Carson's Mark: School of Screams

Chapter Three

A little over an hour later, everyone had finished eating and the kitchen was cleaned. Zeeke sat in a comfy armchair in the tv room beside the kitchen, Scarecrow now on his lap, the toy looking and sounding very happy. Zeeke, on the other hand, looked like he was thinking hard, leaning back in the chair. Kennedy walked over and sat in another armchair next to the teen. 
     "Something on your mind?"  He asked.  Zeeke looked at him out of the corner of his eye.
     "Let me guess," Kenny said.  "None of my business?"  That got Zeeke to crack one of his cocky smiles. 
     "Yeah," he answered.  "But I'll tell you anyway.  I'm just going over everything you told me earlier."  He rubbed Scarecrow's belly a few times, causing the little plush to make happy gurgling noises.  Kenny simply nodded. 
     "Understandable," he said.  "It's not easy being told you're something you didn't know existed."  He spoke like he knew the feeling.  Zeeke turned his head partly to look at him more. 
     "Dragons are something I always thought were cool," he said.  "It doesn't bother me that they exist.  It's just absorbing all the information and figuring out what to do from here."  Kennedy wasn't sure, but he thought he saw something flash in the teen's eyes for a split second.  Unsureness, maybe?  But the cocky expression returned before he could fully determine what it was. 
     "We have a handful of books on dragons in our library if you'd like to read them for more details," he offered.  "If you're talking about finding a place to stay, we have plenty of extra bedrooms you can choose from."  Zeeke scanned him for several seconds in silence before offering a response. 
     "Fine," he said, putting on a deadpan, unreadable expression.  "Thanks, I guess." 
     "Don't think we didn't notice you brought everything you own with you," Chloe walked into the room, followed by Simon.  Both sat on opposite ends of the large sofa across the room from the others.  "Clearly you're not planning on returning to the same place you came from."  Zeeke gave her a side-long glance, but said nothing.  No one said anything for several seconds before Muffin came zooming in carrying an empty toilet paper roll. 
     The cat leapt onto the other large couch along the side of the room, laying on her side and kicking at her new toy with her back feet.  Jack wandered in after her, choosing the large recliner chair in one of the corners to plop down in. 
     "So what now?"  Simon asked after another couple of seconds.  Chloe looked over at her brother before answering the question. 
     "You still need to take it easy, considering your pneumonia," she told him.  "But if you'd like to help me with some book or computer research, you're more than welcome." 
     "Oh, right," Simon responded after a second.  "That abandoned school those kids were talking about yesterday.  Sure, why not, if I have to stay here." 
     "Some teenage neighbors came over yesterday with an interesting rumor," Kennedy explained to Zeeke.  "They told us that an old, unused school campus nearby apparently has several strange and unusual things revolving around it."  This seemed to honestly catch the punk's attention. 
     "Really?"  He asked, sitting up and adjusting Scarecrow on his lap. 
     "Someone's excited," Simon let out a short chuckle. 
     "I went over yesterday to check out the outside of the buildings," Kenny continued.  He looked over at Zeeke, trying to gage the teen's interest.  "But I might go back today for a closer look to see if I can find any clues."  Zeeke was listening intently, even Scarecrow looked interested. 
     "Be sure to take the dog with you in case you run into anything," Chloe told him. 
     "I was already planning on it," her brother replied. 
     "I think someone else might want to go, too," Simon chipped in pointedly.  The twins looked over at Zeeke. 
     "If you want to come you can," Kenny told him.  "An extra set of eyes is always welcome.  Otherwise, you can stay here and help the others with their research.  Or you can start looking into the information we have on dragons."  It didn't take the teen long to make his decision. 
     "I'm not the researching type," he said.  "I'll come with you.  But Scarecrow's staying here, I don't want anything to happen to him." 
     "Fair enough," Kenny responded.  "I'll gather a few things and then we can go." 

     Ten minutes later the two were seated in Kennedy's car, pulling out of the castle's driveway. 
     "Jeez, for someone from a family as rich as yours, you don't have a very flashy car," Zeeke said somewhat tauntingly as he rolled down the front passenger window a couple of inches.  The deep red Subaru stopped in front of the ornate metal gate near the end of the driveway. 
     "We like bringing Jack with us as much as possible," was the response as Kenny stepped out to unlock the six-foot tall gate.  "So we went more practical than sporty for the car." 
     The property wasn't walled the whole way around, but low stone walls extended about forty feet on each side of the gate, accenting the stone building and the little stone bridge that crossed the dried river bed cutting through part of the front yard.  Kenny pushed open the gate wide enough for the car to fit comfortably and returned to drive it through.  Jack wagged his tail from the backseat as he looked out the windows.  Zeeke stared out his window as well, watching the first several houses pass as they went down the street. 
     "Something on your mind again?"  Kennedy asked as they turned out of the main street and onto a road.  "Or are you just enjoying the scenery?"  Zeeke was still just looking out the window quietly.  He shrugged one shoulder.
     "Yeah," was all he said.  Kenny waited a minute for him to elaborate, but he didn't. 
     "Do you want to talk about it?"  Kenny asked, trying to get the teen to open up without being too pushy.  Zeeke let out a loud sigh and shrugged one shoulder again. 
     "Maybe," he said.  Kenny waited, but the teen stayed quiet.  Kennedy turned on the radio after another minute to break the silence.  Zeeke turned his head to look at the station when he heard the music start. 
     "You like hard rock?"  The teen asked. 
     "When I'm in the right mood," Kenny answered.  Zeeke sat up a little more and seemed a bit more relaxed now that he had some music.  Kenny waited a minute to see if the teen would tell him what was on his mind, but he didn't.  Jack barked at something out the window. 
     "What, bud?"  Kennedy asked the dog, briefly looking at him in the rear view mirror.  Jack wagged his tail a few times and made a little half-bark.  Kenny gave a small smile as he focused back on the road.  Just Jack being Jack. 
     The drive didn't take that long, a few turns and a couple stoplights and they were pretty much there.  Kenny turned onto a long, winding gravel driveway, a surprising type of entrance for a school, Zeeke thought.  Usually schools just had massive parking lots in his experience.  Either way, a school wasn't the first place he wanted to be, but he wanted something to take his mind away from his recent experiences, so he'd take it. 
     He sat forward a bit, actually interested to see what this driveway would lead to, but he was not prepared for what faced him when Kennedy pulled into the main lot of the campus.