One Shot Stories

XXXI ~ Family Jewels

    An old man sits in his rocker, rocking back and forth as he watches the fire crackle in front of him. A noise drags him out of his thoughts. He stands and goes to the front room to see three men, wearing all black looking around. The three men jolt at the presence of the old man.

"Hey," One shouts. "We heard you were loaded with money-"
"Yeah," Another interrupts. "Tell us where it's at and we won't hurt you."

    The last one nods. The old man shakes his head.

"My family's jewels must be past down to only those of my blood. I'm waiting for my son to get here to take them."

    The tree burglars exchange quick glances. They all nod at the same time.

"Sorry, old man. But, I guess it has to be this way."

~

    Ahna sits in class, bored out of her mind as she listens to her peers blabber on about the old rumors of the town.

"Ahna! Lyle! Truth or dare?" One of her classmates ask her and her crush.

    Ahna blushes as she looks over at her crush to see what her thinks. Pick truth, pick truth, pick truth! Lyle looks over at Ahna.

"Dare." He says.

    She sighs.

"What's our dare?" She asks the obnoxious boy in front of her.
"Have you heard the rumor of old man McGininn?" He asks.

    Ahna rolls her eyes and nods. Lyle shakes his head.

"Well," The boy begins, leaning forward. "Rumor has it that old man McGininn had loads of jewels that he claimed to be his family's. One night, as he was sitting by the fire, three guys broke in and demanded that he show them the jewels. Old man McGininn said no because he was waiting for his son to pick him up. The guys then decided to torture him. Every time that old man McGinnin denied to tell the guys where the jewels were, they'd chop off a limb. And once old man McGininn was all chopped up, they threw his limbs and torso into the fire.

"So, people say that if you spend the night in the now abandoned house, you'll feel a presence. And," The boy adds in, holding a finger up. "If you guys want an extra thrill-"
"Woah, woah, woah, woah. Hold the phone! You want us to stay the night?" Ahna cuts in, disbelief coloring her tone.
"Yes, now will you let me finish?"

    Ahna gulps but nods.

"As I was saying, if you guys want a little more thrill, what you can do is set your sleeping bags in front of the fire place. On the twelfth stroke of midnight, you're supposed to here an odd noise come from the chimney. What's supposed to happen is that the limbs and torso of old man McGininn will fall from the chimney and come together. After that, he'll ask you if you want to know where the jewels are."

    Lyle grins and looks over at Ahna. He nudges her elbow playfully.

"What do you say, Ahna? Want to go get us some dough?" He asks.

    Ahna heaves a heavy sigh.

"I guess so."

    The boy claps his hands joyfully.

"Since today is Friday, I think you'll be fine. I'll come pick you guys up tomorrow morning."

    With that, the boy turns around just as the professor walks in. Oh, brother, Ahna thinks as she opens her notebook.

~

"Have fun you two!" The boy shouts and drive off.

    Ahna whimpers as she gazes up at the mansion. Lyle smiles giddily.

"This is going to be fun!" Lyle concludes as he walks towards the only unblocked window in the house.

    The two crawl in and set up in front of the grand fire place. They pass time by playing cards or resting. Suddenly, Lyle's alarm beeps twelve o'clock. Ahna makes a sound in the back of her throat. Lyle quietly cheers. An odd noise comes from the chimney, silencing the two. One by one, limbs fall from somewhere above. They come together and there stands old man McGininn.

Would you like to know where the jewels are?

    Lyle immediately nods, not asking Ahna her opinion. She glares at Lyle as the follow the ghost to the money.

~

"Ma," Thorn yells into the kitchen. "I'm going out!"
"Okay!" His mother yells back.

    Thorn steps out into the rainy Saturday morning and begins to head towards old man McGininn's house. Minutes later, his windshield wipers swish to and fro, revealing the old McGininn mansion. Thorn steps out into the rain and dashes to the window the two climbed through earlier.

    The boy hops in and looks around. Two sleeping bags were positioned in front of the massive fire place and a deck of cards was spread out beside the bags. The two must be frolicking in their riches, Thorn thinks as he walks into the kitchen.

"What the hell?" Thorn whispers when he sees an old wooden coffin in the middle of the grand kitchen.

    Thorn moves closer to it. He hesitantly reaches out a hand and opens the poorly sealed coffin. Jewels! Thorn stares at the colorful stones that glitter at him. Suddenly, an odd smell wafts from somewhere. He looks around then, leans closer to the coffin. The smell of pennies is stronger.

    Out of nowhere, a thick, dark liquid oozes out from underneath of the coffin. Is that blood, Thorn thinks in horror. The boy leans down and lifts the heavy jewel filled coffin. Thank you bench presses, he praises as he lifts the darn thing. To his complete and utter surprise, under the coffin are the smashed remains of Ahna and Lyle.

•••

Nice, bro. Question is, what will happen if Thorn takes the jewels? The world may never know!