Horseshoe Ranch

2: Open House

After the whole ordeal, the boys, battered, bruised, scarred, and tired, they take a moment to have a breather. They had just killed a monster. All of them were tired, their bodies sore and their hearts beating faster than it was supposed to. They needed a break. "Well...that was...something." Antony says, panting a little. The look amongst themselves before as if all telepathically agreeing with one another, putting out the fire and began walking back towards the house. "Wait, that's it?" Brody spoke. But with some glances, he was ignored. "We're not gonna talk about what just happen—". "Brody." AJ finally said. "Not now. Tomorrow." The entire group agrees, not wanting to speak about it. Their bodies were tired, but their minds were racing. They just killed a monster. They just fought a wolf-like creature and managed to kill it. None of them could process the situation. They wanted to sleep, or at least lie down on a comfortable bed. They wanted to rest, but their minds were still thinking of what just happened. "Alright then...I'll see ya guys tomorrow." Brody said. "I'm...I'm going to go sleep and rest for the night." Grant says. "Yeah...me too." Liam agrees. The guys all agreed and bid each other goodnight. They were tired and bruised, so they want nothing more than to hit the hay and go to bed. AJ turns to Grant. "You alright?" he asked. Grant only nods in return. AJ sighs, "Well...I'm going to go shower and rest for the night." Grant notifies AJ as he begins to ascend up the stairs. "Oh, okay then. Goodnight. And hey..." Grant turns and faces AJ. "We'll all talk tomorrow. I promise." Grant nods in acknowledgment. After a few more goodnights, the boys disperse and enter their rooms, and after finishing their nightly routines, they crash-out onto their beds and went to sleep. Or at least attempt to. None of the boys were able to get any sleep. No matter how tired their bodies were, their minds were too active to allow them to fully relax or dream. All of them were still trying to process what happened. They just killed a creature...and no ordinary one at that. It was so bizarre that it was almost unbelievable, no, even fantastical. How could they think this was all normal? How could they not freak out or panic? The boys were tossing and turning in their beds, all of them thinking that same thing: What the hell just happened? The next morning, the morning sunlight pierces through AJ's open curtain window, shining on his face and illuminating his room. AJ slowly opened his eyes and slowly sits up from his bed. His body was slightly sore and his head was throbbing. AJ let out a long and lazy yawn as he slowly got up. AJ stretches, hearing his joints pop and crack. His head was pounding from the lack of sleep. But he needs breakfast. He needed something to eat and a coffee to help him get through the day. With a tired groan, he drags himself out of bed and towards the kitchen to make breakfast. While walking through the living room, he spots a box. But not just any ordinary box, a box that belongs to an internet company. How could he forget? When it came to helping the boys move in, having fun at the campfire...and getting attacked...he had completely forgotten about the WiFi router he purchased. With a heavy sigh, he opened the box and pulls out a box-like object with wires and plugs. AJ plugs in the new router next to the television's cable, which came with a modem and a Ethernet cable. "Finally we got WiFi." AJ mutters to himself as the router was turning on. He was quite relieved to get some decent internet. While he waited for the router and modem to finish setting up, he decided to make himself a cup of coffee in the meantime. He heads to the kitchen and places a coffee pod into the coffee maker. AJ turns on the maker and let it do it's thing. He sighs as he waits for his coffee. With nothing to do, all AJ can do is wait. After finishing his coffee and the router set up, AJ got started on making some eggs, bacon, pancakes, and waffles. Luckily they were already supplies in the fridge that looked fresh. A few minutes later, one of the boys was awake Grant was one of the first ones to walk downstairs and into the kitchen. AJ noticed. "Hey, morning." He wearily greeted. "Mornin'." Grant replies. Grant then sat himself on the couch and pulled out his phone. With the only sounds in the air is AJ cooking, he tries to start talking. "Hey, so, uh...We got WiFi now. You can find it under: "Boyz4Lif3", and the password is: "ThePasswordistooShort". Grant