"Thanks again for staying late dear. I know that you think all this is a bunch of hooey-"

"I don't-"

"Daniel Atticus Herne you may have worked overtime but that doesn't give you an excuse to lie to me."

"Sorry aunt Debbie."

The old woman put her hands on the boy's cheeks and looked at him, her glare turning to a wide smile in a flash. "You're a good boy Danny, though you shouldn't lie even if it is to spare my feelings. It will only hurt more in the end." Daniel looked down at the woman half his size. Despite it being 11:00 p.m. in the dead of winter she seemed comfortable in her jean shorts and sun blouse, the only thing remotely close to proper attire being a grey cardigan covered in cat hair. The younger sister of his now past mother it seemed a bit strange to see her so bright eyed and cheerful when tomorrow was... 

Danny shook the looming clouds away. "You're right aunt Debbie. I'll try harder next time."

"That's all I ask." she said softly as she pulled him into a hug with a strength in-proportionate to her leaving Danny to flounder for a moment. Letting go after what was an uncomfortably long time (Danny suspected she was trying use him as a shield against the wind) she finally let go of him only to poke him in the chest. "And stop worrying about me! You have got to stop acting like you’re already dead! Live your life! go out; be with friends! Enrich your aura! Be happy! She said while unlocking the door directly next to the store saying as she entered, "Be safe driving home dear, and make sure your father is too. You know how he is this time of the year..." 

"Goodnight aunt Debbie." Daniel said tersely as he clambered into his red and white pick up. He didn't like being short with her but she had a tendency to ramble on and if the strange girl he had met earlier that day was any indication, he'd need as much rest as he could get tomorrow. waiting for the sound of her locking the door before turning on the engine.
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJBEVgnND6k[/url] 

[i]Yeah. Drive safe. Who knows what might happen around here.[/i] Thought Daniel as he drove his lumbering beast of a truck over the winding hills of downtown Oakenheim. Passing by rustic store fronts, Daniel followed the string of incandescent lights looking towards the horizon where he could make out the silhouette of the old lighthouse that was only an empty shell of its supposed former glory. The thing was turned into a historical monument long before Daniel had moved here and was just another in a long string of attempts by the Oakenheim board of tourism to bring relevance to the sea-side town. According to his dad it was due to the fact that even though the town was practically as old as the country it often was forgotten in place of places like Roanoke and Salem. Still it was better than the tourist shops that would sell merchandise based around local legends of cryptids and ghosts. Most of the time the stores would bring people much weirder than anything the locals could boast about.

It wasn't that Daniel didn't believe in the supernatural as he had tried to explain to his aunt. It was just that if there were such things as angels or demons, he didn't think that having a crystal underneath your pillow would bring some or stave off others. If there was one thing that Daniel believed in for sure, it was that man made his own miracles. "Suppose that'd make me a Diest." murmured as he pulled into his driveway only now realizing he had already gone the twelve miles to his house. Turning off the engine Daniel rested his chin on the steering wheel and looked at the place he called home for the past decade. An old farmhouse that had at some point been painted a pale turquoise over the years have worn down on the old two story leaving its coat bleached and chipped. Luckily his dad had recently fixed the shutters so they wouldn't squeak leaving it a little less like a locale from a slasher flick. 

[i]Man, if I'm this out of it how bad is Dad?[/i]

Getting out his truck Daniel quickly made his way onto the porch and into the (unlocked?) house. When he turned immediately to the right he saw in the den his dad asleep in his recliner in front of the T.V.- a half-empty bottle of beer still in his hand his head lulled back as he let out a deafening snore. Looking over at the television Daniel saw it was playing [u]Plan 9 From Outer Space.[/u]

[i]Okay, [b]that [/b]bad.[/i]

Prying the bottle from his hand Danny patted his father's bearded face. "Dad...Dad....Dad!" said at first gingerly raising it a decibel or so until his father awoke with a start. "HOO WHA- what? Oh hey there Danny I was wondering when you'd get home..." his father said as he was already starting to fall back asleep. Putting an arm over his shoulder Danny helped him up saying, "C'mon dad you need to get some sleep can't have the sheriff looking like he's fresh from the drunk tank." 

"I'll have you know I'm musch better than any of those dejhenerates...I'm a dejhenerate wish [i]you for a son![/i]" the older Herne replied his words progressively becoming more and more slurred. The younger one wrinkled his nose as the stench of alcohol spewed from his father's mouth. 

[i]Guess he hasn't been sticking to beer only.[/i] Daniel thought as the two made their way up the stairs before stating, "Either way, if you're going to be pants-less you're going to have to be in your own bed." which caused the large man to let loose a larger laugh. Helping his dad into his bed Danny quickly went to the adjacent bathroom and retrieved some pain meds and when he returned he saw that his dad now wrapped up in a comforter was suddenly very quiet. "That movie was her favorite, you know." Daniel sat down at the foot of his bed and looked down at his father who somehow looked in his forties and four. "I remember when I was first chasing after your mother I asked her best friend Peggy Allen to tell me what she liked and she told me movies. And after what felt like months of begging and pleading she finally decided to go on a date with me to an old drive in theater two towns over, where we went to go see it. I remember- I remember afterwards I asked her what she thought of it and she said-'it was the worst movie I have seen and you, Gregory Herne are an idiot with no taste' And you know what she said after that?"

