Curiosity Killed the Cat

Prologue

Jackson was nothing like I had remembered. He had grown up. The last time I had seen him, I was six and wearing a Cinderella dress with a Hello Kitty backpack. That was ten years ago. And boy, do ten years change a person.

He was a tidy, weird shut-in. He only ever went out to get groceries or go to work. He had no friends or a significant other in his life. He was the definition of anti-social. He was twenty eight and hadn't accomplished a single thing in his life. When I went to live with him after the car crash, I thought he'd still be the fun loving, happy-go-lucky, smartass brother that I once knew.

After he picked me up from CPS, the car ride should have prepared me for what was going to come. It was silent, eerie, and tense. When we got to the house, It was creepy. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, but chose to ignore it. I wish I didn't ignore it, though. He handed me a paper with a schedule printed on the front.

7:00 am - wake up

7:10 am - morning routine

7:30 am - breakfast

8:15 am - school/ free time in room

3:00 pm - homework/ therapy

4:00 pm - chores

5:45 pm - dinner

6:30 pm - free time in room

8:00 pm - nightly routine

8:45 pm - movie time

10:00 pm - bed

It was a strict schedule and I had to follow it precisely. When I strayed from it, I got a punishment. I had to spend time in the "bad girl room" at least that's what he called it. It had a blow up mattress and one blanket, with nothing else but those two items in the room. There wasn't a single window and only one dim overhead light. I couldn't tell you how many collective hours I spent in there but it was a lot.

Jackson spent all his free time in the basement. I hadn't had a clue what he did in there. One of his rules was to never go in the basement. But as the days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, I became so curious and began to grow suspicious of him. I wanted to know so badly what was down there that took all his time away.

One day while I was serving my punishment in the room for trying to let a handy man in the house to fix the water heater, breaking one of Jackson's four rules, I found some dried substance. I was already angry with my brother so my brain dismissed it at the time, not finding it important. It was dark red, at the time I hadn't thought anything of it. But as the week went on, I realized it was blood. but I just brushed it off as mine I thought that I must have gotten a cut or scratch.

I noticed some of my clothes were disappearing, mainly my underwear and shirts. I didn't dare question him about it. I had soon become afraid of him. He scared me greatly and I began to behave. It was like my brother was gone, the one I knew and he's been replaced by this strict monster.

As my seventeenth birthday approached, he began to increasingly get more friendly, kinder, and happier towards me. It scared me, but made living with him easier. If I strayed a bit from the schedule, he wouldn't punish me, but he would give me a stern warning instead. It was like he was becoming my brother again.

But his time in the basement increased. During the night, I could hear knocking, tapping, hitting, and banging. But one of his rules was to not leave my room during the night. It was frightening, just imagining what he could be doing down there. But I didn't let my mind wander too far, for I was too afraid of what might be the truth.

As the days went by, my curiosity increased. I would linger around the door to the basement, just imagining what could be down there. Weeks went by and It was finally my seventeenth birthday. He baked me a cake and celebrated with me. But there was something different about him, something was off. He said he had to leave for an hour to go get groceries and then we'd play some games. I watched as he left and the truck disappeared into the woods trail.

I ran to the basement door and opened it. The stench that permeated my nose was enough to stun a bear. It smelled like death and rotting flesh. taking one step at a time slowly, I tried looking for a light switch. Once I was at the bottom of the stairs, I found a chain leading to a faint bulb. I pulled it, but was taken back by the sight in front of me.

I was about to scream when I heard heavy footsteps behind me. His massive hand covered my mouth and I felt his breath on my neck. His hot breath went into my ear. "You ruined your birthday present."