Creek House

Chapter 1

Danny watched an unbroken line of stately fir trees march past as he stared out the passenger side window of his mother's car. Even when he tipped his head back as far as he could, he still couldn't see the tops of them. Pushing his glasses further up on his nose, he tried peering into the depths of the woods but saw only dark shadows and fleeting glimpses of pale phantom faces looking back at him.

His daydreams were interrupted by his mother's optimistic voice. Danny, you're gonna love this old farmhouse. I can’t believe how lucky we were to get it for such a low price. The real estate guy said the stream around it is loaded with trout. That's how it got its name, you know. They call it Creek House. She paused to glance at her son in the passenger seat, Remember, how I told you the creek runs on two sides of it. It sits right on a bend in the creek, all nestled in. You’ll only have to step outside and throw a line in the water to catch us some dinner. What do you think, Sport?

He let his mother ramble on, knowing from the sound of her voice, that she was nervous. Danny wondered what she had to be nervous about for a moment then dismissed it from his thoughts. The car began to head downhill and he leaned forward in his seat and peered ahead through the windshield.

The dense woods, a rare last stand of old-growth timber, had finally thinned out so that he could see a long valley laid out in front of him. Sunlight poured down on the land and suddenly living in the country seemed a lot more appealing.

There it is, Danny, straight ahead. See that big yellow house over to the left? That's going to be our new home. No more gangs or getting beat up in school for your lunch money. From now on, it's the quiet life for us. Look, there's the creek. Maybe we'll be having fresh fish for dinner, huh?

Danny wasn't so sure about that. How could anything live in such dark water? He glanced again at the rapidly approaching house and shivered. Blank staring windows watched him blindly from the upper story. The closer he got to the house, the further back into his seat he tried to push himself.

Danny, you're not listening again. I asked you what you think. How do you like your new home?

He looked sideways at his mom and thought about how much he loved her. Since his dad had been killed in a random carjacking, she was the only parent he had left in the whole world. How could he tell her what he really thought? Especially when he knew how hard she was trying to make his world better for him. How could he tell her that he would prefer the gangs and the traffic over this old house any day?

I love it, Mom, he lied. We're going to have a wonderful life here.

Katherine breathed a small sigh of relief. Look, honey. I know it's hard for you to leave all your friends, but I really believe it's for the best. After what happened to your dad...

Her voice trailed off as a flurry of memories flashed across her mind. Hank leaving to get more ice cream for Danny's eighth birthday party, the futile wait for his return, then the knock on the door and the news that he would never be returning. She recalled her innocent son sitting at the table surrounded by all his friends, asking her why she was crying and why were the police there. They buried Hank on an impossibly sunny day, with clear blue skies and a gentle breeze blowing.

Katherine shook her head, dispersing the disconsolate thoughts. No sense in upsetting Danny. He always seemed to know what she was feeling. She looked at her son, huddled in the seat next to her. Red highlights shimmered in his brown hair and a scattering of freckles across his nose stood out starkly on his pale face. His big brown eyes appeared even larger behind the magnifying lenses of his wire-rimmed glasses.

She placed her hand on his knobby knee and gave a reassuring squeeze. Don't worry, Sport. You'll make new friends here. Country people are so much friendlier than city dwellers. Mark my words. Give it a little time and you'll love living here.

The old car bumped over the rutted driveway that circled in front of the house. Katherine eased it to a stop in front of the deep front porch. Here we are. she announced, then opened her door and stepped out.

She placed her hands in the middle of her back and stretched, then walked around the front of the car and started up the steps before she noticed that Danny hadn't moved. Hey, Bud! she yelled. Hurry up and come see our new house.

Danny reluctantly opened his door and joined his mother on the porch. She held the keys ceremoniously in her hand, trying to make a festive production out of entering the old farmhouse. Then they heard a loud grinding of gears as the wallowing moving van they had rented slowed to make the sharp turn onto the lane. 

Danny was relieved that they wouldn't be alone on his first entrance into the house. He leapt off the porch and ran halfway down the lane to meet the truck. Katherine opened her mouth to call him back then gave up and shrugged her shoulders. What the heck, it'll keep.

Katherine's brother, John, slowed the van to a crawl as Danny jumped on the running board and waved him on towards the house. John's friend, Mike, hung on to Danny's skinny arm out the open window as Katherine yelled at them to be careful.

