Ch2. The Attic

☆☆Kevin POV☆☆

The moment I heard Mia saying that she was scared of the attic, I couldn’t hold the urge to tease her about it. However, I never thought that she would actually fight back and nail herself to the floor like that.

The more she resisted, the more I wanted to take her up. For a while, l lost control and carried her up the stairs and forced her into the room.

She was right about one thing for sure. The attic was indeed a cold and spooky place. But nothing to be scared about. I came back to my senses, when Mia held onto my arm and felt her icy cold fingers wrapped up around my arm .

She was shivering; I was really surprised by her. I always knew she was a wuss but not like that.

I wanted to make her face her fear. “What is so scary about it? It looks normal” I tried to assure her as I walked inside the room and looked around.

The room was dark with a dim moonlight coming from the only window in it. It was filled with a lot of boxes, a broken chair, a few baby toys scattered in one corner, a mattress in a plastic cover leaning on one side of the wall and a big dusty grey safe on the ground half covered with a white sheet on it.

I took a few steps in looking around more. It really looked okay, nothing scary about it. But, Mia’s fingernails were digging into my skin. “Hey, you are hurting me” I said and removed her hands, however, her face lost colour like she had seen a ghost and trembled a little saying: “sorry, let’s go” she stepped back and I stopped her back: “Mia, face your fear. Nothing here is scary. Look around and tell me what scares you?” She stopped and looked around, still shaking.

“See, nothing. You scared yourself when you were a child but now you are a grownup” I tried to convince her but in vain. I stretched my hand to hold hers, the second she touched my hand I got goosebumps she was still cold.

“It’s fine. Let’s go. I am sorry” suddenly I regretted it. She was really frightened and I couldn’t figure out why. I took her hand and turned towards the door.

       Then creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaak

We both froze at the door and held our breaths soundly. “What the hell?” I thought to myself. Mia’s hand was colder than before and she didn’t even blink as if she was afraid to close her eyes.

I turned slowly to see what that sound was. I looked around the room, everything was the same. but, I noticed the safe on the ground, it was open now.

“What the hell?” I said pointing to the safe. Mia moved her gaze from me to the safe and then back at me saying with a tremble in her voice: “sseee, I ttold youu, let’s go now”

“NO” I said forcefully as I pushed her hand and turned around, found the light switch and walked to the safe. “Now, I want to know what is going on?”

I removed the sheet revealing the safe completely.

Under the sheet, the safe stood on the floor all dusty and it looked like it was closed for a few good years. There was a black colour sprayed on the top in weird shapes like some kind of hoodoo.

I knelt down in front of the safe’s open door and looked inside. There was nothing in it except an old wooden box with a white signs drawn on it just like the ones sprayed on top of the safe.

I took the box out and held it. I looked at Mia and her eyes were wide open and I think she wasn’t breathing either, her face was turning blue. I wobbled the box and a rattle sounded.

“Did you see that box before?” I asked Mia, maybe she had seen it before, but the look on her face confirmed a big no.

I held the box with one hand and opened it with the other. I was expecting a boom or smoke to blow up in my face.

But there was only a medallion in it embedded in a velvet red sheet. It was small, old and rusty. It had the shape of a horseshoe with some kind of inscription written on it. I tried to read it but it was in an unknown language.

I handed the box to Mia, she took the medallion out and looked at it: “I never saw that before” she flipped it around and then put it back in the box: “put it back Kevin and let’s go” I nodded my head in agreement. I had a strange feeling about that thing that scared me as well.

I looked at it again, closed the box, put it back in the safe and closed the safe as it was. I turned around and then Mia took the sheet and covered the safe again.

I switched the lights off and we went downstairs. We were both quiet and shocked.

We sat down on the couch and spaced out. After some time, I looked at Mia and she was still pale white and looked like a lifeless corpse. 

I got up and brought her some water. With her trembling hands she pushed my hand away. I felt a pain in my heart seeing her like that. It was all my fault: “Mia, I am sorry, I …” she cut me off saying: “I need to rest” she stood up and walked upstairs to her room. I stared at her back as she disappeared up the stairs looking like a ghost.

Oh god, what just happened? I felt like I was dreaming and I couldn’t wake up no matter how hard I tried. I breathed out soundly, got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up a little. I changed my clothes and went out. I found a blanket and a pillow neatly folded on the couch.

I settled down on the couch and closed my eyes. Of course sleep was far away from me. I thought about everything that happened today. Only the look on Mia’s lifeless face haunted me and drove my sleep away further. “I shouldn’t have forced her to go into the attic; I have to talk to her tomorrow and sort this out” I thought to myself as I sighed out guiltily.

Paaaakkk

My eyes shot open wide as soon as I heard the loud thud coming from above.