Tom Porter & Jonas Landvick
1:16 amAfter several glasses of champagne, dancing with more women – that suddenly had extreme interest in all of the ‘guests of honor’ – than he could count, and far too many awkward conversations, Tom decided to call it quit and retire to his room. He found Klara and pulled her to the side.
“Hey, sorry, but I’m not feeling too great. I’m just going to head to my room for the rest of the night. Tell Sol that I really enjoyed this party, he has really outdone himself,” Tom apologized.
“Tell him yourself tomorrow. Outdoing himself is his favourite sport,” Klara responded playfully, with slightly guilty enjoyment in teasing her boss.
With that out of the way, Tom left the ballroom and rushed up the stairs, eager to get the hell out of that place.
Frankly, it’s pretty damn weird for so many people to be interested in a bunch of Americans, he thought wearily.
Tom got to his room and went inside, pushing the door closed, then plopped onto the couch.
Man, what a night.He turned the TV on, and got nothing but
static. Maybe the next channel?
...Okay, the
next one must work.
Fuck.Well, so much for that idea. As he turned the TV back off, Tom heard a loud
thud from the balcony. He hadn’t even
noticed that he had a balcony. Sweet! ...But why was someone on
his balcony?
Stepping outside, he saw Jonas, the interesting-beard-man, sprawled out on the balcony.
“Hey, Jonas. Erm-why are you on my balcony, exactly? How did you get in my room, anyway?”
“I think it’s
our balcony…” Jonas mumbled into the tile underneath him. He blinked, trying to push himself back into an upright position. “...darn chair came outta nowhere…” He looked around slowly, blinking more than he should. As he managed to stand himself up, he finally saw who he was talking to. “Oh, hiya, uh...Tom. Gotta be honest, not feelin’ super hot.”
“Uh… yeah,” Tom observed, noting that there wasn’t so much as a stool on the balcony. Drunk out of his mind? Definitely.
“And yeah, I guess this
is a shared balcony. I guess we all are sharing balconies, or something,” he muttered, looking around. It was a great view, although it really emphasized just how secluded the manor was. Tom couldn’t see anything but trees and water for miles. “Kinda weird, if you ask me. It’s almost like they want us to
socialize or something. Pfft.” The slightest of grins made clear that he was joking, although he wasn’t entirely wrong to scoff at the idea of complete strangers being indirectly forced to socialize.
Jonas giggled a little at that, but his heart just wasn’t in it. He shrugged, though in his current condition it looked more like a full body wiggle. The hours he’d spent in his room stewing hadn’t been good for Jonas. The happiness he’d gotten from Lynn’s company had fizzled down into an ember, and his dizziness had progressed into nausea. He looked around, wobbling unsteadily. “I think I need a chair.” With that Jonas shuffled back into his room and dragged one of the chairs out to the balcony, making as much noise as possible as he did so. When he emerged from his room again, he said, “So, how’s all the
merriment down there?”
Tom sighed, leaning against the railing. The memory of Jonas tripping over his feet while dancing brought amusement to his face, but he pushed it away since he could relate to drinking far more than was wise. He’d done it several times recently, after all. “Everyone else certainly seemed merry, but to me it was just a bunch of champagne, awkward conversations with random people who are far too interested in me, and dances with a bunch of older ladies,” he mumbled. “The champagne wasn’t so bad, admittedly.”
“My advice,” Jonas began, scooting the chair up to the railing next to Tom and maneuvering himself wobbily into the seat. “stay away from that yellow stuff, if you see it. And Sol. Don’t talk to him, he’s a...a big ol’ jerk face.” Jonas rested his chin on the balcony, trying to keep his head steady.
Tom burst out laughing, unable to control himself. “A-a
jerk face?” he laughed. “I mean, he’s certainly…
eccentric, but a… a ‘jerk face?’ He doesn’t seem quite that bad.”
I can’t believe he said jerk face! he laughed inwardly.
“Nononononooo...trust me, he’s a grade A jerk face.” Jonas slurred assuringly, trying his damnedest to be serious, “Jus’ trust me on this, kay? For real.”
Still grinning, Tom assured him, “Of course, I’m taking your advice
very seriously! I appreciate it, I really do.”
If the rest of this vacation will be as entertaining as this conversation, I’ll find it hard to leave! he thought.