Women, John grinned at his nephew and quipped over the engines irregular growl. They can find more stuff to worry about. But what would we do without them?

Amen to that, Mike agreed, flashing his own wide smile at Danny. Can't live with 'em and can't live without 'em.

Feeling much better now that his Uncle John and Mike were there with them, Danny laughed, feeling a part of that secret union of men against women. Then he thought of his mom and felt guilty. But he knew that they were just joking with him so he smiled again and rode the big truck to a stop.

John's Moving at your service, Ma'am. Katherine smiled at her younger brother as he climbed down out of the cab. "Now all we have to do is unload all these so-called treasures of yours."

He paused for a moment and took stock of his surroundings. Man, Kat, you guys sure are out here in the boonies. Looks like this old place could use some fixing up. I can see where my weekends are going to be for a while.

After Danny jumped off, Mike got out and went around to the back of the truck and rolled up the door. Hey, looks like everything made it all right. I was wondering when we hit some of those potholes back there.

Katherine, John, and Danny joined him to check out the cram-packed contents of the van. Everything that Katherine and Danny owned was in the back, from Danny's bicycle to Katherine's pottery wheel and clays. It was going to take a long time to get it all sorted out.

Danny and I stopped in town and picked up a bucket of chicken and some sodas. How about we have some lunch first and then tackle this mess, Katherine suggested.

Sounds like a plan to me, John agreed. He headed towards the house while Danny practically ran to keep up with his long strides. Katherine followed at a slower pace, laughing at John's impatience. She made them wait for her as she sauntered along.

Damn it, Kat, get a move on. Times a wastin'.

Hold your water, Johnny. I know why you're in such a hurry. You probably think you're starving to death. But I guarantee you'll survive.

She searched through the keys that she and Danny had picked up at the real estate office and found the one marked front door. She turned the key and pushed on the frame of the glass-paned door but it resisted her efforts. She shoved harder and the door finally gave way with a screech of wood rubbing across the floor.

Katherine stood aside and waved John, Mike, and Danny through. Welcome to the new home of Katherine and Daniel Mitchell.

Danny stuck close to his uncle's side as he entered. He peered timidly around and was pleasantly surprised to find himself in a large room with multi-paned windows on two sides, hardwood floors, and a large fireplace on the end wall. He had expected it to be gloomy and intimidating but instead sunlight poured through the windows, casting a beautiful mosaic on the scuffed floor. 

He heaved a sigh of relief, wondering why he had felt so scared by this lovely house. Maybe he had been feeling that way because he missed his old neighborhood and his old friends. He decided then and there that he was going to try hard to give this new house the benefit of the doubt.

Wow, Kat, this is really nice. I'll have to shave the bottom of that front door off, but I like what I see so far. Show us the rest of it.

Katherine smiled. She was glad for the note of approval in her younger brother's voice. When she had studied Danny's reaction in the car, she was assailed with doubts about her decision to uproot him from everything familiar. She snuck a peek at Danny and saw him looking about with a smile on his face.

Hey, Sport, Katherine said, want to see your bedroom? Without waiting for an answer, she walked the length of the room and made a right hand turn to mount a stairway that doubled back towards the front of the house. She ascended the stairs then paused at the landing at the top.

Come on, slow poke, she teased. I think you're going to like this. Standing aside, she waved towards Danny’s left. He caught up with her and saw a closed door in front of him. Tentatively, he reached out and turned the knob. The door swung silently open and Danny found himself staring into his new bedroom.

It was large and square with big un-curtained windows on two sides. He could see into the leafy branches of a big maple tree directly outside the windows straight ahead of him. This room, too, had hardwood floors. Almost the entire left-hand wall was a large open closet with shelves built across the bottom. A small door was mounted on the left-hand side, inside the closet, itself. He stared at it questioningly and Katherine caught his look.

Know what that is? It goes into a small room that leads to another little tiny room that's directly over the stairwell. I'm not sure what it's for but I'll bet you can put it to good use. Maybe for a secret clubhouse or something? Want to check it out?

Shaking his head vigorously, Danny backed a few steps away, possessed by an eerie feeling. His uncle and Mike stepped around him to examine the strange little room. They opened the door and peered into what seemed to be a dark hole.

Man, Mike said, it looks like one of those priest holes or something. Kinda creepy. He jokingly called into the tiny room, Any priests hiding in here from the king's men?

