Well | h.s.

- somebody else

Frozen in fear, I question what to do. If I leave to get help, I know I won't be able to come back outside let alone find him again. I can't get him out of the well myself and even then, if this is Little Harry all grown up, then he's a danger to be around anyway. But he's so tortured down there... he's a living being and no one deserves what he's been through.

"GOD, PLEASE, SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP ME..." he sobs loudly.

"I'm trying!!" I yell down.

"MOMMA?! MOMMA NO!! NO NO PLEASE NO!!" He begins to erupt in panic.

Does he think I'm his mother? Even so, why doesn't he want his mother to help him?

"No! I'm here to help you!"

I find the edge of the wood and try to remove myself from the piece before trying to peel it back. It's stuck to the ground, clearly from not having moved for a long time.

But as the wood starts to give way to my force, the moss eroding it snaps and finally let's go. The wooden piece flips over backwards and I can feel the throbbing in my upper arms from lifting the heavy board.

Just when I thought I was doing something good, screams empty from the well.

"AHHH!! MY EYES!!! MY EYES! OH, GOD, HELP ME!! IT HURTS, IT HURTS SO BAD!!"

I hadn't taken into question how long he'd been down there in the dark. Without having seen the light for so long, his eyes wouldn't be able to properly adjust.

"AGHHHH!!" He cries as I can hear him echoing in pain.

I quickly rush back over to the piece of wood and cover the hole half up only to hear him yell again.

"I CAN'T SEE!! I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!! I-I CAN'T!!"

I've just made it all worse!

"I'm here to help you! My name is Melissa and I'm going to get you out of there."

"Melissa?" A soft echo rises to the top.

"Yes, I'm here to help you. How did you get down there?!"

"Momma... she put me down here! She pushed me down here! OH, MOMMA, WHY?! GOD, WHY DID SHE PUSH ME DOWN HERE?!" He begins to panic again.

I can only imagine what he's been through. Having fallen down a well, if not causing death, must have caused some serious brain damage.

"How can I get you out? How can I help you?!"

"NO ONE CAN HELP ME! NO ONE CAN SAVE ME!!" His voice retches, his throat clearly straining from yelling.

"Let me help you!"

I peer down into the well, and to my surprise, it is decently shallow. It's about twenty-feet down, I assume. The water sparkles below and I can see a figure trudging inside. It's hard to see much of him as he looks down and is quite confined as is.

I look around for anything, and find something shine beneath a bush. I quickly rush over, searching it to find that there's a knife.

Pulling back the leaves, I find several things. A rope, for one, which is probably going to be the most helpful. A knife, another trap with blood clearly staining it and a metal bucket.

Then the eerie realization reaches me.

These belong to someone.
Someone has been here.
And someone knows he's down there.