"You agree?" Kevin was baffled by Andrew's choice however the look on his face was quickly replaced with a satisfied smug. "I knew that you would come to such a conclusion."
The two made their way towards Trevor's house and the young lad was waiting for them and the three made their way towards the park.
"Look. The reason as to why I even agreed to this is so as to not have the gnawing curiousity clawing through me when I leave for my grandma's place." Andrew justified his actions to which Kevin brushed it off.
"Just say that you want to explore is all. Wait! You're going to your grandma's place tomorrow?!" His face startled by this revelation. "Well yes. But you'll have Trevor to play and keep you company. Besides he could help you with your homework."
Trevor was slightly unhappy as he heard this. "Why are you looking at me like that? It's quite obvious that you never treat me the same way you treat Andrew." Kevin ignored his remark as they came upto the jungle gym set.
The park was mostly empty, with few people littered here and there as they went on with their day. They would occasionally run into joggers who waved them to which they would happily respond.
"Okay. It's going to take about an hour to get there, thirty minutes if we run so I hope you are all ready." The pair watching Kevin's back nodded their heads before venturing deep into the unexplored foliage of the park.
The calm and civilized charm was slowly deteriorating as it was replaced with a wild and vibrant air. The overgrown trees that towered way up into the sky and the bushes and shrubs all over the place making it hard to traverse.
Not to mention the frail path that they were on would occasionally be blocked by bushes which they had to get around. It took them an hour before the path they had been on began more pronounced with less blockage.
But still, they had yet to sight the rumored house Kevin had promised as it was only more vegetation waiting ahead. "Are you sure we are even going the right way at this point?"
Trevor asked as his figure seemed fidgety and shook. There was a strange darkness that hung around the place that couldn't be explained. It was due to the cover offered by the tall trees making it hard to see ahead however the benefit of it was that they had less clutter to work around.
"Of course we are. It's just beyond that small hill." Pointing at a small hill, Kevin kept on advancing making the two follow. The hill despite it's small size was hard to navigate as it was packed with all kinds of foliage on it.
Not to mention the path which became harder to spot but after making it over the hill, a surprisingly grand manor was presented to the three boys. "See! Hah!" With a smile on his face, Kevin pointed at the villa.
"What kind of house would be situated in a place like this?" Trevor posed however Kevin ignored his remark. "Come on." Ushering the two to follow him to which they did and a couple of minutes later, they arrived at the front door of the manor.
It seemed out of place and archaic which added a hint of charm to it. From its designs, it was clear that it was built a really long time ago thus seeing it was coming off as weird and mysterious.
"Kyle had insisted that they would be coming here for their hideout and probably go upto no good. So I have something to get back at them."
Unzipping his bag, Kevin brought out some sheets of paper and cloth and a match stick. "We're going to burn this house down." The two immediately found the concept both insane and illogical.
"Kevin! I understand that you are mad about getting suspended from participating in school activities but this is going a little too far. Besides what if the house doesn't even belong to Kyle?"
"I don't care! I've already made up my mind." Kevin mused as he attempted to light a matchstick.
"What if this house is an active residence for some else altogether and Kyle just so happened to break in? If it is then you could report him for that and he'll be suspended just like you if not completely banned from games completely."
Trevor posed hoping to halt Kevin's actions. "But what's the point? His father is the mayor and he'll probably have his way out even the matter goes out of hand. As for whether it is someone's house, why don't we explore and check it out?"
"No! That would out us in much trouble as Kyle." Trevor posed making Kevin turn to Andrew. "You didn't come all the way out here just to leave, right?" Andrew clutched his hands as numerous thoughts ran through his head.
"We don't have to break in. We can survey the place with the windows. If someone actually lives in it then you stop and if not-"
"If not I burn it down!" Kevin finished off Andrew's statement before the latter gave a defeated sigh. "If not we leave it alone." Kevin pretended to ignore this as he along with Andrew searched for any window low enough to peer through around the house.
It was too huge to loop around it and it didn't take long before Andrew found something. "Here!" His voice raising interest making the other two draw to his location.
The window was low enough and peering through, a smile flashed on Andrew's lips. "See, judging from the tarps placed, it's obvious that someone actually lives here but it's so dark to look into any further."
Kevin however seemed hell-bent with his mission, refusing to yield. "So what if there happened to be tarps around. That doesn't proven anything. Come on, we need a closer look."
The two wondered what he has in mind as he darted off before returning with a piece of rock. "Wait! What if it's a serial killer's house? And realizing that someone broke in track us down?" Kevin wasn't fazed with Trevor's antics.
"You watch way too many movies. A house in the middle of nowhere is too obvious. They would live in densely populated areas to pass it off as normal." And with that he raised the rock high up before sending it flying towards the window.
*Crash*
The sound of glass shattering could be heard echo through the halls of the manor. Reaching for the ledge, Kevin was able to open the window and charged in given their small frames.
The two followed suit as a dusty and clouded air greeted them. "Acho!" Andrew broke off into sporadic sneezes before heading outside of the window. "It's too dusty in there. I can't." He mused as the two already inside aware of his condition.
Having asthma, it was already a miracle that he hadn't been sneezing during the trip so far. However he had his limits as he waited outside. "I'll stand guard while you two explore." Kevin was slightly disheartened upon hearing this however the two got to work.
Splitting up, they each went to unique areas leaving Andrew who was outside guessing what the two were finding in there.
*Thirty minutes later*
'What is taking them so long? I can already feel my stomach growling for lunch!' His patience grew thin with each fleeting minute as he sat on a rock that wasn't that far away from the window.
He could already feel the allergies start to build up thanks to all the spores released by the flora around him. The temptation of going back home was cemented in his mind before he was jolted back to reality by something he hadn't expected.
"Ahhhh!" The shrill cry for help could be heard at the first floor considerably far away from where the window was. "Kevin!!! Trevor!!!" His voice boomed as he drew closer to the window. No response came his way leaving him in an awkward silence.
"I think it's time to go home!!" Given the silence of the forest, his voice was able to echo very clearly however similar to before, there was no response. 'Maybe I should head back! No. It will take tok much time to come back here not to mention the questions that would follow after.'
As he held onto the frame of the window, his mind in a dilemma, he covered his face with his t-shirt and jumped in. Given the dark and dusty atmosphere that was present, it was agony to navigate around.
Not to mention he didn't have the slightest clue as to where his friends were to add it on top. "Ahhhh!" A second scream followed which made his head involuntarily jerk at the source of the voice.
He maneuvered around as he would take breaks at any open windows before heading in deeper. A set of stairs was presented to him to which he climbed up and a long hall was presented to him.
He shuffled through the rooms till he came to a perculiar door. Unlike the others, it had a smaller frame, as if it was trying to hide itself from the house and it's occupants considering where it was positioned.
Reaching for the latch on the door and slowly twisting it around, the door slowly creaked open. The build up in his lungs was becoming a little too much to bear as he could feel as if his lungs were on fire.
Finally, the door was fully open and what he set his sights on was something that he wished he never did. Forgetting about the dust, he let go of the t-shirt covering his nose to which the dust made him remember his situation.
He arched facing down, holding his urge to vomit facing away from the image. "Andrew...?" A faint voice came from the room which brought his attention back to it.
Still facing down, he went into the room and avoided the picture presented to him. And once more, his eyes were filled with shock, making him come to his knees.