The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation - 14. The Worst is Over

Halloween was now less than a week away, but the boys had decided against canceling the Haunted House. For a brief time, Jesse and his friends had thought it might be best to forgo this activity, in deference to Elliot’s condition. However, now that he was on the mend, they decided to go ahead with it.

Now that he’s started speaking again, Elliot has become fairly close to Jesse. At first, I believed it was only because they shared a similar traumatic experience, but it didn’t take long before I could see there more to it than just that. Jesse was eager to introduce Elliot to his friends when they came over to our place to work on the Haunted House. Each of those boys treated Elliot very well and even took time to chat with him, in an effort to ask questions about his life. They didn’t include Elliot in on what they were doing for the Haunted House though, because they wanted him to be surprised when they took him through it. Since I thought this was reasonable, I helped keep Elliot busy while they were working.

Now that Elliot was recovering, Danny, Brandon and I had other issues to take into consideration. First of all, we needed to talk about his academic future. Up until now, we had agreed not to enroll him in school, for a couple of reasons. First, he had been uncommunicative until recently and, second, we were concerned if he would be able to deal with social interactions. His father’s murder had taken such an extreme psychological and emotional toll on him that he had become reluctant to deal with anyone unfamiliar to him. Therefore, we felt it would be useless to place him in a classroom setting and force him to deal with situations he might not be ready to cope with. Now that he is doing better and interacting with some of Jesse’s friends, we concluded it was time to finally enroll him.

After talking about this at great length, we decided to give him a few more days to recuperate before subjecting him to the rigors of a new high school. We’d wait until the following Monday, which would be the first Monday in November, to get things started. In the meantime, Danny and Brandon could discuss the situation with Elliot and explain why he would be going to a public school, rather than a private one. Once these decisions had been made, I realized it was time to discuss another issue.

“Okay, how do you want to handle the police now,” I asked. “You know they’ve been calling nearly every day wanting to know when they can speak with Elliot.”

“What do you think?” Danny asked me in return. “I’d like your opinion before I give you mine.” I thought that sounded fair.

“I think Elliot might be able to handle speaking with them now, with one stipulation,” I answered, “I feel one of us should be with him when he is questioned. He’s been through a lot, but I think he can handle the pressure, as long as one of us is there for moral support and to protect him. Whoever is with him can make sure things don’t get out of hand and the police don’t get too aggressive.”

“Do you really think he’s ready for this?” Brandon questioned. “I mean he’s just starting to come out of his shell.”

“I know, but he was able to open up to me and then share his story with you,” I answered. “I believe it also helped for him to get it out of his system, because he had been holding in a lot of guilt. It was difficult for him to do this at first, but he seemed to have a much easier time telling you. He was also able to answer your other questions as well, so I think he will be able to do the same thing with the police, as long as they don’t get too rough with him.”

“If that’s what you think, then would you call the detective back and set it up?” Danny asked.

“I’ll just wait and suggest it to them when they call again,” I recommended. “When would be a good time for you to have me schedule this?”

“I have Saturday off again and Brand only works until noon. Right honey?” Danny stated.

“Yes, I get off around noon,” Brandon confirmed.

“Okay, what if I set it up for like two or three on Saturday. Will that be all right?” I asked.

“That would be fine with me,” Brandon agreed, “but would you be willing to go with us when the time comes?”

“I think that might be a little overkill. You don’t really need me,” I responded.

“Brandon’s right! I’d feel better if you were there,” Danny confirmed. “You were there when the police took us in for questioning and you know more about handling these types of situations than we do. I think it would be best for Elliot if you were there with us.”

“And how will we explain all of this to the police?” I wondered. They took a minute to think about this before responding.

“We’re his parents, I’m his doctor and you are his legal guardian,” Danny began, “If they can’t agree to these ground rules, which as his doctor I feel are necessary for his protection, then I won’t allow him to be interviewed.”

“I’m not sure they’ll like that,” I replied.

“If they don’t, then like Danny said, we won’t allow them to question him,” Brandon jumped in.

