movie.act2p2

scenes xxxiii-xliii

Haunted House Haute Heist

           “Back already?” December said after personally letting the time-traveling crew into her living room. “How’d it go? Er… None of you are holding a briefcase.”

           Wes looked at Nyra and Millie, still hanging out with the mayor, and first asked, “What are you both doing here? Get back to your vacation—we got this, I swear!”

           “Wes… You’ve been gone an hour for us,” Nyra replied.

           He checked the time on his phone, muttering, “Oh… right. I set our return time; I should’ve known that. Anyway, we planned it out, but there’s a little bit of a potential problem I thought we should account for and wanted to run it past you.”

           “Uh-huh. And that is…?”

           Jace was the one to explain, “There’s a chance the ‘treasure’ was taken much more recently, right? While we could keep jumping ahead to check every year… it’s probably a bad idea for either of us to go past 2019. When ‘quartzing,’ you replace your previously time-traveling self.” He got blank stares, so he emphasized, “We’ve time traveled on and off since 2020. It's a mess, actually. Last thing the stability of the universe needs is us jumping around anytime in the past few years, replacing ourselves and whatever else.”

           “Jace does have a point…” Nyra said. “Ah, hell, I’ll just help you for a minute.”

           “No, no, Nyra,” Wes replied emphatically. “You’re on PTO. And I wouldn’t be proving that I can work as a time-traveling team leader if you got involved! Besides, we already thought of two simple solutions. One: Laurie uses the quartz if we need to.”

           Laurie grinned and gave a thumbs-up. “I can do it. I’m very responsible.”

           “Hm… No…” Nyra sighed, and Laurie frowned. “Oh, it’s not that I don’t trust you, Lor—it’s just that the quartz is locked to Wes and Jace’s biosigs. I’d have to file paperwork in triplicate to let you use it. Honestly, I’d rather get the bonds myself.”

           “Nope,” Wes stopped her. “I thought that might be the case, so, second plan. We bring in a couple of Jace and Laurie’s buds to help ‘break in’ to the manor. If the bonds were ever there, we find them in the past, hide them, and have the kids do the grabbing. Laurie can guide the others; keep the guys focused, prevent unneeded… damage.”

           December and Nyra looked at one another, and the mayor said thoughtfully, “I mean… it’s a little convoluted… but it could work. There’s still a problem, though.”

           “Which is?” Lucy asked.

           “The manor’s locked up tight; the McMares doubled security after my… search. Shame. If these kids got caught, I could’ve had plausible deniability of my involvement.”

           “Um… easy fix to that.” Laurie astutely explained, “I can’t use the quartz, but I can still go through the portal. I’ll just have myself sent to last weekend and get the two then. Not like they were doing anything important. I know they just lazed about all day.”

           “Hm. My team still would’ve gone in and found nothing… but at least if your friends grab the goods back then, we don’t risk a paradox where I did originally find the bonds. Fine. I’m sure there’s a more efficient way, but we’ll give it a try. Make sure they don’t get caught, or I’d never get to do my investigation in the first place, that made me ask for your help. God, this stuff’s complicated. I guess use more time travel if you need to?”

           Jace added, “This would be easier if we had some way of talking to Laurie from the past, though. Like if I was carrying, I don’t know… some kind of time… phone.”

           Nyra dug into a pocket and tossed Jace a weird-looking flip phone.

           “What’s this thing?” he wondered as he studied it in his hands.

           “… A time phone, Jace,” Nyra said dryly. “It can connect with any typical phone in a different time period, by creating a micro-time portal to send signals through.”

           “Oh. I didn’t think they’d actually exist. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

           “One more thing,” December continued, “in the last hour, Nyra lent me a… futuristic gadget—without technically working herself, Wes—that, let’s just say, makes investigating via the internet much faster. Moral gray area notwithstanding, it found out pretty quickly that Izuki Satoro… is not even his real name, despite all of his financial records using it. And, um, that’s it, really. I don’t have a real name to give you. Yet.”

           “Helpful,” Wes said, trying to keep his sarcasm subtle. “He’s definitely shady.”

           “Wes, hold on…” Millie stopped them from leaving just yet. When the group was facing them again, she revealed, “While you were gone, I realized you were talking about Gavin, when you talked about a friend you wanted to save. I found out back when Vanni broke the news; I do follow everyone we know. Closely. I should’ve told you.”

           “I… didn’t mess with anything, if you were going to ask,” Wes murmured.

           “I believe you. Back in high school, when I had an autumn crush on his old friend Mikey… I learned a lot about Gavin, too. So, yeah, I do sympathize.”

           “Thanks, Mill…” Wes turned to leave for real. “I still wish I could do something.”

           Once the almost farcical plan had been ironed out as much as possible over the next couple of hours, Wes pulled up to Austin and Chad’s side of Desert Tree to drop off Lucy, Laurie, and Jace. The “bro duo” was currently elsewhere, and it was a quiet, overcast day in the suburban corner, making for a good temporal insertion point.

           “I’m sure there’s probably an easier, obvious solution to all this…” Wes said as everyone stepped out of his car. “But, screw it. We’re already here.”

           “It’s more fun this way!” Laurie insisted. “We probably cover more bases, too. It makes us more flexible, I think. Gives us options, in case it doesn’t go as planned.”

           “Her parents are letting her watch Breaking Bad,” Jace remarked. “She likes it for the ‘scheming’ and elaborate plans, she tells me. I mean, not that I would know…”

           Lucy stared back at her son, staring at her. “Next year, Jace. Then I think you’ll be old enough for that show. It’s just… the violence and drug use I’m worried about.”

           “Careful with this, bud,” Wes said and handed over the quartz. “Drop them off and come right back. Luce—sure you wouldn’t rather keep watch on the ’99 side of the break-in? You wouldn’t be known back then. Here, though… Lex could get pretty mad at you for helping their kid do criminal stuff, with or without mayoral approval.”

           “Yeah,” Lucy affirmed. “I’m not a seasoned time-traveler like you; I’d feel more comfortable a week in the past instead of a quarter century. Besides, I’ve babysat Laurie so many times that I kind of have that maternal protective instinct around her.”

           “Well. All right, sis.” Wes turned to Jace and Laurie. “And you’re both completely sure you didn’t have any interactions at all with Austin and Chad last Saturday?”

