Savant: God I'm so excited for this!
Axel, Roo, Savant, and Tat are driving down the freeway, making their way towards the Winchester Mystery House with Tat driving, Roo in the passenger seat, and Axel was left in the backseat with Savant.
Savant: Did you know that Sarah Winchester built the house after she ran into a fortune teller warning her about "vengeful spirits" that would make sure she would never be reunited with her deceased husband. She was told to "build a beautiful house at the land where west ends" and to keep building it and never stopping, day and night.
Roo: I do not think I've heard that one before.
Savant: It's not a very popular rumor, but I don't think it's too far from reality honestly.
Axel: Ok but what the hell does having a big house have to do with warding off spirits?
Roo: Spirits were once human and roam the earth as they would have if they were alive. If you had entered a house like that you would surely get lost, and a spirit would be just as lost.
Axel: (Wow)
Tat: There's no proof of any rumor about the house being true. She was rich and widowed with all the time to do something as eccentric as just throwing money into expanding her house. Then it got turned into a tourist trap.
Savant: I can't believe you're being a skeptic.
Tat: Just because we found out that stands exist doesn't mean that we just start believing every bizarre thing we hear now.
Roo: But are we not going to the Winchester house under bizarre circumstances?
Tat: That doesn't mean we throw common sense out the window.
Axel: Doesn't it???
Tat: Please, can we get off this until we get to the house.
Tat: Honestly these three get ahead of themselves. They're too easily taken in by this whole thing, but that's how we normally operate I guess. Even yesterday...
The Day Before
Tat: After delivering its message, Axel told TB to go and the stand disappeared...
Axel: Oh shit! I've seen billboards for this place! It's like a haunted mansion, right?
Roo: It's an architectural marvel~
Savant: They do night tours too!
Tat: Course' we're going to go there to grab the next photo so we can't do that (it's also not haunted)
Tat: They're already starting to lose track of what we should do next
Tat: We're going to need something that can go long distances. Axel, Your brother has a van, right?
Axel: Huh? Um yeah, an old Ford Econoline.
Roo: Not very gas efficient
Savant: Or fast
Tat: It should be fine
Axel: Why do we need something that can go long distances?
Tat: Can you think for a few seconds about it?
Tat: Your grandpa set a trail for us to follow. If I had to guess, none of these hiding spots will be near one another.
Savant: Then would that beat-up old van even be good for this? We might be going to other states. Hell we might go to other countries
Tat: I doubt that, as a matter of fact, we may not even leave California.
Axel: Oh! That actually might be true! My dad said when he was a kid they moved a lot, but he never left California.
Tat: Exactly.
Savant: And the first stop is the Winchester house? This road trip is gonna be good
Axel: Yo you're right! This is totally a road trip!
Axel and Savant: ROAD TRIP!!!
Tat: Goddamn it guys...
Present Day
Axel, Tat, Roo, and Savant stand at the entrance to the Winchester house. Business is booming with a large crowd of people coming in and out. The house is as immense and
Roo: Oh, there sure are a lot of people here today. How lucky for us~
Axel: How? This place has so many damn people in it that it's impossible to not bump into someone here. Everyone is nearly shoulder to shoulder here
Tat: It'll make it easier for me to move around unnoticed looking for that globe.
Axel: Hmm? Just you?
Tat: I have a good understanding of the layout of the building. I've done the research for it in my free time and studied the building's layout to better understand the architecture from the era.
Savant: So the plan is to join the tour and me, Axel, and Roo make sure you can slip away without being noticed?
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Tat: Correct.
Axel: how are you going to know when to do that though?
Tat: Simple
Tat pulls out the photo of Axel's grandpa from her pocket
Tat: Tijuana Brass
Tijuana Brass begins to form and stands tall before the group
Savant: How's TB going to help?
Tat: TB can you lead me to the exact location in this photo?
TB: Of course madam, it would be an honor for me to escort you to that location.
Roo: Ah!~ That does make sense. Axels' grandfather likely didn't want to send anyone in blind and instructed TB to guide whoever asked.
Tat: It could also just be an innate thing TB does without command. I made sure yesterday that he could do this, but it wouldn't have been a problem if it couldn't.
Axel: Right... so we just need to get tickets for a tour then?
Savant: Already dealt with!
Eagerly Savant pulls out some paper with tickets printed on them. The tickets have the group numbers 7 and 11:30 AM printed on them
Savant: Tat told us when we would get here and I bought tickets this morning. We've got thirty minutes till our tour so we might as well look at the gift shop for a bit till then!
Tat: I... Guess
Axel and savant begin to make their way to the entrance to the mansion ahead of Roo and Tat
Axel: Hey we can make this our thing for this trip. We're probably going to go to a lot of different spots like this...
Savant: ... And we can get more stuff along the way and make something like a museum of our trip.