“That’s a pretty risky gambit,” I shot back.

“Maybe, but we feel strongly about this and we want you there too,” Brandon stated. “Will you go with us? Please?”

“Dad, I also think Elliot would feel more comfortable if you were there with us,” Danny added. “Keep in mind, Elliot opened up to you first, so I think it would make it easier for him if you were there when he had to relive it again.”

“I appreciate that, but I’m still not convinced…” I began, but Danny cut me off.

“Dad, let’s be honest. Elliot has been spending far more time with you than us, because you’re home with him all day long, while we’re at work. We’ve both noticed that Elliot seems to relax when you’re near him, so you’d really be making this easier on him if you were there with us when he does this.”

“Okay, you may be right, but I’m still not sure the police are going to allow it,” I conceded. “If the detective will agree to let me go in with you, then I have no problem doing so. It’s just that I don’t want to push my way into the picture and step on any toes in the process either.”

“Dad, you know better than that,” Danny responded. “We trust you completely and wouldn’t even have Elliot, if we didn’t have your support. That’s why we’d like you to take an active part in helping us raise these boys, if you’re willing. You’ve still got a lot to give and Brandon and I have a great deal to learn about being parents.”

“Guys, I’ll be happy to help out in any way I can, so don’t worry about that,” I agreed. “I just didn’t feel it would be wise for me to take more boys in on my own, because I was concerned that I might not be around as long as they needed. At least with you two coming back and taking over, I know they’ll always be someone here to watch over our family.

“Yes, Jake would have been here if something had happened to me,” I continued, “but sometimes he has problems dealing with situations as they come up. Jake’s admitted to me, on more than one occasion, that he doesn’t feel he did a good job with Shannon when they were on their own. He says that only improved when they moved in with us. He’s also told me he doesn’t always feel comfortable when addressing certain issues, but now you’ll be here to handle the situations Jake isn’t comfortable with. With you and Brandon in charge and Jake around to help you out, you’ll be able to work together and take care of anything that pops up. That is why I’m no longer worried about what will happen if I’m not around.”

“But that’s not going to happen. You’re going to be with us for a long time to come,” Brandon stated, adamantly.

“We can’t be sure,” I confessed. “But with you two and Jake to look after the boys, I’m not as worried about what will happen to them without me. Besides, Trey and Dion have come home and taken over most of the responsibility for Joshie, so I don’t have that to worry about either. I’m certain they’ll be willing to help you too, if they opt to stick around. In the meantime, I’m willing to do whatever I can, as long as you need me.”

“Oh, we need you and want you involved,” Danny assured me. “Elliot needs a lot of attention right now and we couldn’t have done this without knowing you were going to be around to look after him during the day and whenever he’s not in school.”

“I’ll admit, I’ve enjoyed having him around,” I confessed. “I also think it’s good for Jesse to have Elliot here as well. Seeing them together these past few days has brought back memories of the good old days, when you two were much younger.” Danny and Brandon smiled.

“Like the time right before and just after our first trip to D.C.?” Brandon asked.

“Yes. I remember that trip as if it happened yesterday,” I admitted, while growing a bit nostalgic.

“Well, it seems a little longer than that for us,” Danny teased, “but I remember that trip with many fond memories.”

“Like the first time we made love,” Brandon interjected, with a bit of a sigh.

“Yeah, that too,” Danny agreed, and then he had an afterthought. “You don’t think those two are messing around, do you?”

“No, I don’t believe they’re doing anything sexual, at least not yet,” I replied. “Jesse probably would have said something first, before he did anything, but I believe that spending time with Jesse has helped Elliot feel more comfortable about being here.”

“Yes, I can remember what that was like too,” Danny admitted. “When I first came here, it wasn’t very easy for me either. If you can remember back that far, I was really scared after my father threw me out. It was mostly because I had no idea where I was going to live or what I was going to do, and then suddenly I was put here with you and Ricky.