           “Not a chance,” Laurie replied. “They were watching Austin’s brothers have their dumb, monthly backyard wrestling… thing. But I’m sure I can tear them away from it. Okay, Jace. What’s that old saying? Like… send me into last week or something?”

           “Good luck, you two,” Wes said and waved them off. “We’ll pick you up outside the manor once you give us a time to portal to. Just remember… this could get weird.”

           After making sure the coast was clear, Jace opened a gateway to a week plus a few hours ago, stuck his head through to make sure no one was around, and led the way in. Once the portal closed behind the three, Wes leaned on his car to wait.

           On the other side, the sounds of a few mildly entertained teenagers hit their ears, and Laurie brought Jace and Lucy over to Austin’s ranch house’s unfenced backyard.

           “I always kind of wondered what these were like…” Jace said as they rounded a corner and saw the shabby, unsafe wrestling ring Austin’s older brothers had set up, which was surrounded by a couple dozen foldout chairs, a few of which were falling apart. He looked around at the crowd, consisting of Chad, Austin, and just five other local kids Jace didn’t know who must’ve been starved for thrills. “And now I know.”

           Laurie got closer to the ring, where two large, macho, and shirtless guys were alternating between circling each other, trash-talking the other’s character, and performing amateur wrestling moves to a smattering of applause and cheers. She took a peek under the tarp of the ring and saw the large blocks of styrofoam that made it.

           “Austin’s dad installs appliances,” she explained to Lucy. “That’d be why they have so much of the stuff. And the rope is just bungee cord. But there is effort here.”

           “Guys!” Chad called out from next to Austin, who was watching with the most excitement of anyone present. “Finally checking out a match? Jace, is your mom a fan?”

           “Very creative, Austin!” Lucy said, as always supportive of any of Jace’s friends’ endeavors, no matter what they might’ve been. “Who do we have in the ring today?”

           “Oh, that’s The Brick in red,” Austin replied. “And Rusty Razor is the heel in all black. Sometimes he wins and The Brick has to have another redemption arc.”

           “Uh-huh,” Laurie said. “I’d get invested, but you’ll want to hear about this, guys. The mayor is looking for a few kids willing to break into the old McMare house for her, and I told her that it was something you both would dream about doing. You know… If she’d let you get away with it and almost made it sort-of legal.”

           Chad and Austin looked at each other, and back at Laurie. “You serious?” Chad asked. “Is this a trap, or a test? Jace, does your mom bust us if we say yes?”

           “Actually, I’d be supervising the whole thing,” Lucy said with a mischievous grin.

           “Errr…” Austin took a moment to think it over. And then he and Chad jolted out of their chairs at the same time. “Sorry, bros! Something came up—I’ll watch the highlights later!” He relished quietly, “Finally! I get to do the awesome thing instead.”

           “Jace, are you joining, too?” Chad wondered. “I mean, if your mom is helping…”

           “I don’t think so, guys,” he said and put on a facetious worried face. “I’m a little scared about getting in trouble. Maybe I’ll just help over the phone, okay?”

           “Aw, you never take risks! But you can help from a distance. It’s cool, I guess.”

           “Things go okay last weekend?” Wes asked once Jace had returned.

           “So far,” Jace replied, giving the quartz back and getting into the passenger seat. “I already told Millie in ’99, and she agreed to help. Glad I’m not alone and that you’re keeping watch from outside. Whole gang’s going, so they might not notice us missing.”

           “Getting a chance to see some sealed-off history? Yeah, of course she’d take you up on it.” Wes put the car in drive and headed to Desert Tree’s eastern exit. “What are you nervous about, though? We’re kind of veterans at this by now. You’d do fine solo.”

           “It’s actually… more about being alone in a creepy place…” Jace admitted. To get past the embarrassment of not being perfectly macho like Austin’s brothers, he got out the time phone. “I’m gonna give Lor a test call. Just have to… put in… the time…”

           “Well, what’s taking so long?” Wes asked impatiently. “I wanna see if it works!”

           “Give me a chance, dude! It’s designed to blend in with 90s phones. I’ve never used a keypad this much at once… Okay,” he put it to his ear, “it’s ringing… H-hi, Lor! Where are you now? I dialed you a half-hour after I left, right? Huh? Um, yeah. Austin and Chad are still gearing up? Okay. Cool. I’ll call back in a you-hour. All right, later.”

           Wes snickered. “Heh. Something about calling a modern phone, that’s in the past, with a phone from the future, designed to look like an old phone… It’s happily silly.”

           “Whatever little thing can still excite you, Unk,” Jace moaned and pocketed it.

           “And here we are,” Wes said after a ten-minute ride as he pulled into the small, empty, and cracked parking lot out front of the McMare Manor, that was surrounded by a wrought iron fence and boarded up. “The end of Kettle Road, the historical residential district for the city’s old elites. I’ve only visited a few times, and have no idea how many people, rich or squatters, still live in the area. Creepy place, full of big rotting homes.”

           “Did Hadron live in there full time?” Jace questioned after they stepped out of the car. “Or was he one of those rich people that had, like, houses all over the place?”

           “Jace, this was the only house he was ever known to live in. Other than wherever he grew up before arriving to the valley, I guess. He had it built, moved into assisted living in 1980, and then it finally closed for tours in ’88. Lotta history in there, and it’s all his.” He got out the quartz to dial in a date. “When did you guys agree to meet? You can enjoy the house for a bit, but when you get your chance to sneak away, take it.”

           Just after lunchtime on Halloween, 1999, Jace and Wes emerged through a time portal from behind several parked cars. In sharp contrast to where they’d just been, the lot was packed—every available spot on the street was taken, as well. As if that wasn’t bad enough, pedestrians filled the local sidewalks and roads, making traffic a nightmare.

           “Hoo, I bet the rich people here just loved this weekend,” Wes noted. “Probably played a part in making sure this never happened again. Here, bud,” he handed Jace a walkie-talkie, “I don’t need a play-by-play; just keep it on in case we need to chat. You’ll have the spicy time rock, anyway. Be smart, but undo if you have to. Good luck, kid.”

           There was a long line to get in, but lucky for Jace, Wessy and pals were already near the front, where they were surrounded by many other antsy teens. On the way to join them, Jace took notice of the vinyl banners tied to the iron fences, featuring ghosts, skeletons, and the words: “The Royal Valley Haunted Manor – May Not be Suitable for Young Audiences – Brought to you by Lincoln Bartles and 7 Up.”

