He Sees You When You're Sleeping

16th December- Upstairs

"It's finally December!" announced Benji triumphantly. "Come on, mum. Can we go fetch the decorations from the attic?"
Benji's mum sighed. She was preparing dinner, and at the moment she was chopping potatoes on the chopping board. She placed the potatoes on a cooking tray, along with the carrots, onions, tomatoes, and spinach that she'd already chopped.
"Benji, I'm busy right now. Just wait half an hour and then we can go. But for now, let me finish preparing dinner or you're going to bed hungry. Understand?"
Benji groaned. He climbed the stairs to his room, pouting. There was no way he was waiting that long. He'd already waited long enough. Besides, they always did the decorations before dinner.
If she's not coming, I am going up myself, he thought grumpily. He opened the trapdoor to the attic and pulled down the ladder. He placed his feet on the bottom step to make sure it was secure before he started to climb up, being careful to not look down as his legs wobbled with every step he took.
"It's ok.... I'm going to be fine." He mumbled quietly to himself as he reached the top. He'd never actually been to the attic by himself before. It gave him the creeps. He heaved himself up onto the floor of the highest point in the house.
The attic was so dark that Benji couldn't see a thing. He reached over to the wall and felt blindly for the light switch. With a breath of relief, he felt it, and switched on the lights. They buzzed on, showering the room in a dim, flickering light.

The attic itself was a mess. Heaps of boxes lay on the floor, some of which hadn't been opened in years. It smelled musty up here, and every object in the attic was old covered in a thick blanket of dust. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and black shadows lurked in every corner. Benji sneezed into his elbow as he felt dust tickling the inside of his nose. He looked up- he could see a small hole on the roof where water was dripping from, the attic was there gathering dust and cobwebs.

An assortment of clothes were in bin bags because the boxes had run out. Benji kneeled down, holding his nose to block out the stench, and started opening some boxes. Most of the boxes contained old clothes. As he dug deeper, he discovered things which he thought had been lost long ago. Turned out they had been here the whole time, like his old car toy from when he was two.
Benji let out a disapproving huff. Why hadn't he thought of going here to search for his long lost toys before? He'd need to come up here again to find all these items. Arriving at the back of the attic, he spotted a huge green bag and made towards it. He punched the air triumphantly. Inside was the Christmas tree- it was fake and had been used for years, but it did help the environment. If the tree was here, the decorations should be nearby.
Benji started searching, tearing through box after box, filled with excitement and motivation. He found a box in the back corner and stood up. Being in that kneeling position had cramped his legs and back. He stretched, hearing multiple joints crack. He walked to the bulb and positioned it to the angle at the back to give him more light. He walked towards the box, and again knelt down. He grabbed a piece of paper on the floor. On it were words, written in cursive handwriting. The text had been smudged over time but it was still legible. He could make out the word 'BAUBLES'. He opened the lid of the box. His face twisted in confusion. The baubles weren't in there.

A loud crash came from the attic.
"Benji?" shouted his mother. "Benji, why did go in the attic without me?" There was no reply, so she sighed and went upstairs. The attic door was open. She climbed up to the attic. It took a moment for her eyes adjust to the darkness, but nothing could have prepared this mother for what she saw next.
"Benji?" She screamed "BENJI!" Benji lay on the floor, lifeless. Blood streamed from multiple cuts in his wrists and neck. Beside him were crushed baubles, smashed and shattered on the floor. Their tips glowed red with fresh blood. More gashes were visible over his arms and face. Benji's mother sank to her knees beside her dead son. Suddenly, something moved in the corner of her eye.
"Hello?" She called into the darkness. No response. She saw another movement in the shadows. "Who's there?" She asked again, trying to keep the wobble out of her voice. With shaking legs, she stood up, picking up a shard of broken bauble to use as self-defence. She freezed. There was someone there. She tried to swallow down her fear. "Come out," she demanded, "Or-or I will-"
"You will what?" A sneering voice replied. Benji's mother stood, frozen in fear. A man came into the light. He was dressed like Santa Claus, but the clothes he wore didn't fit him well. His face was covered in blood and so were his hands. She saw a broken bauble shard clutched in his hand.

The fake Santa climbed down the ladder, leaving two bodies motionless on the floor, blood pooling around them. Broken shards of glass decorations crunched under his feet as he exited the attic. No one ever knew they were gone. After all, nobody wise goes into their attic alone. Maybe that's because people have good reason to be afraid of it.