||What Lies Under|| - Salvis

Chapter IX

         Phillip sits on his bed, perched up against the bed frame and watching in front of him, where the box sits. He contemplates opening it, though his anxiety runs wild at the thought of what possibly could be inside. Would he be releasing a ghost of some sort? No, Phillip. Thats stupid. He tells himself, starting to bring his hand out to open the box, before hesitating and pulling his hand away. He can't do this himself. So he does what seems to be the best idea at the time. Call Travis, of course. He picks up his phone, making sure Travis is online before calling. It rings twice before the click of the phone sounds, indicating he had picked up the phone. Rustling is heard from the other end of the line, before he hears whispering. Finally, Travis speaks up. "Uh, hey Pip! What's up?"
        "You busy?" He asks slowly, shifting uncomfortably on his bed, unable to shake the feeling that he had interrupted something important.
         "Er, no not really. What's up, something feels wrong." Travis replies, his voice clearer and closer to the phone it seems.
          "I found something while I was taking Sal home, it's a box in the clearing. I know what you said about taking stuff from the woods, especially if it's creepy, but I was curious so I took it home. Kinda scared to open it so I'm doing it with you." Phillip explains with a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.
          "You really should not have touched it. It's abandoned and in the woods, Pip.. you better return it when you're done." Travis mutters, though agreeing reluctantly to stay on call with him anyways, refusing to admit that he is curious himself.
     Phillip takes a deep breath, staring at the box and finally pulling it onto his lap. He counts down in his head to gain courage for himself, and right when he gets to one he opens it without a second thought telling him not to. A small gasp interrupts the deafening silence as Phillip tries not to throw the box from across the room, and Travis quickly cuts off the rest of the silence. "Pip? What's wrong, what was in it?"
        Phillip shakes his head, slowly picking up a closed and small vial full of teeth, and then what seems to be crow skulls. Multiple pages with incomprehensible words fall out of the box, laying against Phillips lap. Phillip peers into the box, his hand shaking as he picks up other various bones, little rings and crosses at the bottom of the box. He avoids touching a hidden blade next to another book, and he finally glances at his phone. "Trav, there are bones in here. And.. teeth. There are papers with words from a different language, and jewelry..."
          He doesn't hear Travis's answer, quickly putting everything back, his hand grazing over something sharp and retracting his arm quickly with a yelp. He stands from his bed, taking a glimpse at his gushing hand and realizing he had been cut.  "Travis, I'll be back. I gotta do something." He mumbles, rushing out of the room to clean his hand.
             He grabs bandages and washes his hands, hissing in pain when the water hits his wounded hand. He bandages his hand, sighing and going back into the room soon after. "I think there is a blade of some sort in there. My hand got cut." Phillip says, and Travis quickly demands that he puts everything back where he had found it.
            Phillip agrees, putting everything back into the box, unsettled and packing up the box as he puts on fingerless gloves. He keeps Travis on the phone as he stands from his bed and slides on his untied sneakers, not bothering to tie them as he picks up the box. He rushes out of his room, sneaking down the stairs and leaving the house. The other end of the call seems oddly silent, so Phillip checks his phone. The call was still up. Odd. "Trav? You there, church boy?" he asks with a nervous laugh as he walks into the forest, not paying as much attention to his surroundings as he normally would.
             No response. A long stretch of silence greets Phillip, setting off his nerves almost instantly. "Travis?" he asks again, silently pleading that he answers this time.
             Once again, no answer comes. Phillip stumbles into a tree, yelping before tumbling down a hill off the trail. He hears collison of branches and leaves, feeling the pricks of thorns going against his clothes, and he holds his phone and uses the box as a shield until he stops falling suddenly. He groans, rubbing his arms sorely and wiping at his face where smudges of mud and dirt remain. He glances at his phone, finally realizing why everything was so glitchy. No signal. He checks on the call, reading the bolded letter words. Call disconnected. "Shit." Phillip mutters, recognizing the bigger picture.
             He is on his own for this. No getting help. He slowly stands up, unsure of how he had fallen in the first place. He usually knows the forest, this part at least, by heart. He brushes off the twigs and leaves on his clothes and out of his hair, and he looks up from where he had fallen. He does recognize where he is, though it's far off the trail. He retraces his steps, almost positive that he hadnt gone off from the pathway he normally takes, though shrugs anyways. He could just continue going east and he will be right by Travis, Sal, and larry. They have all lived close, though on the other side of Nockfell from Phillip. He looks back ahead, finally spotting a large abandoned cabin in front of him. Maybe this is where the box had come from in the first place. Phillip smiles to himself lightly, trying to calm the anxious thoughts running through his head. He takes a deep breath and looks to his phone once more before shoving it in his pocket, clutching the box in both of his hands and going to the front door of the cabin before walking inside.