Charli's eyes lit up. "Marvelous. I've always wanted to go ghost hunting." She turned to the others. "You all aren't going to puss out on us, are you?"

Charli blinked, startled slightly by Nefnee's whirlwind escape, and then looked at Lari. "It's only about noon. We're not going trick or treating now, are we?"

Charli pinched the bridge of her nose, sighed, and took a moment to compose herself. "Alright," she said, her accent back. "Lari and Jasper are gone, and we should find them as soon as possible. This place gives me the willies. We'll split up into two-man teams and search the grounds. Kevinin, you and I have had martial arts training, so you'll take Curly and search the downstairs of this place while Nefnee and I search the gardens. We'll meet back here in the foyer after we've finished. I don't want anyone going to the second floor or the basement without everyone else." She consulted her silver watch. "It's 1830 now. If one team isn't back by 2100, then the other team leaves to phone the police. Alright? Let's go."

About twenty yards from the kitchen door was an old shed, the back almost entirely claimed by the melon vines that grew wild - during the summer, at least - in the unkempt garden. "Hold on," Charli said to Nefnee. "You look around out here. I'm gong to see what's in the shed." Nefnee hesitated for a moment at the door, then nodded, and Charli picked her way through the brush to the front of the small building. The wooden door was held shut with a rusted padlock, the key long forgotten, but the wood was rotted, and Charli easily kicked it down. Within the dim room, the faint smell of diesel - presumably for the ancient grass cutter - still hung in the air, and various gardening tools were propped against the dilapidated walls. And there, hanging forlornly on the back wall, was exactly what Charli was looking for: a hatchet. Picking it up, Charli hefted it, taking in its relatively good condition. Not only was it a key component for her costume, but she also didn't like going around unarmed. Picking up a long wooden pole that had once belonged to a rake, Charli left the shed to rejoin Nefnee and give her her weapon.