“Yeah. Yeah. I think so,” Holly whispered, panting softly.

They were both completely astonished with their hearts pounding in their chests and nervous sweat dripping down their faces.

Sitting in eerie silence, the two contemplated their next course of action but found it difficult to think clearly.

“I’m trying so hard not to panic right now,” Joseph said as he calmed himself down and took a few deep breaths, slowing his heartbeat.

“Me too. Me too.” Holly followed his example and took several deep breaths as she regained her composure.

“Do we follow him?” Joseph asked hesitantly as he stared out into the darkness.

“No. We shouldn’t. She said not to go into the attic. So, let’s not.”

“Alright then.”

Uncertain what to do, they continued to sit there in silence. The only audible sounds they could hear were their thumping hearts and abnormal breathing.

After a few more moments of being frozen in place, they started to hear something.

*Creak..creak…creak.* From above, they listened to the sounds of creaking floor boards of the attic. Someone was definitely walking around up there.

*Creak..creak…creak* the same rhythm repeated itself and the two listened carefully.

Suddenly, the chant started up again, “She’s not my mother… she’s not… she’s not.. she’s—”

It stopped.

The chant stopped and absolute silence filled the room once again.

The two terrified college students continued to sit in a petrified state, unable to move a muscle as fear completely disabled them.

Joseph slowly looked up to the black ceiling, seeing absolutely nothing in the dense darkness as all the lights in the house dimmed to nothing.

Even the flashlights on their phones dimmed to the point where they could no longer use them effectively and they wanted nothing more than for this sudden nightmare to stop.

“Holly, what the hell do we do?” Joseph started to panic again. His words shook with a quiver and he could hardly keep up with his uneven breathing patterns.

“I don’t know.” The two looked at each other, barely able to see each other’s eyes in the sheer darkness.

Though they could hardly tell, fear was instilled on their faces, and they appeared lost and hopeless.

*Grrrooooar.* A quiet inhuman grumble came from the attic above them. It sounded as though a very upset animal was making intimidating noises.

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Joseph wanted to scream, but he covered his mouth with his hand and closed his eyes, shaking violently in place.

Holly could barely hold her composure and buried her head into the floor below, covering her head with her arms.

The noises from above got even more violent. The roars were louder and there was loud thumping mixed in with the creaking floor.

*Creak... thump… creak… thump…*

The sounds were too big and too noisy to be coming from a little boy now, and Joseph realized this.

“Let’s go. Let’s just rush down back downstairs to Marko and Joan and try not to make a lot of noise. Whatever we’re dealing with is in the attic. Let’s just avoid going that way. We’ll be fine,” Joseph forced himself to calm down, and slowly stood up to his feet.

His legs shook like the tentacles of a jellyfish and they felt incredibly heavy. His nerves gnawed at his neck and body like rabid dogs, and his entire chest felt like it was caving in on his heart.

Every fiber in his body except his head felt cold. The chills radiated throughout, and nothing felt cohesive. Every movement he made felt disjointed as though his joints were disconnected from his body.

The two slowly walked towards the door and into the darkness with just their dim flashlights guiding them. The hallway was completely dark, illuminated in blackness. Without the flashlight, Joseph couldn’t even see his hand in front of his face.

The noises from the attic continued and they tried to ignore the ear-shattering roars and thumping. The pressure they felt was immense, making their movements feel weak and lifeless.

Feeling drained of energy and struggling to breathe properly, they continued to waddle their way towards the stairs. Blood gushed and pounded through their skulls like a harsh river crashing into debris that was unfortunate enough to find itself stuck in the waves.

With every weary step they took towards the stairs, they felt more and more fearful. Joseph’s anxiety made him feel like something was watching his every movement, monitoring his every breath. The feeling of a conscience lingering over his shoulder caused even greater unsettlement, and the feeling of asphyxiation took over again.

Joseph struggled immensely to fight back the urge to cough as he didn’t want to make noise and attract the attention of whatever entity was above them.

*cough cough* he croaked softly with his hands completely covering his mouth and nearly blocking his poorly functioning airways.

Holly grabbed his hand knowing it would calm him down. Her warm touch lessoned the cold feelings in his body and relieved some of the asphyxiation.

She continued to bravely hold his hand as they cautiously walked down the stairs. Each step felt like an eternity as they crept as slowly as a sloth.

They quickened their pace as they got to the lower half of the steps and moved much quicker overall. As they reached the bottom, they heard a final roar that seemed to fade and disappear into the background.

Relieved of the sounds, the two began to calm down only to be immediately startled by another presence.

A small black figure stood in the room in front of them, staring. From what they could tell, the figure was looking directly at them, peering into their hearts and minds.

“J.. J.. Jason?” Holly asked with a shaking stutter as her lips quivered and sweat dripped down her face.

“Where—” the cold dead voice of the unidentified figure whispered in a serpent-like hiss. “is my mother?”

Confused and afraid, the two continued to stare at the figure, not knowing what to say or do. It started to approach them slowly while continuing to hiss, “Where is my mother?”

They stood there with their hearts pounding, bodies shaking, lips quivering, knees buckling, and fear overriding every nerve in their bodies.

Holly, being one of the bravest of heart people Joseph ever knew, slowly began to guide Joseph along the hallway adjacent to them and away from the small figure. They walked slowly and steadily, keeping their eyes fixed on the figured.

Creeping backwards, Holly tried her absolute best to guide them back to the room and keep the distance between the chanting figure. She held Joseph’s hand tightly despite the cascade of sweat that built up between them.

Their racing heartbeats were in sync as they distanced themselves further from the figure which eventually walked up the stairs and disappeared.

Holly felt around for the room door until she found it. She then opened it and rushed inside to the still sleeping and undisturbed Marko and Joan.