The Attic

Writting By Dice Rollen

I had been sick for three days with a cold. The worst part about the colds that I got were the sore throats. I could deal with a stuffy or runny nose, even a cough. But I hated having to deal with a sore throat. This one had gotten to the point where I almost could not use my voice at all and had to resort to writing what I wanted to say on a whiteboard if it was not something I could just nod my head to answer.

I had been laying in bed for most of the morning when my mom came in to say goodbye. “Hey, sweetheart. We’re going to go to work now, okay? We’ll be gone for most of the day. So take it easy and call us if anything comes up. Okay?” I just nodded my head to respond since that’s all I really could do. “Alright, see you later.” She walked over to my bed and kiss my forehead before she left. When my parents went to work I was the only one in the house. My brother usually went with them to help out with some heavy lifting and whatever else they needed. It was good. For them and for me because I got the peace and quiet I needed to rest. I heard the truck pull out of the driveway and drive off before I closed my eyes to settle back into bed.

I was drifting off when I heard it. A scratching sound. I opened my eyes and took a look around my room. It was not my cat because my door was open, plus he was not even close by. When I heard the noise again I realized where it was coming from. I thought it must have been the wind blowing in through the vent that made those weird sounds. That happened sometimes so I did not think much of it. I laid back down and relaxed. I don’t know when exactly I fell asleep, but I must have been asleep for a few hours. It was getting late and it was still quiet around the house so no one was home yet. My parents would work late sometimes so that was pretty normal. It just meant that I would have to make dinner for myself. So I got out of bed and ignored the dull ache in my head. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a can of chicken noodle soup.

Then, I heard the scratching again. Now I knew that was not the wind. It was louder and different from the noises I knew the wind could make. Maybe something had gotten into the attic and was trying to get out. I did not heard it again for a while so I went back to heating up my soup. I would have to tell my parents when they got home so my dad could investigate it. I barely finished the thought before I heard another scratch. Maybe it could not wait. I went to the only opening to the attic in the pantry and looked at the door. Maybe it was a squirrel or a raccoon or something. Whatever it was it definitely sounded like it wanted in. I had never been up in the attic by myself before. But I needed to find out what the hell what making this noise.

I grabbed a flashlight from the shelf nearby and climbed up to the door. I pushed it open and pulled myself up into the attic. There was only one light bulb hanging from the ceiling. I reached up and pulled the chain to turn it on. It only helped a little and I could not see the parts of the attic that were farther away. I looked around at the area that was illuminated. Nothing. I might have scared it off. I actually hoped I had, but just in case I decided to check the whole attic. I turned on the flashlight and started to walk around. I had to be careful where I stepped because the attic was not completely finished. And we mainly used it for storing old things we hardly used anymore. After a while of searching I had not found anything. No scratch marks. No holes where something could have come in. No mess. Nothing. I started to head back to the door when I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and the flashlight to get a better look at what it was. I completely froze once I got a good look.

A hand. It was a hand. And it was touching one of the ducts. But more importantly it was attached to someone. Someone alive. I could hardly move, but I did manage to move my flashlight to see who it was. My mind could not fully comprehend what I saw. <span style="color:rgb(44,54,53);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;line-height:19.5px;">In the corner of the attic were my parents and my brother. They looked sick and practically lifeless. Like animals that had been kept in a cage without being fed. Of all the jumbled thoughts that were running through my mind at that moment, one stood out like a blaring sign.

<span style="color:rgb(44,54,53);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;line-height:19.5px;">If my family had been in the attic for so long… <span style="color:rgb(44,54,53);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;line-height:19.5px;">Then who the hell was pulling into the driveway now?