chuckles as he finds the WiFi in his phones settings, enters the password and his phone connects. After another moment of silence, AJ speaks up again. "Hey, Grant, can you turn on the tv and switch to the sports channel?" Grant obliges and reaches for the remote. "What game?" He asks. "Oh, it doesn't matter. Football works. I just want some white noise." AJ explains. Grant turns on the tv and flips to a football game. The sounds of commentators and players playing football echoes throughout the room. AJ continues to cook, occasionally glancing at the tv with a yawn. He was still quite tired, but at least he's got a cup of coffee to help him. Grant then suddenly spoke up. "Hey, AJ?" AJ turns to him. "Yeah?" he responded. "Y'know we gotta talk about it." Grant says. AJ knew what he was going to talk about. "Not yet. Not until everyone else is here." The analysts on-screen talk amongst themselves about the upcoming season. Grant glances at the screen as he plays on his phone, not really paying attention to the analysts. AJ continues to make breakfast. He pours more pancake batter onto the griddle and cracks a few eggs into the pan. The smell of coffee fills the air in the living room. "Speaking of, where're the others?" AJ asks. "I dunno. Still asleep I guess." Grant replies. A few moments later, Brody, Liam, and Antony appeared from the hallway. They looked tired and slightly disheveled, but nonetheless, they were able to muster a greeting. "Mornin'..." they both mutter. "Morning." AJ replies. "Hey guys, guess what? We got WiFi now, under "Boyz4lyfe" and the password is "ThePasswordistooShort." The trio chuckled as they hear the silly password before going and turn on their phones to connect. With all of the boys awake, AJ knew he had to bring up the elephant in the room. Once they've filled their plates with food and began eating. Not at the table, but rather, at the couch. With a few instances of them glancing at one and another, as if they were waiting. "Alright." AN says as he sets his plate down on the coffee table. "I think...we need to talk." said AJ. The boys, all sitting and relaxing near the couch, look at AJ, all knowing what he was about to say. But it didn't stop AJ from saying it anyway. "Last night...we saw something that shouldn't be real. Something that should not have been possible. The werewolf—". "Lycan." Brody interrupted and corrected AJ. He paused for a moment. "The lycan, we killed it. All of us did." A brief silence, until Antony spoke and said: "The fuck you me "we", bitch? I killed it." Then Grant spoke up. "So...what now?" AJ shrugs and sighs. "That's what I need to ask you guys, what are we going to do?" "Well, I don't know if there's anything we "can" do." Said Brody. Antony takes a bite out of his sausage. "I mean...that thing was real. We were all there to see it, so what now? Report it?" The boys look at one another. "But who would believe us?" Liam says. "Exactly. No one would ever believe us, even if we did report it." AJ stated. The boys all knew AJ was right. None of them would ever believe they saw a monster. Then it hits him. He vaguely recalls some similar words but spoken from a different mouth. "Well, that's the thing about that. No one believes it. No one believes my little ol' ranch in the middle of nowhere would have some kind of...'supernatural' tendencies." AJ brows eyes and clenches his fist. "That...old...bastard." The dreadful realization...he was right...the old man was right. This ranch is cursed. "Wait...what do you mean?" asks Liam. "That old bastard! That old man, that...old coot, it all makes sense now!" AJ exclaimed. The boys all look at him, all with looks of confusion and curiosity. "What the hell are you talking about?" Brody asks. "The old guy...the one who gave me the deed to the farm." AJ heavily sighs as he shakes his head. "He told me that this ranch was cursed. He knew monsters like that mutant wolf from last night. And he may have hinted more to come." The boys all look at him in surprise. "Woah hold on. You saying that old geezer was right? There's something weird about this place?" asks Antony. AJ nods slowly, "Yes...I'm afraid so." AJ rubs his temple. He can't believe he's saying all this, but it's true. He and his friends just fought a monster and won, and now he's saying that this place is cursed. This sounds like it came out of a low-budget horror novel, or some crappy B-rated movie. "Ok." Grant interjects. "So, let's go find him. He was the last owner before he gave the deed to AJ, right?" "Yeah." AJ nods, concurring