the hauntings of isla thatcher / S&C | completed

Truth About Hazel

*THIS CHAPTER IS COLBY ONLY*

The group decided to take a small break while they rested and ate the food they had brought. Hazel wanted to be alone so she sat in the spare room while Nate and the boys all sat in the kitchen downstairs. Colby daydreamed for majority of the conversation because he was so dawned on Hazel's reaction to their previous investigation and when he tried to call her out when they were alone.
She seemed odd, different than how she was when they first met her.
Colby wanted to figure out the reason and he dedicated majority of the night to doing so. Sam, Nate and Hazel continued the investigation while Colby stayed behind. "I don't feel good so I'm going to rest for a bit. You guys go." Was his reasoning and when they all walked out of sight, Colby made his way down the stairs and into the basement he had found earlier in the day.
The basement was cold, damp and had this lingering feeling that didn't sit well with Colby. Not only did it leave Colby on the verge of death, the things that were scattered across the floor made him confused. Majority of the items were papers, damped from the wet floors and the air that was soggy enough for a banana to ripen too quick.
He couldn't quite make out everything else as they were dirty and ripped up. He didn't go into the basement expecting to find a box or such with answers for his questions. He wasn't expecting anything at all but for a mouse to pop out and bite him in the ankle. Yes, that's always been a thing Colby convinced himself to the possibility of happening.
He never told Sam or Nate because if he was honest, a mouse should be the least of his worries. But in haunted, abandoned places, you can never know what really goes on.
He clicked his flashlight on and pointed it towards him, revealing the end of the basement's walls covered in mold and green water.
"Very odd for a basement to look like this when the house looks spotless." Colby muttered.
As he walked further, a scent so deathly corrupted his nose, causing him to gag aggressively. It smelled as if someone or something had died down here, rotting away for years.
When Colby managed to gain strength and the smell had faded away, he flashed his light to observe the room when he found a chest in the very back, locked away with a lock and chains. He thought that was very odd so he decided to dust the top and yank on the lock since it looked rusty. It wasn't.
He stood up and looked around until he found a hammer laid up against the wall. It looked brand new. As if someone had just bought it. Since the Flower House was a tour like property, it only made sense to have tools within the house to maintain the health from base to top. So Colby didn't think much of it.
He placed his flashlight on the small table towards him and grabbed the hammer. It was small but it could do the trick. Colby positioned himself and swung the hammer on the lock. Nothing. So he swung again. Nothing.
"Maybe third time is the charm." He muttered to himself as he swung the hammer once more. Luckily, the lock busted and the chest was now open. "There we go, baby."
Kneeling down, Colby tried convincing himself he wouldn't find anything in the chest but the other part of him convinced himself he'd find something so traumatizing because nobody ever locks up an empty chest.
Once it was open, he only saw piles of old paper. The same thing he's seen all day. Just paper. That killed the only hope he had left in himself. But still, something inside him told him to search in between the papers. Maybe what he was looking for was in there, he just needed to look.
So he did. He was scared, not because small sounds surrounded him and his body shook with fear, but because he found himself caught up to Hazel and her behavior within the entire tour. Normally, property owners don't act the way Hazel has but tonight, she only dug a hole deep enough for her and Colby needed a reason for the hole to close up.
He stopped in his tracks when he came across a letter. It was directed to Hazel and written by a name who was never mentioned. The letter was ripped open and dirt water covered most of the envelope.
Without thinking, Colby took the paper out, opened it and began reading. He wanted to avoid it but Dear Hazel caught his attention.

Dear Hazel,
I'm writing this letter to you to wish you the very best and to announce that I'm not getting well. My sickness is starting to spread and there's only a matter of time before I go. But before I do, I wanted to gift you the Flower House. Your great great grandmother loved his house dearly and has given it to each generation throughout the decades. But as your father, I must give it to you now. I know we're not on good terms or even speaking terms but you're the only one I want to give the house to. Please accept the gift as my parting while I live the remaining minutes I have left. I love you Hazel.

Your father