When they pulled up to his house, the trio weren't surprised when they saw a mansion in a depressive state, nearly crumbling by the looks of twisted vines wrapping around the pillars and cockroaches climbing around the exterior. It was about a good 45 minutes drive and surrounded by plains and mountains. There was a pretty stream that flowed around the estate, and everyone was quick to exit the car and obtain there bags
"It's not much, but it'll do hm? I'm Tom by the way." He announced as they reached the back of the car to unload there luggage. Tom extended his hand out to William only for him to back away, and Tom laughed. "Eh, I don't bite."
"So how'd you get this place even?" Robert said. He gestured to the huge mansion in front of them, which looked incredibly unstable. As he spoke, Tom opened the back of his beaten up Toyota Corolla. There were cuts and dents in the car from every angle, not very different from his house.
"Some buisness in the early 90's. Let's just say some illegal substances were involved, but i've changed now. I enjoy the quiet life of the country." It seemed weird for a guy like him to enjoy the countryside, especially since his idea of the countryside was cockroaches and mosquitoes invading his house while he slept on a rock hard mattress.
As everyone got there bags they cautiously followed a stone path, the fresh New Zealand wind pushing against there hair.
"Well that doesn't seem suspicious at all." Rob sarcastically informed, guiding his belongings filled with clothes and other items they grabbed. It weighed heavy on his shoulders, luckily they'd been sleeping on the plane all day so they had enough energy.
Once they opened the door, the house smelt of rotten eggs, like sulfur. The wood floorboards creaked with every step and the lighting wasn't even functional. The man clearly hadn't paid his electricity bill in quite a while.
"Sorry if it's not what you expected, I have yet to pay my bills. I'm kind of running low on money right now." Tom smiled slightly and shut the door behind them. It felt very humid and there clothes already had one or two sweat stains, though Tom seem to be unaffected by this.
"Oh this is exactly what I expected." Robert rolled his eyes as the floor beneath him made a large creaking sound.
"That's great, but we're here to see the plane or whatever you have for us." Hannah informed, stepping in front of the two guests. Tom nodded his head, and started heading over to the back of the mansion.
"Prepare to see the most beautiful creation in your life. This is Emma, my gorgeous." Tom pushed the door open welcomingly and they were exposed to a garage looking room, with a large open stretch of land for the plane to rune through in front of it. The room was lit by the gracious moonlight, showing off the grand masterpiece in the middle. It was definitely homemade, you could tell by the rough edges and small clumps of rust swallowing parts of the plane. It was one of those old ones, with it only having room for four people, which was perfect in there current situation. It was decent sized too, bringing more to the table then the group expected.
"That's what's taking us across the ocean on a 6 hour trip?" William doubted, walking up to the creation made of metal and mechanical wires. He was going to place his hand down when Tom interfered.
"Woah careful." Tom begged, grabbing Williams hand and taking it away from the vehicle as if it was some expensive art piece.
"That is something." Hannah looked at it up and down but didn't dare touch it. She didn't know if she could trust this old guy, last time she trusted somebody he got hurt.
"So, it's time to pay up. Give me the monies." Tom said authoritatively, putting his hand out to expect something on it. Robert realized that he wanted the money and started digging through the luggage, putting past his articles of clothing and finally finding a couple hundred dollars stashed nearly into a corner. He grabbed it and started counting the amount he would pay him when Hannah stepped in.
"Hey, we need to regroup and figure out our plan." Hannah suggested, pushing the cash away to the side and pulling Robert back up to his feet.
"I agree." William walked over to them and they got into a huddle formation, so they could decided wether it was worth it or not.
"Be quick, this deal will only be available for the next five minutes or it's off." Tom pressured them, patting his trusty old vehicle while they discussed the ordeal.
"What is this about?" They all looked at each other and back at Tom, confusing Rob even more.
"Listen, how do we know we can trust this guy?" William whispered, making sure to keep his voice down since they were practically right next to him.
"Why wouldn't we?" Rob seemed to be not up to date with the current events, so Hannah filled him in.
"When we were with Herb, he mentioned something about a deal. These guys have associates everywhere. I mean how can we trust this guy?" Hannah informed Rob, all of them looking back again at the unorganized man in front of them.
"What else are we going to do? Sit around on our asses and waste our time? We have no where else to go." Robert insisted, and he wasn't wrong. They could risk it on some mystery man, or risk staying here longer and getting caught by the police.
"Do you still have the shotgun?" William said, hoping they could have a backup plan in case things went sideways on them.
"Yeah, somewhere in there." Robert informed, as Tom tried to listen in to there conversation with no avail. Hannah sighed.
"Ok so we're going on this trip?" Hannah asked for conformity to get a slight nod from the group, and it seemed to be mutually agreed this would be the right choice.
"We're taking it." William said, shaking his hands with the clumsy guy in front of him, and handing the stash of green to him which he gladly accepted.
He laid it down gently onto the table and counted quickly, then looking at the others who stood there in confusion.
"What are you waiting for? Get inside. We've got places to be." Cheerily, Tom got into the front seat next to William and slid a key into a slot which prompted an enemies jerk and a wave of heat to wash over them. "Hold onto your horses."
They felt it back up, the wheels pushing against the hard concrete and it slammed into a six pack of beer, causing a bit of a commotion. It felt like a rollercoaster as it suddenly zipped forward, the motion nearly making Rob throw up as the force was too much to handle. They drove along the plains, fireflies buzzing around them and creating a good and calming atmosphere compared to the jarring movements of the plane. Then they felt there weight shift, as they were off.
YOU ARE READING
The Eight Amulets, Vol. 1
General FictionEvery since William had arrived in Springfield, things had gone haywire. Car crashes, bullies, and trouble following him everywhere. But then there was a final straw when his mom became incredibly sick. It all leads to one curse, and it's down to Wi...