with Grant. Outside the house, AJ and Grant are seen walking to AJ's car, while Liam and the others are standing on the porch. "Where are you going?" Brody asks. "We're gonna drive to the town up the road to see if we can find him." Aj opens the door to the drivers seat while Grant opens the passenger side. "You three. You keep watch of the ranch. You see anything that growls, snarls, or have a taste for human meat, you kill it!" The three other boys nod their heads and wave them. "Take care." "Be careful." "Don't die." Brody jokingly says. AJ and Grant wave back. With that, AJ closes the door and turns on the engine, putting it in reverse and slowly begins to back out of the driveway. "So...how do we find this guy?" Grant asks as he puts on his seatbelt. "I dunno, we'll just keep asking around and hope we get lucky." AJ replies as they drives off the ranch. They drive down the dirt and gravel path, which leads to a smooth paved road. They continue to drive north, hoping to reach the town. As they drive, they can see the beautiful forested areas on the side of the road, with trees of all seasons. It was pretty and calming, despite their situation. The leaves from the trees, having a variety of colors, gently fall from the trees and land on the road. The two of them sit in the car, looking at the world go by. While the silence was peaceful, it was also uneasy, as their minds were occupied. "So, where do we look first?" Grant asks. "Uhm...let's try one of the bars here." At the first one, he puts the car in par and the duo exit the car and enter. Upon entering the bar, it what you expect as a typical biker bar. With the usual smell of alcohol and cigarettes. There are other men there, drinking, watching sports on the TVs, and just casually chatting with one another. AJ and Grant search the bar, looking for a certain someone. AJ spots an old man sitting on a stool, looking miserable and drinking alone. "There," he says to Grant, and they approach the old man. The duo approached the old man at his table but instead of tapping on his shoulder and waking him up, AJ kicks the table, interrupting his drunken nap. "Wake up, dickhead!" The table scoots, making a "skroot" noise, startling the old man. "Hnnnng...huh? I paid for this table and drink. Fuck off." The old man slurred his words before eventually lazily turning his head towards the two men. Not recognizing Grant, but he knew the other man was AJ. "What do both youse two want?" he asks with a gruffy and cranky tone, clearly not in a cheerful mood. "We want to talk to you." AJ replies. The man then chuckles, "Oh you do, huh? What about?" "The ranch." The old man's eyes widen, "Oh, yeah? What about it?" The man takes a sip from his glass and puts it down, never taking his eyes off the duo. "You fuckin' tricked me! We were attacked by a goddamn werewolf last night!" The geezer wheezily chuckled as he sits up in his chair. "I ain't trick nobody boy. I told you from the start. That place was cursed. That there was something wrong with that ranch. I didn't trick you, I warned you, and now you're just figuring that out." The old man says as he finishes his drink and places the glass back on the table. "Yeah, you told me it was 'cursed'." AJ starts as he suddenly grabs the elder by the straps of his shirt and lifts him out of his chair. The old man grumbles while he's being manhandled, but in his inebriated state, he can't do much about it. "Cursed or not, tell me what's going on with this place. What do you know, you bastard?!" AJ snarled, tightening his grip. The old man wheezily chuckles in AJ's face as he looks up at him. "Oh, so now you believe me. Now you want my damn advice. What happened? You saw it firsthand, didn't you boy?" AJ folds his hand into a fist getting ready to punch the daylights out of him. Which didn't go unnoticed by Grant as he grabs AJ's arm and holds him back. "AJ, AJ! Hey! Hey! No!" "Hey!" The trio ceased their engagement of conflict as they were called out by the bartender, who was bigger and buffer by two of them combined. "If y'all are gonna fight or kill each other, take that shit outside!" Still feeling disenchanted towards the old man, he reluctantly puts him back down in his chair and AJ and Grant takes their seats as well. "Stop calling me 'boy'. My name is AJ." The old man snorts and spits. "Whatchu want... "AJ?" He asks. "How do we lift the curse?" AJ sternly questioned. The old man snorts, "Lift the curse? Ha! Ain't no way to lift it. Ain't no way to break it. That damn curse has been here for a long-ass