“Having Ricky around did end up making it easier for me to feel that I could fit in here too, especially after I learned he wasn’t your biological son either. I figured if you had taken him in and he was happy and felt like he belonged, then maybe it could work out for me too. That was a big concession, since when I first showed up here, I still felt that being thrown out of my house was the worst thing that could ever happen to me. In the end, it turned out to be the best break of my life, especially after I met Brandon too.”

I could tell both Danny and Brandon were thinking back to those times and getting a little teary eyed in the process. Therefore, I thought it would be best to put an end to this little stroll down memory lane, before they became too maudlin.

“Okay, I’ll take care of arranging for Elliot to talk to the police then,” I told them, “but I’ll let you enroll him in school.”

“That’s fine,” Brandon agreed. “I’m going in to work a little later on Monday, so I’ll have time to do it.”

Seeing those matters had been taken care of, I told Danny and Brandon that I was going off to find Elliot. I thought it might be best to discuss this idea with him first, before the police called again. I didn’t want us to commit to anything unless Elliot thought he could handle it too. I wanted to get it straight from the horse’s mouth. Elliot was back in the rec room with Jesse, so I didn’t interrupt. When I saw him come out, a short time later, I asked if I could speak with him.

“Did I do something wrong?” Elliot asked, right away.

“No, not at all,” I answered. “I just need to see what you think about something.”

“Okay, what’s up?” he answered, while giving me a questioning glance.

“I think you know the police have been calling almost every day, because they want to talk to you about what happened,” I confirmed.

“Oh, yeah. I know they’ve been calling,” he admitted.

“Do you think you’re ready to do this yet?” I followed. “I don’t want to tell them you are, if you aren’t sure. Danny and Brandon have said they’re willing to go with you on Saturday, if you think you can do this, so I need to know if you think you’re ready.”

“Do you know what they’re going to ask me?” Elliot wanted to know. He looked worried.

“The police will want to know what happened on the last night you were with your father, beginning at the restaurant and up until they found you in the woods,” I explained. “Do you think you can do that?”

“All I have to do is tell them what I told you. Right?” he asked, and I nodded. “Okay, I think I can do that then.”

I was glad to see he looked confident when giving his answer, so now I just had to pray what actually happens isn’t harder on him than what he’s envisioned. A bad experience might trigger a setback in his recovery.

The next time the police called, I explained that Elliot had recently started talking again and then agreed to bring him to the station house Saturday afternoon, so they could finally speak with him. The detective on the other end of the call seemed thrilled that we had finally agreed to let them hold this meeting with Elliot, but I warned him that Elliot’s condition was still fragile and he might shut down if they pushed him too hard. He said he understood and would try to take it easy on him. However, I didn’t tell him we were all coming down with Elliot too, because I didn’t want to give his department time to prepare their opposition to our being there.

When Brandon got home from work on Saturday, he took a few minutes to clean up and change first, before we took Elliot to the police station. Once he was ready, we led Elliot to the car and made our way there. Upon entering the building, we went directly to the front desk, announced our arrival and then stated the reason we were there. The officer on duty then made a quick phone call, to pass the message along to the detective division.

When the detectives came out to greet us and learned what we wanted to do, they tried to limit us to just one person going in with Elliot. However, Danny and Brandon stood their ground. They gave the detectives an ultimatum. Either we all are allowed to go in with Elliot or they’d have to wait until he has completely recovered from this traumatic episode. Reluctantly, the detectives eventually gave in.

We were then led to a small room, where the questioning would take place. Even though they had three or four of these types of rooms, it just happened that they took us to the same room where, several years previously, some of my sons had been interrogated about their involvement in David Hubbard’s severe beating. That incident had included Danny and Brandon, and I saw a dark glimmer of recognition when they saw where we were going. I assumed being led here had dredged up some painful memories for them.

The interview started out with Elliot repeating the same story he had told us. Then, one of the detectives began asking him questions about that night.

“So you didn’t see anyone at the motel or hear what they were saying?” the detective asked, and Elliot shook his head.