           Not thinking too much about the strange sponsorship, he joined the gang by the gate, who welcomed him over without any of those customary “happy to see you again” type greetings. Most of them were back in their regular clothes—the exception being Wes and Colin, going in as goth kids, and Celeste in her blue S.T.A.R.S. uniform.

           “Jason, thought for sure you wouldn’t make it,” Sadie said. “Where’s Lara?”

           “Um… She has a haunted house phobia,” he made up on the fly.

           “Ah. Well, we should be in the next group that goes in. Felicity’s at the front.”

           Jace quickly spotted her, wearing an all-black, much more serious goth outfit.

           “Figures she’d be here. Uh… that’s not actually a costume, is it?”

           “Nope. That’s how she comes to school every day,” Wes replied. “And me and Colin spent too much money on these clothes to only wear them again when we go out tonight. Yes, we are still trick-or-treating,” he emphasized a contentious topic.

           “Wes…” Colin groaned. “Don’t be bitter. We’re all here. Let’s have some fun.”

           “How come Celeste is dressed up, then?” Jace wondered.

           “Jason, come on!” she exclaimed. “Haven’t you played Resident Evil? I couldn’t not seize the chance to be Jill in a scary mansion. Too bad there’s no zombies, I think.”

           “Yeah, you and Millie could’ve fought them together,” Arthur chuckled.

           “How long have you all been waiting?” Jace asked. “Busier than I expected.”

           “Nearly an hour,” Colin said after a watch check. “It’s like King Arcade during its first month open. Makes sense, though, since the park’s creator also set all this up.”

           “You watch King of the Hill, Jason?” Ash sighed. “Jared’s been ‘entertaining’ us with his Boomhauer impression. Okay… I admit it’s good, but a whole hour of it…”

           Jared cleared his throat and gave Jace a taste, “Ahem… Man-I-tell-you-whut-man, dang-ol’-spooky-house-gottem-skeletons-poppin’-out… Wes-gun-piss-his-pants-man.”

           “Shut up, Jared,” Wes muttered. “Hey, I think the doors are opening!”

           The cluster of teens, plus a few adults who were likely more interested in seeing the building itself and might’ve missed its original tours, piled in until two staff members closed the heavy wooden doors behind everyone. Wes and his crew just barely made the cut-off, and now found themselves in a larger foyer, lit dimly by warm dusty wall lights. The furniture and fixtures were in good condition, and paintings of the McMare family and ancestors lined the walls. Fake cobwebs were the only noticeable decoration so far.

           Several minutes filled with impatient teenager sounds later, all the lights dimmed with the exception of those on the barricaded grand staircase. Spooky ambience started playing through hidden speakers, dry ice vapor was pumped in, and strobe lights pressed against the second-floor windows were used to create a lightning effect.

           “Hello… guests,” Lincoln Bartles himself said as he descended the stairs, doing his best Vincent Price impression with 1950s clothes to match—and a fake mustache to complete the package. “I am Mr. Bartles. Creator of King Arcade,” he continued grimly, using expressive movements to convey a ridiculous story. “Before he left this mortal coil, Hadron McMare asked me to turn his home into a haunted house for Halloween.” He broke character for a moment to emphasize, “And I have the paperwork to prove it! Ah, anyway… It took years of planning, but at last! We have a most terrifying venue!”

           Zach let out a fake cough melded with a, “Lame.”

           “Zach, don’t get us kicked out,” Sadie said, elbowing his side.

           Jace had last seen Bartles nearly ten years ago, on New Year’s Day, 1990. He seemed to have become more eccentric since then, and was likely chasing old highs.

           “Unfortunately…” their host got a twist in, “when we started designing my new attraction, we discovered that McMare Manor really is haunted! The spirits will never let you back through the front door, so survive, if you can! By following my assistant, Lynn.”

           Bartles retreated upstairs, the next set of doors opened, and a bored-looking mid-twenties young woman with long hair and a black shawl on her shoulders ushered everyone into the manor’s lavish living room. Of note were several marble statues, some elegant chairs and couches from the 1930s, framed golf clubs, and a luxury console TV set from the 1960s that had never been exchanged for something newer.

           “Welcome… This is where Royal Valley’s founder hosted many guests,” she said from the other side of another rope barricade. “It looks normal, but those who stayed longer than an hour in this place… swore that they began hearing whispers… Um, no pictures, please,” she lightly snapped at a teenage girl in glasses with a disposable camera.

           “Sorry!” she replied and pocketed it as annoyed eyes fell on her. “I just needed one interior shot. Er… I’m Heather Bowers, doing a story for the Royal Valley High paper. Could I ask you a few questions about the reopening of this famous building?”

           Lynn shot Heather down by simply ignoring her and continuing with the script, “Wait… do you all feel that? I think there’s a… a presence here…”

           The lights shut off, plunging the room into near total darkness. Following a shrill shriek, a Pepper’s ghost effect was used on a window to show a spooky spirit, which got screams out of several other girls. Once it disappeared, a light on a pulley system gave the illusion of it moving into the television. It flickered to life, then the severed head of a demonic specter flashed on screen and yelled at everyone to “GET OUT.” Afterwards, spotlights illuminated McMare’s old phone and some books being levitated by wire.

           Following more screams, the lights turned back on and Lynn unenthusiastically said, “Oh, that’s not good. Let’s move into the dining room, where’s it safer. Usually.”

           “These are the same tricks used on Ghosts and Freaks,” Arthur grumbled as the crowd sifted into the dinner chamber and Heather snuck in more pics. “I guess seeing them in a real house is… a little neat, at least. Ash, we gotta get Dad to check this out.”

           “Lex and Luce already went,” Wes noted. “They said it gets… a little better.”

           “Are Hadron’s relatives really okay with this whole thing?” Colin wondered.

           Looking for a way up, Jace and Millie let themselves become stragglers, slipping to the back without the others noticing. Jace got a quick look at the chandelier and long table in the next room—which featured prop skulls on all the plates for some reason—but Millie almost immediately pulled him back into the narrowest of hallway junctions.

           “Look,” she said and pointed to a small door at the top of a staircase between the two rooms. “It’s boarded up. Maybe it doesn’t go anywhere, but we gotta check, right?”

           “Can always just rewind if it’s just some, I dunno… bathroom or whatever,” Jace replied with a shrug, then raised the rope barrier for Millie and tiptoed up with her.