time and ain't no one's been able to end it." He leans back on his chair and crosses his legs. "The best you can do is learn and live with it." AJ's face wrinkles in frustration. He can't believe what he's hearing. He's hoping for the old man to give them some advice or tip on how to lift a curse, but instead, he's telling them that it's useless to do anything about it. "What? What do you mean we can't get rid of it? You have to be joking!" Grant interjects. The old man cackles. "I ain't shittin' you, boy. Not one bit. That goddamn curse is rooted so goddamn deep, that nothing can stop it. But that don't mean you're screwed. Like I said before and I'll say it again: You can still learn to live with it. Ain't gonna be no walk in the goddamn park, that's damn sure. But you can learn to survive by it." With that being finally said, AJ lets out a heavy huff and stands up. "C'mon, Grant. We're wasting our time here." AJ says as he storms out of the bar with Grant shorty following behind him. "Damn...he wasn't very helpful. " Grant comments. "That bastard. He's probably the only guy that has any information on this ranch, and he just gives us more half-assed answers. How the hell are we supposed to live with a place that keeps hurling dangers at us? I'm not even sure if we've seen the worst of it yet." AJ rants and complains with a heavy tone. "We'll figure it out. C'mon, let's get back to the others." AJ nods as they get in the car, turns it on and drive off. Getting back into the ranch, so far, everything seems fine, but upon driving up in the driveway and parking next to the porch. But instead of finding the three guys that AJ asks to keep watch, instead, they find only Liam sitting in a chair with a rifle, but not dressed in his normal clothes from this morning. He had on some western outfit. Fitted with a pair of dark-blue jeans, a pair of brown cowboy boots, a white dress shirt, and lastly, a bangora cowboy hat. "Liam? What the hell are you wearing?" AJ asks perplexed.  "What's going on?" Grant asks as well, but instead of a proper response, Liam gave them an answer in a slight southern tone. Almost as if he's trying to mimic the old man. "Welp, partner, lemme tell y'all-." "Normally." AJ requested. "Basically, we thought that we should dress ranch attire. And so far, it's been pretty cool and fun." "I don't see the point of that." AJ said, while Grant gave a shrug of disagreement. "It's a little weird, but also kinda cool, I guess." AJ shakes his head. "Y'all are stupid, bruh. You think wearing those get-ups are going to get these monsters away from us, or something?" Liam chuckles and stands. "Naw, but it sure gets rid of the boredom." "Well...might as well." Grant says as he walks into the house and up to his room to change. While AJ was still outside on the porch with Liam, the wannabe cowboy gave AJ a look on his face that's practically saying: "C'mon...Y'know you wanna~". Reluctantly giving in and smiling, AJ enters inside and walks up to his room to change as well. After ten minutes, Grant walks down the stairs wearing an outfit of a frontiersman, a short tan boots, and a raccoon hat. His current attire is based that of Davey Crockett! Next was AJ coming down in a more simplistic western outfit. Wearing a loose-fitting bloused shirt with thick lacing down the chest, a pair of tan slacks, boots, and a dark-brown hat that reflects the famous movie character: Indiana Jones. The bases of AJ's outfit is based on another fictional character called "Cheyenne". A western show his dad would watch. "Eyyy! Lookin' good!" AJ chuckled as Grant complemented. "Is that the same raccoon hat from high school?" "Yeah! Shockingly it still fits." AJ and Grant would go back outside on the porch and join Liam. "Where are Brody and Antony? Liam then points to the stables. "Antony's at the forge and Brody's at the stables, I think." "What, he's blacksmithing right now?" asks AJ. "Yeah, he is. He said he was bored and some of the horses needed some horseshoes." Liam replies casually. AJ and Grant were surprised. "He's blacksmithing. Well, at least he's making the use of it." Grant says. "I know, man. But it sure sounds like he's having fun." "Well, how about we see what he's up to?" AJ offers. "Yeah, let's go." Grant agrees. They start walking over to the stables while Liam stayed on the porch. As they approach the forge entrance, they can hear the sound of hammer striking on metal. The sound of which is surprisingly satisfying to hear. They walk inside, and immediately, they see Antony hunched over