Grandma's House

A little  late for Thanksgiving   , I know  ,bUT 

I wanted to give this a try and see what happens . 

Thomas made sure he had everything  he wanted to take for his trip to his grandparents  house . He was really excited  about this trip . He had to admit  , his mother and grandparents  were one of a kind . The best anyone  could ever hope for, since  his father died . Jose  Alvarez  was killed in a hunting  accident , mauled  by wild animals .  He was cremated as there wasn't  enough  to bury , shaking  off  sad thoughts ,  Thomas  finished  his packing .

"Honey , your  friends  are here ."

"Coming  !"

Thomas  grabbed  his duffel  bags  and went downstairs  to greet his friends  .

Arturo  Robles ,  Juan  Esparza , and David  Salinas  looked as their friend came to greet them . The four had been friends  since middle school  , and were  like brothers . This year Arturo ,  Juan ,and David  wanted to spend Thanksgiving  with Thomas  and his family ,  so they asked . 

"So , everybody  ready to go ?"

They loaded  their things into the van .

Thomas's mother drove as the men either  conversated or played  on their  phones . It was  a three hour drive , but everyone  seemed okay with the trip . 

As they got near  , Thomas  and his friends  took intrest  in the scenery  around them with trees  and the occasional  wildlife  that appeared .  They made a turn into a rocky  road and they saw a cemetery .

"Dude ,your  grandparents  live near a cemetery ?  That's  so cool !"

"It's a family  plot . My grandparents  inherited  it when  they bought the land ."

Thomas  went on to explain  how the cemetery  belonged to a wealthy  family  and were buried  there . Thomas's  mother  looked  back and smiled . 

"Not much longer  boys ,  just one more turn to make ."

"We really  appreciate  you letting  us tag along  with you , Mrs.Alvarez . "

"Oh  , no problem ,  David . My parents  don't  mind  visitors . "

"You really  don't  think they'll  mind having  us for Thanksgiving  dinner . "

Mrs.Alvarez  smirked  as she glanced  at her son , who looked back with a smile . 

"Juan ,  I know my parents  will love to have you  for dinner ."

Ten minutes  later  they stopped  at a  gate .

"We're  here ."

Thomas  got out  of the van and unlocked  the gate , then slid back  into the van . They drove along  a dirt road  until  a house came into  view . 

Everyone  got out and walked up the stairs . The door  opened  and  an older man stepped  out onto the porch .  His  face crinkled  as he smiled  at them .

"Maria , Thomas  , so good to see you !"

"Good  to see you to , dad ."

The man turned  to look at Arturo , David ,  and  Juan  curiously . 

"You must be Thomas's  friends . Glad to meet you , "

"Yeah . This is  Arturo  ", Thomas  pointed  to to him , "David  ",He  pointed  to him ,"and Juan  ."

Each  stepped  forward  and shook the mans hand as they were introduced . 

"I hope  we're  not  inconveniencing  you ."

The man waved  the worry aside .

"Nonsense   , you're  more than  welcome . My name's  Eloy ,but most call me pa."

"Where's  mom ?" 

"Inside . Come on in and I'll show you to your  rooms ."

The inside of the house  was a lot bigger  than it looked from the outside . A small China cabinet  stood to the left . Juan  looked  at it , seeing  figurines  and several  pictures . He took a closer  look  and saw that some were of kids .Juan  grinned  as he recognized  one of them . It was Thomas . The other was of a small girl . Mrs . Alvarez . Eloy noticed  and confirmed  his suspicions .  He showed  them to their  rooms . Mrs . Alvarez  was left  with  her old room  , and Thomas  took his .

As they were putting  their  things  away ,  an older woman  appeared . 

"Hello . You must be Thomas's  friends . "

Introductions  were made as the woman  smiled  at them .

"So nice to have you  all. I'm Elena , but you boys can call me ma ."

"I hope it's not a problem  us being here ."

Elena  rolled her eyes .

"It's no problem  at all . Trust  me . Now you freshen up while I make us something  to eat . "

Half an hour  later  everyone  was sitting  at the table .  Elena  made bisquits and gravy with chicken  fried  steak . The enticing  aroma  filling  the house as they ate. 

"This is so good . Thank you . "

"You're  welcome , but it's  my pleasure . "

After they finished , David  and Arturo  wondered  if they could  explore  the place .

"Of course . There's  plenty  to  explore .  Thomas  you should  show  them around . "

"Okay  , Pa . Maybe  I'll let them see that hill ."

"Go ahead . "

David  and  Arturo  looked at Thomas curiously . 

"Hill ?" Juan  asked with a slight  frown .

Thomas  smirked   as he  glanced  at his friends . 

"Yeah ,  they say that the original  owner  caught  a couple  of  thieves  on the land and shot and buried  them on the property .  Some say it's where  the  hill is at ."

He let out  a  evil laugh . 

"Oh ,stop that Thomas !  There's  no  proff  of that ."

"But ,Ma ,how  do you explain  the hill ?"

"Nothing but an irregular  formation . "

The boys were now curious  about  this mysterious  hill .

"Can we go see it ?" 

"If you want , but I'm telling  you  it's  just an old  hill ."

"You go and see for yourself . Nobody  buried  there "

Eagerly  the quartet left  and walked  around . The place was large , the front  a gravel  road , and trees on each  side . The huge gate could be seen about  a mile from  the house . The whole area  was heavily  wooded .  As they walked David  glanced  to his right , and for a second , he thought  he saw something  move . He looked ,but whatever  it was , wasn't  there .  Arturo  noticed  his friends  frown  and asked what was wrong . 

