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ghosthunthq · 7 years

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Call of the Moor (Part 1/2)

For: @vzyfny

By: @csakuras

Prompt: Friendship, Adventure, Supernatural. Theme: roadtrip, hitchhiking, autumn.

In the autumn following Noll’s 13th birthday, Martin proposed a road trip. The trip in itself wasn’t an unusual suggestion; the family had taken many such trips, mainly to paranormal hotspots, in the years since the twins had been adopted. What struck him as unusual was the timing— their past trips had all been during the summer holidays— and the fact that this time, Lin had been invited.

On one hand, he could almost understand the reasoning. Noll’s Qigong training had taken priority during the summer, so they had forgone the usual family road trip. Rescheduling it to their half-term break wasn’t unimaginable. On the other hand, bringing Lin along, while Luella got some rare time to herself at home, seemed to defy the very concept of a ‘family’ road trip. The whole thing struck him as suspicious. But as he could not refuse anyway, Noll decided not to speak up about it.

And that was how he found himself in the backseat of a car, Gene sitting beside him, Lin in the front passenger seat, with Martin driving. Their destination was Dartmoor National Park, in Devon. Martin had rented a car just for the occasion, a particularly tiny one, in order to “navigate the narrow country roads.” And while this wasn’t a problem for the twins, and it was a tight but manageable fit for Martin, Lin looked as if he had been crammed into a sardine can. The top of his head was flat against the ceiling, and he was forced into a slouch. His knees were also nearly up to his chin, due to the lack of leg room.

Gene found this all very hilarious and made sure to mention it at least twice an hour, which also prompted Martin into apologizing for the umpteenth time. Lin weathered the ordeal with polite grace and stoicism, but Noll could sense the discomfort coming off him in waves. He was torn between pitying the man, and annoyance at how big of a deal Gene had to make of it. It’s not like it was that funny. (It was just a little funny.)

They had been on the road for roughly five hours now, not including rest stops, and were finally within the park. Rolling green fields gave way to rust brown moor, rocky tors dotting the wild, desolate landscape. Hills stretched on to the horizon, where they met overcast sky.

Martin soon stopped the car and led them on a short hike, where he made the twins and Lin climb up on a tor so he could take their picture. Once again, Noll had to question why Lin was there, a question the man seemed to be asking himself as he stood awkwardly with them on the rocky outcrop.

Afterwards, they returned to the car, and before long were winding through claustrophobic, maze-like country roads flanked on either side by tall hedgerows. At times these roads grew so narrow, the hedges brushed right along the sides of the car, branches scraping and snapping as they squeezed through. It seemed Martin had been right to rent such a small car.

Noll sighed. Martin had promised that the first village they came to, they would stop to have some tea. This was the only thing he had to look forward to. He had already finished reading his book on Dartmoor legends, and so now was forced to actually listen to the conversation in the car.

“You think we’ll see some Dartmoor ponies, Martin?”

“I’m sure we’ll find them roaming around soon enough.”

Inevitably, the bulk of it was between Gene and Martin. Lin tended to only respond when spoken to.

“So, Lin, studies going well?” Martin asked, in a blatant attempt at involving the man in conversation.

“Yes, thank you. I should be earning my degree in spring.”

“Splendid! Will you be looking for employment soon, then? Or I suppose a talented young man like you would already have something lined up, I imagine?”

“Not yet. Though I will always have my family’s business to fall back on, it would not be ideal. I am hoping to find something in the technical field.”

“You don’t say? Given your background, I wouldn’t have guessed!”

“I…have a passion for computers.”

“Did you hear that, Noll?” Martin called. “Won’t you have a need for technical experts in the new lab?”

“We’ll have a Mechanic Team,” Noll nodded. “I don’t think they’ve begun hiring yet.”

“Well, there you go, then! That’s one possibility. And I’d be happy to write a recommendation.”

“Thank you, Professor.” Lin paused. “…I’m sorry, what is this ‘new lab’?”

“Oh, haven’t we mentioned it yet? SPR is creating a specialized research institute right in Cambridge, due to open next year I believe. Noll’s worked tirelessly to secure funding for it,” Martin chuckled.

“We have a generous donor,” Noll muttered.

“Yeah, but you went all out, didn’t you, Noll?” Gene teased. “Broke out the magic tricks and everything. You should’ve seen it, Lin! My brother, trying to be social.”

“That…is difficult to imagine.”

“You should come to the next party! I bet the patrons would love to meet you!”

“Oh, no…I couldn’t possibly…”

By now they had escaped the hedgerows, and drove down a road with trees on one side, and a low stone wall separating them from the moor on the other. Treetops flashed by, a swirl of gold, scarlet, and copper.

Then without warning, a dense fog descended, obscuring their way. Martin slowed the car.

“Whoa, this is spooky! I feel like anything could jump out at us now!” Gene chirped, as if such a thing would be desirable.