John elbowed him and looked significantly in Danny's direction. Nah, I think it's neat. We'll string some lights up in there and it'll make a great hideout. You could even store some of your stuff in there, kid.

Danny didn't buy any of it. He knew that John had the same uneasy reaction to the weird little room that he did. He just wasn’t going to admit that the room disturbed him. He didn’t want to spook his nephew more than he already was.

The upstairs bathroom is right here, Katherine indicated a door at the top of the stairs. See, Danny, you won't even have to go downstairs at night. We have our own bathroom to share.

Danny looked into a small bathroom with outmoded fixtures and peeling wallpaper. John looked over his head and snorted. Yep, here's another weekend project.

He flushed the toilet and watched as rusty water swirled around before slowly gurgling down. Then he turned the faucets on the sink and listened to the wheeze of water forcing its way through the old pipes.

You’re gonna have to do something about this plumbing, Kat.

Katherine groaned and admonished him, Will you quit picking the place apart and just look at the good things for a minute.

John grinned, not at all abashed. Gonna to have to cough up some money on this old place, Sis. It's more than I have the time for.

I know, I know. The house is a little rough. Don’t worry; I'm way ahead of you. I’ve already arranged with the Realtor to have a handyman come out and do some of this work. Thank God it was a foreclosure. The loan officer cut me a sweet deal on this place. I can afford a little remodeling with the money I saved on the purchase price. Can you believe that anyone would just walk away from this much acreage and no one local would scoop it up?

Next, Katherine showed them her room directly across from Danny's. It appeared to be an identical twin to his except for the lack of an odd little room in the closet. She didn't have one in her room and Danny desperately wished he didn't have one in his, either. 

There's another bedroom downstairs but I thought it would be nicer if you and I had both our rooms up here, Katherine told Danny. That way we'll be closer together. We can use the one downstairs for a guest room.

Thanks, Mom, Danny said. He shuddered when he thought of spending the night upstairs by himself. It was going to help to have his mom close by.

They all retreated back downstairs and Katherine gave them the rest of the Grand Tour, showing them the bedroom off to the right of the living room and the other bathroom. Toward the back of the house was an old-fashioned kitchen. One entire wall was inlaid with brick, with part of it making up the back of the fireplace that opened into the living room.

Isn't this great? Katherine asked. They used to do this in the old days so that they could use the heat from the fireplace bricks to heat the kitchen. I love it.

The three males grunted noncommittally as Katherine gushed about the large kitchen and adjoining dining room, paneled waist high with natural pine. But they all crowed with delight when she led them into the very back of the house and an enclosed porch that overlooked the creek and gave onto a panoramic view of the woods on the other side.

Hey, John, Mike enthused. I can see right now where we'll be deer hunting this fall. And check out those cliffs you can see over the top of the trees. Looks like there could be some good climbing up there, buddy.

John agreed. How much land do you have here, Kat. Do you own any of that property?

As a matter of fact, we do. We've got about 100 acres here, most of it trees. It's actually a long narrow strip extending into the woods. We have the two fields on each side of the house and the rest of it, like I said, runs straight back.

Cool, Mike said. We can do some fishing, too. Right, Danny? Those cliffs are gonna be a great place for your Uncle John to teach you how to climb. Before you know it, you'll be a mountain guide just like us. He knuckled Danny on the head and laughed as he squirmed away.

We'll have to talk about the climbing part, but, Katherine added, you two can forget about doing any hunting around here. I'm not going to have any guns on this property.

Danny instantly questioned his mother, But what about that BB gun Dad promised me when I turned ten? Don't I still get it?

Pursing her lips, Katherine shook her head. No way. I don't want any kind of weapon in this house. And I'm surprised at you, Danny. How can you even ask after what happened to your dad?

His skinny little body deflated and he hung his head. I'm sorry, Mom. You're right.

John gave his sister a disgusted look and stuck up for his nephew. It’s a part of growing up, Kat. I had one when I was little and I'll bet Hank had one, too. You’ve gotta be reasonable about this.

Katherine’s jaw hardened and her brown eyes flashed. Don't make a problem out of this, John. I mean what I said.

Her brother decided that this wasn't the time to press his sister on this particular subject so he dropped it but he winked at Danny behind Katherine's back and gave him the thumbs up sign. Danny felt better and even managed to return the gesture. Katherine saw it out of the corner of her eye but merely sniffed, choosing to ignore both of them.