Axel: We can use some wood at my place my dad shoves to the side of the house to "use later"
Tat begins to make her way to the mansion before Roo grabs her shoulder
Roo: This trip does not have to be stressful Tatiana.
Tat immediately turns to Roo angry with what he had just said
Tat: It's not stress, it's a sense of damn urgency! I get that this is Axels' trip but fuck he and Savant aren't taking this seriously. This is why I'm going solo in the house.
Roo: And you will do this everywhere else as well?
Tat: Of course not. I'm making sure we know what we're getting into.
Roo: Oh?~
Tat: Axel just said it, but we'll probably go to other places similar to this. I can get a good idea of what's to come if I safely traverse the house and find any hints as to where he may have hidden other pictures or the kind of protection he has for them.
Roo: and you think you are better equipped?
Tat: Intellectually yes. It'll go faster.
Roo: In my opinion, that is unwise.
Tat: It'll be fine. I'll be in and out with no issue. It'll make this trip easier and then those two can actually afford to do stuff like this.
Roo looks at Tat with an unconvinced worried look on his face.
Roo: ...Fine~
The two catch up to Axel and Savant and push through the crowd making their way into the entrance to the museum which just so happens to be a gift shop. Tables are loaded with cups, shirts, and other 1800's inspired knick-knacks. The shelves are filled with history books regarding the Winchester House, the Winchester company, the old west, and even some books about ghosts and channeling spirits. Tat makes her way to the food court and waits until the tour starts while Axel, Savant, and Roo look around
Axel: Savant you were talking about psychics back in the car. What were some other things that are weird about this place?
Savant: Well not too much, apparently she forbid anyone to look at her face. This may have been due to what the psychic said, but I don't remember off the top of my head.
Axel: did the psychic say why spirits were after her?
Savant: That was because of the Winchester company. They specialized in making guns during the old west days and it's safe to say that a majority of gun-related deaths were caused by a Winchester product in one way or another. I'm pretty sure even more deaths were caused during the Steel Ball Run.
Roo: The deaths during the Steel Ball Run were under mysterious circumstances actually. Very few were killed by a gun, or if they were shot then it was not done by a bullet. Some were, but the vast majority were not.
Axel: Oh! That's pretty weird.
The intercom turns with some static echoing through the gift shop
Announcer: Would group 7 please make their way to the back of the gift shop. Your tour will begin shortly.
Axel: OI, TAT THAT'S US NO MORE STUFFING YOUR FACE LETS GOOO
Roo: I believe she is paying attention and heard the announcement
The three begin to make their way to the back where Tat was already in line holding a spot with the photo in hand
Axel: Oh cool you're already-
Tat throws a punch right under Axel's ribcage. Axel lets out a devastatingly silent wheeze and slowly begins to crumple to his knees and leans over hands on the ground to keep him up.
Tat: Tijuana Brass
Tat: This is the plan; I made sure we'd be in first so that once we're in the natural influx of the rest of the guests block us in a group of people.
Axel: (*Wheeze*... What ... the fuck *Wheeze* )
Savant: (Kinda did that to yourself, buddy)
Tat: Once the tour starts we'll lag behind the group a bit while you three stay in front of me. TB will follow us and I'll tell him to lead me to the globe holding the photo in this picture. Once we see him diverge from the group I'll slip out to go after him.
The guide comes through the door as Axel slowly picks himself up while leaning against a wall for support
Guide: All right! is everyone ready to explore America's spookiest piece of history?
The group gives a hearty YEA! followed by some clapping
Guide: Well alright then! Everybody enter in a single file and once we have everyone we'll be closing the door where there won't be any escape!
The four follow through with the plan Tat planned out with Tat giving a stop-and-go order for TB every so often when the tour stops to explain certain aspects about either the house or Sarah Winchester and her various superstitions.
Guide: All right everyone, next we'll be making our way to the kitchen!
As the tour group goes down a hall Tijuana Brass begins to move towards an entrance with a staircase that has been roped off and begins to go up. Axel, Roo, and Savant begin to hug the wall so that Tat could slip in once they walk past it. Once they make their way to it Tat sees that the staircase has a mirror at the bend showing a room at the top of the staircase. Tat quickly sneaks her way up the staircase to catch up to TB with Axel, Roo, and Savant moving on ahead.
Guide: Ok and here's where...Hm?
The guide looks over the group doing a quick head count.
Guide: Erm... You three. Wasn't there four of you before?
Axel: Hm? No ma'am it's just us three.
Guide: Liar. Punk-ass kids are trying to go off on their own.
Guide: One moment everyone!
The guide goes back a bit to look up the staircase that the group walked past
Guide: You little bastards aren't the first ones to try this.
The guide looks up the roped-off staircase and peers in the mirror.
Guide: Oh. Guess I was wrong. God, I need to use my PTO. This place is really beginning to wear on me
The guide walks away from the staircase. Behind the rope and up the staircase, the mirror that sat at the bend of the staircase shows the staircase leading up to the floorboards.
To Be Continued