Only a Nightmare

Chapter 2

Kris parked her car outside an old, creepy house. It was two stories high, had a porch out front, a deck in the back, and a rickety fire escape on the side coming down from the attic window. The paint on the porch rail was peeling, some floor boards were missing, and the roof looked like it could use a little help. Even in direct sunlight, some sort of shadow surrounded the entire house. This old, rickety house was surrounded by other old, rickety houses.

Kris sighed and got out of her blue/grey bug. She walked up onto the porch and pressed the doorbell. As she waited, she looked around nervously. Finally the door opened.

Kris smiled. "Hi, Miles."

Miles stood in the doorway with a flirty grin. "How you doin?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

Kris rolled her eyes. "Move, I'm coming in."

Miles scoffed, but moved out of her way. "Rude."

"Yeah, well you're the one who wants help cleaning out their grandmother's attic. She's dead, so why do you still even live here?"

"This is my family's house, ok? Don't dis the family house."

"Ok, sorry."

As they climbed the stairs, Miles continued talking. "There's a lot of history in this house. It's one of the oldest buildings in town. My family has lived here for 6 generations. Did you see those bricks in the walkway? Yeah. My great-great-grandfather put those down. The porch out front, his father built. That window down there-" Miles pointed down the hall to a window that didn't match the others. "-my father broke that with a baseball so we had it replaced."

"Ok, Miles. I get it. Lots of memories. Important house. I'm sorry." Kris said.

Miles sighed, trying to calm down a little. Usually he was lighthearted and sarcastic, but sometimes he could get passionate about something truly important to him. He'd also get incredibly protective over it. That was something Kris thought would make him a good boyfriend someday.

They made it into the attic. There were boxes covered in dust everywhere. They looked at each other. "Let's get started." Miles said, clapping his hands.

So they did. They cleaned for about an hour, then Miles went downstairs to get them water. Kris walked over to the window. A strange tan light was glowing from it. When she looked outside, everything looked practically the same. One thing was different though: the house next door wasn't abandoned. The paint was fresh, the lawn was green, and a boy's bike sat out on the edge of the lawn.

For a moment, Kris wasn't herself. In a daze, she opened the window, climbed out, and walked over to the house without consciously choosing to do so. Two boys came tearing out of the front door. They didn't see Kris. They couldn't because she wasn't really there.

"Go, go!" The first boy said. He looked about 13 and had dark hair. He was wearing jeans and a red t shirt. He was a little shorter than the other. The other boy had blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He was wearing jeans and a green shirt and looked about the same age.

A young girl with two brown braids followed them. "Give it back!" She yelled.

"You can have it back," the second boy said. "If you can take it." The boys laughed.

"Victor, please..." She said, addressing the first boy.

"Victor..." Kris thought. "Victor...Argus?"

The first boy had a moment of hesitation. He quickly brushed it off. "Come on, Max. Let's see if the doll can swim!" And they ran off, the girl following not far behind.