Aaron left the clubhouse chilled to the bone. It wasn't the temperature that was the root of his discomfort but the arrangement that the other kids in his secret club had come to. He had sat impassively as Tony cajoled the other troops into agreeing that this was the night the members of the Knights of Doom would break into Mrs. O'Malley's vacant summer mansion. The plan required each Knight to bring along a tactical item required for the proposed assault and Aaron was hurriedly thinking of how he was to get his hands on a lumberjack sized axe. More perplexing, what was Tony going to make him do with it?
The bewitching hour found the Knights together at a trial head that would allow for a stealth approach to the mansion and ensure the boys wouldn't be seen carrying their arsenal. Aaron had remembered a hatchet he had seen in old Mr. Wilson's dilapidated barn and out of fear of arriving empty handed, he pilfered the mini axe on his way to the rendezvous. Tony had grunted at the site of the hatchet but Aaron wasn't sure if that signaled the acknowledged leader's approval or not. Aaron was simply happy the group was on their way to their destiny. A crescent moon's refection cascaded over the pond as they approached and the boys could see the mansion looming in the low hill, overlooking the serene water. Tony ground his followers to a halt and preceded to layout the aforementioned game-plan.
The troops began to follow the well worn path that mirrored the circumference of the pond and it led them closer to the ominous castle-like estate. They reached the large blocked walls that hid the secrets that had spawned this adventure. Tony had fueled the imaginations of the other boys and that it was the Knights of Doom's obligation to unearth the truth of Mrs. O'Malley's hidden past. The great wall staring before them would be the first of many hurdles to come. Little Bobby Mac handed the rope and angle iron he brought to Tony who hurled the angle iron over the wall. On the third try the rope held and Bobby was assigned by Tony to climb first after squashing Bobby's protest.
"You brought the rope, you have to use the rope first" Tony boomed.
These words pierced through Aaron's heart. What was he going to use the hatchet on, or worse, who? He didn't have too much time to ponder the question because a loud squeal paralyzed Aaron's mind and body. Bobby had plummeted over the side of the barricade and after the initial terror cry, only a soft whimper could be heard by the stun Knights. They all looked at Tony who had gone white, a look the boys had never seen from their gallant leader. Was this the look of fear? Aaron wanted to run but the moans compelled him to stay. The boys were frozen when suddenly they were ablaze in a white hot spotlight that seemingly appeared from nowhere.
What seemed to Aaron an army of men, were soon on the frightened boys. Mechanical cracklings could be heard as the wilderness became alive with the activities of all the men and boys. No words were spoken as Aaron was herded with the other boys through a nearby hidden doorway into Mrs. O'Malley's compound. At once Aaron was relived to see Bobby being attended to by a medical staff that could have been in the local hospital's emergency room. From the shadows approached a wheel chair bound elderly woman. She introduced herself to the boys as Mrs. O'Malley, the recluse that no one in town had seen in years. She invited the boys, including Bobby who only had a strained knee, into her house. She proceeded to give them a tour of her homestead and invited the boys to return whenever they wanted. She only asked that they call first.
