“Why did she hate animals so much?” I asked.

“Not quite sure why.” Theo kept petting Killie. “I asked her once, and she said they were just a huge bother. Cats, dogs, birds, they didn’t belong in a house. But if someone thinks they’re a bother, they wouldn’t pick up a broom and start shrieking at the animal to get it out. That seems… a bit of an overreaction.”

I couldn’t help myself and started giggling. It wasn’t that funny, but there was a release that came when I giggled.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever know. I think it was because my grandma was a hoarder,” Theo said.

“Oh, you don’t say,” I said, only hiding the sarcasm a little.

Theo smiled, then closed his eyes and placed his head against the wall. “Hoarding is already hard. But add animals into the mix, it just gets toxic. The smell was bad enough, but at least it wasn’t animal urine. Or animal waste.”

“Just cigarette smoke,” I said.

“True. True,” Theo said. “Can you imagine hording, cigarettes, and animal waste?”

I let out a breath. “Yeah. Glad I’m not cleaning that up.”

Theo opened his eyes, still petting Killie. “You don’t have to. Even now.”

“Yeah, I do. The first level I cleaned gave me a nice boost in my sanity and stamina bar. Also, the hauntings get less the cleaner it is. It’s a nice incentive, and I honestly don’t mind it.” I looked at the wall that led to the hallway to the second floor. “It’s such a charming house. I’m falling in love with it.”

Theo shook his head. “You are more than welcome to have it.”

“Do you know what happened to it back home? On earth?” I asked.

Theo shrugged. “Pretty sure it’s been empty for years. Maybe someone bought it. Perhaps someone tore it down.” I gasped at the audacity of such a thing happening. Theo raised an eyebrow. “You really do care about this old place.”

“Of course! Those stairs are so cool. Such a beautiful dark wood. And those rooms are so huge and spacious. That master bedroom has so much charm. I’d buy it in real life if I had the money.”

“It would take a lot of money, not just to buy but to fix up. No doubt the foundation of the home is cracked,” Theo said, patting the board leading into the basement. “It’d take a lot of work.”

“I’ve already cleaned it up once,” I said.

Theo chuckled again. “Then I guess if we ever get back, I’ll take you to it.”

“You remember where it is?” I asked.

The smile dropped from Theo’s face. “I can never forget.”

A silence fell over us again, and Theo looked away from me. Outside the wolf roamed, and I pulled my legs close to me before glancing out the window. The grounds were pitch black. The only light came from the lamp post in the corner of the front yard. There were only shadows here.

“Did you ever figure out why your grandmother hoarded?” I asked quietly.

Theo shook his head. “I don’t, no. I sort of just chalked it up to the older generation’s inability to let things go. It’s even harder when you’re poor. Every little thing you spent money on needed to get its money’s worth before it’s tossed. It’s probably why this house is practically a time capsule of different eras. I still remember the first time Doug tossed something in the trash, and I had a thousand different ideas of how he still could have used it.”

I frowned, staring at him. “You… remember that?”

“Sure. Don’t you remember glimpses of childhood?” Theo asked, opening his eyes.

I kept staring at him, then shook my head. “No. I… it’s only the memory orbs. Maybe I remember specific feelings after the fact of what I saw, but…”

Theo paused, then glanced down at Killie on his lap. “Odd.”

“Not the first odd thing to happen.” I tucked this information away. Theo could remember a lot more about his childhood than I could.

“Maybe if you had your childhood home in the middle of the forest, you might remember more about your childhood,” Theo said.

My shoulders relaxed. “You’re probably right.”

There was another beat of silence. “You really think we’re getting out of here?” Theo asked.

“I do,” I said, then watched as he stroked Killie’s back. “You really think we’re going to stay here forever?”

Theo shrugged. “I don’t know. I just remember waking up with all my memories gone, but I could not help but revel in this…” Theo motioned with his hand, his face twisted as he tried to find the words for it. “…this peace, almost. That everything was okay. It was like waking up from a wonderful dream to another wonderful day. I was… happy. Blissful, almost.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

My face fell, even though I tried not to show it. Theo glanced over at me, picking up on my facial expressions almost immediately. “How did you wake up?” Theo asked.

“Sobbing,” I whispered. “Sobbing, and then stopping, because I don’t remember why I was crying.”

The silence returned. Theo stared at me, confused. “But…”

I lifted my shoulders in a shrug. “I don’t know, Theo. Just like I’m sure you didn’t know why you woke up peaceful.”

Theo blinked again, then he glanced back at Killie’s sleeping form. “Do you think… we’re dead?” He looked at me again. “On earth?”

Everything inside me froze. I stared at him, nauseous. “Why…” my mouth suddenly went dry, and no amount of swallowing helped. “Why would you think that?”

Theo shrugged, then glanced out the window to the star filled sky. “Maybe we’re caught in limbo or something.”

“No,” I whispered. “No, we… can’t.”

“There was something awfully familiar about that peace,” Theo said. “And if there was some sort of afterlife, I’m pretty sure I’d make a game of it. And killing monsters is my favorite game.”

“No!” I didn’t mean for it to sound so loud. “No.” I covered my face. “It doesn’t make sense. Not like that. There aren’t… alien overlords. There’s no religion on earth that talks about that brother and sister. This… no.”

