The Red House

By Stephanie Albright

When Larry meets Eleanor he doesn't make the best first impression, but he's never met a time-traveling alien before either. The first in The Red House series, enjoy the beginning of Larry and Eleanor's friendship that almost didn't happen. Experience Larry's first venture in time-travel and see the lengths that Eleanor will go to for her friend.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephanie Albright
• Release date: Jun 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215483626

Book preview

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 Stephanie Albright

All rights reserved.

Chapter One

The Beginning

The red house had been there for a very long time. Some say it was the first house built in Taylorsville, but no one had lived there in at least fifty years, and no one even remembered who owned the place. It was a three story Victorian, with a cellar; it was made of bricks, blood red bricks. The yard was overgrown and surrounded by an iron fence six feet tall. The shutters were all closed tightly, except for the window on the widow’s walk, some claimed that they had seen weird lights in that window.

The town folk stayed away from the house, except for the man that the city sent over to cut the grass three or four times each summer. The only one who would go was an old man named Larry. He was nearly 80 and had lived in Taylorville all his life.

One day in October, Larry was cutting the grass for the last time before winter. When he finished, he raked up the yard and put the cuttings by the curb. Then Larry loaded up his equipment and was just about to leave when he heard a noise inside the red house. Crap. he said. Now I have to go inside and chase out some hobos! He quietly walked toward the back of the house; he put his hand on the knob of the back door and gently tried to turn it. To his great surprise, it turned easily and the door opened. He gingerly took a step through the door.

Larry found himself in what seemed to be a mud room and he was very surprised to find that it was clean. All the dust and grime that he had expected to find was not there. Now he was very intrigued. He opened the door of the mud room and entered the kitchen.

There was a soft light coming from the floor, all around the perimeter of the room. The room itself was beautiful. He felt as if he were in an Italian villa, polished wood cabinets and stone flooring, herbs hanging from the ceiling and a huge fireplace at the other end. There beside the fireplace was a rocking chair and in the chair was an old woman. She looked at Larry and scowled, Who are you and why are you in my house?

Larry was stunned and it took him several moments to find his voice, but finally he answered her. "Ma’am, I am very sorry to disturb you. I didn’t know that anyone was living here. The