on an anvil and hammer in hand. Wearing a red long sleeve shirt with a black leather apron, based-colored jeans, and dark-brown smithing boots. Antony was so absorbed in his work that he did not notice the duo standing in the doorway. They decided to observe him from where they are to see what he's making. So far, he seems to be making a couple of horseshoes, judging from the long, hot-red rods of iron sitting next to him. Anthony suddenly strikes the glowing red iron rod with the hammer and quickly sets it down in a bucket of water, creating a sizzling sound of steam. The three friends all watch quietly, intrigued by the work that Antony's doing. Before they could check on him, AJ's phone buzzed with a message from Liam. It reads: "Yo. Someone's pulled up. She's asking for the "man of the ranch." After reading the message, he pockets his phone. "Liam texted. We got a visitor. You go check on Brody and I'll go see our visitor." Grant nods as he heads off. "Hey." Grant calls AJ from behind. "Shout if there's trouble." AJ nods as they part ways. As AJ is walking down the path, his mind is racing about who the visitor could be. Could it be a ranger? A tourist? Or somebody else? He doesn't know, but he's finding out. He approaches the driveway and porch and sure enough, there was a red sedan car parked. A Caucasian, brunette woman was standing next to the car. Standing 5'10, she had a curvy, but toned body shape. Wearing a long-sleeved purple-lilac colored shrit with a basic pair of jeans and a matching pair of cowgirl boots. "Thanks, Liam. I'll take it from here." AJ whispers as he approaches the woman. "S'cues me, ma'am. My friend on the porch there told me you're looking for the man of the ranch?" AJ asks, not in a friendly or neighborly tone, but in a defensive pitch. "Yes, I am. Is that you?" The woman asks, she had a light, sweet voice like honey. When the woman spoke, her words almost came in an almost seductive, whispery tone. Despite her words sounding sweet as a choir, AJ couldn't help but be suspicious and wary of her. "I am." The woman smiles. "Then you're just the man I'm looking for." She says as she approaches him. AJ takes a step back, still being cautious but he doesn't let his guard down. "May I ask why you are here?" He says, still in a serious tone. "Oh, sorry! Where are my manners? My name is Minerva Grove~! I live about a mile up the road from you." She introduces herself in a giddy and quirky attitude. "And I'm just here with..." Minerva walks to her car and opens the passenger seat and brings out a gift basket. "...a house warming gift!" Inside the basket were items that looked to be bought at the last minute. A little champagne bottle filled with jellybeans, a medium-size block of cheddar cheese, an Applebees gift card, and some candles. All items placed neatly in the basket on top of crinkle cut paper fillers. However, AJ noticed something about the candles. These candles are labeled with specific scents with zodiac signs...with each one labeled specifically for each one of them. Since AJ was born in October, his candle was designated as Libra with a built-in scent of pumpkin spice. Noticing the candles, made him all the more suspicious than he already was. Despite her having a cheerful attitude, he didn't see her gifts as sincere. It feels more of a disguise than anything. What was her true intentions? What purpose does her visit serve? Is she a gift-giving stranger or a wolf in sheep's clothing, trying to hide an ulterior motive? AJ's mind and gut were at war with each other. "Oh, thank you kindly." AJ thanked, trying to sound authentic and genuinely moved by her gift. Minerva smiled, looking pleased by his response. "You're very welcome. I just wanted to welcome you boys to the neighborhood." Minerva says in her cheerful, sweet tone. Minerva gave a small curtsy and a smile as he thanks her. "It's my pleasure, hun." She said, smiling softly. She moves closer to him, but not too close. Just a few inches away. "As I said before, I live just a mile from here." She continued. She then lets out a soft sigh. "I'll be honest with you. I never thought someone and their friends would buy and move out here. Especially in this ranch, Mr...?" "Yeah." AJ shrugged. "It's a really nice ranch. Great landscape and whatnot. Oh, it's Johnz." Minerva nods. "Mr. Johnz." She pauses. Welp!" She quirkily exclaimed as she clasped her hands together. "I won't be takin' much more of your time. I know you men are always working. Especially wit a ranch this big." With that, she then gives