Chapter 20
It was still early in the semester, and the pace of work was beginning to pick up. Some students chose to begin studying for their SAT's early, while most would wait until spring. Meanwhile, Melissa and Henry had begun making a bit of small talk. It was certainly far from a date but in Henry's mind, it was a beginning, and as time progressed, so too did their conversations as they quickly found a common interest in the paranormal. Trying to make an impression, Henry told her about the investigation he and Samantha carried out at the Cummings house. Of course, he avoided talking about how he had been driven from the house in a state of terror, wanting Melissa to think of him as something of a hero. She was especially fascinated with the results of their investigation, and told Henry how much she's love to see what they had collected.
“Are you going back?” she asked.
Henry hesitated in his response, wanting to provide an answer that would not reveal his fear of returning.
“Well,” he began. “We've pretty much covered the entire house, and we got enough evidence to say that there's definitely something there, but I think we're gonna look for more places to investigate.”
He made it sound almost official and Melissa became eager to get involved.
“Maybe next time I can go with you and Samantha,” she said. “What do you think?”
Even if they never found another house with the slightest bit of activity, Henry would be very happy to wander Norway's dark places with her. There was only one thing he needed to remember if he was to make a lasting impression on her. He was, under any circumstances, to remain calm and in command of his emotions. He needed to be strong.
In a hurry to further impress Melissa, Henry struck out on his own in search of another abandoned house to explore, spending a few days during the week looking. With every house he discovered, Henry would mark its location on a fold out map he had purchased at a nearby convenience store. He had also gone to the extent of writing the address of each location. However, he did not go into any of them. Although he had recovered from his visit to the Cummings house, he had still been left with a conscious fear of the unknown. Whether it consisted of the unseen, or imagined was not something Henry had considered. He simply didn't want to go into these houses alone, and admired Samantha for having the courage to do so.
Following Samantha's technique, Henry went to the town's library to research the houses, but in spite of getting a great deal of help from the librarian, he discovered that none of the houses had any documented history. Disappointed, but not surprised, Henry decided to investigate the houses in order of when he discovered them and the first on his list was an old two story house. It's faded green paint had spent years peeling off, having taken repeated beatings from the elements over the years. As he studied its windows, Henry was approached by an elderly man who had been walking around the neighborhood.
“You lost?” he asked.
“No,” Henry answered.
Directing the old man's attention to the house, he inquired about its past.
“What do you know about this place?”
The man stopped and looking at the house, struggled to dig back into the past, sifting one memory from another.
“Oh, yeah,” he replied. “Used to be an ambulance service here. They didn't do much business though, with the county service right down the street.”
“Did anything bad ever happen here?” Henry asked.
The old man seemed puzzled by Henry's question.
“What do mean bad?” he asked.
“Well,” Henry began. “I know this is going to sound weird, but has anyone ever died in this house?”
The old man chuckled a bit at his question and immediately understood his fascination with the run-down house.
“You out chasin' ghosts?” he asked.
Henry was a little embarrassed, knowing that not everyone believes in such things.
“Um, yeah, something like that,” he replied.
The old man turned back toward the house and briefly studied it.
“Well, I don't think you'll find anything in there.”
Henry was still curious and further pressed the old man’s memory.
“So, you've never heard any stories about it?”
The old man did not pause as he continued on his walk.
“I never been much for listening to stories. Guess you'll have to figure it out for yourself.”
If there was nothing to find in the house, what was Henry supposed to 'figure out'? As the old man rounded the corner, Henry marked the houses location with a star, indicating his interest in it. He wasn't certain what Samantha would think, but given the old man's conflicted answer, Henry thought he might be able to talk her into a short visit.