“But you did see the men at the restaurant?” the detective followed, and Elliot nodded.

“If I show you a bunch of photographs, do you think you’ll be able to recognize those guys and point them out to me?” the detective wondered.

Elliot looked at us first and we could tell he had suddenly grown quite nervous, so Danny placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll try,” he said, meekly.

The detective then got up and walked over to a cabinet. He opened the door, took something out and then came back to the table carrying two cardboard sheets. Each one had multiple photos attached to it. He set the first one down in front of Elliot. Elliot looked the pictures over carefully and pointed to one of them. The detective then asked if he recognized anyone else and Elliot told him no. The detective quickly set down the other sheet, and after studying it for a while, Elliot pointed at another of the photos.

“Do you recognize anyone else?” the detective barked.

When Elliot shook his head, the detective reached out and grabbed Elliot’s shoulder and began to shake him slightly.

“Concentrate! Look at them again!” he ordered, and Elliot suddenly looked terrified.

“Get your hands off of him!” Brandon shouted, while rising from his chair. “You touch him again and we’re out of here.”

Brandon then moved over to comfort Elliot.

“I’m sorry,” the detective responded, although his delivery seemed to be lacking in sincerity. “But isn’t there anyone else you recognize?”

“One guy looks a little familiar, but I’m just not sure why,” Elliot stated.

“Point that one out to me then,” the detective ordered, forcefully.

“No, because I’m not sure why he looks familiar,” Elliot replied. “It may just be that I saw him somewhere else or he could have been one of the people eating at the restaurant that night.”

”Come on, kid, just point him out to me,” the detective pleaded.

“He’s not going to do it, so take what he’s given you,” Danny said, quite forcefully.

The detective stared threateningly at him for a few moments and then nodded.

“Well, he’s picked out two of the three men we’ve taken into custody and interrogated,” the detective acknowledged.

He didn’t seem thrilled about this, but he wasn’t totally upset either. He then tried to push to get more information out of Elliot, but Elliot kept telling him he didn’t know anything else. When the detective got too persistent and aggressive again, Danny and Brandon ended the interview and we took Elliot home. Of course, the detective was upset about this sudden turn of events and objected vehemently, so I jumped into the fray. I informed the detective that any further questions should come through Danny, Brandon or me first and then we’ll relay Elliot’s answer. If that wasn’t good enough, then he could just contact our attorney. To say the least, he was pissed.

On the way home, Elliot thanked us for making the detective stop when we did. He told us the guy was making him nervous and scaring him so badly that he couldn’t even think. We told him we understood and then assured him he wouldn’t have to speak directly with that man again.

Once we were sure Elliot was feeling better, Danny turned to me and spoke.

“Did you recognize that room we were in?” he asked.

“I did, but I was hoping you two didn’t,” I replied.

“We did and I can’t believe it still freaked me out, after all these years,” Danny continued.

“Me too,” Brandon added. “At first, I wasn’t even sure I could go in there again.”

“You’ve been in that room before?” Elliot asked absentmindedly, as he glanced out the window at the passing scenery.

“Yes,” Danny admitted. “Back when we were in high school. Or were we in college already?”

“We were in college,” Brandon answered. “It was the summer between our sophomore and junior years.”

“That’s right, because we didn’t think they were going to let us return to our campuses, once classes started,” Danny suddenly remembered.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Brandon confirmed.

“So how did you end up at the police station back then?” Elliot pressed, as he turned toward his foster dads.

“We hadn’t done anything,” Danny answered. “It was just that this guy who held a grudge against us said we did something, when we hadn’t. The police took his word for it and arrested us for beating him up, but it was later proven in court that we didn’t do it.”

“He said you beat him up and they just took his word for it?” Elliot tried to clarify.

“Yeah, pretty much. They took us in, along with your Uncle Pat and Uncle Shannon,” Brandon answered. “I know you haven’t met them yet, but you will.”

“So what really happened then?” Elliot asked, continuing the story.

