Getting Back To You (Book 2 of Under The Floorboards)

Chapter 19: Kendall

It is pitch black as we all huddle together in the white room. A pit swirls in my stomach, it is as if I can feel something is about to go wrong. I don't know what, but something isn't right.

When the lights flicker back on, nobody gasps. Not one sound is made. Everything is still and silent as the figure in front of us comes into focus. An old man, seeming as harmless as ever. He looks up, a gentle look is in his saddened eyes. He appears weak and frail. I step closer to him. I remember my conversation with Shelly, the old lady who gave us information on the house. It is him, it has to be.

His grey eyes gaze into mine. I can almost feel the pain he holds behind them. Another few steps closer to him, and soon I am arms length away. "William," I speak softly. His lower lip quivers. "William, you have to let us go home. We don't belong here. Please, let us out," my voice shakes as I beg him.

"Who told you," He wheezes, "my... my name?" he glares at me with frustration. I hesitate, not wanting to upset him.

The room seems to spin around us, my legs shake with fear. I try to stand tall, I tell myself I can't give up. I have to put up a fight for my friends. "Shelly," I whispered.

His scream is louder than any other imaginable. It is my worst nightmare brought to life, tearing apart my insides and rattling my brain within my skull. I breathe heavily, knowing I won't be breathing for much longer. Pictures fly through my head. Things I never would have wanted to see. The screams of all the demons I have ever heard, only it is coming from one person.

He shows me his life at home as a child, his father drunken and angered. His mother lay on the ground screaming with millions of voices. The little boy we had seen at the camp, who simply wanted to play, is curled in a ball with tears streaming down his face. His hands are clasped tightly around a toy train. His father repeatedly hits his mother, the Christmas tree lights flickering as blood splatters the walls. I see as the light leaves his mother's eyes and she lays motionless with slow and struggled breaths, his father grabs a beer before throwing the front door open. Snow blows in from outside as he slams the door behind him on his way out. The little boy scrambles over to his mother, crying into her chest as he strokes her hair. "It's gonna be okay mom, just hang on. Take my train mom, we can keep playing now that dad is gone. Just play with me mom. It's okay. Play with me mom, please just play," the little boy screams at her with desperation.

The same desperate eyes from the little boy look back at me, only they are aged now. "It doesn't have to be like this, William. It's not too late, you aren't your father. No matter what happened with Shelly, it's not too late to change. Let us be your change, let us go home. I'll tell Shelly you're sorry," I croak, tears swelling in my eyes. He nods, tears flowing down his cheeks.

He steps to the side, revealing a mirror. After everything, I don't know why I trust him, but I do. One by one, we jump through the mirror. I am the last to leave, the room walls fall to dust as I throw myself through the glass, leaving William behind.

I blink my eyes open, all of my friends surround me. A few groans sound out as we push ourselves to our feet. I instantly recognize where we are. Above us, a small ray of light pours onto us through a hole in wooden floorboards. Each of us takes turns pulling ourselves up and helping others get up until finally, we are all out. Quietly, we walk up the basement stairs and out of the house, no carnival sounds or mysterious things happen. No one says a world as we make our way through the woods until we step out onto the city pavement. Together we cry tears of happiness, the winter wind blows gently, each of us hug one another.

It's over. We are all finally back home.