“That, right there!” Jonas said, accidentally poking Tom in the shoulder. He had meant to point at him. “That’s courage, man. Listen to the idiot, not the rich guy, cuz the rich guy’s just a big...y’know.” Jonas lost his own train of thought, and decided to stare out into the distance instead of talking some more. As his eyes roamed around the landscape, something caught his attention, making him forget whatever he had been talking about.
Moving along the grass in the distance there was...a shadow, or maybe two. It, or they, were barely visible in the darkness, but Jonas could just barely see them. The moving shadows shambled silently and swiftly across the grounds, away from Wolf Manor and towards the distant lake. Jonas attempted to point it out to Tom, trying to hit him but missing the other man completely. “H-hey! Hey, hey! Check that out! What in the heck’s that?”
Tom glared at him. “C’mon man, you’re just seeing things. There’s nothing but darkness out there.”
Jonas stood up in a hurry, steadying himself with the railing. “Not even kiddin’! C’mon!” Frustrated, Jonas grabbed Tom’s head and forced him to look in the direction of the moving shadows. “Right there! See? I’m drunk, not crazy.”
“The
hell?” Tom thought aloud. “How the hell did anyone manage to sneak past Sol? I wouldn’t picture him letting anyone out so easy, not in a million years! ...And where is he... or her– where are
they going?”
A loud splash echoing around the trees answered his question. Someone had a mind to go take a swim in the lake. But…
why?“Skinny dippin’.” Jonas joked, trying to answer Tom’s question. Though, even in his state, he sounded like he didn’t really believe it. “Or scuber divin’.” He offered, stumbling over his words again.
Tom stared at Jonas. “But why would somebody go ‘scuber divin’ in the lake? Or sneak out to do so, for that matter?” he pointed out, cracking his knuckles absentmindedly.
Jonas wracked his sluggish head, not finding any answers through the haze. “I dunno.” He shook his head for a second, before realizing that it was a big mistake. The world spun as Jonas steadied himself again, taking slow breaths. “All I know...is this whole darn trip’s been weirrrd.”
“You can say that again,” Tom agreed, nodding.
“I don’t wanna.” Jonas grumbled.
Jesus, this man is
drunk. Fortunately, Tom was (mostly) sober and could think rationally. “So… what do you think we should do?” he asked, skeptical that he will receive anything short of “grab the nearest car, drive until we have cell service, and call the president.” He smirked at the thought.
Jonas drummed his fingers on the railing, the old thrill in his nerves momentarily breaking through the fumes in his head. “...Let’s checkit out!” He waved his arms in the air a little, as if to say, ‘screw it’.
Tom pondered the idea for a moment, almost disappointed that it is actually a very logical idea. How
dare a drunk have a good idea! “Hell, I’m down for an adventure,” Tom decided aloud. “But we should probably try to sneak out through the front door, rather than jump off this balcony. Even a dr–strong Minnesotan wouldn’t escape a few broken bones.”
Completely missing the word swap, Jonas pointed a finger-gun at Tom. “Race yah. Twenny bucks says I get there first.” With that, Jonas shambled with surprising speed through the balcony door leading to his room and made his way towards the hallway.
Tom sighed, and started to follow after him to stop him. As he turned the corner into Jonas’ room, there was a fantastic crash, followed by loud, drunken swearing. Sure enough, when Tom entered the room Jonas was sprawled out on the floor, half in the room, half in the hallway. And speaking of his room…
Jonas’ room was definitely…something. It had a very cabin-like feel to it, with deer antlers mounted above the bed, with a stuffed bird opposite it. Tom would’ve had to say that it was the exact opposite of his own room, which was odd – he’d assumed that all the rooms were the same. But then, Sol accepted nothing less than perfection, so he probably dished out who-knows-how-much money renovating each room, tuned specifically to their destined resident’s tastes. But still…
antlers? That’s about as American as you can get, which just felt weird seeing as how they were currently in Nowheresville, Bavaria.
“Did you forget the part where I said
sneak? We won’t get very far if the staff catch us trying to walk out. Sol might even be offended by us trying to leave his home,” Tom joked, walking to Jonas and helping him stand up.
Jonas accepted the help, slowly rising to a standing position. “Oh, yah. Sure, I gotcha. We’ll tell the jerk that we’re jus’ tryin’ to go out for a smoke or somethin’.” Once he got back up, he exited his room, slowly and carefully this time.
