Grey Manor

We pulled up to an enormous home in the woodlands of New York. The drive was long but beautiful. I enjoyed seeing the large trees lining the sides of the roads. We didn't make it out to the country very often, only when business would take us to people's homes. Aj and I grew up in the Midwest, we had seen our fair share of countryside. This was different but still had a feeling of home. My phone pinged and I pulled it out. It was a text message from Zack.

"Your meeting is in an hour here's the address, 2277 Oak Street, Old Forge, New York 13420. It's way out in the boonies so make sure you gas up." -Zack. It ended with smiley face and thumbs up emojis.

I was smiling at the emojis when I realized the address he sent me was the very place we had just pulled into. I gasped.

"What!?" She exclaimed.

"Its the same address. My meeting today is with Gregory." astonished I put down my phone and peered out the windshield.

"Whoa, Spooky." She turned her head in the same direction as me.

I got chills and physically shook. This guy already planned on meeting with me. He had come into the gallery not expecting me to be there. What was he doing? Everything was starting to feel weird, and it freaked me out.

We both got out of the car and shut the doors. The sounds spooked some birds that were in a nearby bush. It startled me as well and I quickly rose my hand to my chest. I could hear Aj giggle a little. At least SHE was having fun.

I surveyed the area. The woods surrounded the house. The driveway where we were parked was a roundabout with a garden in the center. The grounds seemed to be well kept and I assumed there was a gardener among other employees. I was curious to know if there was a large back yard or not but was also not about to ask.

The house itself was a large gothic revival style. It reminded me of the Addams family home except this one was painted baby blue with white trim. Someone had wanted to make sure it looked welcoming instead of creepy. There was a large porch on the front that wrapped around the house and all I could picture was a woman in a rocking chair knitting while her husband sat next to her smoking a pipe. The image started to calm me slightly. But I was still on edge.

We walked next to each other and took the steps in unison. We both stood in front of the big door, which was much larger than it had appeared from the driveway. It was also bright red and didn't seem to match the rest of the house. There was a door knocker that was shaped like a gargoyle but was obviously not in use since there was a doorbell with a camera near the doorframe.

With hesitation I buzzed the doorbell. A voice came through with static and a loud high-pitched noise. Both me and Aj cringed at the sound.

"Welcome to Grey Manor, please state your name and business clearly." The voice was monotone and rehearsed.

I cleared my throat and attempted my best business voice. "Violet and Alexandra Rowley-Davis, we are here to see Dr. Gregory Douglas. I have an appointment, I'm a little early but I hope he can still see us."

There was a long pause. When we heard a click and the heavy door creaked open. I glanced over at Aj, she seemed captivated and curious. The door opened wider, and she began to enter. I quickly grabbed her hand and she squeezed it in response, as if to say, "Its ok, I'm right here." I was comforted by that, and we both crept in slowly.

We glanced around and inside it was quite modern. There were short white pillars on either side of us filled with aromatic flowers. I saw paintings lining the walls. He was, for sure, an art collector. Before we could explore any further, we heard a voice from above.

"Greetings and Salutations." Gregory smiled and held out both arms wide in welcome. He wore a gray pinstriped suit with no tie and a white button up underneath. His hair was slicked back the same way he wore it at the gallery. He stood on a balcony with two curved staircases on either side. He descended on the left and with one arm sliding down the railing he kept the other arm raised and swung it back and forth showing off all the paintings on the wall.

"Thank you for meeting me here at my home, it's nice to have visitors." He dropped his arm and put his other hand in his pocket.

"Please, after you," He gestured towards the open room near the bottom of the staircase. "Dinner will be served in the dining room. I hope you like duck." A large grin grew across his face.