Smiley

Mom and dad had just left us at the cottage. It was just me and my little brother. There was no satellite so we were stuck watching Friends. It wasn't bad but still, old shows are only so funny. Mom and Dad said they would be back in a few days to pick us up. They thought me and my brother philip needed more "bonding time". My brother was an instant fan of the show, even though he didn't get half of the jokes.

There was a storm moving in, probably would just be rain. It was about 8:49pm saturday night. I swear i could hear things moving outside, but it was probably just the wind, branches falling, etc,etc. the weird thing is i could hear something moving in the basement. This would be normal if it were something like a racoon or small rodent, But this sounded ... different. It sounded like a clock. tick ... tock ... tick ... tock. Then it stopped, and i returned to the show and my brother. The second time it happened it was faster. tick tock tick tock, then it stopped each session of noises was about 5 minutes apart. I went outside for a quick breath of fresh air, that was when i heard ... it.

"Heeeelllloooo" as if the wind itself had decided to speak. I went back inside, my brother was still sitting on the couch, laughing over a joke he didn't fully understand. I went to take another look around the house, the kitchen was clean and everything was shut. The hallway leading to the bedrooms had a few paintings, but one always stood out. It was a painting of an old house, it almost seemed to move, and live, and breath. I opened the door to my brother's room. We hadn't had time to unpack and settle in, so everything was still in our suitcases. Then i checked the bathroom, it had a leaky sink, drip ...drip ...drip ...drop. I couldn't stand the noise. I became even more paranoid. Paranoid by water. I went to my room next, it was right across from the master bedroom. My stuff still lay on the bed, I reached in to grab a pocket knife. Mom and Dad didn't like me having it so they didn't know about it. I got mugged one day on my way to school, I learned my lesson.

The master bedroom was only different as it had a queen size bed and not a twin. Since my parents were only dropping us off, i decided i was going to sleep in their bed tonight, not like they could have known. I returned to my brother.

He stood in the kitchen, clutching a butcher knife. "Philip, what are you doing?" fear resonated from my soul. The sound returned louder, and faster than the second time. tick tock tick tock.

"He said it would be fun." Philip was holding a butcher knife, and sounded more innocent than he normally does.

"Who is he?" Every instinct demanded i run, run from this friendly, kind face. Run like it was an abomination.

"The man in the vents." I asked where he heard the voice. He walked into the living room and pointed to the vent next to the tv.

"Philip," I whispered his name, my voice felt loud to me, fear and paranoia had sharpened my senses. "I want you to give me the knife, and then we are going to play a game. we are going to play hide and seek."

"Can i be the looker first?" His words rang with sweet childhood innocence.

"NO" I almost yelled it but i caught myself. "No, that's my favorite part, why don't you be the hider, you're so good at hiding. "

"Ok, can the man in the vents play too?" I fear the man in the vents is the true seeker, and we are both hiders.

I waited a minute before moving. I crept towards the door the the basement. I walked down the stairs with the butcher's knife in hand. I finally reached the final step, I had left the door open for light. TICK TOCK TICK TOCK. It was louder. I moved towards the sound "whoever you are ... whatever you are I want you to come out right now... wherever you are..."

"Now, where is the fun in me just telling you where i am?" the voice seemed to come from the walls, bouncing back and forth for all of eternity. Then i finally realized... he heard me.