AJ a goodbye wave and starts walking back to her car. But before she could get in her vehicle, she calls out to him. "Hey!" She said, calling out to him. AJ stops and turns around to face her. "Yes?" He says, tilting his head. AJ swallows hard. He's still feeling uncertain about her. Her gifts and cheerful attitude was throwing him off, but he had to make sure of something. "Make sure y'all don't work yourselves to the ground, ya hear?" AJ chuckled. "Don't worry Miss Grove. We won't." She nods and gives him one last smile. That smile. That damned smile...AJ's gut is telling him, screaming at him: "She's suspicious. She's hiding something. That's not a friendly smile, that's a smile of someone hiding something." But instead of listening to his gut, he tries to ignore it. He tries to convince himself that she's sincere in her ways and that she's simply a friendly and cheerful person. But deep inside, he doesn't believe that. She slips back into her car. The sedan soon came to life as the engine started running. The car then slowly backed away from the parking lot. AJ's eyes follow the car until it disappears. Even though she's gone, this did not help with AJ's anxieties. He still doesn't know much of this woman and her visit has left many questions in his mind. He shakes his head and decides to head back to the main house. By the time he walks back into the main house, he sees Grant and Brody sitting in the living room, having a conversation. On the coffee table, there were a couple of soda cans, some food wrappers, and a remote. It seems like they were watching TV before he came in. They then look up at AJ and Brody asks him. "Hey man, how'd it go with the visitor?" "She...she was nice. Brought a house gift." AJ says simply as he places the basket on the coffee table. "A housewarming gift? " Brody asked, his eyes widening behind his glasses. "From a stranger?" He then takes the basket and begins to examine it. "What's in here?" He says before digging into it and looking at the items. "Jelly beans? Cheese? Applebees gift card? Candles...?" "Astrology candles." Brody picks up a candle and it was labeled as "Capricorn vanilla". Brody was a little startled that the lady knew his birth month. AJ texts Liam and Antony to return back to the main house. A few minutes later, after they arrived, AJ called a meeting in the living room. "Alright, boys, in order to find out what's going on, we're gonna have to search the house." The four nod while AJ starts to delegate a plan to the others. "Liam, Antony, I want you two to search upstairs rooms. Grant, Brody, you two look down here. I'll do the basement. Look for anything. Old files, papers, books, anything. But stay cautious, alright?" Brody and Grant nod in agreement while Liam gives AJ a salute. "You got it, boss." He said jokingly. AJ rolled his eyes at Liam's comment, but he was more focused on the task at hand. "Alright then. We'll meet back down here in an hour." He concludes. The five men then split off in separate directions, beginning their thorough search and investigation throughout the house. As the other guys search through the other areas of the house, AJ headed down to the basement, alone. He switches the light on, illuminates the dark, concrete stairwell. He slowly walks down to the concrete floor. Once he was at the bottom of the stairs, he looks around. The basement was a lot bigger than he originally assumed. Despite it being pretty dark, he could still make out some objects in the basement. The basement was mostly filled with storage. A couple of boxes labeled with things such as: "Fall" or "Christmas." Even a couple of small holiday decoations. AJ then scans the room. He opened a near by cabinet and finds a whole bunch of old rifles and shotguns. Some of the guns dated back to seemingly WW1. It was then AJ easily deduced that this large wooden wardrobe was an old gun locker. Below the guns was a drawer and upon pulling and opening it, he finds more bullets and ammo for the guns. "These'll probably come in handy." AJ then closes the locker and continues searching the old and dusty basement. Throughout his search, he spots something at the corner of the room near the stairs, he spots something under a tarp. This made him curious. He approaches the tarp and bends down to remove it. Once he removed the tarp, it turns out to be an old desk. It was big, like an office desk and it was made of wood. It's age could be seen from the wooden age spots and the peeling of the varnish. But there was something else about this desk. There