“Some low-life drug dealer gave him the beating,” Danny answered. “That’s why he couldn’t say what happened. If he did, he’d also have to admit he was buying drugs at the time. Instead, he used what happened to him to try to get even with us for something that had happened in high school.”

“But he didn’t get away with it. Right?” Elliot continued.

“Right,” Brandon replied. “Your Uncle Mark remembered something that proved it couldn’t have happened the way the guy said, and Uncle Mark had the evidence to back up what he was saying. That was enough to convince the jury we didn’t do it.”

“That’s great,” Elliot stated, “but having so many uncles is sure getting confusing. I think I need flash cards.”

“It will take some time to get used to this,” Brandon agreed, “but in the end I think you’re going to like having so many around. They’re a great group of guys and you can always depend on them being there when you need something.”

“Sounds cool,” Elliot agreed. “As an only child, I always wanted a bigger family. I can’t wait to meet the rest of them,”

When we got home, I explained everything that had happened to Jake and told him about the room we were in, since his son had been part of that group too. He wasn’t so sure it was just a coincidence though. He thought it was more likely that the police had chosen that room to put extra pressure on Danny and Brandon and make them suffer for being unwilling to go along with their request. Actually, he meant both requests. First, for making them wait so long before they got to question Elliot and then for pushing to have more than one person go in with him. I agreed the police might have done this, even though I thought it highly unlikely. First of all, no one from the police department knew who would be coming down with Elliot and I’m not sure any of them would have remembered so much detail about something that happened nearly seven years before.

I also told Jake that Elliot’s interview should end the process and it was now up to the police to use that information to make the arrests. I also told him, just in case anyone else called to set something up with Elliot, that no one from the police department would be allowed to speak directly with Elliot again. I told him from now on one of us would relay his answers and Elliot wasn’t going to speak to them directly, unless we approved it and were with him at the time. Jake assured me he would honor our wishes, so we put this matter to bed – for now. All that was left was for the criminal justice system to arrest, try and, hopefully, convict the guilty parties.

Putting that behind us, we now began to focus on happier business. Since tomorrow is Halloween, it was time for us to transform our place into a Haunted House. Jesse’s friends showed up before it got dark, with their younger siblings in tow. There were even more of them now, than just the two Jesse had started with. Those three boys had gotten more people involved in helping them, so they could both finish in time and also to fill the various roles in our little maze of terror. Therefore, there were quite a few people here, itching to get started.

Jesse’s friends also brought their younger brothers and sisters with them, because they were planning to take them, Elliot and Joshie through the Haunted House for a practice run. Since they weren’t quite ready to get started, I waited in the family room with the group that would be taking the tour. Once I received word that everything was set, I took that group outside and led them around to the back of our house, where their adventure would begin.

We started out by passing through our little graveyard, with its tombstones containing the names of some of the worst murders in history. There was one for Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacey, Son of Sam, Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson, Joseph Stalin, Vlad the Impaler, Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. As we had done in the past, this area contained a surprise and everyone jumped and screamed when one of Jesse’s friends emerged from under an artificial grass rug in front of one of the tombstones.

After that little scare, the children had to make their way across our newest obstacle. This year, the boys had asked me to construct a small, suspension type walkway that everyone would have to cross in order to get to our backdoor. I did this using chains and slender wooden strips and then fastened this temporary structure to several stakes, which I had driven into the ground on either side of the walkway. It was only a few inches above the ground, but it swayed gently from side to side as the person crossed. This forced the individual to concentrate on what he was doing, or else he might fall. It wasn’t dangerous, but merely another different and somewhat nerve-wracking thing for them to experience.

As soon as the children stepped on this footbridge, it began to move. Immediately, they all froze for a split second, before they continued on. They were still tentative about crossing it, but soon realized it wasn’t as treacherous as they feared. I have a feeling our suspension walkway is going to be a big hit tomorrow night.

