Dalton Ackerson's Story

"I'm invited to a party?" Dalton asked himself as he had just read the letter. "What kind of spam is this?" he threw the letter away in the trash can before watching his television for a bit. Oddly, his mind kept refocusing onto the letter, and the party. What had he done to be noticed? Why did he even care? It wasn't as if he had a reason to even want to go, besides sating his boredom.

He picked the letter out of the trash and re-read through it, as to make sure he wasn't mis-comprehending it. Sure enough, it invited him to Devontic Manor for some sort of gathering. A party, if you will. "Well, it's a bit aways, but I guess I can check it out..." he convinced himself before locking up his house and getting into his car to set off towards the place.

(A couple hours later)

His car bumped up in down of the dirt path it was taking towards the mansion. At least, that's where he believed he was going until he eventually reached a dead end. "Oh, shit...it said West, not East..." he turned around and backtracked until he was on the right path.

(A bit later)

"I'M NOT INSANE, I'M NOT INSANE..... I'M NOT INSANE, I'M NOT, NOT INSANE!!!!" he yelled along with his music. His MP3 was plugged into his car, providing him with any of his saved tunes, this one being "Almost Easy" by Avenged Sevenfold.

As he followed a road, he ended up at a mansion which he would assume was Devontic Manor, unless there was just another random Manor out in the middle of the woods. He scanned it with his eyes and decided that it looked just like one of the haunted mansions from scary movies he had seen whenever he went to the movies. It had statues, a creepy aura about it and even the occasional bat. Well, not really, but he liked to pretend.

He shut his car down, pulling out his MP3 and shoving it in his pocket along with his keys before opening the door. He looked at a group of people who he assumed were the other partygoers and smiled. "So, you guys are here for the party as well?"

As the group grew larger Chloe dropped swung her bag off of her shoulder, and dropped it on the ground next to her. With a smile she waved. So far two guys, and one girl. Though the girl just stood off from them, never approached, just stared. Tilting her head, she waved for her to come over, "Come on, if you look at me any longer you're going to make me blush," sh laughed. Leo tried talking to the other guy. She desperately hoped someone sane was going to come along. Leo was great so far, at least he spoke. Chloe however, liked to be in groups, and laugh the night away. It wasn't a real party if she danced with the same guy all night.
"So, you guys are here for the party as well?"
"Why yes I am," she smiled, extending her hand, "My name is Chloe." What wonderful timing, she thought.

"Why yes I am," she smiled, extending her hand, "My name is Chloe." a rather gorgeous red-headed woman greeted him.

He took her hand with a grip that wasn't loose, but wasn't too firm either and shook it. "I'm Dalton, nice to meet a fellow party-er." he smiled. "I'm glad I wasn't late for once. A party in this place seems to be a once in a lifetime opportunity." he revealed. Seeing as he didn't bring too much, he didn't have a bag or anything that couldn't just be shoved in his pocket, so he closed and locked his car.

This action was promptly followed by stuffing his keys back into his right pocket, glancing back up to Chloe. "So, we still waiting on people or?"

"I'm glad I wasn't late for once. A party in this place seems to be a once in a lifetime opportunity...So, we still waiting on people or?"
"I'm not sure," she responded to Dalton, looking into the distance for any other cars approaching. She whipped her phone out of her purse, but the battery had died. "Damn thing," she snorted as she tossed it back into the bag. Glancing over the invitation she called out to Leo, "Hey, what time is it?"
The invite seemed stern about the noon deadline, and she didn't want to miss any of the fun.
Looking back at the old mansion she received an intense chill down her spine, as a black crow stared down at her from the rooftop. With a little jump she clutched Dalton arm, "Ah! Crow, I hate crows! Get it away!"

"Ah! Crow, I hate crows! Get it away!"

Chloe gripped his arm in a firm 'death grip'. It startled Dalton at first, but he realized that for her to do that, she must've been terrified of the birds. He turned towards her and gave her a warm smile. "Calm down. I doubt that bird can do anything to you from here. He's just sitting....and possibly shitting on the house...." he said the second part quieter. "Anyways, why are you so frightened?" he said, a softer, calmer tone kept its appearance through his voice.

"Calm down. I doubt that bird can do anything to you from here. He's just sitting....and possibly shitting on the house....Anyways, why are you so frightened?"
Quickly she released her grip, and covered her mouth. Her face was almost as red as her hair, "I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to..." Looking around nervously, the cawing could be heard through the tree's. Goosebumps ran up her arms, This place...it's giving me a weird vibe... Shaking it off she bent down and grabbed her bag, avoiding the second half of his question. "I hope the other's get here soon..haha."