           Once at the top of the stairs, he quietly tried pulling the nailed planks, to no avail.

           “Here,” Millie whispered and handed him a small crowbar that she had smuggled in, under her hoodie. “Looks like I’m more prepared than you for once.”

           Jace rolled his eyes, but was thankful nonetheless, and quickly pried off all four of the boards. The brass knob turned with some effort, and they slipped past the door, closing it behind them. Beyond it was a long hallway that ran along the eastern side of the manor. It was hauntingly quiet and locked in time, with gossamer curtains that let in plenty of light through dirty windows. It looked like a good enough place to start, so Jace got out the phone and punched in a time to ring up, followed by Laurie’s number.

           “Jace?” her voice came in clearly. “Good timing—we just got inside. Had to go through the back, hopped the wall. There are cameras all over the house, but I think we stayed out of view of the couple watching the rear. Chad’s smiling about using his bolt-cutters to get us in, but it’s really creepy inside. I think I’d prefer your ‘haunted house.’”

           “Hey, Jace!” Chad shouted, his voice echoing on kitchen tile. After he got shushed, he added quietly, “You got a drone in the air over us or something?”

           “He can’t hear you,” Laurie assured Jace. “I have an Airpod in. Where are you?”

           “Find the stairs in the narrow hallway between the dining and living rooms. Me and Mill are up there. Well… twenty-five years in the past. Watch for more cameras.”

           “Will do. Austin, stop, dude! Don’t you watch any urbex videos? Never open the fridge,” she chided him. “Okay, we’re on the move. Phone will stay on in my pocket.”

           Keeping his on as well, Jace buzzed Wes on the walkie and reported, “Unk, we made it to the second floor…” He paused for some screams from downstairs. “You see anything? Doesn’t look like there are security cameras up here. Not yet, at least.”

           “Looks all clear from out here, bud. Hope no one else is on this channel.”

           Millie got to exploring a bit, but stuck close. She peeked into the nearest room just past the corner and reported, “Yeah, bathroom’s in there. Looks like the floor plan was legit. So… we need to go around the house, basically. Right turn, Jace.”

           “Jace, almost at the door,” Laurie came in again, with the sound of creaking steps in the background as they went up the stairs. “Bro, you should’ve seen the dining room. Still had plates out and everything. This place is a museum, just… one nobody can visit.”

           “Crap,” Chad’s voice piped. “It’s locked. Either of you know how to lockpick?”

           Jace covered his microphone and asked, “Mill, see any keys anywhere?”

           “You mean… in this empty hallway?” she said snidely. “With no, like key racks or whatever? No, Jace… Maybe we should check the junk drawer downstairs.”

           “Ah, well…” Jace turned and looked at the antique doorknob. “Sorry, Hadron.”

           He bashed at it with the crowbar, and it broke off after two hits. Not knowing what else to do with it, he gave it to Millie—who opened a window and promptly tossed it out to the side yard and into some bushes, where it would probably never be found.

           “Can you guys open the door now?” Jace checked.

           “What do you mean now?” Laurie replied. “Jace, it’s still boarded up!”

           “Still… boarded…” Jace murmured, and stopped to think.

           They both arrived at the same realization, but Millie said it out loud before Jace, “The door couldn’t be locked anymore, so the city boarded it up again instead.”

           “Right…” Jace scratched his chin and looked at the crowbar in his other hand. “I guess we can give them this, but we’d have to commit… We couldn’t ‘take it back.’”

           “Uh-huh,” Millie said. Some sounds of moving fabric came from her direction, but Jace was too busy thinking of a solution to see what she was doing. “Ahem. Jace?”

           He turned to see a second, identical crowbar, and was momentarily confused.

           “What’d you just do? Is that some temporal duplicate? How did…”

           “Jace, chill,” she snickered. “Like my dad says, why break into a house with one crowbar, when you could use two instead?” She waited for a response, then just shook her head at Jace’s silence and added, “That was a joke. It would be something he’d say, though. I literally brought a second one in case they needed it. Just… hide it out there.”

           “You’re a bit of a genius sometimes,” he complimented her and took it.

           He returned to the stairwell and checked for loose boards in the walls before spotting the small air vent embedded in the top step. He easily pried it off, slid the multi-useful and heavy tool inside, and hammered the grate back in place.

           “Lor, pry open the vent on the top step. Left a present for you in there.”

           “Really, now…” she replied. “Chad, lemme borrow your cutters for a sec. Come on, I won’t break them. Hold on, Jace. Working on it… Almost… Okay, got it. Heh, yep, there’s a crowbar in there. Probably should’ve brought one to begin with. Austin, take.”

           “What the heck, Laurie?” Austin’s reaction was barely audible. “How did…”

           “Uh, what, you didn’t see it? Yeah, it was on the stairs. One of the maintenance guys must’ve left it. Now use those muscles of yours to get the boards off.”

           With the sounds of planks hitting the floor in his ears, Jace scouted ahead some, checking the fancy tile and porcelain half bathroom for himself out of curiosity, and confirming that the left side of the hallway dead-ended at a linen closet.

           “Okay, Jace, we’re moving again,” Laurie said. “Austin’s leading the way, real gung-ho like. I think he just likes pretending to be brave, though. It’s weird how quickly I’m getting used to this… And spooky that I can almost sense you right near me.”

           “We gotta go around the entire second floor,” Jace told her. “Maybe we should’a looked for a way up towards the end of the, um, ‘ride.’ We took the first shot we saw.”

           “Don’t sweat it, dude. Besides, you got more time by going up early, right?”

           “Ah!” Austin suddenly shrieked and audibly hit the floor—making Jace at first think that he had been scared by a ghost, given where they were. “Owie…”

           “Hey, you okay?” Laurie asked him. “Did you trip on something?”

           “Austin, what the hell did you do?!” Chad screamed in a panic. “Oh, that is not right, man… Hurk… N-no, bro, don’t show me your arm when it’s like that!”

           “Is it supposed to bend that way?” Austin sniffled, but seemed otherwise more interested than frightened by his injury. “The rug here is all bunched up… Didn’t see it.”

           “Oh, man…” Chad gagged. “I think I’m gonna be sick… Uh, Lor, tell Jace that we need to bail. I’m pretty sure the big guy just broke his arm. It looks baaaad…”

           “Great,” Jace groaned. “Austin can be clumsy, but breaking a bone?!”