were several drawers. AJ examines the desk with fascination, and then he tries to pull the drawers open to see what's inside. He opens the drawer and inside was just some old and dusty papers and pencils. But as he rummages through them, he felt something leather-y. He moved some more papers and below them was a book. Or rather, a journal. Given that it had a special cover that you won't find on most books. It's blank and title-less front cover. But what really perplexes and annoys AJ was that the old journal keyhole on it and it refused to open unless unlocked. AJ groaned with disappointment when he seen the lock on it. "Are you serious?" This was just his luck. The one interesting thing he finds in this basement, is in a journal with a lock. He examined the journal closely. He tries to see if there was any way to get the journal open but he found no solution. Around thirty minutes later, he exited the basement and rejoined with the boys in the living room. "Find anything?" Grant asked. It seems that the others have all came back empty handed. "Yeah. I found this old journal. But I can't open it. It needs a key." They all looked a little let down after hearing AJ's response. Of course there was the journal, but it was locked. "Great." Liam said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "So now we have to find a key? Great. Awesome." Before they could get a game place together to search the house for a key, a noise was heard outside. A loud whistle followed by a loud popping sound. As if there were loud gunshots being lead out in the air. Followed by a ocasional flash of color. "Are those...fireworks?" "What? Fireworks?" AJ said bewildered. "No way! We're like a mile away from the nearest town! Why would they set off fireworks?" The guys were confused. AJ walks over to one of the windows while the others follow after him. They look out the window and sure enough, it was fireworks. They all share looks of confusion and bewilderment. They all walked outside and gathered on the front porch and gazed upon the dusky-night sky. "Who's setting them off? It's not Independence Day." Brody evaluates. "Could it be some kids settin' off illegal fireworks?" AJ suggests. As they continue to observe the strange fireworks, Antony noticed something different about them. While normal fireworks had a sparkling trail, these had streaks of green that made the firework a whole of energy. It was almost as they were...conjured. "Yo check this out, these aren't normal fireworks. There's something weird about them..." Antony points out. The others look at what Antony was pointing at, and their eyes widen. While normal fireworks would have their trails dissipate after a few seconds, these seemed to be more long lasting. They had a weird aura around them as they continued to flash in the dark sky. AJ continued to gaze upon the fake fireworks, but his attention would dwindle down to the forest thicket. Darkness there, and nothing more. But his eyes did an action, some sort of auto-adjustment to the forest darkness he sees something. It looked as if the cool winds that blew rocked the trees side to side. 'Is that tree...walking?' Upon another firework burst, the once darkened thicket was illuminated, highlighting all the trees' leaves, branches, bark, shrubs, and bushes. Moreover, AJ noticed another object that the fireworks highlight. Upon another flash of green light, a silhouette was seen. It looked humanoid. He squints, trying to get a better look at the strange shadowy silhouette, but only sees the top of its head. Even though it was hidden by the shadows of the tree. But as AJ continues to observe. He notices that this thing seemed...off. Almost unnatural as it moved. The others continued to look at the fireworks while AJ stood there silently, still having his eyes on this...thing in the forest. It would take another step into the moonlight, revealing to be a person. Limping, as if they've injured their leg. "Guys..." AJ says as he taps on Grants' arm to direct their attention to the injured person. "Hey, man, you good?" AJ called out, but no reply. Suddenly, another stranger steps out of the thicket. Limping at the same momentum and pace as the first one. Then...more came. Then another emerges. Then another. Then another. Until the forest becomes littered with these limping strangers. With each appearance, AJ grows more uneasy and perplexed. The other members began to take notice of this and turn to AJ. "What's wrong?" Grant says with growing concern in his voice. One, two, three- no, four, more strangers came hobbling out of the forest. It was now apparent that these weren't fireworks anymore. They were flares of some sort, with a unique, almost unnatural color streak. "Wait..." AJ pulls out his phone and uses his camera for a pair of binoculars. He zooms in on the persons of interests and got a closer and semi-more accurate look at the stumbling strangers. Upon viewing of the shakily camera, they were bald with weirdly enough had celadon and teal-colored skin. Blood-red eyes and razor-sharp teeth. "Guys, those aren't—."  