DAMMIT CHAZ

The pair decided it was time to bring the investigation to the Fitzgerald Manse, but not before stopping to see Mr. Cornthwaite’s neightbor, Seb Watkins. Seb’s prize horse had gone missing during the evening, and with the home bordering to the Fitzgerald Manse, they thought this was a good place to start.

As they walked up to the house, the man’s dogs started barking and out came Seb Watkins. When asked about Mr. Cornthwaite, Seb said Cornthwaite was a nice enough fellow. They weren’t the best of friends but whenever they ran into each other in town they would say hello. Regarding the missing horse, neither Seb or his dogs heard anything. Last evening the horse was there, the following morning it was gone. When Seb and the police searched for the horse, tey all noticed a heavy dew that last until just before noon.

Chaz went off to search the fields for the horse while Burney stayed behind to ask Seb some follow-ups questions. Nothing new was really learned except that Cornthwaite had moved in about six years ago. After an hour search of the field, Chaz came across large group of crushed bones. With a little bit of fudging, Chaz was able to determine that these bones belong to a horse. But if it was Seb Watkin’s horse, what could have stripped all the meat off of it? It wasn’t natural decomposition because the horse only went missing the night before.

They opted not to tell Mr. Watkins and proceeded to the Fitzgerald Manse.

They hopped back into Burney’s car and approached the house but saw that the gate was closed and locked. Rather than drive back to town or attempt to lockpick it, Burney grabbed his gun and climbed over the fence. Chaz grabbed his tennis racket, the Thunder, and did the same. Since they left the car outside of the grounds, Chaz made sure Burney had his car keys on him.

The garden was overgrown. It was hard to spot, due to the trees blocking much of the sunlight, but they saw a tiny green shed some ways away. The house stood before them. It was in a state of disrepair and did not extend an aura of welcome to any. Many of the windows had been shuttered and there were cobwebs and vines covering the home. Chaz tested the oak door to see if it was locked, and when satisfied that it was, he inserted the key and opened the door.

The inside of the house was in worse condition. Large cracks had appeared in the walls and water damage was visible on each wall. Burney yelled out to see if Mr. Cornthwaite was home, but no one answered. So they split up.

Chaz visited the downstairs study, where he found the book The Missing People: The Tribe that the Jungle Swallowed. It was in poor condition, but still very legible. Chaz opted to leave the book where it was for the moment…

Burney walked upstairs and found himself in the guest bedroom. Nothing really stood out in this room except for the fireplace in the corner. As he fiddled with the fireplace, he triggered some thing and caused the fireplace to swing him into a dark, cramped room. And a dead body fell onto him.

The dead body was nothing but a skeleton with tiny bits of flesh still stuck on. It was missing it’s toes and the fingers from the left hand. Of course, Burney had seen worse and just shrugged it off. Literally. And then he picked up the axe he found in the corner.

Eventually Burney started yelling for Chaz again, but this time he heard the yells. Racing up the stairs and into the bedroom, Chaz listened to Burney’s instructions about the fireplace, causing Chaz to trigger the fireplace and get pushed into the secret room.

And then they realized they were trapped. The dead body did nothing to help Chaz’s mental state, but the sight of the axe Burney was holding did jog a memory about some axe murders that had been committed in the home.

Now the boys are stuck in a cramped secret room with a dead body and no visible means to get out.