           “Jace?” Millie muttered, and pointed to a large scrunched-up part of the hallway’s long floral rug. “This must’ve been here for twenty-five years. You think if we…”

           With problems already trying his nerves, Jace did a small leap onto the rug heap, stomping it down, or at least turning it into two smaller mounds. Just to be sure, Millie helped stamp them out as more appeared, each set further away than the last. It was like a slow-motion ripple went through the length of the carpet, until it was quite flat again.

           “Jace, what now? We’re at another door,” Laurie suddenly got back in touch.

           “Um, did Austin fall? Did he break anything?” Jace responded.

           “Er, what? That’s a little rude, Jace. He’s not graceful, but he wouldn’t randomly trip over his own feet. Now should we open this first door on the right or not?”

           “Hold on a sec…” Jace looked at Millie, who seemed concerned. “What’s up?”

           “I just want to make sure, before we go any further—is all of this, like, okay? See, you told me once that changes take time to go through time. But these alterations we’re making are kind of… instant? So… is this safe for Laurie and your ‘future pals’?”

           “From what I’ve seen, our perception of reality is what takes time to reach us,” Jace said and tapped his forehead for emphasis. “Remember Nyra? I asked her about physical changes, and she said they’re instant. But… it can make anyone that’s around those changes feel disoriented. Like a déjà vu type deal, I guess.”

           “Hm. If that happens enough times, they might start to really feel like something is ‘off’ in this place. We should try to limit making changes. As much as we can.”

           “Uh, Jace?” Laurie buzzed. “Still at the door, waiting to hear from you. And now the guys are poking at a camera at the end of the hall we just noticed. Think it’s on?”

           Jace frowned. “Um, what?”

           “Yeah. It’s one of those cameras that’s, like, in a bubble? We didn’t see it at first.”

           “Uh… Hold on, Lor. I’ll call you back. Sit tight.”

           Sigh-grumbling, Jace hung up, and then dialed her again, adding five minutes to the time as a means to check on the group. After several rings, she answered again.

           “Jace!” she exclaimed with a shaky voice. “We couldn’t get out of the house—the police were on us in three minutes! Do you have any idea how mad my parents are going to be? Oh, God, do you think your mom can bail us out? H-hey! Don’t take my pho—”

           Chad could be heard yelling. “Bro! Too rough, man! My dads will sue you guys!”

           “I’m not with them!” Austin bellowed. “I’ve never met them before in my life!”

           Jace hung up, pinched his nose, and sharply exhaled as Millie stared at him.

           “… It’s just not their day, is it?” she stated. “Hey, you’re not giving up, are you?”

           “No…” he whined. “I just… Ugh. Sometimes all you can say is… wow.”

           He composed himself, went to the end of the hall, and without a second apology to Hadron, smashed and tore the top half of the delicate inner corner wall into pieces.

           Confident that now nothing would be placed on that segment of wall later, he dialed Laurie again, six minutes earlier this time. “Hey—forget the door for a second and look at the end of the hallway. Do you see any cameras up there?”

           “Hm…? Um… Yep. It’s near some big hole in the wall, facing whatever’s past the corner. I don’t see a way to unplug it, so… Should I bust it apart, or turn around?”

           “No, no—don’t do either. Some security company’s monitoring it. Go through the door; if you remember from the maps, it’ll be a guest bedroom.”

           “Got it,” she replied, and Jace and Millie followed her from the past.

           The guest bedroom was tidy, but also particularly dusty, likely untouched for decades even in 1999. As it was windowless, Millie got some use from her flashlight.

           “Guest bathroom is next,” Jace kept in sync with Laurie, and heard the door open from her side as the guys commented about something Jace couldn’t make out.

           “Yeah, I feel it, too…” Laurie mumbled. She spoke to Jace again as all five of the explorers entered the neighboring bathroom, also windowless, “Hey, buddy? This place has us for reals spooked. We’re sticking tough for now, but something is seriously just… weird. Like, bad vibes. Even Chad’s starting to freak, wants to get out ASAP.”

           “You obviously can’t tell them this, but it’s because I’ve been changing things in the past, Lor. Sorry if that’s making it feel actually haunted for you.”

           “Well. That’s also creepy, but… I think it’ll help me power through it. Still, this place is built so oddly. It’s like that Winchester house I watched videos about, almost. I’ve never seen a bathroom with three doors, and this mind-fuzz is getting to me.”

           “Go through the corner door, not the one on the left wall—that’ll just lead you back into the hall with the camera. You’ll end up in the… uh… what was it again, Mill?”

           “The turret room, under the cupola,” she answered, tapping her glasses in that smug ‘I’m smart’ way. “The circular ‘tower’ section that’s typical for a Victorian house.”

           At about the ‘same’ time, Jace and Laurie pushed at the door with the peeling paint and entered the sunny room with two expansive windows and a conical ceiling. Hadron had clearly done his writing here; there was a fancy cedar desk with matching chair inside, though it must have been emptied of any important documents a while ago.

           “Wow. Nice study.” Millie went up to the south-facing window with Jace, where they got a view of the crowds below. “The letters he must’ve penned up here…”

           “Should probably keep away from the windows before we get seen,” Jace realized and ducked out of view. “Lor, how’s the room look on your end? Anything stand out?”

           “Mmm, no? Everything looks in place here. Orderly… Why do you ask?”

           “I dunno, was thinking maybe our thief would’ve looked around. Anyway, one hallway to go and we’ll be at the corner of the house with the master bedroom and safe. Can you crack the door open and try to spot any other cameras at the end of the hall?”

           “Jace,” Wes’ voice suddenly crackled on the walkie-talkie. “Was that you just now that I saw in the window, or was it a ghost? How’s it going?”

           “Um, yeah. Sorry about that. We’re fine. And getting close to the safe.”

           “If you’re trying to catch up with Wessy’s group, hurry. Another one just went in, so yours, ours, is maybe about halfway done. Memories of this have been comin’ back.”

           “Jace, I do see a camera at the end of the hall, looking in this direction.” Laurie then whispered, “Can you make it not be there? Did you… do that once already?”

           “Yeah. Hold on a sec.” Jace tugged at Millie’s hoodie to signal that it was time to move, then paused and added from the hallway, “This is the front of the house, and there are lots of windows. You guys should stay low in case anyone’s outside.”

