I wasn't sure what I needed to do to capture this thing. I mean, I really didn't have any information about it other than it only shows up once every thirty years or so and it's quick. I wasn't even sure if it could be harmed. I know Jack did something, but it might've just been teasing him, luring him to his death.
I kept going back and forth on if this thing was evil or not, but the assumption around the neighborhood was that it was most definitely not good. I wanted to find the people who supposedly survived and came back, but how many of them would still be alive now? Thirty years is a long span of time. Three cycles and there's a good chance that any survivor would be dead if they were even old enough to remember when it happened.
I sat at the desk in my room and opened my laptop, Jack laying on his bed by the desk. I found the article I intended on reading when Nes interrupted me. I wondered if he could help me. He at least seemed to believe me about the thing in the house, but how would I even approach the question. "Hey, Nes, I know we just met but would you be interested in jumping into a cabinet and fighting a dangerous monster?" Sure. That didn't sound crazy at all.
I started to read the article about the boy who was found. There were two people in the picture of the boy and his parents who looked very familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place why. The article said:
Sandy B. Halworth, who went missing a year ago from his home in the middle of the night, has been found in his own bed. Police conducted a thorough investigation at the time of his disappearance and concluded that he must have run away.
Sandy's mother, Alice Halworth, never thought he ran away.
"He was afraid of something under the stairs," she told police at the time.
Thomas Halworth refused to comment on the situation.
"I think he's just in denial," says Mrs. Halworth. "He loves his son very much."
Sandy is currently undergoing counseling to find out what happened and where he's been these past fourteen months. The family is asking for privacy during this difficult time.
I stared at the screen. Halworth? As is Hal? I enlarged the image and looked again. There were fewer wrinkles, less grey hair, and his left eye looked freshly injured, but that was definitely Hal, but why did Sandy look familiar? Perhaps it was just his resemblance to his dad.
As I contemplated who he was, Jack lifted his head, ears forward, his attention fixated on the door. I looked at him. Before I could ask him what was going on, I heard noises downstairs.
"It's probably just Mom," I said.
There was another shuffle. Jack stood up and went to the door. He sniffed around the bottom of the door before jumping up to paw at the doorknob. If the doorknob was a handle instead of round, he would've let himself out and checked out the noise by now.
I grabbed my bat before opening the door. I followed as he walked to the top of the stairs. I glanced over at Mom's room. The door to her room was still closed. It was entirely possible for her to close her bedroom door before going downstairs for a snack or something, but not likely.
Jack let out a low growl and quietly made his way downstairs. I followed. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and slowly made his way around to the source of the sound. I peeked my head around the corner. The kitchen light was on. It could still be Mom.
Jack crept up to the kitchen entryway. I slid my back along the wall ready to strike. Suddenly, Jack dashed into the kitchen. I could hear him whining and making a fuss. I started to rush in, bat at the ready.
"Hey, bud. Knock it off."
"Robert?" I rounded the corner.
"Hey." He gave me a wave from his knees while playing with Jack with his other hand. "What are you still doing up?"
"Doing research."
"For fun?"
"What are you doing home? I thought you were having fun with college parties or whatever."
"I was, but I need a break from them and my summer classes." He looked up and noticed the bat. "Were you going to hit me with that?"
I shrugged. "Maybe."
"Well, I'm home now, so you don't have to worry about someone trying to break in." He stood up. "Has someone tried to break in? Are people actually starting to talk to you guys, now?"
"Um... sort of." I started to fidget with the bat handle. "I found out why they don't like us."
"That curse or demon creature, right?" He stood and headed to the fridge. "Some of the others in my frat heard about this house. They were shocked I'm still alive." He grabbed a package of lunchmeat and the mustard.
"It's not just a story, you know. It's real."
I heard him laugh a bit. "Oh, you seeing creatures?"
"Yes."
He tossed a piece of turkey to Jack and then turned to look at me. "What does it look like?"
"I... um, well. I didn't actually see it, exactly. But I did experience it a few times."
He nodded. "Experienced it, huh?" He shoved a slice of turkey into his mouth before making a sandwich. "What's that mean?"
"It's been in the house. It looked through some stuff."
"Nosy little demon."
I could tell by his tone that he didn't believe me, but the fact that he didn't just laugh or brush me off like I was crazy made me keep talking.
"I'm going to talk to Hal again."
He almost choked. "What do you mean again?"
"I talked to him a little while ago. He told me a few things, but not a lot. I think I made him angry. Or maybe it was just the subject that made him angry."
He swallowed his bite. "I don't want you to be alone with that guy. I don't trust him."
"You're not even home. How do you know you can't trust him?"
"Brother's intuition."
"There's no such thing."
He pressed his fingers into the bridge of his nose. "Look, you're a little girl."
"I'm sixteen."
"A short sixteen. A tiny, weak sixteen. A pocket-sized tiny girl who's not unfortunate looking."
"'Not unfortunate looking?' That's high praise from a brother."
"Creepy old men might take advantage."
I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not helpless, and I'm not that tiny. We can't all be so freakishly tall that we have to duck to get into doors."
He shook his head and shoveled more sandwich into his mouth.
"Besides, Hal has all the answers I need."
"How do you know that?"
"I found an article about the last person who went missing. I think Hal was that boy's dad."
He took in a deep breath and locked eyes with me. "Don't go looking for trouble."
"I never go looking for it," I said sheepishly.
"But it always seems to find you."
I rolled my eyes. "It's been a long time since then."
"That girl still has issues with her left eye."
"If anything that should prove that I can take care of myself."
"Punching someone who insults your doll isn't something to be proud of."
I looked away. It was a stupid fight. I had that doll since I was two, so of course she was a little worn and tattered. Despite all her flaws, I was proud of her. My then friend told me she was ugly and something inside of me just snapped. I choked her with her stupid pink scarf and then punched her as hard as I could in her stupid left eye. We never really recovered as friends after that, and why would we. She called my doll ugly.
"I'll be careful, okay? But I just have to find out what happened in this house."
"Then ask that weirdo landlord." He took another bite of his sandwich and handed the rest down to Jack who gently took it from his hand. Robert gave Jack a few pats.
"Mr. Bailey?"
"Sure. If anyone is supposed to know what went down in this house, he should." Robert brushed by me giving me a pat on the head before heading upstairs most likely to his room.
I hadn't thought of that. It was definitely worth a try to give him a call or something. That wasn't going to stop me from visiting Hal. I really liked him, but I wasn't going to tell Robert that.