The Mansion

Gavin Thompson and Rachael Quinn are best friends. Easy enough. Gavin is a sweet, sensitive guy who likes to play sports. He's not afraid of many things, but sometimes his kind nature gets him into trouble. He has light brown hair and blue eyes. Rachael is your typical bad-ass punk girl who is afraid of nothing and will not stop until things go her way. She has hair that is dyed black and green eyes.

Gavin and Rachael are driving along a deserted road when a funny noise comes from the engine.

"That's not a good noise, is it?" Rachael asks uncertainly.

"I'm not a mechanic but I can tell you that engines are not supposed to make a loud bang ever," Gavin says, pulling over to the side of the road. He takes the keys out of the ignition and pockets them before exiting the car and walking around to the hood. "Pop the hood, will ya?"

Rachael reaches over and presses the hood button. In response the hood lifts up a bit, obstructing Gavin from her view.

Gavin props the hood up on a 2x4 plank that he keeps next to his seat for this very job. Looking around in the guts of the car, he tries to locate the engine. He starts to name various parts of the car that connect to one another, a trick he picked up from his older brother, who is a superb mechanic. When he gets to the engine, he stops for a minute.

"Wait...what?" he mutters to himself.

"What's wrong?" Rachael asks.

"I think..." he starts out loud, but then continues muttering: "But how could we have been moving if...."

"What's wrong?" Rachael persisted, her tone getting more pressed.

"The engine...it's gone," replied Gavin, peeking around the side of the hood at his friend.

"No, really."

"Really."

"What the fu-stop kidding around here! What the hell is wrong with the car?"

"I'm telling you: The engine is missing!"

"Lemme take a look at that."

Rachael steps out of the car and stands next to Gavin. "What the hell...?" She looks around for a moment, over the nearby corn field, and around the road. Her gaze stops at the ditch next to their car. Gavin looks over there as well. There, on top of some wild grass, is the engine, smoke leaking out of it.

"Why'd you take the damn thing out, Gav?" asks Rachael.

"I didn't! I don't have a wrench! Besides, how was I going to get it out without getting huge burns on my hands?"

Rachael looks down, trying to deny that her friend is right. Out of the impossibility of finding a reason, Rachael says: "Did you bring your cell?"

"It's in for repairs, remember?"

Maybe it's about time I started saving up for one, Rachael thought. "Is there any chance of finding civilization around here?"

Gavin eyes the barbed wire around the corn field and rules out asking the farmers who owned it for assistance. He looks across the road and sees a wrought-iron fence with a gate. He hasn't noticed it before, although it is quite a noticable sight. The sun is setting and rainclouds start to look like they are getting ready to overflow. It seems like the gate is the only option out of their predicament.

"There's a place there, maybe they have a phone," Gavin suggests, moving towards the gate. Rachael eyes him, then the gate.

"Uh-uh. There's no way in heaven I'm stepping one foot inside that gate. Besides, it might be private property."

"Do you want a phone or not?"

"There's a farmhouse about 20 miles back. We could walk there and ask for help."

"That's 20 miles, Rachael. And it's gonna rain."

"I'll wait until after it rains."

"Where?"

"In the car."

"You're gonna wait for a few days then."

"Fine."

"Stop being so stubborn and just come ON!" Gavin takes Rachael's wrist and leads her over to the gate. She snaps her wrist back.

"Come on, Rach. Are you going to be stubborn and wait out here or are you going to come help me find a phone?"
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