Chloe's slender hand reaches out and turns up the radio. I'm stuck in the back of the small Toyota Camry with George. Tony is driving to a destination he won't tell us of, but I'm sure Chloe knows. Out of the corner of my eye I can see George looking at me. I feel blush on my cheeks, getting angry that my face flushes easily. I look over at him and he wiggles his eyebrows before turning away. Tony pulls off into a field, parking the car and getting out. We set up a ring of rocks, grabs some logs and sticks, then build a fire.
The fire licks the sky, as if trying to reach the heavens. I lay back on the grass and gaze at the stars. Everyone is quiet, even Chloe. Before long though, whispers come from across the fire. I sit up to look at Chloe and Tony.
"What are you two talking about?" I ask them.
"We wanted to go to the old Maynar Plot. I heard the church and mansion are gorgeous. Who wants to go?" Chloe asks.
"Ooh, we should. I've always wanted to go there since I first heard about it when I moved here." George responds.
"That is a terrible idea. Why would you want to go there?" I've sworn to never go there.
"Oh come on, don't be a bore, it'll be sick as you Americans would say." George says grinning at me.
"Quinn, don't tell me you believe all those ghost stories. They are just stories people tell to seem cool. Your fear is irrational." She gives me puppy eyes. I smile at her.
"You're right, they are irrational." I say rudely, lying through my teeth. They aren't, but they don't know what I know.
"Let's go!" Chloe hops up and grabs the bucket of sand and dumps it on the fire. Tony gets into the drivers seat, Chloe next to him. I get into the back following George. Tony pulls back onto the road, driving towards the four old buildings. It takes about fifteen minutes to reach the gate, locked with a huge pad lock.
"Looks like we can't get in." I say gratefully.
"Don't underestimate me, love." George climbs out and walks to the padlock. I walk after him and stop when we reach the gates.
"There's a lock, how are you going to get in?" I ask mostly worried that I will have to go in.
"Didn't I tell you about the time I broke into the Buckingham Palace when I was 8? They didn't know I picked the lock, they thought I just wandered in so I didn't get in any trouble. Anyway, this is my forte." He winks before turning to the lock and pulling two thin metal picks from a small pouch he got from his pocket. He kneels and looks up into the lock, pushing the two picks in it and wiggling it around. After a minute it clicks, and he pulls the lock off. I stare at the buildings I will soon need to enter. The church with a steeple, the dormitory for the nurses with two big metal doors, the asylum with barred windows, and the mansion with ivy crawling the left side.
"In Bathe they called me the Bathe Bandit. I would break into different places and move stuff around. Mostly it was my mates flats." He says after he opens the gate and walks in. I follow slowly, realizing there is no way to back out of this. The car slowly follows, creeping behind me. I look at the big buildings in front of me, one with a steeple, the next a decorated once white one, another with barred windows, and the last with ivy climbing the walls.
"What are you waiting for love?" George asks turning around.
"Sorry, nothing. Let's go in." I follow him. I find myself taking his hand, and he leads me into the church. I grab my phone from my pocket and turn on the flashlight. Thank God for iPhone flashlights. I look around, aiming the flashlight in every direction. George walks towards the aisle in between the pews. He looks up at me and motions me over, his eye glistening in the beam of light. I walk over, making sure not to trip over any of the hymn books littering the ground. I stand by him and wait for his next order.
"Can I use your torch?" He asks placing his hand on my phone. I hand it to him, and he picks at the lock on a small wooden box. He manages to unlock it, and pulls the lid off. He shines the light in the box, a few spider webs in the corners. Coins and bills lay on the bottom of it, tattered and browning.
"Aye, what luck." He grins.
"You can't take that!" I smack his hand. "It's the churches!"
"Is this church still a live church? Had anyone taken this money before they left? Nobody came back to get it so I assume they don't need it." He grabs the handfuls and shoves it in his pocket. I roll my eyes and walk down the aisle. I hear another pair of footsteps, followed by the ones I know to be Chloe's.
"What took you guys so long?" I ask from behind the pulpit.
"Tony wanted to make sure the car was locked." She innocently answers. I can tell when she's lying, and she appears clean.
"I bet you twats won't last the night in this place." George after no one says anything.
"Is that a challenge, Curious George?" Tony asks. My eyes are adjusting and I can see his arm is on Chloe's shoulder, their fingers intertwined.
"I don't think that's the best idea." I'm still worried about being in this place. I walk towards the group.
"I'll keep you safe." George says quickly, turning to me. I can see his curly hair bounce as he moves his head.
"And I'll keep you safe." Tony says rubbing his nose on Chloe's.
"Oh good Lord, were in a church guys!" I overdramatize the sentence. Everyone lets out a laugh.
"I'm in." Chloe says.
"Me too." Tony includes.
"I don't really have a choice, do I?" I give in.
"Oh I have a good idea! Let's make a vlog! We'll document everything we do here." Chloe suggests. George and Tony share a questioning glance.
"If you want?" Tony says.
"You guys don't have to do anything, just act normal." She continues.
"I mean what have we got to loose?" I ask.
"Why not?" George finishes.
"Yay! I've always wanted to do one." She pulls out her phone, and sets it up.
"How are you going to get footage in the dark?" Tony asks.