Tom followed him out, and took the lead as they went down the stairs as quietly as a hammered man can manage. He checked the lobby quickly, and saw no one. They’re probably all in the ballroom finishing up, or in the kitchen or bar cleaning up. Perfect.
They
quietly approached the large doors, and tried to open them as carefully and quietly as they can. Though when Tom attempted to open the front door, it wouldn’t budge. It was locked.
“Damn, it’s locked. How are we going to get outside now?” Tom moaned quietly.
As Jonas watched Tom, the sound of the clicking door handle jogged his memory without warning.
The keys! I forgot to lock up the lounge! Without a word to Tom, Jonas bolted from his company and headed towards the room to his left, the lounge he was sulking in earlier before Lynn came to his rescue.
“Hey, where are you–oh, whatever,” Tom mumbled as Jonas ran off, managing to stay on his feet this time.
With a huge amount of relief, Jonas found that the lounge was still unlocked; apparently Lena hadn’t noticed his forgetfulness. Inside on one of the tables, right where she had left them was the overburdened key ring. He snatched them off the table, left the lounge and closed the door behind him. Jonas didn’t know which key went with the lock, so he simply tried every single on until one of them fit. When he found it, he locked the lounge and returned to Tom, jingling keys in hand.
Tom pointed at the keys in Jonas’ hand. “Where did you get those?” he accused. Then realizing that they could probably unlock the door now, “Hey, find the biggest key and try it on the door!”
Jonas pointed at Tom and announced, “Good idea, mister brains,” before identifying the largest key and sticking it in the lock with some effort. To his surprise, it turned easily and opened, leaving them free to leave and free to find out just what was going on.
The two quietly moved through the grounds, though Jonas was predictably less quiet. Even if he wasn’t drunk, the keys in his hands would still be making a racket. Jonas just hoped that no one saw them from the manor. The two of them sneaking around in the middle of the night would look suspicious, maybe even criminal. The grass underneath them gradually grew longer and more unkempt as they neared the lake. Thankfully, the moon was visible that night, so they had at least some idea of where they were going.
“I don’t see nuthin’.” Jonas grumbled, sounding a bit disappointed. He moved his shoes through the grass lamely, as if that would help somehow. The sounds of bugs swarming around them in the night air was nearly deafening to him.
Tom took a close look at the lake. “There seems to be some ripples still. What could possibly have jumped in to still have ripples visible?”
As if in response to his question, Tom suddenly felt something on his foot. Jumping back, even in the darkness he could see a frog staring up at him indifferently.
Ribbit.Jonas pointed at the frog like a dope and started giggling instantly. “T-that frog jumped on your foot, pal.” He pointed out helpfully, doubling over from laughter.
Tom glared at him, embarrassed from being scared of a fucking
frog, but saying nothing. Instead he began to walk around the lake, looking for any other hints of (preferably not frog-related) suspicious activity.
Jonas simply stood where he was, swinging the keychain on his finger, and not daring to move his unsteady legs. He watched Tom snoop around, envying his current sobriety. Suddenly, an ungodly sound emerged from the woods in the distance, making Jonas’ blood run cold. It was muffled by the forest then echoed back again by the German valleys and became a distorted, impossible wail by the time it reached their ears. It sounded distant, and yet still too close for comfort.
“...oh, geez. Tom? Didjya hear that?” Jonas asked the other man shakily.
The hair on Tom’s neck stood on end, as he paused in his tracks to glare at Jonas. “
No, of course I didn’t hear the loud ass... noise,” he grumbled, unable to hide the fear in his voice. Not that he was trying. “So. I’m no expert on these things, but… I think that now would be an appropriate time to…
RUN!” He advised, getting ahead of Jonas due both to his sobriety and the fact that he had given the advice himself.
At least now, if a pack of wild animals rain down on us, I’ll probably
be safe. ...What the fuck is wrong with me?Jonas trailed behind Tom, using all his remaining mental faculties just trying not to trip over his own feet while running. It didn’t last, however, and eventually Jonas
did trip, faceplanting for what seemed like the hundredth time today on the ground. Fortunately Tom had collapsed himself just a few feet in front of him, out of breath.
Poor city fella ain’t used to running from wild animals... Jonas thought briefly, as he picked up the manor keys from where they had fallen next to him.
