Tales of Gloomsdale #1: The Hidden Attic

Chapter Nine

Matt winced at the sound of Cal's thunderous voice as he stormed through his room. He gritted his teeth as he heard Cal knock his things over. He was probably tearing apart his comic books and destroying his video games right now. But it was better than having the same thing done to him.

Dust coated his hands as he gripped the planks below him, which were just like the ones forming the steps only even older and dustier. The flashlight was inches away from him, casting a dim ray of light across the darkened room. Matt caught sight of the narrow, slanting walls surrounding him as he reached out to grab it. As he raised the light to the ceiling, he saw an equally narrow roof, both sides closing in on each other above the wooden rafters. Cobwebs hung in the corners, and another layer of dust coating the top fell down, causing Matt to cough.

It's an attic, Matt realized, staring up at the ceiling as another layer of dust in the corners fell and almost caused him to sneeze. Of course it was. Just like the one at the top of his old house, except even dustier. He felt a wave of relief. He had been expecting the stairs to lead to somewhere much worse.

He winecd as he heard Cal storming through his room, yelling loudly. He gritted his teeth at the sound of his things being knocked over and torn. He glanced down at Willow who was cowering below on the stairs.

"Willow," Matt whispered. She jumped and glanced up at him. "Tell me when he's gone, alright?"

"O... okay," Willow agreed, clearly scared even if she wasn't Cal's primary target. She crouched into a ball on the narrow steps, drawing her arms around herself.

Matt raised a hand to his face to stifle a sneeze as dust rose to his nostrils. He glanced down at his stepsister, taking in the terrified exprsesion on his face, before rolling over and reaching his hand out.

She glanced up in surprise. "Take my hand," Matt hissed.

Willow obeyed as he lowered his other arm and tightly grabbed her while pulling her up. He was surprised to feel that she was just as scared as him. Her dark hand slipped on his pale one as she slid down, but he gripped tightly.

"Willow, it'll be okay," Matt assured, echoing her advice to him. "Just lift yourself up. It's pretty wide up here." It was actually rather narrow, but he was trying to reassure her.

Willow lifted her legs while Matt tugged her. He gave her one last hard tug while rolling to the side. Willow rolled over as well, sprawling out on the dusty ground next to him. Matt could feel the warmth of her body and thudding of her heartbeat by his side.

Her heart was thudding so quickly, it surprised him. "Hey, Willow, it's fine," he said, reaching out to squeeze his sister's arm. "We're okay."

Willow glanced around, before reaching an arm out to push the hatch over the opening. Matt closed his eyes as the attic became shrouded in darkness. Then he blinked as light flared in his face.

"Get that thing out of my face." Matt turned his head away while Willow aimed the flashlight around.

"What is this place?" Willow muttered, staring around with wide eyes. She seemed to have lost most of her prior paranoia, though some of her fears still remained. Matt still wondered what had caused such a reaction.

"I think it's an attic." Matt scurried further away, grateful that Cal's voice had died down by now.

"An attic?" Willow aimed the light at the ceiling. "Maybe you're right." She shuddered at the sight of the cobwebs. "This is it?"

"Of course it is. It was obvious, really. My room is the highest in the house," Matt pointed out. "It's a place for us to hide, just like we wanted."

"Not a very nice place," Willow muttered, stifling a sneeze while waving dust out of her face. "I can't believe we went to all that trouble just for this."