One more place to see, Katherine said. She led the way over to a door in the corner of the kitchen. The basement is down here.

Flipping on an overhead light, she led everyone down a set of steep stairs into a semi-finished basement. A large old oil furnace stood in the center of it and shelves filled with old glass jars full of murky fruit lined the walls.

It's pretty good-sized down here, Mike said. If we could figure a way to get it down those stairs, you could put a pool table in here, Katherine.

I thought of that, myself. At any rate, it'll make a great storage room if nothing else and the Realtor said that the furnace is in good working order. The storage tank is outside so after we have it filled, Danny and I will be nice and warm this winter.

Danny thought he saw a dark kid-sized shadow flit behind some stacked boxes in the corner of the room, but he told himself that he probably just imagined it. He didn’t want Mike and Uncle John to think he was a yellow-bellied chicken so he kept his mouth shut.

All right, that’s enough of a tour for now. I'll bet everyone is starving. Let's have a picnic lunch down by the creek. You guys carry the food and I'll bring a blanket. Then it's time to get to work.

Chapter 2

Boxes were piled in every available corner of the big house. The two extremely fit climbers did most of the heavy lifting and had the moving van unloaded in a little over four hours. Katherine was starting to get a sore lower back, so she suggested that they take a break and tour the outbuildings and fields surrounding the main house. She especially wanted them to see the old gardening shed that she planned to take over for her studio.

John and Mike examined the shed carefully and pronounced it structurally stable but agreed with Katherine that she was going to have to do some major renovations to make it workable for her purposes. The proposed studio was the closest outbuilding to the house, only about twenty feet away, sitting off the back porch steps, slightly back and to the left.

Katherine rambled on about her plans while John, his long dark hair tied back with a red bandanna, crawled over and around the structure. He and Mike had worked numerous temporary construction jobs, along with other various types of seasonal jobs, when they didn't have any guided climbs scheduled. So they considered themselves building experts, although their bosses would probably have disagreed.

Danny watched his uncle's long legs disappear under the shed as he wiggled his way underneath. Then he heard him shout.

What the hell? He quickly backed out. I saw eyes under there.

Mike crouched down beside him, his stocky body blocking Danny's view. Katherine edged back a few feet and grabbed Danny's shoulder, taking him with her. He tried to wriggle out of her grasp but she only locked her hand tighter.

Then Mike and John began calling, Here boy, here boy. Come on out.

John called over his shoulder to Danny. Go get some of that leftover chicken. There's a dog hiding under here. He's wagging his tail but he won't come out.

Danny ran as fast as he could and grabbed a piece of chicken. His legs nearly skidded out from under him as he rushed back to his uncle's side.

You be careful, now, Katherine warned. That dog could be vicious or have rabies or something.

Geez, Kat, get a grip, John said. It's just a poor old stray dog and he looks half-starved. He and Mike continued to coax the animal out with the tempting piece of chicken.

Finally, the head of the ugliest and dirtiest dog Danny had ever seen emerged from under the shed, soon followed by the rest of its body. It was large but skinny, with filthy matted long fur, dirty white with a random spattering of black patches. Both of its crusty eyes were encircled with black hair and it groveled on its belly, whining and wagging its tail.

John softly called Danny over to him. Here, kid, you give him the piece of chicken.

Before Katherine could stop him, Danny knelt between his uncle and Mike and offered the meat to the dog. It stuck out its long pink tongue and tentatively licked at the chicken leg, then delicately took it from Danny's hand.

Danny slowly reached out and put his hand on the animal's head and it cringed, as though expecting a blow instead of the petting that Danny was giving it. Katherine held her breath, afraid that if she made any move, the dog would bite her son’s hand off.

Instead, it looked up at Danny with adoring eyes then dropped the meat long enough to stretch up and lick his face, knocking his glasses askew. Danny instantly responded by wrapping both arms around the dog's neck and squeezing.

Katherine tried to call Danny away. Sport, that dog is filthy and it might have a disease. Get away from that thing.

But it was too late. The mangy mongrel and Danny were deep in the throes of mutual love at first sight. Katherine suspected she faced an impossible task of trying to get rid of the stray. Then she looked at her son's shining eyes and made a quick decision.