"Nothing . I just thought  I saw something . Probably  a wild animal . "

They found  the spot that Thomas  had mentioned .  It was a miniature  hill , covered  with dead branches  and falling leaves  . On each side two trees gave  it shade . At first glance ,  it didn't   look like anything  special   , but  when a person really  saw it , it looked  eerie . 

"So this is where the bodies  are supposed  to  be  buried ? "

Thomas  shrugged , "That's what people  say . Like I said  the original  owner  caught  two thieves  on the property  and shot them , and this is where they  are  supposedly  buried . "

He pointed  to the hill . 

"Rumors  say the thieves  ghost  haunt this place , but I've  never seen  anything . "

They continued  to  walk and talk , seeing  the occasional  rabbit  hop in and out of view . They went back to  the house ,  and Elena had some lemonade  made . Each took a glass  with a "thank you  "

David jerked  awake  and looked around . Something  had woken him up . A sudden  motion  made him glance toward  the door , which  was open . He frowned  and got up . A sudden  noise  made David  jump . Just as his heart had stopped  trying to come out of his throat   ,he was further  startled  when a hand landed on his shoulder .  David  whirled around  and came face -to-face  with Elena . She gasped  in surprise . 

"Dios mio ! My God ,you gave me a good scare ."

"I'm sorry  ,but I think you scared me more ."

"Ah , then we both got a scare . Madre Santa ! What are you doing awake ? "

"I couldn't  sleep . " 

"Ah , yes . Same here . I was in the kitchen  getting this ." Elena  lifted  her hand , which  held a cup ."Warm milk does the trick  for me . Wouldn't you like some "

"No ,thank you .  I think I'll go back to bed ."

"Are you sure ? It won't take long ."

"I'm sure , but thank you "

"Okay . Good night then ." 

"Good night ." 

David went back to his room and laid back in bed . Minutes  later  he was drifting  off to sleep . He frowned  as his eyes closed . He had shut the door closed . 

Arturo  looked around  at the trees as he walked . The day was nice with a cool wind . He sighed content  to be out here . This was very peaceful .  A sudden  snap of a branch  caught  his attention .  He looked  in the direction  of the sound  just as a branch fell to the ground .  Then a shadow  darted between  the  trees . Curious ,  he walked toward  the fallen tree limb . Arturo  was almost  there when a growl broke the silence .  Alarmed ,  Arturo  glanced  around .  Movement  to his right made him pause and look in that direction . 

"Hello ?  Who's  there ? " 

That growl was his only response .  Feeling  suddenly  afraid   , Arturo  began  to walk to the house .  Another shadow  darted from the trees . The feeling of something  watching  him was so strong   , he  knew it wasn't  his imagination .  It  meant him harm . It also didn't  help that he kept that growling . For some reason ,  Arturo  didn't  want to look back , he felt frightened  without  knowing  why and something  in him told him not to look , he would  see what was chasing  him . He did  want to see whatever  it was .

Eloy sat in his seat on the porch  with a bemused  expression  on his face . The young man-- Arturo  came towards the house  like something  was chasing  him .

"What's  your  hurry ?" 

Arturo  looked sheepishly  at Eloy . 

"I-I uh , I thought  I saw something  in the woods   ."

"You probably  did .  There's wild animals  out in those woods . They show up once and a while . " 

"I feel dumb now . I just scared myself  silly  ."

"Nothing  to be ashamed  of .  Same thing happens  to me . Ma made snacks .  Why don't  you  get something ? " 

"Okay .  Thank  you . "

Arturo  went inside  as Eloy  remained sitting .  The older man glanced  at  the  woods and smiled .  Soon  , he thought  to himself . 

It was the day before  Thanksgiving ,  and Elena  and Maria  were preparing  for the feast . Thomas  and his friends  offered to help , but they refused.  So they went  outside . Thomas  told them it was best to  stay out of their  way , since , according  to him they turned  into  monsters .   They went walking  to the cemetery .   The place  was a mess . Headstones  were overturned  or broken . Momentos thrown on the ground .   Out if respect  they spent their  time putting  things back .

The next day  everyone  woke , except  for  Arturo .  At first  they thought  nothing  of it , they assumed he was sleeping late .  But when David  went to check  in him , Arturo  wasn't  in bed . Maria pointed  out that maybe  he was out exploring . It was possible   ,since he liked the outdoors . 

Nighttime  came and Thomas  , David , and Juan  went to look for him . Things  went from bad to worse as they lost Juan .   They  were going  back to the house when they began hearing something  behind  them . Whatever  it was it growled . Movement  could be seen and twigs  snapped . 

It was pitch  black inside  the house .  The only other source if light was the moon . Thomas  jerked  to a stop as he stared ahead with wide eyes . Surprise  etched  on his face . David  followed  his friends  gaze , confusion  morphing into horror . 

On the floor  was Arturo  and Juan ,  or what was left of them . Eloy  ,Elena  and Maria  drenched  in their  blood as they tore chunks  of Arturo  and Juans bodies . 

"Jesus , what the hell ? !"

Thomas  shook himself  out if his frozen  state .

"Mom ?Ma ? Pa? Wha-what are you doing ? I thought  you were going  to  wait  for  me ."

All done ! 

Sorry  for any spelling  and/or grammar  errors . 

Huggles ,  bea.