“Are you sure you’d remember a religion that talked about it?” Theo asked.

“Yes!”

No.

I just didn’t want to think about what he said.

Theo watched me far too calmly. He seemed to understand my confusion at his calm. “I hear the mind plays a lot of tricks on you in the minutes before you d-”

“Stop.” I held up my hand. “Please. No more talk of death.” Hearing me say the word brought up the memories of my gamer mind screaming at me that Theo shouldn’t be dying so much.

Theo sighed, closing his eyes again. “It’s just a thought, Quinn.”

“An awful thought,” I said.

“But one we can’t rule out. Not yet.”

I hated how much he was right.

I felt the pressure on every side of me. The silence was absolute. Killie’s eyes snapped open, and she leapt off Theo’s lap, scratching at the door to be let in. I quickly opened the kitchen door as Theo climbed to his feet.

I didn’t want to talk. Theo didn’t want to, either. Fear strangled my voice, and a primal fear screamed at me to get inside. Now. Memories came back of the attack from seven days ago. The feel of all my energy getting sapped away. It was such a helpless feeling.

Which is why when Theo stood up and unlocked the door, giving me a small salute with his fingers, I had to believe he was the craziest person on this entire planet. Though maybe that was a bad metric. There weren’t a lot of people on this planet.

Theo walked out the screen door right as the first thump hit. I whimpered and scrambled inside. I got the first knock to my sanity as I approached the living room.

Thump

It was the only place bathed in the warm, if weak, glow of the lamplight. I held my axe in my hand, closing my eyes. Trying to will all my bravery to act as courageous as Theo.

Thump

The silence was absolute. Then that horrible bang as it hit against the fence. I curled my head inward, too afraid to gasp. The bellow ripped through the yard, and I collapsed to my knees, my sanity dropping to fifty percent.

In the distance I heard a chainsaw, and tears dropped down my chin. Every natural instinct inside me said Theo was running to his death. A part of me couldn’t grapple with Theo coming back to life. Something about it was off.

The chainsaw died, and every muscle in my body stiffened. If it was any indication, it meant Theo was dead. He hadn’t lasted long, just like he hadn’t lasted long with the wolf. I hope he got his informat-

Something slammed into the window. I screamed, dropping the axe and backing away. I pulled out my flashlight, pointing it at the window. There was a black smudge, and my heart was pounding out of my chest. Something had been thrown against the window. I had a really bad feeling I knew who it was.

I heard the thuds leaving, and it took a bravery I did not feel to throw open the front door when I knew they were still out here.

“Theo,” I whispered.

He’d be dead. He’d be whisked away in light, and wake up in his base camp. If their attack didn’t kill him, certainly being slammed against the house would have.

My flashlight was out as I ran across the cement of the front porch. I saw his feet first. I sprinted toward him, dropping to the ground. He was covered in sludge and unconscious.

“Theo!” I didn’t dare scream it, but the distress was there. I flipped him on his back and watched in horror as the black sludge forced itself into his ears, nose, eyes, and mouth. I tried to grab the blackness, but it wiggled away from my grasp. Instead I grabbed his shoulders, trying to shake him. “Theo!”

He didn’t move. I placed my ear against his chest, a sudden panic. What if this was it. What if this was the thing that killed him. Killed him and never brought him back.

His heartbeat was there. Weak, but there. “Theo, please.”

He started coughing. Then choking. Relieved, I grabbed his shoulder and pushed him to his side. He coughed some more before vomiting black sludge again. Tears continued to race down my cheeks as the vomiting finally stopped. Theo then let out another groan before his muscles weakened and he fell back into unconsciousness.

“Theo,” I whispered again.

Their attack is done. Forced sleep beginning.

“No!” I screamed at the sky. “No, please! He can’t stay out here. I need to know he’ll be okay! Are you putting him back in his campsite?”

There was a pause, long enough that I knew they hadn’t started the forced sleep.

Only when he dies will he be placed back in his campsite.

He is only knocked out.

“Please, let me make sure he’s placed somewhere before I sleep,” I said.

Very well. Sleep will be placed on hold until he is somewhere you deem comfortable.

I let out a breath, then clawed my mind for some place to put him. The obvious answer was somewhere in the house, but I didn’t want him waking up in a place that would only give him more trauma.

The covered back porch. It was the one place in the house he didn’t mind being. It was good enough. I moved around, picking him up under his arms, willing to test how far this game logic went.

I pulled my brother, and despite him being so much taller and heavier, I could easily pull him around the house. There were still tears running down my cheeks, but I could not leave him out here. I was fighting every impulse to push open the front door and set him on the couch.

Instead, I pulled open the back door, dragging him the rest of the way onto the ground. It seemed an inadequate substitute.

Killie jumped next to Theo, meowing. I tried to help Theo be better situated before knowing that was all I could do.

“Keep an eye on him, will you?” I asked, holding out my hand to pet her

Killie purred, pushing her back against my hand before she curled up next to Theo.

I then struggled to my feet, heading into the house.

Theo situated.

Forced sleep beginning.

I had the forethought to change into my nightgown before I felt my vision darken. I hardly made it into the kitchen before everything went black.