"I have a night vision app. See, I'm smart like that." She sassily says.
"I'm not tired yet, anyone have suggestions on how to pass time?" I ask, wanting to get my mind off of where we are.
"Truth or Dare! And serious ones, "not whose your crush?" ones." Chloe says.
"Any other ideas?" I ask. No one answers. "Truth or Dare it is, than." I say unenthusiastically. We sit down in a circle, Chloe's phone camera on a pew arm rest taking video of us.
"Can I go first?" Chloe asks, without a response. She looks at me and asks "truth or dare?"
"Truth." I respond leaning on my elbows.
"Why didn't you want to come here?" She asks almost immediately. I drop my head, picking it up after a minute of trying to figure out how to word it.
"Ok, so I had a sister named Harley, she was five years older than me. 3 years ago on Halloween Harley came here. She was with a geeky tech savvy kid from her school, but neither returned. A week later we started getting tattered and bloody pieces of cloth in the mail, and after a few we realized they were from her Halloween costume. We got them once a week for a year. There was no return address, just our home address and postage stamps from the 50's." I tell the short story.
"Quinn, why didn't you tell us?" Chloe asks, looking troubled. "I'm sorry I asked." She adds.
"It's fine, I'm over it. It was three years ago." My voice tells another story along with my face. Tears run down my cheeks. I wipe them away furiously with my hoodie sleeves. Everyone stays quiet. George's hand rests on my shoulder, bringing me back to reality.
"Just keep playing, sorry." I take a few deep breaths.
"It's your turn to ask a question." Chloe gently says. I nod, thinking of something I want to know. I turn to George.
"Truth or Dare?" I ask him.
"Dare." He responds. I think for a few minutes.
"Go look around and bring back the first thing you find that starts with an-"
"L!" Chloe cuts me off.
"Yeah, an L works fine." He shrugs and gets up.
"Can I borrow your torch?" I turn on my flashlight and hand him my phone. He walks down the aisle and disappears into the shadows. We sit in silence, waiting and listening for anything.
"Do you like him?" Chloe asks placing words in the empty air. "Do you like George?"
"I mean he's ok. He's a bit forward." I respond pulling my sleeves over my hands. She doesn't say anything. Tony stays silent.
"I found it! A locket!" George calls out, waving a small piece of metal on a chain. He was gone a good 10 minutes, and I was starting to worry. As he gets closer I see that it's a small heart locket, and I feel like I've seen it before. As he gets closer it dawns on me.
"That's Harley's." I croak. George hands it to me and I pop it open. A picture of me at age 3 is on the left, and a picture of someone I don't know is in the right side. A thin, folded piece of paper falls into my lap. I pick it up and slowly unfold it. In messy cursive two words are written.
"What's that?" Tony asks holding his hand out.
"It's something in cursive, but I can't read it." I hand it to him and he squints at it.
"It looks like it says hundred chains." Chloe looks at it over his shoulder.
"No, it's Humberd Chaise. Must be a name." She says after a minute.
"I know that name. My mothers maiden name is Chaise, and Humberd was her great uncle I think. Maybe it's him." George adds.
"But why was his name in the locket? And whose this other guy in Harley's locket? I've never seen him." I open it again and study the face. His piercing green eyes would not be easily forgotten.
"Maybe we could summon Harley." Tony suggests.
"That's not funny!" Chloe punches him hard, harder than I thought she could. His face straightens and I can tell he was shocked by the force.
George sits down next to me, closer than before. "Chloe, Truth or Dare?" He brings us back to the game. "Truth." She chooses.
"What way would be the worst way for you to die?" He asks.
"Uh. Let me see." She closes her eyes and doesn't move for a while. "Probably getting killed like those Jack the Ripper prostitutes. I feel bad for those girls." I wouldn't have guessed that, I probably would have thought it was by spider bite or something like that. "Your turn Quinn. Truth or Dare?"
"Truth, again." I answer with a yawn.
"What's the farthest you've gone with someone and who?" Her eyes are intent, curious to know the answer.
"Wow, you're original. Write your own material, do you?" She rolls her eyes. "I haven't done much, and you know that. Probably kissing Troy in third grade." I say. I realize how much of a loser I seem now. I turn to George and ask him.
"Truth. Give it your best, I'm ready to go to sleep."
"What is the worst thing you've done?" I yawn again.
"Morally or legally?" He asks.
"Both."
"Well I already told you the legal one, breaking into the Buckingham Palace. Morally would probably be falling for someone I was bound to hurt, and not being able to stop it." His eyes get dark and teary as he looks at me.
"I'm going to bed, goodnight." Chloe says in a hurry.
"Wait for me." Tony follows her. George and I are left alone on the floor. He smiles.
"Ready to get some shut eye?" He gets up and offers me his hand. I gratefully take it. He leads me to a pew and take off his jacket, bundling it up to make a pillow.
"Thanks." I say laying down. He begins to walk towards the next pew. "Wait, can you stay with me, I feel scared." I whisper. He turns and sits in front of me.
"I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." His hand takes mine and he gently squeezes it. I push my back against the back rest of the pew, making room for him to lie next to me. I rest my head on his chest. His head rests on his makeshift pillow. I match my breathing with his, falling asleep to his heart beat.
