Cole: Mind of Madness: A Prelude (A Phoenix Club Serial Thriller)

Chapter 6

Ezra tried to calm his nerves and relax with Henry, but with each passing minute, his tension mounted, and gut tightened. Henry noticed Ezra's anxious behavior.

"What's wrong?" Henry asked. They had gone outside to grab some firewood and Ezra became fixated on the barn. He stood and stared at the large ominous structure still partially shrouded in a fog that refused to abate.

Ezra blinked and looked at Henry. "Huh?"

"What's wrong with you?" Henry wondered with concern as he picked up some firewood. "Why're you looking at the barn?" He chewed his lower lip. "Dad explained about the cellar door."

"Yeah, I-I know." Ezra cleared his throat and grabbed some logs from the wood pile. He forced a smile. "Nothing's wrong." Did he sound more believable to Henry than he did to himself? "Come on, let's get back inside. It's cold out here."

Henry glanced uncertainly toward the barn then filled his arms and followed Ezra into the house. They dumped the logs in the wood box next to the fireplace and Henry stoked up the fire.

Ezra wandered to the living room window and looked outside. He couldn't see the barn from the window but felt its foreboding presence.

You won't have peace until you look in the cellar and see for yourself what's down there.

Even if he had the balls to go down there—the door was locked.

"Ezra?" Henry stood by the fireplace, hands flexing. "Something is wrong. What is it?"

What do I tell him? I have no proof of anything. What if nothing's wrong and it's all in my head?

"It's nothing." Ezra sighed and walked over, sliding his arm around Henry. "Really. I just... I got kind of freaked out in the woods this morning."

"Freaked out? Why? What happened?"

The two boys sat on the hearth.

"Nothing happened," Ezra said. "I don't know what it was. The woods just seemed kind of creepy, for some reason." He laughed nervously. "I got spooked and took off running and ran all the way here." He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "It was stupid. There wasn't anything out there. It was just one of those things, you know, when you get scared for no reason. That ever happen to you?"

Henry nodded. "The barn scares me sometimes. It's kind of creepy, especially early in the morning with all the fog outside and the shadows in the barn. I know there's nothing to be scared of, but sometimes, it still creeps me out."

"Yeah," Ezra whispered. "It creeps me out, too, sometimes."

Silence settled over the boys for a few moments before Henry asked quietly, "Do you think my dad's okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's just since mom died, he... he seems... different. Like the way he's happy for a day or two, then he's all irritated and angry. Do you think it's just him trying to cope with her death... and he'll get better?"

"I... I hope so," Ezra mumbled.

Henry hung his head. "He just doesn't seem like my dad anymore," he whispered. "Sometimes... he just stares at me like..."

"Like what?"

"Like... he doesn't even know me. And sometimes, like he... I don't know how to explain it. Like he's trying to figure something out. But it's kind of creepy."

Like he's trying to figure something out.

Ezra felt sick to his stomach.

Henry abruptly sprang to his feet, startling Ezra. "I-I think I hear my dad's car."