In the wake of a destructive hurricane, Freya and her Pogue friends are thrust into a tumultuous world of love, murder, and a captivating treasure hunt. As secrets emerge from the storm's aftermath, they embark on a thrilling quest that weaves roman...
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There are only three kinds of relationships in the animal kingdom. The first is commensalism. One example... fish finding hiding spots in coral reefs. Fish profit, but life for the coral doesn't change. Then there's mutualism...
...a relationship where both animals benefit from each other. The tricky thing about animals is you don't always know what kind of relationship you're in.
Which brings me to relationship number three. The parasitic.
" I'm sorry. You're staying where?" The Pogues were all in The Wreck talking about where John B was staying after he fell off the neck and broke his arm.
" Tannyhill."
" So you're living with Sarah Cameron."
" Hey. My dad and I offered, but he had already accepted Ward Cameron's offer." She secretly knew that something was going on with John B. and Sarah. The note that she saw JJ give her at Midsummer and the time before that was John B was gone for the whole day. Freya had no problems with Sarah Cameron, just with her brother. Sara and her were friends at one point, but they grew apart.
" Okay,look, the only reason I'm living there is because her dad bailed me out, right?"
" Mr. Edwards could have bailed you out, right?" Kie looks at Freya, and she nods. " Look you promised. You said you weren't with her."
" Bro, just own it. She got you."
" Look if you want to hang out with her, that's fine. But I'm letting you know now that I'm not doing anything with Sarah Cameron."
" Do you guys see her here? No, right. Okay. A little focus would be fantastic. We've got the map, right?"
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The van takes a sharp left turn. " That looks like a stone wall to me."
" This is it." An old house that looks like it's about to fall apart stands over the trees with a red roof and a cat wind directer.
" Not the Crain house."
" Are you kidding me?"
" Awww is little Kie scared." She pokes Kie's side, making her squirm.
"Stop it, Freya."
" I heard that Mrs. Crain buried her husband's head on the property."
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The Five walk through the garden. Freya looks into the lifeless eyes of the garden statues. Not seeing anything, she gets the chills. So beautiful yet so creepy.
" Look, you guys know whose house this is, right?"
" Oh, yeah. No, I do."
" Honetlsy I don't really believe the stories of this place."
" Which stories did you hear?"
" The one where she kills her husband with an axe and that's she's been holed up ever since."
" On certain nights, when the moon is full... you can see her in the window!"
" No, Frey, it's not funny, 'cause' it's all true. I swear to god guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis. Jeez!" JJ squares up to one of the statues, Freya letting out a snort.
" Dude, how do you know Hollis Crain?"
" She was my babysitter, man. She told me all about it. She told me the truth... about her mother and what happened in this house."
Freya looked up, and her eyes widened as she saw the curtain of the upstairs window flutter closed. Noticing the panicked look on Kei's face, she saw it too.
" So, as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and...she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn't believe it. Until that night. It all came back to her. When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in a sink... full of blood. Her mother just says that she just cut her finger. The next morning, she says her father and her split up. But then, Hollis noticed something. Her mother going into the parlor constantly, in and out and in and out with plastic bags. Weeks pass, and Hollis decides to use the outhouse. And as she's using it , she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her father's head, looking straight back at her."
" God, you are so full of shit."
" Apparently, so is Mr. Crain's head," Both Kei and Freya chuckle at her joke.
Once they get to the house, they find a way into the basement, and that's when they discover the Miskito problem.
" These things are a freakin swarm. Why are there so many mosquitos in a basement?"
" Don't they lay their eggs on standing water?" Pope looks at Freya. She was right. He stands on the floor and stomps his foot. Hallow. Pope then picks up a small rock and drops it through a crack in the floor. A small splash followed. They all start removing the floorboards, revealing a well. " Well, well, well."
" That was a good dad joke."
" Oh come on, I had a good joke earlier that you praise?! I can't win."