“A spectral dog, perhaps?” Martin suggested, with equal enthusiasm.

“Yeah, a hellhound! Like from The Hound of the Baskervilles!”

“Or perhaps even a headless horseman!”

“Ooh, a dullahan? Noll, we’ve got some Irish in us! Maybe it’ll think we’re cousins!”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Hey, I know! It’s almost Halloween, and this is the perfect atmosphere! We could trade scary stories!”

Lin let out a small sigh. Noll couldn’t help but agree.

“You first, Noll!” Gene grinned.

There was no point in arguing. “Once there was a boy named Eugene. He spoke too much, and so a witch put a spell on him, causing his mouth to sew itself shut. He spent the rest of his life mute. The end.”

“Is that really the best you could come up with?”

“I included a witch. I thought you would appreciate that.”

Both adults chuckled.

Gene pouted. But before long, the mischievous grin was back. “Okay, now it’s my turn. I’ll tell a story that’ll even get you spooked, Noll. After all, it is a true story~”

He knew at once that nothing good could come of this. And sure enough, Gene launched into a familiar tale, one from long ago…

———

It must have been when he was four or five, back when they were living in Boston. While their mother used to answer the door when they were very young (or, more frequently, ignored the door bell entirely), once the boys had grown tall enough to open the door themselves, that task had automatically fallen to Gene.

That night, however, Gene happened to be stuck on the toilet. When the door bell rang, Mother called drunkenly from the kitchen.

“Eugene, answer the door!”

“Mama, I can’t!” Gene called from the bathroom. “I’m pooping!”

The bell rang again.

“Answer the door!”

“I can’t!”

It rang again.

“Eugene!”

“Mama!”

At the time, Noll had been sitting in the living room, gazing at a newspaper Nuptadi had given them the other day. He couldn’t read any of it, of course, but he liked to look at the pictures and imagine what the words said. But all this racket thoroughly disrupted his concentration, and annoyed, he got up to answer the door himself for the first time.

It couldn’t be that difficult, after all. He just had to open the door and check who was ringing. It would probably just be Nuptadi anyway.

But Nuptadi was not who greeted him at the front door. As soon as he pulled it open, a chorus of voices rang out.

“Trick or treat!”

Noll’s eyes bugged out at the sight before him. Three large, orange heads planted on bodies clad in black leotards. Their faces grinning horribly down at him. They must have been only teenagers, visiting the house out of a misguided idea that its shabby appearance was intentionally done to look spooky. But to a young Noll, they appeared to be giants.

“Oh my gosh, look how cute!” one of them squealed upon seeing him.

“Awww!”

“Watch out, kid!” One of them, a male, made a clawing motion with his hands. “If you don’t give us candy, we might just eat ya!” he growled.

“Don’t say that!” Another one elbowed him in the side. “You’re scaring him!”

Noll just stared, frozen in place. What did these creatures want? Candy? What?

One of them crouched down. The grinning orange face loomed closer. “Hey, where are your parents, little guy?”

Mother chose that moment to call from the kitchen. “Eugene, who’s at the door?”

“I’m not at the door, Mama! I’m on the toilet!”

“Oliver, who’s there?”

Noll seemed to have lost his voice. What could he say to describe what he was seeing? How could he possibly find the words?

“…I don’t know these people,” he finally said, and slammed the door on their big pumpkin faces.

———

Noll shuddered at the memory. Gene, on the other hand, burst out laughing. “Our parents never told us about Halloween, so Noll was totally convinced they were actual pumpkin people! Can you imagine…!”

Noll glared at him. This wasn’t funny at all.

Fortunately, Martin only chuckled lightly. Lin gave a weak smile.

“Okay, Lin! Your turn!” Gene said, rounding on him. “You’ve gotta have some interesting stories, right?”

“I…”

But Lin was spared the humiliation. Just then, the car gave a massive jolt. Martin hit the brakes. Fortunately, since they weren’t driving fast to begin with, they came to a stop without issue.

“Is everyone all right?” Martin asked.

They all mumbled in reply,

“What was that?” Gene asked.

Martin sighed. “I’ll go and take a look. Boys, stay inside.”

He opened the driver’s side door and got out of the car.

“What if it’s the Hairy Hands?” Gene said. “You know, that legend about a pair of spectral hands that appear and take hold of the steering wheel?”

“Gene, if such a thing had appeared, wouldn’t you have noticed?”

“Hmm, good point.”

“Besides, that legend has already been debunked.”

Martin opened the door again and peered in.

“Bad news. It appears we’ve hit a nasty pothole, and have a flat tire.”

Noll sighed. He wouldn’t be having tea for a while now.

“Lin, would you come help me with this please? Boys, I’m afraid you’ll have to get out as well.”

They all exited the car. Lin examined the tire with Martin, then they went to open the trunk.

