Afterlife Home Agency

8) The Attic

Mom, Brian, Darla and his baby son had all gone into town for the day to have lunch and to look around as for me I choose to stay home with Marie who was in the living room watching cartoons probably. I on the other hand decided I was going to get into that attic I had to it was just too weird that I would sleepwalk right to it and the key explained alot therefore I had to know what was in there one way or another. As I grab a step stool to reach the attic door I begin ripping the duct tape off from around it and tossing it on the ground, "What are you doing?" I nearly jump when I hear Marie behind me suddenly standing there with off curiosity holding her doll. "None of your business, go away." I snap as I continue to rip the tape away, "Why are you going in the attic?" She asks once again tilting her head to the side. "I'm just wanting to see it that's all, why are you going to tell?" I ask glancing down at her dark brown eyes looking at me confused, "I wont tell if I can go up there too." She says I sigh knowing that this was getting me nowhere. I had finally gotten all the tape off now I just needed the key, "Fine but whatever we find up there you have to hide it ok? And I go up there first then you follow after ok?" She nods excitement apparent on her face. "Yay! Hurry up, I wanna see it." She says clapping I roll my eyes and get the key out of my pants pocket. As I put it to the lock I felt a sense of dread almost as if my stomach was in knots; something deep down telling no screaming at me don't do this but I was ignoring that little voice and curiosity killed the cat.
I had managed to unlock the attic door and as soon as I made a small crack in the doorway a sudden rush of icy cold air hit me face as if it were ten degrees colder which in itself was strange because hear rises why would the attic be so cold? "Wow, what's up there, Kev?" She asks I pull the door open a bit more and just like that the door falls revealing a ladder that scared us both but nearly hit Marie in the face, "Sorry, I didn't know that would happen. We're in I'll go up first and you follow after." I remind her she nods watching as I go up the ladder and into the darkness. Once I'm inside the dark room the first thing I notice is how cold it is, how large it actually is and how strange it was that I felt something pulling me to a certain spot I don't know why that was happening but something was calling me. I try to turn on the light over me but it wouldn't turn on so I yell down to Marie, "Get me a flashlight." I demand I can hear her running downstairs a few seconds later she runs back up our of breath holding a large flashlight. "Thanks, ok you can come up now." She nods setting her doll on the ground and climbing up after me. I turn the flashlight on and see that there's literally so much stuff up here; a dusty old trunk, an old fashioned bicycle and a few boxes, "What do you think all this is?" Marie asks going ahead of me to look around better, "I don't know... Be careful, Marie. If mom find out we were up here she's going to be pissed I just know it." I mumble while Marie does the opposite of what I just said going through a box of things. She gestures me to come over and look too in the box are documents from the 1940s, a few pieces of jewelry and oddly enough a toy; a teddy bear to be exact. "Oh this is a cute bear, I'm gonna name you Teddy." She was smiling to herself as she goes through another box.
I'm more or less drawn to an area in the back behind a few boxes, the old trunk. I go up to it and thankfully it was already unlocked so I open the large door and in it I find a small music box probably broken, a small handheld mirror rimmed with a gold frame and a smaller box that was wrapped in yarn or twine or some kind of string. Marie goes next to me which startled me half to death, "What's that?" She asks I shake the box a bit but don't hear really anything inside I do note that it has some weight to it though which only piqued my curiosity more. "I dont know but sounds like somethings inside. I wonder why it's tied up... I dont know..." Suddenly from downstairs I hear the door close we glance at each other scared and worried. I knew it had to be dad getting home from work so instinctively we both take what we found and run down the ladder careful not to cause a disturbance. Just as we're about to close the ladder to the attic I can hear footsteps headed upstairs, Marie bolts for her bedroom but I catch her arm before she does, "Hide the fucking bear." I whisper harshly not caring because Marie never listened to me anyway. My dad now at the top of the stairs sees the both of us standing there confused but I was scared he would find out we were someplace we weren't supposed to be, "What are you two doing?" He asks glancing us over. I was hiding the small box behind me and Marie had thrown the bear in her room closing the door, "Nothing we were playing hide and seek, I won. Right, Marie?" I look over at her she nods quickly, "Yeah, we were playing is all... How was work, Dad?" She asks trying to change the subject which I'll give her credit she was good at. "Work was fine I have some I have to finish though. I brought pizza for dinner all you have to do is preheat the oven." I nod, "Oh by the way, Brian and mom will be back in an hour I ask that you please clean up the living room, Marie meaning your toys..." He raised an eyebrow at her she nods, "Yes, dad." He looks us over one more time before heading downstairs, "Get to it, guys." He adds.
