Vicariously

On a scale typically ranging from begrudging acceptance to downright despisal, Sebastian ranked sweeping the floor and taking out the trash off the charts for chores required at the orphanage. He never argued, but the only duty he ever willingly volunteered for was getting the mail.

It wasn’t like he regularly expected anything for himself, but the random junk mail and monthly magazines they sometimes let him take were the closest they got to receiving presents. He cherished feeling like Santa Claus making the delivery when a fellow orphan received mail, especially if it was from their pen pal program.

Sebastian hadn’t received a letter yet, but it wasn’t through lack of trying. The program was his main motivation for completing any chores unrelated to the mail as he could receive up to four stamps per week as payment. Saving some up to use once he made a connection seemed prudent, but instead Sebastian was using every stamp as quick as he got it to spam out the same letter.

“Hi, my name is Sebastian. How are you doing? Life in the orphanage is the same routine day after day, and I’d love to find a pen pal with some excitement in their life that I can live vicariously through. Could that be you? Do you play any sports? Who is your favorite super hero? What do you want to be when you grow up? I shoot some hoops here, but we don’t have an official team. I’m always torn between Batman and Spider-Man. And I used to want to be an astronaut, but now I dream of being an archaeologist like Indiana Jones or an animal expert like Steve Irwin. Anyway, I hope to hear back from you soon. Sincerely, Sebastian.”

Wednesday marked the first of the month which was always an exciting day for the mail as many of the magazines arrived. This month’s supply felt heavier than usual as he spread the wealth around the room, but Sebastian assumed they had a new subscription or two. It wasn’t until he reached the bottom of the stack that he saw the thick envelope addressed to him.

Sebastian raced to his bed and tore the envelope open even faster. As he dumped it out, no letter floated down. There was only the gentle thud of a small black notebook and a ball-point pen, and etched into the cover it said “To Sebastian. Forget vicariously, how about you live for yourself?”

The notebook was blank but for a poem on the opening page.

“My family’s wealth brings comfort,

But comfort makes me bored,

So how about you play a game,

To win that which we hoard?

I’ve hid the prize within a house,

Which many think is haunted,

Will your bravery and greed win out,

Or does this thought have you daunted?

The house looks partly like a castle,

And partly like a mortuary,

Navigation will be quite the hassle,

The modified inside is beyond scary,

So take the chance if you dare,

I’d love to hear your screams and hollers,

There are many dangers to beware,

But they could be worth $20,000.”

Sebastian hadn’t priced out courses for archeology or zoology, but he knew $20,000 would get him much farther than the $0 and one stamp currently to his name. Still, he couldn’t care much less about the potential reward. He was all about the journey.

The journey was about to get a little more crowded as Sarah spotted his new prized possession and swooped in to take a look.

“That looks a little more intriguing then the usual coupons and weekly ads you flip through. What’d you get?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Silent Sebastian strikes again. Luckily I have a foot and about 20 pounds on you, so I’ll just be taking that, thank you … What does vick-hair-oosly mean?”

“Vicariously.”

“I didn’t ask how you pronounce it.”

“It means experiencing something through the actions of another person, like the excitement you feel from watching something intense in a movie or reading it from a book.”

“Well I don’t care about all that, but $20,000?! Now you have my interest.”

“Please keep it down!”

“Bring me with you. We can live vicariously through this and split the money.”

“I wish I could say you were getting that word in the slightest, but not so much. Why should I bring you and cut my money in half?”

“Well from the sounds of this creepy poem, you might struggle to even survive this on your own, and I don’t know much you can do with $20,000. And more importantly, I know you won’t survive my wrath if you don’t bring me along, so you might as well take your chances.”

“Point well taken. Let’s sneak out tonight.”

Sebastian and Sarah waited until 20 minutes after lights out before crawling out of the room. He would have been more disgusted, but luckily he hadn’t been on floor duty yet this week. Gary had the pleasure today, and his obsessive cleaning tendencies at least left the floor just north of completely disgusting.

On their way out, Sarah used a hair pin to pick the lock on the supply closet to get them a flashlight. Her technique was nothing more than frantic shaking of the pin, but this wasn’t a particularly great lock. She was paying off already. Perhaps a flashlight falls short of $10,000 in value, but it was a start.

Only one place fit the description of the morgue/mansion hybrid described in the poem. Wellington Manor had been abandoned for longer than Sebastian and Sarah had been alive, and the stories of what lied within were endless. Ghosts were the most popular theory. Vampires were a close second, and a mad scientist was also heavily rumored.

Sarah was too excited about the money to be fazed by the ghost stories, and Sebastian was too eager for the adventure. They coincidentally hammered down the pair of large brass knockers on the front door in unison, but they waited a couple minutes with no response. As he stepped back from the door, Sebastian noticed a distinct hollowness to the sound of his footsteps on the porch. He attempted to grab Sarah’s arm as she reached for the doorbell, but he was too late as she made contact and the floor dropped out beneath them.

(Unfortunately I didn’t see the ad for this contest until the final day for submissions, and despite racing through after work this was as far as I could get. I’m sure it can’t win as it is not completed, but I still wanted to sign up for an account and submit my work in progress, and I will plan to finish this and submit the completed story soon)