6 Elements [Under Editing]

Chapter 19

Jake walks up the porch stairs to the door and stops.

"Are you okay?" I question him from the a few feet behind, still on the small pathway that leads to the house. Jake clears his throat and scratches the back of his head.

"Uh, yeah. I just, you know, miss home," He says, peering back at me, "This is all really... trippy. You know?"

"Yeah," I say and force myself to feel cheerful, "But I'm sure we'll be home soon."

"Me, too," He turns back towards the front door and places his hand on it. He gives it a gentle push and it slowly opens, revealing a large, ransacked living room. A couch set up against the wall is missing its cushions and the TV's screen is shattered, almost looking like a spider web. Glass is scattered across the floor and there's holes in the walls.

"What happened?" I ask, my mouth ajar. Jake shakes his head, not taking his eyes off of the scene.

"I... I don't know," He says finally. I don't want to walk any farther in this house, it has already scared me. It looks like someone had a fight with another person. What if that person is still here? I shudder at the thought.

"Okay," I say, closing the door behind me, "Let's just keep looking for clues, I don't want to be in here for as along as I need to be."

"What kind of clues are we even looking for?" Jake wonders aloud, he walks through the living room, examining everything.

"Uh... I don't know, maybe clues about who took my brother and where he is? I hope he's okay," I walk over to the kitchen entrance.

"What if there aren't any clues?"

"Then I guess all of this is just hopeless!" I snap, silence swallows us whole. I sigh, breathing in deeply, "I'm sorry, but there's has to be something worth looking for here. I mean, there is a huge spotlight coming from your backyard." I look up at the window above the sink, hoping it shows the light, but it only shows the house next to us.

"Shh," Jake says forcefully, I don't speak, "Did you hear that?"

I shake my head, "It must have been Olivia and Jason."

"No," He quakes, "It sounded much different," He walks over toward the staircase and peered up into the darkness.

"I don't think we should look," I say.

"What if it's Daniel? I highly doubt that but... maybe it's someone that needs help?"

"I highly doubt that, too," I say.

"What if it's something important, we can't risk not seeing it," He argues.

"But we can't risk our lives," I reply.

"Isn't that what we've been doing?" He locks eyes with me, I can see he's scared like I am, but I can also see that this is the only thing he sees as hope.

"Fine," I agree, "But grab something to defend yourself with before we go up." I walk back into the kitchen and end up grabbing a knife. I hand him one, as well.

"Be careful with that," He warns, backing away from me.

"Calm down," I roll my eyes and slowly start to walk up the stairs. I can hear what he was talking about, the sound. It's a sound that I don't even think humans are capable of making. It's quiet but still make my body vibrate everytime I hear it. It kind of reminds me of a killer creature in any monster movie, which makes things seem even worse.

We reach the top, the noise has increased. I can feel my bones rattle with every step I take. I'm petrified, but I force myself to keep going forward. I can barely see, but Jake knows every inch of the house and moves with ease, I follow his lead.