door to me." Ben smiled.
"Hunter, please take care of Elly for us until we get back, and have fun with Alistair." Joe waved as he shut the bedroom door, leaving the children alone for the first time since the accident.
"What happened to your sister?" Alistair asked, sipping slowly on the hot chocolate.
"Well, I snuck out of here last night to explore the mansion. Nobody would tell me and Elly anything about this place. They practically locked us in here. She followed me despite me telling her to stay back, then we got attacked by that monster that's running around here, and she got hit by some kind of dart," Hunter explained.
"Wow, that sounds…" Alistair hesitated for a second, "…scary. She's okay now though, right?"
"She woke up for a bit earlier, so I think so," Hunter added as he blew on his cocoa to cool it down.
The two kids sat at the table near the large window overlooking the mansion's courtyard. Hunter watched a couple of different families make their way into the mansion. They were greeted by different workers. All of the families seemed to have a child around Hunter's age. He and his sister had been here for almost a week and had seen no one coming or going from the mansion, so he found the recent events a bit perplexing.
"Looks like you're not the only ones showing up today," Hunter said, curious over the sudden flood of people arriving.
"There should be a few different families showing up-that's how it works," Alistair answered.
"How what works?"
"You know, the mansion," Alistair explained. "My dad told me every generation has a chance to come to the mansion. He said it's our generation's time."
"Really?" Hunter was baffled, he had never been told such a thing. He wasn't even sure what Alistair meant by their generation's time. Time for what? he wondered.
"Didn't your parents tell you about tomorrow?"
"No, they died a few weeks ago…" Hunter stated bluntly, staring into the bottom of his now empty mug. He wondered if his parents had meant to tell him about the mansion and the whole generation thing. Maybe they just didn't have the chance.
"Oh, I'm sorry…" Alistair replie
d uncomfortably. Hunter knew it wasn't a fun conversation for anyone to take part in.
"What else do you know about this place?" Hunter asked, breaking the awkward silence.
"Not much, my dad works here. He's an archeologist or something like that. He goes around the world and digs up old cities and animals and stuff."
"Really? My parents were anthropologists," Hunter explained.
"What's an anthropologist?"
"My mom told me she studied different cultures and how they live."
"They sound similar, huh?" Alistair noted. "Maybe we get to become anthropologists or archeologists tomorrow."
"Maybe…" Hunter answered, though he doubted it.
"So what do you do for fun here?" Alistair asked.
"Well, Elly reads all those boring books on the shelves. I just sit around and play with Trayer; that's all there is really to do."
"There's not even a computer or a television in here?"
"When I snuck out, I found a room full of computers-it was huge," Hunter added, raising his hands high into the air, as high as he could to signal how large the screens were.
"Really?" Alistair's eyes lit up. He was indeed brilliant with computers. Since the moment he could read, he had been on a computer learning how to operate them. For Alistair's tenth birthday, his parents had given him his first PC, and after a year of learning it inside and out, his parents upgraded him to a laptop. That's when he learned how to take apart and put together his old desktop computer. Computers and technology fascinated him, and he wanted nothing more than to get his hands on this giant collection of computers.
Hunter explained to him in detail how he used the wadded up paper to escape from his quarters, the hidden room they found in the library, the giant robot that Margot had said was the librarian, and of course, the computer room where he had found the weird logo and the letter Alistair's dad had written to Plato. Alistair was ecstatic at the story; a real walking and talking robot was more than he could ever dream of.
"Did your dad tell you about the Orientation?" Hunter went on. "My uncle mentioned it but didn't say too much else about it."
"An Orientation?" Alistair questioned. "Err… no, but he said there was going to be a party for everyone with lots of food, and that all his friends would be there."
Hunter liked the idea of an Orientation party filled with food and friends. When Elly and Hunter first arrived, Hunter assumed they would be the only children in the mansion, at least he didn't think such a cryptic and gothic-looking place would be very kid oriented. After meeting Alistair, he began to rethink the mansion entirely. Things wouldn't be so bad if his uncle stayed to live with him at the Belmonte Estate, and he had Alistair to keep him company now. Not to mention with all the new people arriving, there could be even more children his age coming as well.