AJ was interrupted as the guys all collectively raised their hands to cover their ears as the creatures lets out an ear-deafening screech. The sound was piercing and deafeningly loud, and it caused all of the guys to wince in pain. The screech that came out of these creatures' mouths was bone-chilling, a sound that none of them had ever heard before. It was unnatural and almost otherworldly. AJ clenched his jaw tightly as he tried to block out the sound with his hands, his eyes narrowed in pain. Then, after their screech, it must've been some sort of call as more of them stumbled and crawled out of the forest thicket. "Ghouls!" Brody called out. And he was right. Was a mob of them turned into a massive horde, into a heard, an army of ghouls and ghulahs all marching towards the house. "AGH-!" Grant exclaims with a wince, hunching over. "What the hell?" Anthony, Brody and Liam all groaned in discomfort as they clutched their hands on their ears. The shrill, grating screech coming from the creatures was like nails on a chalkboard multiplied. The sound pierced through their ears and their eardrums felt like they were being shredded. "Oh, fuck." Once the shrieking ceases, AJ and the guys removed their hands from their ears, and they followed AJ as he storms back into the house as the others follow. "We got a goddam apocalypse marching to our doorstep." He leads the boys to the basement and to the gun locker he discovered earlier. He opens the locker and began picking weapons attuned to each of their character. "Tony, take this rifle. I want you on the balcony." Antony takes the scoped rifle and a box of ammo and rushes back upstairs. "Brody, Liam, you guys take the back." "Yeah, sure man. On it." Brody quickly says as he grabs a shotgun that was handed to him, and extra ammo shells. Liam grabs a AR-15 and extra ammo as well, and he follows Brody. Both of them run upstairs to guard the back door. "Grant, you're with me." AJ says sternly, loading his Walter. Grant nods and grabs another Glock and extra magazines. AJ would also grab a M1 Carbine rifle and Grant would arm himself with a Henry Lever-Action rifle and follow behind him shortly after. They would make their stand on the front porch, they hear the sounds of gunfire. Antony on the balcony popping shots with his scooped rifle. AJ and Grant aim their weapons as they stood guard on the front porch. They can hear various shots being fired. Antony on the balcony shooting his rifle, while Brody and Liam are taking shots at the walking corpses in the back. This was now their only hope. To shoot or be shot. "God damn." Grant muttered with a shiver. Antony's rifle was much more lethal due to it being specifically made for long distance. His aiming was top-notch and could pop the head off of his targets perfectly. At the back of the house was Brody and Liam. They were firing at the ghouls that were coming through the back of the house. "Man these freaky sons of bitches keep coming out!" Liam exclaimed. "Damnit..." AJ mutters as he tightens his grip on his gun. Another few seconds passed and the sounds of fire from the back of the house rang out in the air. The creatures were on all sides of them. And they continued to approach the house. He swallows hard as he tries to calm his nerves. He then looks at Grant and says to him "Keep shooting!" One by one, the ghouls fell by their bullets, but what startled AJ was that when he shot at one particular ghulah, she dodged it! I mean, at least to AJ. Maybe he just had a lousy shot or shit aim, or, the ungodly creature just got lucky. But, upon Antony sniping another ghoul in the distance, AJ's worst fear was confirmed. "A fuckin' ghoul just dodged my bullet!" Antony informed as he kept shooting until he had to reach in the ammo box to reload. With the boys at their respective sides of the house and their shots in the darkness, some hitting, others missing, the night-humanoids numbers continued to grow. It's only a matter of time before they would eventually be overrun by them.