Is it time to go home?

‘Dear Sir,

Thank you for the generous offer. However, I may no longer be able to consider the job due to some personal circumstances that have vastly changed over the weeks. I'm traveling back to my hometown and may not return for a long time. Once again, I'm very thankful for being offered the opportunity to work with you. I will surely consider applying again in the future once my situation allows me to. Take care.

Regards,

Joe P. Welch.’

After he finished writing the email, Joe couldn't believe what he just done, had given up on his only chance to stay back. Two years ago, he would have done anything to be able to earn a living in the city. Now here he was, rejecting an offer from a multinational company to go back to the same life he escaped after a long hard struggle.

“Brought me all the way here only to take me back. You must be having a great time up there, aren't you?” Joe speaks to himself and to the God he had stopped believing in a long time ago.

Brokenhearted it picked up his bags and took a taxi to the bus station. It was almost nostalgic, seeing those white leather seats a few inches apart from each other. Two years ago, the bus he had taken to New York looked exactly like that. After storing his luggage in the overhead bin, Joe took a seat next to an old man.

“So what’s taking you back to Salem, son?” inquired the old man.

“Just visiting my family and friends,” responded Joe hesitantly, only to reassure himself that he wasn't going back permanently.

There was something strange about this old man though. His torn sweater vest on the outdated attire left an impression that he was not really from New York. Maybe he had come for a short while. Or maybe he lost his job too and was going back home hopelessly like Joe. As Joe silently analyzed him, the old man turned to Joe making eye contact as if he knew what was going on in his head. In an attempt to make conversation, the old man started telling Joe about the infamous tales of Sabrina and how she's a household name in Salem now. However, the moment he started narrating the incident of the author's murder in Blenheim Manor, Joe’s eyes widened. The goosebumps on his hands and the sweat falling down his head could tell that he was uneasy. It was at this moment that he revealed,

“ Peter Welch was my father.”

Joe P. Welch was none other than Joe Peter Welch, the son of the author who had been murdered and beheaded mercilessly. The boy looking to restart his life in New York wasn't just a regular resident of Salem trying to dream big. He was a product of the tragedy he had endured. He was the son of the same man he had a hard time building a relationship with. Who knew what secrets Joe was hiding? For now, all that is known of Him is this; Joe Peter Welch is going back to Blenheim Manor, the same house he found his father's floating head in. It's the same house that somehow keeps itself attached to his existence no matter how much he tries to get away.

Surprisingly, the old man did not seem to be shocked. It was as if he already knew that he was talking to the murdered author’s son. It was as if he knew Joe more than Joe knew himself. Why did the strange man choose to talk to a co passenger about this incident of all things?

The six-hour journey had finally come to an end. The old man was surprisingly quiet for most of it, especially after narrating the author story. You would expect a regular man to empathize with someone who just revealed that he was the son of a murdered man. But the strange old man was strange for a reason.

Stay away from the house, was all Joe got from him, before finally getting down and picking up his luggage to leave. He took one last glance at the bus and noticed something weird. The old man had not stepped out. “Why is he still inside?” Joe thought to himself as he went a little closer. He saw no one there. The seat was empty. As if no one had been there the whole time.

Being reminded of his father's murder and the mysterious disappearance of the man shortly after, was not exactly a great start to the new life he'd come back looking for. Blenheim Manor may be Sabrina's Locus of Power, but it's the only place for Joe to seek shelter.

Nothing much had changed about Salem. The streets and the alleys were as silent as Joe had left them all those years ago. You could barely spot people around. Except for those walking or sitting outside one of the only four cafes in town. The streets and lanes that led towards Blenheim Manor, were even quieter. It seemed like the impact of whatever happened 13 years ago was still there. People were hesitant to cross those streets or even be close to the house. However, that wasn't the case for Adam.

Joe was still a few blocks away from the manor when he ran into his childhood friend. Even though Joe and Adam hadn't gotten together in years, nothing seemed to have changed between them. However, their friendship had not ended on the best of terms. After Peter Welch's death, parents were hardly willing to let their kids go near Joe. It was surprising to see Adam and his team a few blocks away from Blenheim Manor. The path was almost abandoned, and he wouldn’t see many people there apart from stray cats and dogs roaming around. So what exactly was Adam doing there?

To Joe's surprise, Adam had become a certified Paranormal Activity expert shortly before Joe left for New York two years ago. Unable to make much progress in his career, Adam was determined to do something extraordinary. In a town where rumors and urban legends were easily believable, Adam surprisingly had difficulty getting a significant audience for his work. After trying his luck here and there, he finally decided to do something no one else could even have dared to think about. He was going to attempt a ghost hunting session in the same woods a few blocks away from the Blenheim Manor, where Peter Welch's house help had been murdered years ago.

The story had managed to keep the locals away from the woods for years. You wouldn't come across a single soul trying to take that path, no matter how short and convenient it was to reach the commercial markets.

“You know, it might be the right time to bring it up, but I couldn't get rid of the thoughts about you and your dad for all these years,” Adam suddenly admitted it continued. I know you hate me for abandoning you, but I was too young to make those decisions for myself.

After sighing for a few good seconds, Joe exclaimed, “I've moved past it and so should you.”

However, Joe's eyes were fixated on the device Adam had in his hands. Curious to know what it was, Joe asked him and Adam revealed that it was something he used to help him track any paranormal activity. During the time they both made conversation, Adam noticed something unusual. His device had suddenly stopped working. He instructed his team to look into it and meanwhile, he continued the conversation with Joe.

“Do you want to use it?” asked Adam.

Joe didn't seem to be willing to try it out. After a long route, and a good tiring two years, all he wanted to do was to go home and rest. But little did he know that Adam and his team were too interested in him to let him go. Think about it. What would be a bigger story than the son of the murdered author returning to town and to the abandoned manor. In fact, for some reason, Adam was convinced Joe would be the best way to make use out of that machine.

The machine was back on and after several attempts to convince him, Adam finally made some progress. In return for doing this. Adam and his team would help Joe settle down in the house. Hesitantly, Joe started following the signals and kept walking through the woods as Adam and his team followed. Even though Joe had lived in the abandoned manor for quite a while, he’d never been to the woods as a child. As the signals led them all further deep into the woods, there came the point where the beeping sound had gone out of control. This meant only one thing; they had finally reached the point they were supposed to.