You're not going to keep that dog, she started, but quickly gave up on her teasing when she saw the stricken look on Danny's face. Then she continued, until he's had a good bath and all his shots. We’ll have to see if he belongs to someone. They might want him back. She hastily added, But from the looks of him, I don’t think anyone will claim him.

John clapped a hand on Danny's shoulder. Looks like you got yourself a friend, kid. Just remember that he's going to depend on you now so you have to take good care of him.

I will, Danny solemnly promised, never taking his eyes from the animal's face.

What are you going to call him? Mike asked. Dog's got to have a name, you know.

Danny cocked his head and regarded his new pet. The black fur around his eyes made his choice easy. I'm gonna call him Bandit. He looks like he's wearing a mask.

Good name, Danny, Mike told him. I had a dog when I was a kid, too. He was the best friend I ever had. Then he turned and punched John on the shoulder. That is until I met this guy. Of course, my dog was a lot better looking.

Everyone laughed and Katherine tried again to pry Danny away from the dog. He's staying right out here until he gets cleaned up and sees the vet. In the meantime, let's go check out the barn. I didn't have a chance to see it the last time I was here.

She led the way further down the creek to a weathered and dilapidated old barn on the edge of the field. Danny dawdled along behind, Bandit close at his side, his shoulder coming level with Danny's waist. He happily rubbed his filthy hide on Danny's jeans as his new master's hand rested on his head, patting gently every now and then.

By the time they got to the barn, the others had already entered and were busy examining the structure. As Danny started to join them, he felt a tug on his pant leg. He looked down at Bandit who had grabbed at the cuff of his jeans with his teeth in an attempt to prevent Danny from going into the old barn.

What's wrong, fella? Danny asked him.

Bandit whined and refused to let go until Danny gently pried him loose. It's okay, Bandit. Uncle John and Mike are in there with Mom. They won't let anything happen to us.

Sunlight stabbed through the gaps in the weathered walls and dust motes swam about, giving the old barn an ethereal look. Danny saw his mom at the other end of the big shadowy building and quickened his steps toward her.

She was staring up a ladder and Danny could hear the sounds of John and Mike moving around in the loft above them.

The floor is pretty solid, John yelled down. There's even some moldy old hay left up here.

They heard the sound of a stomp and a small squeal then Mike's voice. Got some mice in here, too.

Katherine grimaced and tried to pretend she hadn't heard anything. She glanced over at Danny and saw that he was too busy looking around the bottom of the barn to pay much attention.

Both sides were lined with stalls. Some of the stall doors hung on broken hinges but a few were still intact. Several of the cubicles held old rusty farm implements whose original purpose could only be guessed. Danny had visions of himself, mounted on a fierce stallion, running through his head when his mother interrupted his daydream.

What do you think about getting a couple of goats? This place is overgrown with blackberry briars. I'll bet they'd eat them all.

Danny weighed the pros and cons of goats versus horses and the goats came up way short. But since his mom had given in on the matter of him keeping his dog, he decided to go along with her for the time being.

Sounds like a good idea, Mom.

Of course, now that you live on a farm, you'll have to learn to be a farm boy and do chores. We could work out some sort of pay for taking care of the goats. That would mean feeding them and keeping their stall clean when they're in the barn.

This was a red-letter day for Danny. First he got himself his own dog and now he was getting the chance to earn some money. He was rapidly trying to calculate how much a horse cost. Then with a guilty start, he remembered his new pet. He glanced around but didn't see him anywhere.

He quickly panicked, thinking that Bandit had run off and he sped back towards the front of the big barn but there he was, waiting anxiously and whining by the door. For some reason the dog still refused to enter and Danny pondered on that for a moment but quickly dismissed it from his mind. He had too many other exciting things to think about.

The adults finished their inspection and started back towards the house. Danny ran ahead of them while Bandit chased along at his side. He headed straight for the picnic basket and dug out the rest of the chicken, laid it out on the ground and watched with satisfaction while Bandit wolfed it down.

Then he followed the adults into the house and reluctantly instructed his dog to wait on the porch while the adults started setting up beds and unpacking boxes. He soon lost track of time as he unloaded his own treasures from the cartons marked Danny's Room. When the last one was empty and his dresser drawers were full he studied his new room with a satisfied smile.

Then he glanced over at the odd little door at the end of the closet and frowned. He approached it gingerly and noted what he had missed before. It had a bolt lock on it. Why would anyone want to lock it from this side? He wondered. Then, he decided he didn't care why and was