Darkness Will Rise

The Old Willow Tree

The road we turned down, happened to be the bumpiest one out there, which only seemed to agitate my neck. Trying to occupy myself from the pain, I looked out the window, noticing the fog hovering. 

"We're here! We're here! We're here!" John screamed as we slowly we pulled into the long stone paved driveway. Tiredly my eyes panned around the overgrown yard, until they rested on an old willow tree shading a small part of the lawn. I cocked my head as I tried to get a closer look at what might be lurking in the shadow, but my gaze broke as Dave suddenly came to a quick stop. Mom turned around in her seat with a big happy grin across her face.

"We are finally here!" Dave looked at mom pleased. 

"Yay! Yay! Yay!" John excitedly screamed. Moms gaze then focuses on Nile, who hadn't heard a single thing said so far due to the fact that he had his earphones in. 

"Nile!" Mom snaps. Nile's gaze met moms as he realized what happened. Quickly he pulled his earphones out and smiled awkwardly.

"Yes mom?" Mom put her hand on her forehead in frustration, and then shakes her head.

"Never mind. How about we all get out and take a look around?" Moms eyes shifted towards me "Does that sound good?"

I looked at the willow tree then back at mom "Yeah sure." 

Moms smile quickly came back "Great." 

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The floorboards squeaked terribly under our weight as we all slowly walked in. The main room was painted a light cream which was accented by the beautiful dark chestnut wood floors that ran all the way into the living room and the dinning room. I steadily made my way towards the kitchen, admiring the big windows that showed a perfect view of the front yard. The kitchen had black and white checkered floors with white cabinets and white wooden counter tops. I have to admit though, this place was quite beautiful. After exploring the main floor, my last destination was the metal spiral staircase, which was hidden in a little room off of the living room. 

"Hey mom? Where is my room?" I asked mesmerized by the tall staircase. 

"It's upstairs, last room on the left!" Mom shouted from the kitchen. 

I smiled and began to ascend the stairway. "Thanks!" Once I reached the top, I made my way down the long, dark hallway towards my bedroom. I approached the door, watching for anything out of the ordinary. As I reached the door, I noticed a faded word on the wood. I couldn't make out the entire word except the first letter, C. I ran my fingers over the faded letter, wondering what the whole word had to say. I then turned my attention to the golden door knob, running my hand over it, wondering what secrets the room could be hiding. Slowly opening the door, the hinges squeaked from years of neglect. My eyes panned around the torn up room, which was covered in a thick layer of dust, including the window at the end of the room, that showed a perfect view of the old willow tree. Then just like that, the atmosphere in the room became colder, and sadder.  As if someone were directing my eyes, I noticed a blanket atop the torn up sheets and instantly began to walk over. Walking over to the bed, I noticed that the blanket had the name 'Conner' stitched onto it. "Conner," I said aloud, slowly tracing the name on the blanket with my finger. I then glanced outside, noticing a small faint glow underneath the willow tree. I cocked my head "What is that?" My interest increased as the glow grew brighter and brighter. I looked back down at the blanket, then quickly again out the willow tree with the glow no longer underneath it. "What?" I said confused. I quickly made my way down the stairs, and out into the front yard. The air out here was dense and thick, almost like breathing in water. I quickly made my way into the forest of grass, hoping that whatever I saw would still be there. Slowly I ascended out from the grassy forest, into the shaded area of the towering willow tree. I then pushed my way through the long leaves until I found myself in a small open area, deep within the tree's mane.  My heart beat slowly began to rise as I walked around quiet, open area. Where am I? I questioned. I nervously looked around. "Is anyone here?" I asked breaking the silence.  No reply. Before I could ask anything else, I felt my leg run into something small and hard. I looked down at my feet to see a small, broken headstone. What?  I crouched down, picking up the small headstone. Blowing off the dust, I squinted as I tried to read the name engraved upon it. "Conner Andrew Macaulay" I read aloud. I looked up in shock "Conner." I whispered, remembering the same name patched onto the blanket. Then, as I was about to stand up, something hard grasped onto my arm.