�Chris, where are we goin�,� asked JC, plopping down on the couch.
Chris looked up from his laptop perched over his crossed legs. �All in good time, my boy, all in good time.�
JC rolled his eyes and grabbed for the remote. He turned the tv on and flipped through the channels boredly. He landed on the Sci-Fi channel and stopped when he saw a very interesting house.
The house was three stories tall and rather than facing the street like most houses did it stood sideways, showing off two windows, windows that you couldn�t really call windows because they resembled a pair of eyes. They glowed like a pair of wolf eyes in the blackest of nights, eyes that made every single nerve in your body tingle with uneasiness. The windows seemed to give the house an air about it, like it somehow gave the house a soul, only it didn�t come across as a good type of soul. The house just screamed evil.
Chris looked up from his laptop and giggled when he saw what was on tv. JC jumped slightly and looked at him. �What�s so funny?�
�Nothin�,� replied Chris. He took one last look at the tv before snickering and turning his attention back to his laptop.
JC shook his head and got comfortable watching the movie. He wasn�t one for horror movies but this looked pretty interesting. It was an old movie so the storyline wasn�t tarnished with over the top graphics or affects that today�s horror movies were littered with. When he had pressed info on the remote the little summary had said it was based on a true story, which amazed him since most horror movies had been nothing but pure fabrication.
After a few minutes when the commercials came on, JC turned toward Chris and asked again, �C�mon, Chris, you can tell me. It doesn�t have to be a big secret. Where are we going for our pre-tour vacation?�
Chris looked up and grinned. �Watch you�re movie, Jayce.�
�Chris,� whined JC. �Answer the question.�
�I did answer the question,� came the ominous reply. �Just watch your movie.�
JC stared at the grin spread across Chris� features. And suddenly it dawned on him. �You don�t mean. Chris we�re not going there? Are we?�
Chris just grinned and tapped his forefinger on the tip of his nose. JC frowned and looked at the television and then back at Chris. �You�re fucking with my mind, I know it. You�re not going to take us to that house.�
�Jayce, I�m not fucking with you,� replied Chris. He scooted closer to him on the couch and offered his laptop. IE was opened to www.amityvillehorror.com. He clicked on something and the same house that JC had been watching popped up in a separate window. �We�re going there.�
JC laughed shortly. �You�re taking us to a horror house for vacation? You�ve got to be kidding me. Why would you want to stay there?�
�Because I want to know if it�s really haunted,� he replied simply.
Joey walked in and sat down on the recliner. �Hey guys, what�s up?�
�Chris is taking us to a haunted house for our vacation, Joe.�
Joey choked on the sip of water he took and coughed, hitting his chest to clear his throat. �What,� he squeaked out in between coughs.
JC pointed to the tv. �See that house? That�s where we�re going.�
�You�re shitting me,� scoffed Joey. He stared at Chris and JC who stared back at them, a look of seriousness etched upon their faces. �You�re serious.�
�Joe, I�m not messing with ya,� answered Chris. �I booked the house and everything. We�ll be there for a week.�
�Be where for a week?�
The three men looked up to see Lance and Justin meander into the room. Justin jumped onto Joey�s lap and sprawled out, much to Joey�s dismay. Joey grunted in discomfort and promptly pushed Justin to the floor where he sat cross-legged. Lance took his place next to JC on the couch.
�Great, you�re all here. Now I wont have to repeat this,� stated Chris.
�Wait till you hear where we�re going,� snickered Joey. �Y�all are gonna shit your pants.�
�Well, come on. Out with it,� stated Lance.
Chris looked at them all for a moment, making Lance and Justin squirm a little with excitement. They all jumped as the tv blared to life with the crackle of lightening. Instead of explaining where they were going, Chris simply pointed to the tv.
�What?� asked Justin, looking from the tv to Chris and back again. �What the hell are you pointing at?�
�He�s pointing at the tv, Justin,� stated Lance.
�Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. I know he�s pointing at the tv. I just wanna know why he�s pointing at the tv.�
�Look closer,� said JC.
�What do you mean, look closer, Josh. This isn�t some piece of painting that has some underlying meaning to it.�
�God, don�t be such a prick,� chastised Joey, as he slapped Justin upside the head.
Justin rubbed the back of his head and mumbled �ow� softly. He turned around and punched Joey hard in the shin.
�Where are we going, Chris? Are we going there?� asked Lance, motioning toward the television. Chris simply grinned and tapped his nose with his forefinger again.
Lance rolled his eyes and JC nudged him with his shoulder. �Don�t feel bad, that�s all I got too.�
�You mean to tell me we�re going to go to the old Dafoe house in Amityville?� Joey asked.
�You know about that house,� asked Justin before Chris got a chance to say anything.
�Hell yeah, man. Before we moved here we lived on their old block in Brooklyn.�
�You mean you knew the people who lived in that house,� asked JC, tipping his head toward the television.
�Well, I wasn�t even born when they moved there so, no I didn�t know them. My parents didn�t even know them perse�, they just knew of them from living on the block with them,� explained Joey.
�What�s so special about this house?� asked Justin.
�Listen up, whippersnapper,� Justin rolled his eyes at Chris as he continued, �I�m gonna tell you a story.�
�Way back when before we even had any Nintendo or those fancy schmanchy palm pilots that are constantly attached to Scoop�s hand��
�Hey!�
The guys snickered as Chris continued, �Anyhoo, the Dafoe�s lived in Brooklyn and the dad decided to move to Amityville and live in that house,� he pointed at the tv. �Anyways, some shit happened and the eldest son decided to murder them all one night before committing suicide.�
�Why�d he want to do that?� asked Justin.