"I hope the other's get here soon..haha."

"Yeah.... me too...." he said suspiciously. It was an obvious dodge to his inquiry, but it didn't matter. "So, what did you do to get invited?" he asked, hoping to take her mind off of everything else. Frightened ladies weren't Dalton's favorite thing in the world and he'd prefer if they were happy or busy or even concerned ladies. That being said, he was a bit curious as to why crows would evoke such a reaction. Maybe she saw the movie "Caw"?

"So, what did you do to get invited?"
Looking back Chloe smiled, slipping out her envelope. "Well It came in the mail a couple of days ago, at first I wasn't going to come...but after some thought...Well I changed my mind. I was curious as to why only seven people were invtied. You?

"I just came here because I was bored. No other reason, really." he laughed a bit. "Actually, I though this was some spam mail to scam you out of something. I'm not completely sure it isn't, yet..." he scratched the back of his head before looking on towards the road he just came from. "I hope the others don't keep us, I do so enjoy a party,".

Smiling she nodded, "Me too, though I wonder what kind of party it is. I hope they have booze," she laughed.

"You and me both. Not really a party if there isn't any beer. Of course, I'll have to tone down on it compared to my last party....getting into fights with coat hangers doesn't really make you popular." he admitted with a sheepish laugh.

His remark made her giggle furiosly, "Wow, really? I only just turned 21...I have only had some mixed drinks, but I know I don't like beer." Tossing her hair to the side she smirked ,"I prefer tking shots to anthing though. I'e only done it once, but it was awesome."
Looking off towards Leo, she wondered how much longer they were going to stand outside...

"In my defene, I could've sworn that coat hanger swung at me first." he grinned. " Anyways, I don't mind beer, it makes me feel happy. Tastes like shit, but nonetheless, it's a good drink if you're out for a good time." he grabbed his elbows with his hands and slightly shivered. "It's a bit cold out here, is it not?"

Looking down at her small, knee length strapless dress, with no stockings or jacket she tilted her head sacracsticly and responded, "You think?" Laughing she nudged him and dropped her bag, bending down to up zip it. It took her a moment but she soon found her green jacket. Placing it next to her she zipped the bag back up and sipped her arms into the sleeves. The word "Chaos" was revealed in yellow as she zipped up the jacket, and tossed the green hood up over her head. Though it did nothing for her legs, she was a a litte warmer.
"Maybe we should start heading up to the door?"

Dalton sighed, as he realized he left his jacket in his car. He dugged into his pocket for a few minutes before producing his keys. "Hold on a minute, I've got to get my jacket, lest I freeze my nuts off." With that, he left towards his car, and by that, he took three steps over to it and slide the key into the door. With a twist, it unlocked and he pulled the door open, revealing his jacket, which had been riding shotgun. He pulled the thing out of the car and locked the vehicle back up before yet again, shoving his keys back into his pocket and turning to face Chloe. "Now, I'm good." he said before sliding the jacket on and zipping it up, showing the words "Even Gods Fall" on his chest, as he had found it a true statement.

Leo looked to his wrist and then back to Chloe, responding with the time. "Its uhm... Its noo--" he said before being interrupted by her scream. He raised his eyebrows in an expression of "Well then." when she screamed. He watched as Dalton and Chloe talked about her reaction and they both became a little dodgy. Leo was feeling pretty complacent at the moment. Although, he WAS getting an odd feeling from the mansion. He looked up at the crow Chloe had been frightened by. He spotted many more around it. He silently hoped she didn't spot any of its friends. He stood in close proximity to the two, letting his eyes scan about while he listened to their conversation. He couldn't help but chuckle when Dalton mentioned a fight with a coat hanger. He noticed Chloe look towards him and he nodded toward the Manor, taking another look over his shoulder to the girl and guy standing behind them a ways. He bit his lip and waited while the two got on their jackets and chatted about the cold. He didn't really feel very cold, even though he could see a slight mist escaping from his lips when he exhaled. The two others returned from their cars and such, grouping up again. Leo lifted the bag he brought his change of clothes in and walked towards the manor, turning towards the others and walking backwards for a few steps, smiling. "Well, lets get this party started! The booze isn't gonna drink itself!" He said, winking an turning back towards the manor and making his way to the front door. As he approached it, he felt the Manor looming over him. It felt like it had eyes, boring into him. He had a sudden gut wrenching dread, freezing cold spreading from his gut. He kept walking, a bead of sweat dripping down his nose, even though it was bitter cold outside. "What's this...?" He thought with slight fear. He kept calm, approaching the door and preparing to knock.