Strange as IT Seems

Chapter 3: Strangers in a House

His heart leaps into his throat as he turns to look at his closet. He becomes nervous, scared of something that might be lurking in the closet. His hands shake, thinking of the worst possible thing inside... Had IT followed them from Derry? Could there be a dead body? Someone inside?

Despite his anxiety, he goes towards the closet, afraid, but also curious about what was inside. He knew he couldn't just let whoever or whatever was in there jump out in the middle of the night and kill him. He had to be brave. His hand grips the doorknob. He opens it...

A large bucket of golf balls comes pouring out of the closet, raining down as if it were hail. Bill steps back in surprise but is relieved that it wasn't something lurking inside. The tiny things pound and bounce against the floor in a myriad of noises.

His parents and Georgie come in at the sound of the noise and watch as the last of the white balls fall to the floor.

"Are you okay Bill?" his mother asks.

"F-Fine, these just f-fell out."

"The man who lived here before must've liked golf," his father says, carefully manoeuvring around them. "I think this was his office."

Bill and his father get down on their hands and knees and begin picking up the balls and putting them back in their basket.

"A strange place to keep them though," his mother says.

Georgie picks up a ball and begins bouncing it up and down, until it gets away from him and bounces down the stairs, making an ominous rapping noise as it goes.

"I think it's time for someone to go to bed," she says, taking her youngest son's hand and guiding him into his room.

"Night Billy," Georgie says before he's dragged out of sight.

"Night-t Georgie," he says.

Once the golf balls are all picked up, his dad offers to take them down to the basement or garage so there was room for his son's things.

"Think about going to bed soon Billy," his dad says. "You have school in the morning."

"R-Right," Bill nods. "Good night-t Dad."

"Good night Big Billy," his dad says before going down the stairs.

Bill drags over one of the boxes and puts it inside the closet, which is pretty tiny. But it would have to do for now. As he searches for his pyjamas, he sees a note stapled to the back of the closet door. Curious, he rips it from his place.

To whoever finds this note,

What is in this closet are projectiles, very useful in the heat of battle. There is also a radio in the basement that is used for any secret use only. Beware, there are ears everywhere. There are extra supplies with the directions below in case of The Great War. Please do not share them with anyone, also, never turn off the fans in any of the rooms.

E. W.

Bill looks over the directions, it looked like a map to some buried treasure or something. All of this confused him. He looks up at the fan, which had now stopped spinning: Why would anyone want to keep their ceiling fans on? It was a waste of electricity.

Projectiles? Great War? Radio? None of it made any sense. Bill decides that tomorrow he's going to ask his father about the mental states of the previous owners. He crumples up the note and tosses it into a nearby wastebasket. He then takes down all the newspaper clippings, throwing them out too, knowing that he now had the space to put up his art projects and other things.

He didn't think about much else as he got ready for bed. He puts fresh sheets on the bed and climbs in. The mattress is lumpy and uncomfortable, the bed frame squeaks every time he rolls over. But despite everything, Bill curls up, willing himself to fall asleep. He leaves the door open because he just wasn't comfortable sleeping in complete darkness tonight.

...

"Bill?"

The preteen turns over to see a shadow standing by his bed. He nearly jumps out of his skin in fright until he realizes that it's Georgie.

"What's wrong G-Georgie?" he asks, turning on his light.

"I don't want to sleep in my room."

"W-Why not?"

"There's a monster in there."

"N-No there isn't," Bill says.

"Yes, there is! ... I heard it breathing in the closet. It makes noises Billy."

"Georgie, it was probably the radiator. I-It's an old house t-too and it's new t-to us. It'll make n-noises."

"I still don't want to sleep in there. Can sleep with you tonight?"

"Sure," Bill says, not really in the mood to battle with his brother about the existence of monsters in the middle of the night. He knew they existed, but Derry was so far away now, that there's no way IT could've followed them here. Right?

He moves over to make room for his brother. Georgie curls up in bed, clutching his favourite blanket. Once the six-year-old is settled in, Bill shuts his eyes, trying to find sleep again.

He only opens his eyes once after what sounded like heavy breathing coming from down the hall and what he thought was a golf ball rolling past his door in the darkness.