           The ’99 duo ducked to avoid the eyes of the crowds below, crab-walking across the sunny hallway. They paused in a larger segment of the corridor with a bay window and lounge chairs, right by the heavily boarded-up master bedroom door. Millie waited there while Jace continued to the end of the hall and again bashed up a section of wall so that a camera couldn’t be put on it, getting himself caked by dust in the process.

           After some coughs, he asked Laurie, “Where was that camera again?”

           “End of the hallway, but not facing us. Should we go? Are we almost there?”

           “Yep. You’ll see a big door covered in boards. That’s where we need to get into.”

           “Copy that. Let’s go, guys. Stay low. Chad, don’t be a wuss! I know you’re creeped out, but it’s almost over. You were so pumped when I first told you the plan.”

           Jace returned to Millie, and without standing up as to keep from being seen, he pried off the bottommost plank. He then asked, “Is there a board on the bottom?”

           “Dude, there’s, like, a dozen boards, all over it.”

           “Then I’m guessing they’ll all get replaced sometime over the years. The McMare family, or their pals or whoever, really don’t want anyone going in there.”

           “Austin’s working on it. I think we’ll just get them off the doorknob, a few from the bottom, and crawl in. Poor guy will wear himself out if he tries to remove them all.”

           “Yeah, same here. We’ll work on our side now. Give me a minute.”

           With Millie helping on the crowbar, the pair pried off two more boards on the bottom, followed by the two blocking the knob. When Jace was finally able to turn it and push, the door creaked open slowly, and the difference in air pressure was enough to create a chilly, ominous breeze towards the cold, dark, and seemingly forgotten room.

           Now very grateful that Millie had brought a flashlight, Jace followed her into the grand bed chamber, filled with all the luxuries and staples of a typical mansion. By pure coincidence, her light swept over an old man’s scary face at the same instant the group downstairs let out more screams from an attraction scare. It was enough to startle Jace and nearly give him a heart attack, and judging by the shrill screech from his phone speaker—something Chad was embarrassed to be infamous for—the future team had just discovered the guardian of the bedroom with piercing eyes, as well.

           “Guys, chill,” Laurie huffed, though her voice was also shaky. “It’s just a creepy painting of an old Scottish guy in a kilt… standing in front of a ruined castle. On a… stormy night. Frick. Is this Hadron’s grandpa? And he slept in this room, near that?”

           “Tell us where to go, Jace!” Chad pleaded. “I want out of this place!”

           Jace took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, and he and Millie quickly found the ornate closet door in the darkness and opened it. It was empty of clothes—and about the size of Jace’s bedroom back home—but was still home to a single thing.

           “Lor, safe’s where it should be. In the wall, back of the closet,” Jace reported.

           “Got it… Going to it now, and… Yeah, it’s there. Whew. Finally.”

           As Millie held the light steady, Jace carefully took the safe-cracking device out of his backpack. It latched on magnetically, and the little AI inside the mechanism worked its magic through the four tiny robotic limbs to easily turn the dial and find the right combination. Hadron’s century-old vault stood no chance against 29^th century tech.

           Once the locks audibly disengaged, Jace turned the handle and opened the safe. The only object on either of its two shelves was a briefcase with a combination lock—also an easy task for the multi-purpose analog-security-destroyer. Showing no hesitation, he opened up the case and, bingo; big stacks of preserved investment bonds were inside.

           “We’re good, Lor!” Jace said excitedly after an adrenaline spike. “It actually worked! Okay, I’m gonna leave the unlocked briefcase in the also unlocked safe for you,” he explained as he did just that, “and then we’ll try to find out exactly when it was taken. Once we do… I’ll hide it in various places until we find a spot where it stays for you guys. Under the bed might work. Maybe behind the dresser? Or I could—”

           “Jace. It’s still here,” Laurie interrupted him.

           “Uh, what? What do you mean?”

           “I just opened the safe and the briefcase. It’s all here. No, Chad, it was never something ‘interesting’ like diamonds or gold and guns. Yes, it’s still worth a lot!”

           “Laurie, that doesn’t make any sense. Someone should’ve taken them sometime in the twenty-five years between us. Are you sure all of the certificates are there?”

           “Er, well, yeah, it looks that way. The case is stuffed to the edges. I don’t think you’ll need to check out other years to see if it ever gets messed with, because… like I said, we got it all. So… I’ll just be taking this and getting the hell out of here, ‘kay?”

           “Jace… You all right?” Millie asked him as he got redder in her flashlight beam.

           “Agh!” he nearly screamed. “We didn’t even need to be here in 1999 at all!”

           “H-hey… It’s all right. It was still a good plan. Besides,” she added with a shrug, “you still helped out with the cameras. The mission’s a success, bud! Don’t be mad!”

           Feeling mixed emotions, he groaned out, “Let’s just… get back downstairs.”

           The two used a stairwell on the western side of the house to rejoin their spooky tour group in the billiards room, right at the end of the attraction. Some pool balls were levitating via the same old trick as before, which must’ve felt worn out by now.

           “Hm?” Wessy, also in the back of the group, suddenly noticed them right after they had seamlessly returned to the crowd. “Where the heck were you guys? I lost track of you way back in the dining room! Did you get lost or take a shortcut or something?”

           Tiredly teasing him, Millie replied, “We were here all along, Wes. Maybe you’re losing your mind in this place? It is pretty scary in here, after all.”

           Not sure what to think, Wes mumbled to himself and went back to watching the “ride” finish, with Lynn doing a mock exorcism within a circle of electronic candles on one of Hadron’s maids—who was actually just a dummy with a few animatronics inside.

           “I cast you out, evil demon!” she exclaimed with high school theater levels of acting. “Haunt this house no more!” The lights flashed, went off, more screams blasted from speakers, and, finally, it got bright again and everything returned to normal. “Yes. We did it, everyone. This famous house is now free of the demon summoned by those foolish teenagers during the Satanic Panic. You all did… great. Mr. Bartles thanks you.”

           “Thank you, for saving me,” a sound bite played from the maid dummy, and she returned to a closet by use of a rail system as the billiards room reset for the next group.

           “Exit is through the gift shop, behind you,” Lynn said as the doors opened.

           “So… the place is haunted… but they set up a gift shop,” Felicity muttered.

           Said shop was in the sunroom to the left of the atrium and very small, with a minimal selection of cups, t-shirts, and magnets. The gang gave everything a look, but no one bought anything. Which was kind of a shame—given that the event would go on to be a one-time curiosity and a little infamous, the stuff might’ve retained some value.

