Beyond (Niall Horan) (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty

Mariana's POV

It's almost impossible to keep track of what is happening and trying to do so makes my head hurt and the resulting headache seems to make my vision go blurry, or maybe that's just because I think I'm having a panic attack. One minute there's a rumble in the ground, almost as if we're about to have an earthquake if it weren't for the fact that Niall got so freaked out and warned us what it was beforehand. The next minute, Niall has completely disappeared, not to be seen or heard, and Eric is suddenly yanking me down the (very steep) stairs by the arm, almost resulting in us both falling down the stairs and breaking every bone in our faces. I have to bite my tongue to keep from screaming, which is a mixed reaction from both from the sheer horror of the events taking place and from the pain in my arm that my brother is causing. I was already hurt once today!

Eric and I burst through the stairway's door and I collapse on my bedroom floor as soon as my feet leave the last step. Eric lets go of me long enough to slam the attic door shut, but before I know it he's yanking me by the arm again and screaming in my ear.

"Come ON Mariana, we have to GO!" He shouts in a mixture of frustration and panic, trying to yank me onto my feet. I refuse and the first loud, violent sob finally escapes my lips, proving that I am unable to control myself any longer. I can literally feel myself breaking down.

"No! No!" I sob some more, trying to yank my arm away from his iron grip. "I want to stay here! I need Niall! He needs my help! I can't leave him!"

"You NEED to get out of here! We don't have any time!" Eric shouts, still trying to get me on my feet even though I'm refusing to stand up like a bratty two year old who isn't getting what they want at the toy store. Before I can reply to him though, we both hear someone's pounding footsteps on the stairs. Eric's eyes nearly pop out of his head and I scream, thinking that it's the ghosts.

"Eric! Mariana! What the hell is going on?!" I hear my father's voice on the other side of my bedroom door. The doorknob rattles, reminding me that I had locked it, which I completely forgot about.

"What are you kids DOING in there?!" Mom asks, banging on the door. Eric finally drops my arm and runs to the other side of the room, unlocking the door and letting our parents in.

"Mom, Dad, we need to leave! Now!" Eric pleads with them as I shakily get onto my feet.

"What? Eric, what the hell is going on? What are you talking about?!" Our father angrily demands.

"They're coming!" I shriek.

"What?!" My mother cries.

"They're coming!" I feel like I can't do anything besides repeat myself. Maybe I AM crazy.

"Who's coming?! Mariana, what's WRONG with you?!" Dad screams in frustration.

"Maybe we need to get her tested sooner rather than later," Mom tells my Dad softly, enraging me in the process.

"I'M NOT FUCKING CRAZY!" I scream, reminding myself of when they took me to the ER earlier that day.

Was it really only a few hours ago?

"Mariana!" My dad snaps. "Language!"

"She's not crazy!" Eric argues, grabbing my arm again, though this time the gesture is somewhat comforting. "We need to get out of here! This place is infested with demons!"

"Oh Eric not you too," Mom says.

"We already deal with enough of your sister's childish ghost stories, we don't need you to start telling them too," Dad glares at my brother.

"She's NOT crazy!" Eric screams. "We need to leave NOW!"

"And if we did?" Dad raises an eyebrow and folds his arms over his chest, "where would we stay?"

"We could go stay with Aunt Jan or something, I don't know!" Eric exclaims.

"Aunt Jan and Uncle Phil live on the other side of the fucking country!" Dad's completely red in the face now.

"I said I didn't KNOW, okay?! It's just a thought! WE NEED TO LEAVE!" Eric fires back.

"Let's say for a minute that there are ghosts in this house," Mom speaks up again, "how would we know whether to believe you or not?"

"THERE'S A DEAD FUCKING BODY IN A TRUNK UPSTAIRS!"

I gasp and stare at my brother. His eyes are wide, wide with the horror in realizing what he just said. Mom and Dad didn't even know that there was an attic, they CAN'T go up there!

Mom gasps. Dad simply looks confused, but at least his face isn't bright red anymore. He's almost breathing normally too.

"An attic?" Mom asks and looks at Dad, "I thought there wasn't an attic?"

Dad sighs. "I know there's an attic," Dad admits, surprising us all, "but I didn't tell you because the real estate agent said that the attic was too badly damaged by the fire. I didn't want you kids going up there and breathing in smoke or getting hurt!"

"The attic's not burnt up Dad," I tell him, shaking my head. "Musty yes, but not smoky. And how could you possibly think that at least I wouldn't find out about it? It's connected to this room!"

Dad sighs. "I should've realized..." His voice drifts off a little before he changes the subject, "what did you say was up there?"

I can actually feel the blood drain from my face.

"Mariana, you're as pale as a ghost!" Mom gasps, making me cringe.

"Th-There's a dead body up there," I whisper in defeat. They would just keep questioning us until we told them, anyway.

"A dead body," Mom gasps. I feel Eric elbow me in the side, but I don't care. My eyes are glued to my parents, anticipating their every move.

"Well let's just see this 'dead body' then," Dad says, shaking his head and opening the attic door to reveal the dark, looming staircase. Mom nods and follows after him.

"Mom, Dad, NO!"

I'm planning on writing a Buddy Holly fanfic (I love him so much omf), but I want to complete at least one of my other fanfics before I start writing it so expect a lot more frequent updates on this until it's done! Comment and vote if you want!