Marie and I look at each other I roll my eyes, "Hide that damn bear, Marie... If mom finds out she'll kill me." I snap making my way downstairs. Once I'm downstairs I realize dad was already in his bedroom possibly taking a shower before mom got home, "Alright how long do I cook you for?" I ask myself grabbing the pizza box and flipping it over. As I read the directions out of the corner of my eye I catch something it's a shape about Marie's size so naturally I call out, "Dad's not playing with you. He said clean up." She walks toward the stairs only she's a dark figure or what looks like a dark dress, "Marie?" I ask putting the pizza box down on the counter walking to the staircase that's when it hits me... Marie wasn't in the living room just yet in fact she was upstairs probably. "Marie?" I ask again a bit worried yet freaked out. I'm at the stairs and I see there is no one there; not even Marie. I shrug trying to ignore the weed incident so I went back to the kitchen and turned the oven on. While waiting for the oven to preheat I head back upstairs to check on Marie because something about that incident didn't add up. Once I get to the top of the stairs I can hear Marie talking to someone I assumed it was the phone so I knock, "Marie? Marie?" She opens the door, "What?" She asks. "Were you just downstairs? Dad said to pick up the living room, why are you still here?" She shrugs, "I wasn't downstairs I went to the bathroom. I was going downstairs why do you ask?" I shrug a bit uneasy, "No reason I suppose. I'm going to be in my room a minute can you call me when the oven goes off since you'll be down there anyway?" She nods, "I guess. I hid the bear, I put it in the closet for now. I can play with Teddy later." She smugly smiles walking downstairs. Now that I figured out that figure wasn't my sister at all it had made me a bit uneasy, who was that girl I saw? Why was she wearing a dress of black? Most importantly what was in that small box?
I walk into my room and find the box sitting on my desk the opposite area of where it was originally which was my bed. "Ok little box you have my attention. I wonder what's inside..." I mumble looking around in my drawers for a pair of scissors. I couldn't find any with my luck so I search for my swiss army knife and find it in my sock drawer, "Now let's get you open." I mumble trying to cut the twine or string whatever this was off. As I'm attempting to cut the strands of twine piece by slow ass piece I cut my hand with the knife on accident. It wasn't deep but enough to draw blood from my thumb it drops on top of the box as I rush to the bathroom for a band aid. Little did I know that that small drop of blood on that small box would ultimately unleash a horrible entity into our house and into our lives.
I put on a bandaid and head back to my room suddenly I hear the oven timer go off I couldn't just ignore it for fuck sake dad would get annoyed with working and all I glanced at the box on my bed one more time; slightly close my bedroom door so that Marie wouldn't go in there being a snoop. I walk downstairs an just in time luckily because mom, Brian and Darla walk through the front door, "Hi honey. Where's your father?" Mom asks kissing my head I shrug gesturing to the bedroom, "He said he was busy and brought pizza for dinner. It will be done in thirty minutes." I add. Brian takes Tyler from Darla's arms who's sound asleep thankfully, "Oh thanks, babe I'm going to go take a shower I smell like barnyard animals." She laughs he kisses her cheek, "If you want you can leave that smell on and I'll be up in a few minutes?" She laughs harder, "Fat chance." She concludes heading upstairs. Brian goes to the living room where Tyler's playpen was and lays him down. "So how was town? I always imagined it being tiny and utterly boring." He chuckles. "It was nothing to see; nothing to do except a petting zoo which Tyler loved. He saw a goat for the first time I don't think he was amused." Brian laughs at the memory, "So pizza huh? What kind of pizza?" I shrug not even caring I was more interested in the box I had. It was a weird feeling as if I was being called to it; as if I could feel it.
Within an hour we were all done with dinner and Marie had to get ready for bed so did I but I wasn't really tired I still had to check out that box. I'm sitting on my bed staring at it and I can't help but feel like I stared right back at me, "Why won't you open?" I ask myself again trying to pry the box open with my knife. It was bad enough I already had a few specs of blood on the top now it wouldn't open? Just as I'm about to give up and put the box on my desk to hop into bed when I turn after setting it down I hear a click. I slowly turn around and see that the box was opened I walk over to it and look around at the contents. Nothin much just some old papers, a lock of black hair with a small bow tied to the end, a small hand makeup mirror and nothing more nothing less. "Well looks like I went into the attic for nothing. Just my luck it's junk." I tell myself heading to bed I turn out the lights and get into the covers.
I had been asleep for a little bit I believe; entirely asleep when I heard a small click again causing my eyes to open slightly. I assumed it was Marie so I turned over, "What are you doing?" I slur half awake, no response. Already around 1am I lay back down and put the blankets back up to my head thats when I hear it... It's soft but it's there and it's real. "Kevin." It's a whisper almost like a young girl or woman I turn over expecting to find Marie next to the bed but there was no one there. "Kevin? Wake up." She says again only this time a bit more demanding. "Marie go to bed." I say turning over to ignore her whispers. "Get up." I hear in my ear only this time it was upset and she wanted me to know that, "Marie, goddamn it it's 1am. There's no fucking monsters..." I say sitting up to find her at the end of my bed holding the box in her hands. "Put it down." She doesn't answer she doesn't seem phased. "Marie, go back to fucking bed or I swear..." She doesn't answer once more but when she does it sends shivers through my spine, "Who are you calling stupid?" She asks and vanishes right in front of my eyes. At first I assume it's a trick of some kind or maybe a joke from Brian, "That's not fucking funny." I say to nothing only darkness. That's when it really started, that's when I realized I wasn't talking to my sister or to my Darla... That was something else. Something that would never let me forget what I said and what I had just done.