Once the group reached the back door, the next series of ghoulish surprises lurked within. As soon as the door opened, the sounds of maniacal laughter and screams filled the air, along with the flashing of strobe lights. The strobe lights were used to give everything an otherworldly and supernatural appearance. As they entered, Dracula opened his coffin and sat up. While Dracula was busy distracting our visitors, others who were dressed in hideous costumes rushed up and grabbed a hold of our guests, which elicited a round of screams.

Once they had gotten over this shocking experience, the children walked, single file, between two skeletons. They couldn’t get around them any other way, otherwise they’d step on the headless corpses we had placed on either side of our slender walkway. The skeletons had been arranged so our visitors would be certain to bump into one or the other as they passed by.

Jesse and his friends had added another new feature this year, which they now set into motion, as the unsuspecting visitors moved down the short hallway leading toward the basement door – their next destination. One of Jesse’s friends’ fathers had somehow gotten a hold of a large plastic replica of the front of a snub-nose cab for an 18-wheeler. The boys had hooked up battery-generated headlights to it, which they suddenly turned on. As they did this, another one blasted an air-horn, while the other boy pushed the ‘truck cab’ at the visitors. Those in the front of the line all stopped dead in their tracks. Some even tried to jump backwards or run away from it, which told us the effect was realistic and scary. This was going to be another big hit.

Once the children got over this fright, our guests were then led down the steps to the basement. To do this, they had to navigate through an array of fake cobwebs, plastic spiders and phony cockroaches along the way. Once they got to the bottom, they approached four large aquariums, which the boys had filled with various creepy delights. One of the tanks held spiders, the next a variety of bugs, another was filled with worms, snails and slugs, and the final tank held a collection of snakes.

The boys had covered the tanks with clear, plastic lids, so our ‘props’ wouldn’t escape, but they also hooked up spotlights above and slightly behind each tank. As the children moved next to this area, the lights were turned on, one at a time, to highlight what was contained within. Suddenly becoming aware of this series of revolting animals elicited a few gasps, shudders and screams, which were quickly followed by some gleeful cackling from Jesse’s cohorts.

After getting away from this area, the children were led past a table containing an array of body parts, most of which seemed to be able to move on their own. First there was a bloody arm, which would reach out and attempt to grab passers by. Then there was a pair of eyes, which appeared to be suspended in midair, and these eyes would appear and disappear with varying frequency.

The boys had talked Dion into doing this for them, since they needed more help. He had on a dark-colored bodysuit and a cloth mask over his face, so only his eyes showed through. There was also a black light illuminating the area, which helped to mask his presence and added an eerie effect when he opened his eyes. Since he would also move around slowly when his eyes were closed, it also made his eyes appear as if they were floating and attached to nothing.

Finally, there was a severed head, which appeared to be setting on a platter. The head would open its eyes and speak as the children walked by. In reality, the head belonged to Vinnie, who had also volunteered to help and was made up to look like a very haggard Osama Bin Laden, complete with the infamous turban.

From there, the children were led toward the far corner of the basement and the entire area was then lit up, so they could see and collect their treats. At this point, they were allowed to choose from an assortment of seasonally appropriate items the boys had either made themselves or purchased specifically for this occasion. The children were now permitted to select any five items from what we were offering. All they had to do was indicate what they wanted and someone would place those items in their bag. The selection included white chocolate eyeballs, gummy worms, thumb lollipops, bones made from pretzels and covered in white chocolate, and chewy candy tongues.

Elliot seemed impressed at how much work the boys had done and how detailed the Haunted House was. I thought I had even seen him tense up and get a little pale when he walked past the snake tank. Joshie, on the other hand, was finding it hard to contain his joy at having been able to go through it. Once the others left, Jesse offered Elliot the chance to participate in the Haunted House the following night, when they did it for the public. When Elliot said he’d love to do it, Jesse gave him a choice of the tasks he could participate in.

Joshie would be going out with his fathers, to trick-or-treat at the houses of some of their friends and a few of our extended family, so he wouldn’t be available to do this. I think he was just happy he got to experience it this year and had been delightfully scared in the process. Tomorrow should be a blast for all of us.