           “Well… That was a thing we did,” Zach was the first to comment as they exited and went by the crowds still waiting to get in. “House itself was kind of neat, though.”

           “But why were there so many skeletons in the library?” Celeste wondered.

           “Jason—you actually bought a shirt?” Wessy remarked after seeing the graphic-on-black tee draped over his arms. “Is that a large? Kind of big, isn’t it?”

           Jace replied, “My dad might like it. So, what’s next for you on this Halloween?”

           “We were thinking of getting an early dinner at Corny Cantina,” Sadie answered. “Then scary movie night at Zach’s. Wes and Colin said they’d join us when they’re done trick-or-treating.” She let out a little wistful puff and turned to them. “You know… I will miss doing that. Maybe if you shared a bit of your haul with us, that would be… nice.”

           Wes gave her a dismissive look, but Colin assured her, “Yeah, no problem. I was never able to eat it all, anyway. Wes, if this is our last year, let’s stuff our pillow cases!”

           “Uh-huh… Sure, Colin,” he said, still disappointed, but not unfriendly about it.

           Following some temporary goodbyes, Jace and Millie found Adult Wes, who was leaning against one of the nearby power poles and still keeping an eye on the house.

           “Oh, you made it out,” he said with a yawn. “How’d it go? Find the bonds?”

           “Of course. We’re professionals,” Millie replied. “And Jace got you a shirt.”

           “Nice…” Wes grinned after Jace showed it off. “Maybe I’ll hang it in my office.”

           Wes had soon opened another portal, this time by one of the other big residences that was already empty and would still be that way in 2024. Millie knew she shouldn’t go through and had to wait for the future to come to her… but still snuck a peek, anyway. It was a disappointing one; the neighborhood hardly looked different, other than being even more of a derelict. Wes and Jace got a glimpse of Chad and Austin speed-walking out of the area to get away from that house, and then got Lucy and Laurie’s attention.

           “You really did it,” Wes breathed out in relief after taking the goods from Laurie and checking its contents. “So, the plan worked. Any difficulties in there?”

           “Barely even needed a plan…” Jace grumbled under his breath, too quiet to hear.

           “It was pretty easy, actually,” Laurie said. “It gave us the creeps, but no trouble.”

           Jace scoffed. “Lor, should I tell you about how Austin broke his arm, and you all got arrested? And how I banished a ghost that would’ve otherwise processed Chad?”

           “Huh? I… I don’t remember any of that. Are you just making things up?”

           “Only the last one. Anyway, can we get dinner with everyone? At the cantina?”

           Wes deferred to Lucy, who only needed a moment to mull it over. “Sure, guys! I say we deserve a little victory dinner. Maybe we could even have December pay for it.”

           At five in the late afternoon, Wes, Jace, Lucy, and Laurie stepped off the bus just outside of everyone’s favorite Mexican restaurant—Wes keeping a firm grip on the case.

           The gang was already inside, with Celeste back in her regular clothes… but not Wessy and Colin. Given that it was Halloween, though, they didn’t seem to be getting any looks from staff or diners as they munched on pre-dinner chips and salsa at the conjoined tables where they were seated. Jace and Laurie were waved over and took the available chairs between Millie and Jared. Whatever they thought of the haunted house, doing it as a group, and getting a meal at a place they all liked afterwards, had already appeared to have lifted their spirits a little. Were it not for his goth boy getup, Wes might’ve even looked like he was momentarily out of his high school slump.

           “When are you guys leaving again?” Ash asked from across the table.

           “First thing in the morning,” Jace replied. “So… no school for us tomorrow.”

           “It’s cool that you’ve visited us on a weekend two years in a row, Jason,” Arthur said. “It’s not a lot of time, but it feels like just enough to catch up and hang out a bit.”

           “It does kind of make the visits seem special, more memorable,” Colin noted.

           “I wish Gavin and Vanni would visit sometime,” Wes added as Jace and Laurie were given menus. “I could really use some high school advice from her. If I had known how tough it can be, I would’ve asked her more questions when I had the chance.”

           “You know there are guidance counselors, right, Wes?” Sadie replied.

           “Sure, whatever. It’s like I’ve said before, though—advice just feels different when it comes from a teenager. More relatable, remember? Ah, man, sometimes I want an older sibling. Heck, maybe even if any of you guys had one I could lean on a little…”

           Celeste laughed. “The way Sadie’s been riding you lately, you kinda do.”

           Instead of taking offense, Sadie embraced it and said with an attempted ‘adult’ voice, “Yes, Wessy. Try to limit your bean intake. You know they make you gassy.”

           Wes turned red and sunk into his seat amid a wave of chuckles. “Blah, blah…”

           “You’re one to act all ‘mature,’ Sadie,” Jared spoke up with a sly grin. “Didn’t you just ask us if we were going to the Pokémon movie that comes out next week?”

           “Um, yeah…” she said sheepishly, her eyes darting about. “Just to check in on how kiddie all of you still are. And they’re all going, Ash. C-can you believe that?”

           Ash rolled her eyes. “Girl, you gotta work on that poker… mon face.”

           Arthur let out a tiny snort. “Good improv at the end, sis.”

           When orders started getting taken around the table, Laurie got a bit pensive and crossed her arms protectively, so Jace asked, “You okay? Thinking about the house?”

           She shivered and quietly replied, “It was all really eerie. Like, not just the feelings from you messing with time or whatever. The design of it… Other than the study, none of the actual rooms upstairs had windows; only the hallways that went around them.”

           “It does make you wonder about Hadron,” Millie agreed. “He’s sort of a local folk hero, but how much do people really know about him? And why does his family keep the house locked up tight for the next twenty-five years? Suspicious stuff. But, hey, Jace—don’t stress out about ‘over planning’ it. All that extra effort could have been really important. And, anyway, that was actually pretty fun. Even with the scary parts.”

           “True,” Laurie threw in her own positive affirmation. “We all came up with that plan on our own. I think we’re proving ourselves to the grizzled vets.”

           Jace worked up a little smile and replied, “Thanks for having my back, guys.”

           “Look at 'em,” Lucy mused from a nearby table, head resting on her hand and elbow near the empty basket of chips. “Still getting along after all these years.”

           “You talking about the good old gang?” Wes asked, leaning back in the booth.

