The Harland Estate: Part I
A story about curious teenagers trespassing on a rundown estate. There is more to the estate than meets the eye.
The Harland Estate has been around for over 200 years. The Harlands, however, have rarely ever been seen. No one ever goes in or out. The Harland patriarch, Raymond Harland, died about 10 years ago. Once he died, the eldest son, Declan Harland was rumored to maintain the estate while his sisters were given the properties in Paris and London. The Harland business empire quickly took a tumble after the death of Raymond. Debts piled up. Partnerships severed. Life-long employees fired. It was only a matter of time until the business filed for bankruptcy, and the Harland family was forced to sell most of their assets. Luckily for Aubrey and Briana Harland, the properties in Paris and London were untouched. However, Declan Harland was not so fortunate. Once the Harland Company filed bankruptcy, the eldest son was forced to sell the estate. Sold to an investor, Richard Monaghan, planning to turn the property into an elegant getaway destination. Despite all of the time poured into the project, it never came to be. Monaghan ended up having to shut down the project. From that point until now, the Harland Estate has been in limbo.
Once a sprawling lavish property, the estate slowly became an abandoned land of squalor. A teenager’s paradise. For years, kids would sneak onto the estate to roam around the expansive grounds and party like fancy fools. There was little to no security following the failed investment project. Police had to get involved after ceaseless calls from locals to stop the partying and vandalism. The Harland estate evolved into an adolescent’s dream getaway. At least it was until two years ago. Once Monaghan got word of all the trespassing he sent in a development group to monitor the property, and ultimately construct his own elegant estate. There has not been any construction done yet, but since then the Harland Estate has been off limits. As for now, we’ve had to revert back to our simple hobbies. Video games.
It’s Friday night. Ricky, Marcus, and I sit in my basement playing Call of Duty. No girls, just three 15 year olds snacking on Doritos and pizza rolls. Ricky throws his xbox controller across the room after constantly dying in the game.
“This game is such bullshit. It’s always lagging,” he proclaims.
Not the first time he’s thrown a tantrum or a controller.
“Always lagging my ass, you're just losing and making excuses. Chill out.”
Ricky tries to come up with a comeback, but accepts his defeat.
Marcus and I munch on our snacks while Ricky sits silently stewing. This is the typical Friday night for us, but it still seems more dull than usual. Video games can be quite entertaining even if you’ve played hundreds of hours. Tonight not so much.
Ricky stands up abruptly.
“Let’s go do something…like actually something fun,” he declares.
Marcus and I laugh.
“O yea what do you have in mind?”, Marcus asks.
We sit there waiting for Ricky’s answer. He paces around looking at the ceiling then stops. He turns back to us smiling. We know what he’s thinking.
“Nah man, we can’t get in there anymore. They got that place locked down like Alcatraz,” Marcus tells him.
“Seriously dude, it’s been two years since anyone has gone over there,” I chime in.
Ricky starts jumping in place and replies,
“All the more reason to check it out boys!”
I look at Marcus who shrugs. As much as I want to shut down Ricky’s suggestion, he isn’t wrong. The Harland Estate used to be the Mecca for teenagers. Now it’s sadly become like a rundown amusement park you pass by every so often. The allure is still there though. Especially since no one has dared to visit in the last two years.
“It would be fun to frolic around the old stomping grounds. Cmon,” Ricky pleads to us.
“Dude, we can’t just walk right in there. They’ve got cameras now,” Marcus replies.
“He’s got a point,” I chime in.
We sit there in silence for what seems to be an eternity before Ricky bursts out,
“Aha! Not in the woods though.”
“What are you talking about? What not in the woods?,” Marcus asks.
“There are no cameras in the woods. There’s that hole in the wall in the back part of the woods, remember?”
I had nearly forgotten about the wall. The wall surrounds the south entrance of the Harland Estate and has been there since the construction of the property. It stands 20 feet tall and has stood the test of time. That was until about 5 years ago when it was rumored that a kid, Sean Sullivan, found a hole in the wall and crawled through. No one ever saw him do it. Then again no one ever heard from Sean Sullivan again.
“Ok, and for what? To go walk around that shabby old place and play tag,” Marcus responds with a laugh.
“Do you want to do something new and fun or just sit around playing the same games and doing the same shit as usual?” Ricky reasons with us.
I look around at the scattered chip crumbs, empty soda bottles, and old used batteries across my basement carpet. I look back at Marcus and shake my head,
“He’s got a point.”
Ricky smiles.
“Yea, he does. Shall we?”