Noll decided to just stay out of the way, and sat on the low stone wall with Gene. After a few minutes, he glanced at his twin, who had gone suspiciously quiet. Gene stared out at the misty moor; something had evidently caught his attention, but when Noll looked, he could see nothing.

This wasn’t exactly unusual for him, so Noll chose to ignore it. He began flipping through his book again.

Minutes later, as Martin and Lin got the jack into place and began working on removing the flat tire, another car approached from the opposite direction. The road here wasn’t as narrow as it had been earlier, but it would still be difficult to squeeze past. The other car slowed to a stop in front of them and the driver leaned out the window, presumably to ask what the problem was. As Noll watched, Martin and Lin went over to explain.

Suddenly, Gene got to his feet.

“Gene?”

Without even a look back, Gene climbed over the stone wall and went marching off into the moor.

Noll stared. What was that idiot thinking?

“Martin,” he called. “Gene just ran off.”

But Martin did not seem to notice, too busy talking to the other driver. Meanwhile, Gene faded into the mist.

Noll clicked his tongue. Usually he wouldn’t bother, but knowing Gene, he might just go sink into a peat bog and disappear, not even leaving a body behind for dissection.

“Stupid medium.” He gave chase.

———

In the end, the other driver had no choice but to turn back, as their car could not be moved aside just yet. Lin returned to replacing the tire with Martin.

“I do apologize for the trouble, Lin,” Martin said. “This trip hasn’t turned out quite as I’d hoped.”

Lin shook his head. “It’s fine, sir.” Actually, he was glad to be outside, stretching his limbs after hours of being trapped inside that cramped car. And he did not mind the mechanic work. He would rather be doing this than forced into strained conversation with the twins.

As if reading his mind, Martin asked, “By the way, how have you and Noll been getting on, if I might ask?”

“He has shown remarkable improvement. Oliver is an excellent student.”

“Yes, but on a personal level?”

Lin pursed his lips. “It has been…courteous.”

In truth, though Lin had been training Oliver for several months now, their relationship was still stiff and cold. For one, Lin was not good with children. And it certainly did not help that Oliver was socially awkward as well. The two of them seemed to have decided unanimously that their interactions would not go beyond the Student-Teacher relationship.

Which made this trip all the more awkward. Martin had clearly invited him along hoping it would be a bonding experience for them, but they had barely spoken a word to each other the whole time. At this rate, he saw no hope of things improving.

Not to mention, the fact that the boys were Japanese still bothered him. He knew that was unfair. They had as much to do with those atrocities as he did. But he could not help the aversion.

He did feel sorry for them, though. If he weren’t already sympathetic to Oliver’s plight, learning of their history alone would have been enough to get him to agree to teaching him.

“…I must admit, it still surprises me,” Lin said quietly, thinking back to the conversation in the car. “How lightly those two take their past. Eugene in particular.” Though the story itself had been amusing, Lin could not bring himself to laugh, considering the context.

“Indeed, though that goes for Noll too,” Martin nodded. “The first time we introduced them to relatives, Noll told them of his mother’s death to break the ice.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I believe that was the only way he knew how to garner sympathy.” Martin smiled sadly. “Unlike Gene, he has a very difficult time making friends.”

“I see.” So that explained it. Normally one wouldn’t push their son to become friends with a man twice their age, but it seemed Martin was desperate.

“Speaking of which…” Martin stood, stretched, and peered over to the opposite side of the car. “How are you boys holding up?”

But they were gone.

Lin looked around. The twins were nowhere in sight.

Martin just sighed wearily. “I suppose I ought to have expected this.”

“Does this happen often?” Lin asked.

“Those boys have a propensity for wandering off on their own. Sometimes I wonder if they simply forget that they are wanted.”

The two of them called the twins’ names. But they heard no answer.

“Now where could they have gotten to…” Martin murmured, his gaze turning to the moor.

“Perhaps they’ve gotten lost. Especially in this fog, it would be very easy to lose one’s way…”

How long had they been gone? There was no telling how far they might be now.

Martin heaved a heavy sigh. “Well, I’m sure they’ll turn up eventually. Those boys are smart and gifted, they will surely manage…” But he did not take his eyes off the moor.

When Lin remained silent, the older man attempted a chuckle. “It’s a good thing my wife isn’t here. She would be worried out of her mind.”

This was getting painful. “I will go look for them,” Lin finally said.

Martin looked at him in surprise. “Are you sure? It wouldn’t do for you to become lost as well.”

“I will be fine, Professor. I have my own methods.”

“I should go, they are my responsibility…”

“No, one of us should stay with the car. And I believe I have a better chance at finding them. I promise I will bring them back safe.”

Martin stared at him for a moment longer, then nodded. “Very well. I place them in your trust.”

He nodded back. He didn’t know exactly what he had done to earn so much trust from the man, but he knew he had to honor it.

Lin looked out over the foggy moor. He put his fingers to his lips and whistled.

#GHW2017 #Ghost Hunt #GHHQ #vzyfny #csakuras #submission

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