           “I could be, but I was mostly watching Jace and Laurie. You were working hard on a game when they were little, so you might not know that they went to each other’s houses so often, you could say they were kinda raised together. I bet they’ve spent more time in the other’s company than we did. Of course, you never really liked being over.”

           The waitress arrived and set down two warm plates stuffed with food. “One taco dinner, and one famous Mega Burrito,” she said chirpily. “Enjoy!”

           Wes gazed into the giant sauced up and cheesed up tortilla wrap on Lucy’s plate as she rotated it to find the best angle of attack, remarking, “I can’t believe you got that.”

           “Well, it used to be the staple dish here, but it was gone before I ever had the chance or appetite to try it. I’m cashing in those time traveler perks while I can.”

           “Anyway, it wasn’t really about not ‘liking’ my visits. I mean, Dad had the best TV and movie library I had access to that wasn’t Zach’s… And hanging out with you was always a nice change of pace from my typical big get-togethers with the others.”

           “Sure, but you didn’t feel at home on those weekends. Your room there was so bare that you never even told me to stay out of it. When we were kids, I got you wanting to keep your most treasured stuff at your mom’s, but… nothing at our dad’s?”

           “What’s got you thinking about this now? You haven’t brought it up before.”

           “When we walked by my old place a couple days ago, that was the first time I’d seen it at all in ten years, since my parents moved and downsized; I never drive by it. I guess it got me thinking about the past for once, whereas normally you do enough of that for the two of us. Was it more that you didn’t want our dad seeing the things that interested you? I know how it was between you, but you kept so much distance…”

           “Heh…” Wes chuckled, a little coolly. “Are you going to tell me how a father-son relationship is a two-way street? I tried to get Dad to care about what I liked, and it never got anywhere. He didn’t even bother texting me about my big award.”

           “Sorry, Wes. I’m an online therapist; you know my conversations often go in a certain direction. But I shouldn’t be the one giving you this sort of advice, anyway.”

           “I’m past it. And making up for it with my own kids,” he promised, and dug in.

           After dinner, the future crew gave their thanks and goodbyes to Millie—with Jace promising to at least try and stop by for movie night if he got a chance, after the goods were dropped off. “If you don’t make it,” she said, “you owe me one in 2024.”

           Trading one night for another, the time travelers returned to December’s house at about eight in the evening, a couple hours after their previous talk. Having spent the day working on the problem from home, she was just now eating a meal of her own in the form of Chinese take-out. For nearly twenty minutes, her little helpers meandered around her home office, waiting for their “mission success” moment.

           Finally, there was a knock on the door and December’s husband walked in with the briefcase in hand. He gave the visitors a little wave and a smile, handed his wife the case, whispered something in her ear, and headed out with little more than a “hi.”

           December let out a sigh, tapped her fingers on her desk, and started by saying, “I never did introduce you to Luke, did I? Most of the city doesn’t know he exists. He’s a big sweetheart, for a lawyer, but stays out of the spotlight. We met at UCLA.”

           “What’d he think when you decided to run for mayor?” Lucy wondered.

           “Well. He was relieved when I lowered my ambitions from president to, at most, governor.” She cracked open her fortune cookie, read the slip of paper inside, then let out a scoff and tossed it in the garbage. Between agitated crunches of her dessert, she shared the bad news. “He got done counting. It amounts to just over five million.”

           “That was only half of it?!” Wes exclaimed. “Damn it. Is that even enough?”

           “Enough for what? The City can probably eat five mil if it has to, but any dollar amount that ends in ‘million’ is going to be a career-ending blame-the-mayor event. You did good work, but we have to track down the rest. Hm. What was Hadron doing with it all along? He must’ve gotten it back somehow, and yet… never reported doing so.”

           “Any chance we could, I dunno, go back and ask him?” Lucy suggested.

           “As long as his life was, it’s all past the time horizon by now.” Wes gave her a refresher, “We can’t go back that far. At least, not easily. Even if we did, we couldn’t change anything or interact. Even if we could do that, how would the conversation go?” Wes let out a tired chortle and rubbed his neck. “Ah, man… Now what, Mayor?”

           “There’s one more thing we can do before I call for help. Oh, since Nyra went home, that makes me the one who needs to ask: do we have anything to worry about?”

           “All good,” Laurie said for the group. “I made my friends swear to never tell anyone about what we did, to keep them from bragging to me or Jace before we even had our first meeting with you. Though, honestly, the head trip the house put us through will probably keep them from breaking into anywhere else, so… net positive, I guess.”

           “Wonderful.” December opened up her laptop, but then paused before typing. “Actually… I’ll check something else first. Mm-hm…” she hummed a little tune as she typed, and leaned back in her chair. “Yeah. I’m surprised, but not shocked.”

           “About what?” Jace replied.

           “Even though half the ‘treasure’ is back in city hands, ‘Izuki’ is still claiming to have ten million set up for his movie. So, he either has some serious coin he’s putting in himself, or… I’ve been wrong this whole time. But I don’t think so; there’s too much evidence of his involvement already. Maybe we’re just missing some bigger aspect.”

           “Are we sure he ever had the bonds we got, in any timeline?” Wes wondered.

           “Isn’t it that her team never retrieved them, because we did?” Lucy asked.

           “Nah, because time travel is sorta non-linear. It makes sense to think that, but don’t forget, we got involved because they originally weren’t found. They must’ve been in the safe until very recently. Huh. What if… someone on December’s team took them?”

           “I considered that.” December went to a tab on her browser and spun the laptop around to show some headshots. “These are the three I sent to the house. They all have clean records and served Royal Valley for at least ten years. None are Japanese. And yet, the numbers on the certificates you retrieved do match the bank’s missing batch.”

           “Mysteries on mysteries…” Lucy huffed. “When do we get the TMB involved?”

           “I mentioned that last thing we can do, if you’re up for it. I may not have enough to pursue legal action, but you might have a chance to confront Izuki himself and see if you can get him to talk. Outside of that… we let 29^th century supremacy take over.”

           “You found him? Where does he live?”

           “Right here in town. Twenty-eighth floor of Meadow Valley Tower. The bureau may have given me another little gadget that helped. Inside a gray area, of course.”

           “Tallest condo in the city, isn’t it?” Wes checked his local knowledge.

           “It is, and it’s registered under what I assume is another alias. Kiza Suto.”

           “Kaito, Izuki, Kiza… Guy has a lot of names. All right. Last stop of the night.”