Knocks

Chapter 6

Lucy stares up at me, narrowing her dark brown eyes, "Lainey, Mom said we can't go out of the house."

"Who cares what Mom says. She's not here! She'll never know!" I reason, trying to peel Lucy from the television that airs static shows. She sits on the couch, remote in one hand and the other held up to block me from her view. "Come on! You've always wanted to see raccoons in person!"

I can see Lucy look at me for a second, but she shrugs an oncoming thought away. "No. Mom said no."

I grumble in disgust, slapping the remote from her hand and grabbing her wrist, "You're coming."

"Hey! Let go! If Mom catches us we'll be grounded!" Lucy screams, trying to kick me and stop me from dragging her to the back door.

"We're practically already grounded! Mom never lets us leave," I reply, continuing to haul a sister in combat. I turn the rusty, bronze handle and swing the old door open, wind rushing through, hitting my face. Lucy stops smacking me and yelling as she sees a wide open field, the trees in the distance and a few power lines strung up on them.

"Woah..." Lucy steps forward and I let go of her arm. She walks down the brick stairs, feeling the soft dirt beneath her feet. I'm surprised Lucy didn't argue to put shoes on before we came out here. She gazes out at the vast area, the tall weeds rippling in the breezes. "Do you think there really are raccoons out here?" Lucy asks, a serious expression on her face.

I walk down to stand next to her, "Raccoons live outside, right?" I tease, Lucy giving a shy smile of embarrassment. We both head around the house, discovering brown toads and creeping vines along the side of the house. Dirt is smudged along the side of a small door near a garbage can. I kneel down in surprise, running my hand gently along the strange entrance's surface. "Huh, this is weird."

Lucy runs around, picking wild berries from bushes and imitating birds, trying to call them to her. "Hey, Lucy! Come look at this!" I shout, studying the door with concentration. Lucy giggles, ignoring my demand and wandering off to march to the front of the house. I sigh, looking back at the door and pushing my hands against it.

The door opens on my first try, something I did not expect for such an odd, moss-covered piece of wood. I fall inside of it, darkness swallowing me as I tumble down a set of stairs. I bump along, a headache making itself known as I reach the bottom. I turn my head up to see the entrance filling the room with morning light. I can't see anything in this place but I can smell the musty scent of old furniture and tools. This must be a cellar, I conclude, putting a hand on a wall to support me as I try to stand up. I stumble around, my eyes adjusting to the light after awhile so the room is cast in a blue glow.

I don't call for Lucy. I want to explore this myself and I know she'll just knock things over. I'm surprised that the people who lived here before never cleared their basement out. I notice a small black device on a brown table, the paint peeling off like an orange. I reach for it, pressing a button on the side of it. Light streams from the bulb. Good, a flashlight.

I point the flashlight around different parts of the room, noticing a bunch of unused things in piles on the cold, cement floor. I read an old, thick, dusty book that is sitting on a shelf above me. The spine says Shutters in cursive letters. I flip it open, shining the flashlight on the black words. I study a few sentences, realizing that this is a manual on how to build your own shutters for your house. I quickly close it, setting it back down on the shelf. I don't want to waste my time reading about how to make something that belongs on a house. I pull another book from the shelf, but before I open it, a shuffling sound comes from behind me.

I turn around, directing the beam of light from the flashlight at a bag on the floor. I don't see anything so I spin around again, ready for if anything is behind me. I shuffle through more books, some falling apart and some ruined by unexplained liquid and cobwebs. I reach for one book on the highest shelf, stretching as far as I can.