A lump formed in Daniel's throat. "She said 'if you really sat through such an awful movie just for my sake then you are one dense man, Greg Herne." 

"And that if I really wanted to impress her I should try again." Greg Herne finished. For a time they sat there in silence, the only light coming from the dim table lamp that sat next to an alarm clock. Leaning over Daniel kissed his father on the forehead and softly said, "I miss her too, Dad." Turning off the bedside lamp Daniel gently closed the door behind him and went to his own room and layed in bed, looking up at the ceiling fan as it lazily spun about. Turning over Danny looked at the picture on his nightstand. In it was a young, clean-shaven man with a small child sitting on his lap, the child himself having a big toothy grin, his eyes hidden beneath a curtain of black bangs, while above the two a woman leaned over the man, her slender arms encircling the man to rest her hands on the boy's shoulders; her own face beaming with pride her brownish-red hair falling in gentle waves that framed her face. But perhaps what was her most striking feature were those eyes that twinkled, those eyes that had seemed to know no burden. 

Feeling the tears well up in his own, Daniel turn his back to the picture to see that the envelope he had received earlier that day sticking out of his backpack. [i]To those that are aware of the unseen and unexplained, you are not alone. Strange things have been happening in this town, and while many refuse to accept this, or are unable to, we have the opportunity to do something about it. If you wish to know more, then please meet me in room 12C. I will understand if you ignore this message. [/i]

At first Danny had thought it a prank or some strange marketing scheme for the plethora of tourist traps that were in town, but still his gut told him to check it out. When he swung by the room he saw some douche-nozzle screaming at a group of misanthropes leaving him to nope the fuck out of there before he got caught up in the drama. Still, his aunt's words pervaded his thoughts. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was just going through the motions of life. Reaching for his phone he went through his contact list. In his brief glance of the class room he had seen Kanoa's signature class uniform was among the people. She might have been a bit of a space case but she was on the up-and-up, and that favor he had done her a few months back hadn't been too bad. If she was part of the group they probably weren't too bad. Or at least knowingly try and scam him. Finally finding her number he simply texted her, "Your offer still stand?"

                                          *************************************************
[i]Go on. They're all there you won't be the first one. And that weird snobby guy isn't there. If you don't fit in with the other pariahs its's no big deal, things will go back to how things are. Just put yourself out there. For aunt Debra.[/i]

Danny let out a sigh. It's not like he could back out now. He slammed his hands on the steering wheel. "Damn it," he breathed, "Damn it, damn it damn it!" Collecting himself he flipped down the vanity mirror and gave himself the once over. A collared shirt with a simple gray, button up sweater over it, a pair of dark khaki pants and a navy blue duffle coat, while his hands were covered by thin, wool gloves that stopped at the second knuckles. 

[i]It will have to do[/i]

Grabbing his canvas backpack from the passenger seat Danny adjusted the handle of the khukri that he brought so it wouldn't be poking him in the face as he slung it over his shoulder. While it hadn't been directly stated it seemed that for whatever reason they were going out to the woods and would be out for a long time.

 [i]so he decided to bring a tool that was able to chop through an adult pig in a single swing?[/i]

"Because if we need wood or to cut through brush. I got other things like a thermos and lighter and a first aid kit... And trail mix!" He argued. With himself. "Well shit, if I'm going to go crazy I might as well do it with a live studio audience." [i]Good, good. Get all the stupid out of your system nice and early.[/i] Lurching out of his old rust bucket, Danny quickly locked the door and strode across the street to them. Giving Kanoa a nod Danny took note of those who filled the child's play area with a note of dread. 

August Battaglia: Danny's dad must have pulled her in for messing with telephone lines at least half a dozen times. 

John Maxwell: Daniel could remember as clear as crystal when the entire school was buzzing when he tried to off himself. 

Corey Warner?: As far as Danny knew, Corey was a jock through and through. Though according to mutual friends he wasn't on the soccer team anymore. Must have messed him up worse than he had heard

The others he hadn't recognized and as far as he was concerned the ones he knew the name of weren't even aware of his existence. As for the other three? Danny had to make a physical effort to not to pull out his khukri then and there. It wasn't that they were doing anything wrong. In fact, these three were the archetypes of who Danny had assumed would attend this little shin-dig. But something in his gut told him that they were bad news. It was only then that he had realized that he had been standing at the edge of the park with his hand halfway to his bag. Trying to pass off the fact that his first instinct was to purge half the group he turned his raised hand into a small wave and casually said, "Howdy folks. I'm Daniel Herne. I uh, sort of missed the meeting yesterday. I was told we were going to go for a hike in the woods or something?"

[i]Live life she says. 

Go make friends she says.

I swear if I end up dead by the end of the day I'm going to kill Aunt Debbie.[/i]