Chapter 1: The Biggli’s

“The book Andrew! Dave’s stuck in the book!” his mother cried out to him while forced into custody.

Baffled by the commotion, Andrew raced towards the estate to gain a grasp on the situation. His heart beat pounded faster than he ran as He barged through the front doors of the biggli’s. He wasted no time and made his way up the stairs into his Brothers room to find him crowded around by the maids. Miss Katherine, Daves favorite of the bunch, looked to Andrew upon his arrival with tears.

“He’s dead.” She slowly whispered, choking up over the thought. “Henry and now Master Dave as well, she killed them both.”

Shocked and confused, Andrew meandered over to a nearby window where he watched the police drive away with Madolyn, the boys mother. A crackle of thunder resonated throughout the biggli’s estate while Everyone continued to mourn over their loss.

Andrew marched out the room and down the stairs to the front door. He grabbed his raincoat and made a hasty retreat to his car in order to head to the sheriffs office.

Upon his arrival he was allowed a brief session to speak to his mother but was at a loss for words over the whole scenario. Andrew continued to stare at the floor of the jail cell in disbelief over the whole idea.

“…Andrew?” madolyn called out to her son while she slowly approached him from behind the cell. “Is that you? You have to know Andrew! I’m not crazy!” madolyn cried out as tears fell from her face.

Andrews gaze focused towards the floor, stunned in disbelief at the situation. He composed himself, wiped the tears from his eyes and finally let out a word.

“Why?… why did you do it?”

A few moments passed while silence overcame the entire cell as neither one could seem to speak another word. Unable to reach her son through words alone, Madolyn reached out through the cell and firmly grasped Andrews hand.

“Andrew… look me in the eyes when I say this, I killed henry. That much is true but Dave was dead when I awoke this morning!”

“Why father though? how did Dave die then?” Andrew paused for a moment and was a bit taken back. “You cant honestly expect me to believe you can you?”

Madolyn slowly let go of Andrews hand and walked back a few steps in order to digest the question. After a slight pause she turned around.

“It was out of love.” She said while tears began to fall from her face. “I loved Dave, but I couldn’t always be there for him, but I was not going to allow henry to kill my son.” She strolled over to the cell bed, swallowed the lump in her throat and turned her head towards Andrew. “So I killed him first.”

The jail warden came in and told andrew his visit was over, and it was time to leave. As the warden began to escort andrew out of the room his mother cried out to him.

“I cant lose you too Andrew! Be wary of the book! I thought death would stop it but It was only the catalyst!”

madolyn shouted in a desperate attempt to convince her son but her cries fell on deaf ears. Andrew wouldn’t even turn around to face her last plea, nor could he bare to see her face. the guard escorted him out of the room and out of the station. Andrew composed himself, went on home to the biggli’s estate, and told the rest of the maids the situation.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

After taking a moment to recover he layed down on the couch in the living room and dismissed the maids of their duty’s for the night. Andrew simply wished to be alone. The many maids began their walk up to their rooms as andrew shut his eyes and began to lose track of time.

“Creak…creak…”

The biggli's estate though large was also old and the upper floor boards of the manor would often make such sounds. The creaking sounds of the maids brought comfort to Andrew and reminded him of bittersweet memories he shared of his younger brother Dave. The two would often play games in the large estate such as hide and seek in which the sounds of the boards gave clues as to which section of the house the other might be potentially hiding.

Andrew began to long for those times back then, when things were simplier. The times of his childhood were gone however, he was a university student now. Still, having just come home for his brothers birthday the sounds and smells of his home began to bring back memory after memory.

“DINGGG…DONGGG…DINGGG…DONGGG” the clock chimed 8 times before Andrew woke up on the 9th.

Andrew rubbed his eyes and gazed at the clock. Knowing that he couldnt mope around forever he walked over to daves presents that he had received for his birthday. The pile was small, abysmally so, especially for as wealthy as the biggli’s were. There was one particular present ,however, that stood out to andrew the moment he laid eyes upon it. It was a book.

Andrew picked it up and began to flip through the pages. The book had no title and no cover, despite being a hardback. It was worn-out and the pages crinkled and torn. The entire book was empty with exception to the first page. Though feint and hard to read, it was legible. clearly it had aged over the years.

“Henry” and “Dave” were all that was written into the books first page.

The strangest thing about the book wasn't the contents, or lack thereof, but that the only words in the book seemed to be written in the handwriting of those two. He recalled overhearing henry mention he was giving dave a family heirloom for his birthday despite Madolyns wishes. There was nothing else in the pile that resembled anything of the sort.

andrew tossed the book back and began making arrangements for daves and his fathers funeral immediately in order to get his mind off the matter. Andrew spent the remainder of the night contacting the remaining family members. the date was set. Tuesday, march the 5th, they would say their final farewell.

Sure enough, the day came. it was a cold misty evening the day of the funeral, and even the heavens poured out their sorrows on such misfortune. The rest of the family gave their regards as they lowered dave and henry back from which they came. The crowd slowly dispersed as the funeral came to an end, and the rest of the family would surely go back to maintaining their blissful lives.

But to andrew, it wasnt over, more so, it couldn’t be over. He didnt want it to end this way. surely this wasnt the way for things to be. He wouldn’t accept it, in his mind, dave was still alive. Perhaps still in denial, or struck with so much grief he couldn’t comprehend it all at the moment. But no, dave was dead.

Andrew laid on his bed with a heavy heart, contemplating the events of the past 4 days. It was a calm night normal of winter. their mother, madolyn, had already received her trial for the murder of dave, and the boys father, henry. She pleaded insanity and was admitted to a psychiatric facility to be treated. Even still, there was something andrew couldnt quite shake off, the feeling of uncertainty.

Andrew had kept the book meant for dave as a memento on his desk. He kept thinking about the book, so much so, he had began to dream about it during the past few days. Andrew began to wonder if he was in need of sleep or going crazy as well. Thats when andrew began to notice something about the book. He leaned over the bed slightly to verify what he saw. It looked as if the book had writing in it.

The doors had been locked, and the maids were to make sure noone was in the room the past 3 days. It was hard to see from the distance of his bed. Andrew jumped out of bed and rushed over to the book. Sure enough, he began flipping throughout the pages. The book had 9 pages of writing in it.

Oddly enough, it wasnt the writing of the book that caught andrews attention, it was the way it was written. It was in Daves handwriting, etched into the book as if it had been there all along, all the years.

The first page remained blank however, with the same words as before. His mothers words instantly came to his mind. curious, though hesitant, he grabbed a pen and wrote on the page as well.

“Andrew”

Andrew waited in a cold sweat, unsure of what would happen. he sat there at that desk with the book in hand for nearly and hour before realizing that nothing was happening.

“Of course it didnt..” He muttered to himself

It was pure fiction, the realm of fantasy, he thought unto himself. He wanted to believe that Dave was still alive but couldn’t anymore. He had come to terms with reality. Defeated, and wanting to just end the day, andrew crept into bed, and began to sleep.