Tom laid there for a moment, catching his breath. Eventually, he mumbled, “I think we’re well away from,
whatever that thing is, now,” sitting up. Looking around, he saw that they’d ran nearly halfway back to the manor. He also noticed that they were sitting directly on a trail of trampled grass. Struggling to follow it in the darkness, he deduced that it probably led to the lake. Tom nudged Jonas on the shoulder, pointing out the trail. “You think this is from those…
things we saw?” he asked.
Jonas frowned at the path of trodden grass. “Might be ours…” He said, standing up again. “...guess we should follow ‘em an’ see.”
Tom nodded, lifting himself to his feet. Perhaps it wasn’t such a great idea to follow a suspicious trail after being scared away by what Tom can only assume was a wolf
and a fucking frog!, but hey, they were already out and about, so one more adventure couldn’t hurt. ...Actually it could, in a very literal sense. But what the hell, Tom had agreed to come on this trip to just live life and take a break from the hell that was his life now, and what better way to do that than to risk fatal injury?
Although the sensible part of his mind told Jonas to just go back inside, he and Tom followed the trail through the darkness. It was taking them closer and closer back to the soft glowing lights of Wolf Manor, and it wasn’t long before they reached the trail’s source, right outside the building itself.
The trail stopped at a closed cellar door in the ground at the side of the house, presumably leading to a basement of some kind underneath the manor. Jonas squinted at it briefly through the darkness, before reaching out with a shaky hand and grasping the handle and tugging. It was locked, and maybe that was for the best.
Jonas looked at Tom, unsure of what to do next. “I dunno...I gotta a real bad feelin’ about this.” He could feel his stomach turning with fear. “Don’t like it one bit…”
Wait...that ain’t fear. “Oh, geez, hold up.” Jonas tried to fight the waves of nausea, planting his feet firmly against the ground and keeping absolutely still. “I got it, ‘s cool, I got it…” He assured Tom, not daring to lean over to try the door again.
Tom glared at the cellar door, like a puzzle that just refuses to be solved. Of course, such puzzles usually are simple, once you find that one pesky jigsaw…
And suddenly it occurred to him. Jonas had what seemed like every key in the mansion
“Hey, once you’re done not-puking, try those keys of yours. Maybe one of them will open this thing?” he suggested, totally insensitive to Jonas’ drunkenness.
Jonas stuck out an arm in Tom’s direction, jingling the keys at him. “You do it. ‘m not movin’ anymore.” For the moment, he was focused on not throwing up.
Tom nodded, grabbing the keychain and beginning to try every key. None of them worked, although he couldn’t say he was exactly surprised by that.
“Nope, nothing,” he sighed, handing the keys back to Jonas.
Jonas took them back, staring at them and thinking. He looked back and forth between the keys and the door, sighing. “Aw...ta hell with this. Dunno ‘bout you, but I’m gonna sleep and forget this ever happened...maybe.” Jonas rubbed his temples; the regret of the night’s activities were already bearing down on him.
Tom nodded. “To be fair, I’ll be impressed if you remember any of this regardless, whether you want to or not,” he pointed out, starting to lead the way back to the front entrance
“Remind me in the morning.” Jonas grumbled, following Tom’s lead.
It wasn’t a long walk back to the front doors, and the trip was rather uneventful compared to the rest of the night. When they reentered the Manor, Jonas closed the doors behind him, and locked them again with the biggest key.
They returned to their hallway in silence, stopping as they got to their respective doors. “Night,” Tom mumbled. He was starting to get pretty tired, now that the adrenaline from their adventure was wearing off.
“Yeah, see yah,” Jonas responded, lingering at his door, keys still in hand. He thought for a moment, and then took one of the keys off of the ring, making sure that it wasn’t the one for the lounge or the front doors. Stuffing it in his pocket, he saw Tom watching him, raising an eyebrow, but silent. Jonas simply said to him, “Revenge,” and headed downstairs to return the keyring to its hook.
Tom went into his room, lightly shoving the door shut behind him, and flopped onto his bed immediately. He didn’t even bother to close the door to the balcony, because he was just too tired to care at this point. Besides, a bit of cool, evening air couldn’t hurt, right? Right? ...Tom never came to an answer, for he fell asleep at that exact moment.
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