�No one knows,� intercepted Joey. �He just shot them all with a shotgun one night. People say the house made him do it.�
�That�s bull,� exclaimed Lance. �A house can�t make you do anything. It�s an inanimate object.�
�Inanimate?� mused Justin, confusion etched across his face.
�He means it doesn�t live, Curly,� explained JC. Justin nodded and mouthed �oh�.
�So, you�re serious about going to that house,� asked Lance.
�Damn straight I�m serious. I already paid for the week and everything. The house will be stocked with food so we don�t have to go shopping or anything. There�s even a boat that we can take out onto the lake to go fishing.�
�I haven�t been fishing in years,� commented Lance softly.
�Well, while you�re off playing Andy Griffith, the rest of us are goin� ghost huntin�,� joked Chris.
�Andy Griffith?� questioned Justin.
Chris shook his head and leaned over to ruffle Justin�s hair. �We need to educate you on the finer shows on television.�
Justin rolled his eyes once again. �I ain�t goin� ghost huntin�, man. We�ve got a week before the No Strings Attached tour starts and I�m not going to go gallivanting around the house looking for some sign of it being haunted.�
�Ditto,� agreed Lance. �I�m going to get some FreeLance work done and do some stuff for A Happy Place.�
�Oh, no you don�t, Lancestan,� spoke up Chris. �This is a vacation and that means no working. I�m gonna plant your happy ass on the dock with a fishing pole, your schmuck hat, and some worms and you�re gonna catch us some dinner.�
�Yeah,� agreed Joey. �I find you working and that precious laptop of yours goes into the lake.�
�Just try it, Joe. You lay one finger on my laptop and your precious Superman collector�s doll will be out of it�s package so fast you wont even be able to say kryptonite,� threatened Lance.
~*~
Half an hour later they had all retired to their respective rooms to pack for the trip. They didn�t leave until the day after tomorrow but JC insisted that they all get packed now that way they weren�t rushing that morning.
Music flowed out of the tiny boom box perched on his dresser as he stood in front of an open suitcase on his bed. His thumbnail was in between his teeth as he mentally went over what he already packed, deciding if he needed anything else and figuring out if he was missing anything.
A soft knock interrupted his thoughts and he turned to see Lance peak his head through. �Hey, man, you all packed?�
�Almost,� mumbled JC. He motioned for Lance to come in.
Lance strode over to JC�s desk and promptly grabbed the koosh ball that sat on top of one of JC�s many books. He started tossing it back and forth as he watched JC intently. �Missing somethin�?�
��m not sure,� he replied. He scratched his head and went to go look in his closet, hoping that whatever he was missing would be in there.
Lance leaned back until the chair was balanced on its hind legs as he proceeded to throw the koosh ball in the air and catch it, repeating it again and again. �Can you believe Chris wants to take us to some overrated haunted house.�
�Well, the idea is kinda wacky,� came JC�s muffled reply as he reach up to the top shelf, rummaging through boxes. �But then again, look who came up with it.�
Lance laughed. �Yeah, you�re right. But, I mean, c�mon, he�s wasting a perfectly good trip on something that ain�t even real.�
�You may not think it�s real but apparently Chris does.�
�What about you?� asked Lance, letting the chair fall down to it�s intended position. �Do you think the house is real?�
�I dunno, I mean, anything�s possible,� replied JC. Something at the top of his closet, perched on top of an old shoe box caught his eye and he whooped in delight, �Aha! Found it!�
�Found what?�
JC emerged from his closet holding a black turtleneck sweater, most likely one that had been swiped from an old photo shoot. He held it up proudly before carefully folding it up and placing it in his suitcase. He zipped his suitcase up and lugged it over to where his guitar case sat next to the door.
Lance shook his head. �Dude, Jayce, you do know that it�s the middle of the summer, right? I mean, what the hell do you need with a sweater?�
JC sighed and shrugged. �It�s New England and we�re on a lake and it gets cold at night and well, that�s my favorite sweater so I�m taking it in case it gets chilly at night.�
Lance threw the koosh ball at JC who caught it deftly with one hand. He flopped down on his bed and threw it back at Lance, silently starting a game of catch. �So, what do you think about this trip, Lance?�
�I think it�s a waste of time,� came his reply, paired with the red ball thrown back at him.
�Why?� Flick of the wrist and the ball was gone.
Lance caught it easily and picked at the odd rubber sticking out. �There�s no such things as ghosts, Jayce. When you die, you either go to heaven or hell, there�s no in between.�
JC sat up in his bed and caught the ball before tossing it back and exclaiming, �You don�t know that for real, Lance. I mean, no one really knows what happens when we die.�
�Josh, the Bible says that if you aren�t saved that you go to hell and if you are then you go to heaven. There�s no gray area there, thus no ghosts,� replied Lance. He stood up and tossed the ball one last time in JC�s lap. �We�re wasting a perfectly good vacation on Chris� wild goose chase.�
JC looked at the ball in his lap and shrugged. He laid back down and threw it up in the air and caught it once last time before tossing it back onto his desk.
He�d never been a religious person but he knew that a higher power was out there, just didn�t know exactly what that power was. He didn�t deny there being ghosts because countless people had claimed to see them and who was he to call them liars. No matter, though, he planned to relax, get some sleep in, and probably some writing. Chris could tear the house apart for all he cared as long as he wasn�t being dragged along with him.