"Hunter?" Elly's voice let out a light whisper.
"Elly? You're awake again!" Hunter ran over to his sister's bedside, almost getting completely knocked over by Trayer, who jumped up from his sleep at the sound of Elly's frail voice.
"I had nightmares… about mom and dad…" she answered. She was much more awake than she had been previously.
"It's okay. Trayer was here watching you the whole time. He never left your side."
Trayer jumped up on Elly's bed and buried his head alongside her, snuggling his warm snout under her armpit. Elly let out a weak chuckle.
"How do you feel?" Hunter asked. "Can I get you something? Oh, and Uncle Joe is here! He should be back soon." Hunter didn't know where to start; he was just excited to see his sister back and talking.
"Uncle Joey is here?" Elly was excited by the news. She hadn't seen her uncle since the funereal service.
"Yes, and this is my new friend Alistair ," Hunter added.
Elly hadn't noticed the young boy with curly blonde hair sitting at the table next to the bed.
"Hello. Um… I'm sorry you got hurt," Alistair said, a bit lost for words. "Hunter told me what you guys did. That was pretty brave of you."
"I don't remember much," Elly's mind was still a bit foggy from her injuries. "I remember running from the robot…"
Before Elly could think any further, Uncle Joe, Benjamin, and Patricia returned to the room with dinner for everyone. Elly's stomach rumbled, the sweet smell of garlic-roasted pork chops with cheddar and chive potato crispers delightfully played with her senses.
"Heavens, you're awake again!" Patricia smiled, swiftly setting down the meal on the table and rushing over to her. "Tell me, dear, how do you feel?"
"Hungry," she answered, "And a little confused."
"Elly, I rushed over hear as soon as I got the call that you'd been hurt," Uncle Joe explained, holding his niece's hand.
"Uncle Joe, are you staying here with us now?"
"Err… well…" Joe thought for a second, he hadn't really planned that far ahead. Everything had been happening so fast. He knew it was supposed to be a parent that went through the Orientation and the potential forthcoming ‘Enlightenment' with the next bloodline. He wasn't even sure if they would allow an uncle to take the place of the parent role in the process. "We'll have to wait and see… it sort of depends…"
"Depends on what?" Elly's voice was now gaining in strength.
"Well… Professor Calenstine is technically your guardian, and the mansion works with specific rules, so it all depends on what happens tomorrow."
"I don't understand, what's tomorrow?" Elly asked as Patricia brought her over a large plate of pork chops and potatoes.
"Do you think you can eat?" Patricia interrupted.
Elly nodded, eager to taste the delicious smelling foods, her eyes wide in excitement at the sight of the meal.
"Good, it's important to get your strength up," Patricia said in a serious tone. "I know that we have kept a lot from you kids about the estate and why you're here. We all understand the hardships you two have endured in your strange new home and dealing with the unfathomable pain from your loss. Regardless of where your parents are now-and I assure you they are watching over you-this is where they wanted you to be. Tomorrow is the big Orientation where everything will be explained, and you'll have an official tour of the estate to answer even more of your questions."
The night grew late, and Patricia stayed with the children to make sure they were both comfortable and that Elly stayed in good spirits. Benjamin showed Alistair to his room three doors down from the kids, and then quickly departed into the upper levels of the mansion with Joe to catch up and reminisce over the past ten years.
Hunter had grown eager for the following day's festivities. He had seen a lot of people showing up at the mansion, and if they were all as nice as Alistair, then he was excited to hopefully meet some more potential friends. It had been a long week for both him and his sister, but for all the dark things that had been thrown their way, things finally seemed to be turning around. Hunter and Elly both hoped their uncle could stay with them at the mansion so they could be a family once again. A family, Hunter thought, he wasn't sure he would ever feel that way again.
Elly had fallen asleep easily, and Trayer snored as loud as ever at the foot of her bed. Hunter on the other hand tossed and turned in his bed. Tomorrow was the Orientation, maybe he would finally get to meet their new guardian, Professor Calenstine. He was excited to finally get some answers, but even more so, he was excited to put this terrible week behind him and move on.