Backwards Into Hell

Part Two: The LFG

Thursday 28th October

By some miracle, there was no clamour of shouts or screams that morning and I was allowed to sleep through until daylight flittered through the beige curtains.

I rolled out of bed, head-thumping and arms still filled with jelly, and got into my cleanest pair of jeans and nicest white shirt. Today was a good day. Abe was dead.

It was important to act as if nothing was up so, at the usual time, I unlocked my door and ventured to breakfast, slightly disappointed Lily wasn't waiting for me in the corridor and as I reached the next floor, David was by his door instead. His mind span with panic, and upon seeing my scuffed trainers, he paced forward in an anxious march.

'Jake!' he whispered, battering my ear with a cloud of spit. 'We need to talk. Quick.'

David drew back to his room, and I followed dutifully. Here we go, I thought. Another body found.

Caleb was sleeping soundly in his cheap crib, and just as before, I took a calming seat on the edge of David's bed.

'What is it?' I asked once David stopped pacing.

'Something happened last night.'

I frowned. Did he catch me running back upstairs?

'It might be nothing, but...' He ran a hand through his hair. 'There was this noise, like a crash. It woke me up.'

'What time?' I raised my eyebrows, pretending this was new information.

'Two am?' He shrugged, guesstimating. 'Anyway, I went into the corridor and there wasn't anything, so I kept on and moved downstairs.'

I nodded, urging him on.

'It was empty too, but the window at the end was wide open and... it was freezing. I would've shut it, but, I don't know, I got scared. It was like someone else was in the dark.' He paused to sit next to me. 'I didn't want to risk it. So I went back and locked my door.' I watched his nerves as he toyed with a hangnail. 'I don't know, Jake, something doesn't sit right.'

I sighed, brought my hands to my knees and avoided his eyes. 'That's Abe's floor, right?'

'Mmm.'

I needed to be careful here because David hadn't figured out the window was smashed yet. 'Maybe he got too warm. Forgot to close the window.'

David, arms folded, nodded.

'Yeah, yeah, maybe.' David wasn't fully present—his eyes glazed as he stared at the wall, thinking back. 'There was something else, I think. A scream.'

'A scream?'

Now, this was a genuine surprise. Had Abe screamed?

I might have been too distracted to notice, but looking back, he must have done. There aren't many people who can topple out of windows in silence.

David has his head in his hands. 'I'm not sure of course. It happened pretty quickly.'

I sighed. 'Look, there's no sign of anything being wrong yet, right? We should wait. Check everyone turns up for breakfast.'

David nodded slowly. Someone's died, he thought.

'Do you think...'

'Let's play it by ear,' I told him firmly, wanting at least five minutes to eat breakfast before Abe was found. 'Come on.'

I placed a hand on his shoulder and led him to the door.

'Wait, let me get Caleb.'

'I'll be outside.'