The Truth Of The Matter

Enter Bench Trio (+ Phil)

Three weeks later...

PART ONE: Investigation and Exploration

To be fair, most people wouldn't think that a box of Rice Krispy Treats (containing 60 bars, 46.8 oz, and approximately 5,400 calories) was the best thing to bring if you knew you would be trapped in what was widely considered a haunted house for an entire night or two.

But then again, Ranboo wasn't 'most people.'

That was why, instead of filling his suitcase with the normal things (pfft) such as a toothbrush and clothes, he had brought his 60-pack of Krispy Treats. He didn't care. They would be useful. If nothing else, you could throw them at a ghost.

And it wasn't even extra weight! In fact, Krispy Treats were very lightweight, something that Ranboo appreciated when he was driving through Villisca, Iowa to get to the old (and maybe haunted) Moore house. Well-- really, Phil was driving. Ranboo didn't have a licence, and even if he did, he thought it was probably better to let the only actual adult drive the car.

Due to a distinct lack of sleep, everyone looked exhausted. Tubbo was nodding off, head propped up on his hand, leaning precariously against the car window. Tommy, who seemed determined not to fall asleep, still looked as though he might break in half like a graham cracker under too heavy a s'more.

The sleepiness was understandable. The trio had stayed up all night talking about everything they had read or found on the Internet and the various websites they had found all about the murders. But websites wouldn't compare to actually seeing the house, and they had all been buzzing with excitement when they had first set out, an excitement that had quickly given way to exhaustion.

Ranboo only realized he was starting to fall asleep when Phil knocked against the window, startling Ranboo awake. The sky outside had turned dark, the buildings changing from old-fashioned houses and sprawling sidewalks to an array of old brick buildings. Large window displays took up entire walls, the lit streetlights already shining as the sky had ripened to a kind of magenta.

"Do you want food?" Phil asked from the driver's seat. "We're coming up to a restaurant and I don't want you guys to go hungry."

He made a sharp turn and the sudden change in motion tossed Ranboo's body around like a rag doll on steroids. Startled out of his reverie, Ranboo nearly fell on his face when the arm he had propped against the window slipped and sent him into a nosedive.

"Food?" Phil repeated, focusing on the road again as he had to make a left-hand turn.

"Uhhh," was Ranboo's intelligent reply, crumpled in half like a piece of folded paper. He groaned, taking a minute to recover while Phil waited patiently, and then checked the time. Peering around the chairs, blinking sleepily at the glowing red numbers, he discerned that it was 8 PM, which was completely unreasonable and altogether unbelievable. How long did it take to drive across Iowa anyway?

He yawned and stretched as much as he could in the cramped car, which wasn't much. Sleep still clung to his arms, exhaustion begging him to lean back and close his eyes. Maybe he could just take a little nap... just, just rest his eyes...

"Ranboo," Phil said again, laughing through the words. "Do you want food?"

Realizing he still had to answer a question, Ranboo blinked himself awake enough to nod, then remembered Phil couldn't see him nodding and felt foolish about it and cleared his throat. "Food... uh, yeah, food is good."