The Attic

                        The Attic  

                          -Thud-  -Thud- -Thud-

The noises in the attic seemed to be getting louder and louder each night. I don’t know how much more, I can take. It seems like these noises happen every night around the same time. It seems like it’s always around 2:40 or 3 in the morning…Almost like someone is dragging something across my attic.

“Enough!” I cried out, yelling at my ceiling. I was quickly answered by another thud.
     
I threw my covers off of me, grabbing my flashlight I kept beside of my bed. I opened my bedroom door and quickly made my way up to the attic.

“Hello,” I called out, shining my flashlight around the dusty attic. It seemed that everywhere I shinned my light, I was met with cobwebs. I slowly entered my attic, trying to push the thought out of my head, of what I heard earlier. But it wasn’t working. Night after night I was confronted by this…noise. It’s been driving me nuts! It’s time I put my foot down. I’m not going to let this thing, or whatever it was mess with me any longer.
   
 I let out a loud gulp, bending over, grabbing a broken leg off of what looked like a wooden table.

“Look if there is anyone up here, I want you to know you’re trespassing, and I will not hesitate to beat your ass!,” I called out, holding the long piece of wood over my head, and keeping my light in front of me. I slowly took a few steps forward, even the creaking sound of the boards on the ground made me jump a little.

“One last chance to show yourself! I’m warning you the cops won’t be able to arrest you when I’m done with you!” I took a few more steps forward, stepping on a loose board that almost hit me in the face. But luckily I was able to jump back in time to avoid getting hit. Sadly, I lost my footing when I jumped back and landed on my butt.
 
  I quickly got up grabbing my flashlight leaving the board lay beside of me. I started to get up, but when I did something on the ground caught my attention. I quickly looked down, shined my light on the dusty floor to see…My name? Yep, there it was in fine italic print,” Samantha,” I rubbed my eyes to make sure they weren’t playing tricks on me. Sure enough they weren’t. There in the dusty floor board was my name…I wanted to scream in terror, but I think I was in too much fear to do so. So I just quickly grabbed my flashlight and raced back down to my bedroom, quickly locking the door behind me.
   
 I grabbed my phone on my nightstand and called my friend Lacey. As the phone rang, I looked over at the clock noticing it was almost three thirty in the morning.

“Hello,” Lacey answered in a tired, groggy voice.

“Lacey, thank God you’re up.”

“Well, I wasn’t till just now. Samantha what’s going on? Are you alright?”

“Are you by any chance able to make it over to my house?”

“Sam, I got to be up in like four hours. Can’t this wait till later?”

“Lacey, I think…,” I stopped, noticing that if I said someone was in my house, she’d asked me why I am calling her, and not the cops. So instead I made up a lie,” I have something personal I need to tell you…This can’t wait. Can you make it over here?”
Lacey sighed,” I’ll be there…Give me fifteen minutes.”

      As time went by I locked myself in my room and watched the clock. I don’t think my
eyes left the clock a single minute until I heard the doorbell ring. I quickly got up and raced to the door.

“Okay, so what’s the big personal issue you have?” Lacey asked, putting out her cigarette.

    I grabbed her by the hand and drug her to the living room couch,” You’re not going to believe me when I tell you this, but I think I have a ghost in my house.”
Lacey’s face quickly went to shock and pure anger,” You woke me up because you think a ghost is in your house! What the fuck Sam!?”
“Listen! This is serious! Whatever that is in my attic wrote my name on the attic floor, in the dust.”

     Lacey grabbed me by the shoulders and stared at me straight in my eyes,” Sam, it’s late, and you look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“No you’re not listening to me! If you’d come upstairs with me you’d see what I mean! Please?,” I tugged on her hand like a little kid trying to beg their parents for something, trying to lead her upstairs to the attic.
“Fine, but if you’re lying to me I’m going to kick your ass.”

      I let go of Lacey’s arm and slowly started to make my way up the stairs. When I got to the top of the staircase, I step off to the side to make room for Lacey.
“Would it kill you to do some dusting up here?” She said spitting from the cobwebs she got in her mouth, pulling out her phone to use for a flashlight. I pointed in the direction where my name was made in the dust. Lacey slowly walked over to where I was pointing, holding her phone down to the ground, trying to look through the dust on the floor.

“I will say that this attic is the creepiest thing I’ve seen in a while. No, wonder you get the creeps when you come up here.”
“Look down.” I demanded,” Right where you’re stand is where I saw my name.”

     Lacey looked down at her feet, shining the light to try an illuminate where she was looking. Her light moved from me to back at the floor, two or three different times. After a good few minutes, she stood back up looking back at me.

“Well, now do you believe me?” I asked.

“Well…It’s not in the dust, but it’s there I will give you that.”

“What do you mean it’s not in the dust!” I marched over to where she was standing, grabbing the phone from her hand, and looking down to where she was standing. Sure enough she was right. My name wasn’t in the dust anymore, but now it was carved in the wood. Chills ran down my spine, as I stood back up.

“I’m sure there’s probably a logical explanation for this.”

“Like what?” I crossed my arms, to wait for some sort of reply

“I’m sure you’re just lacking sleep, and you might have done this-“

    Before Lacey could finish something in the distance flew across the room scaring the both of us.

“What the hell?” Lacey asked.

“I don’t know but I’m not going to stick around and find out!” Lacey and I quickly took off running downstairs.

“What the hell was that?” Lacey bent over gasping for air.

“I told you, I don’t know. I’m not messing with you! This shit happens all the time. There’s something up there. Every night around two forty or three, it sounds like something is being dragged across my attic floor. Just this morning I ran up there and my name was carved.”

     Lacey put her hand on my shoulder,” I think you need to get out of this house for a little while. You should stay at my place for a little while until we figure this out.”

“No, I don’t want to leave this house. I feel like if I leave I let it win.”

“Are you nuts!? This thing just threw something across the room, it could harm you!”

“I’m staying and going to try and figure this thing out.”

“You can’t be serious! I can’t let you stay here by yourself. If you’re going to stay here
I’m going to stay with you. I can’t let you-“

     Lacey was quickly cut off by thudding noises in the attic, once again, but this time it was more consistent. I looked up at the ceiling to wait for it to stop, but this time it didn’t. It was just going back and forth, almost like it was dragging multiple bodies.

“That is what I’ve been hearing every night. That’s the same thing that’s been keeping me
up!” I yelled so that whatever it was could hear me.

“Damn, that’s enough to drive anyone crazy.” Lacey said.

“Now do you see what I’ve been-“      

-THUD!-

       Lacey and I both jumped back away from my staircase leading upstairs. The last thud was the loudest I’ve ever heard. Whatever, is up there is pissed off and at this point I’ve had enough. I walked right by Lacey and quickly rushed into the kitchen, and grabbed the biggest, sharpest knife I could fine. I was about to make my way upstairs when Lacey jumped in front of me.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She growled, pointing down at the knife in my hand.

“I’ve had enough of this shit! I’m going to kill whatever is up there!”

“Don’t you think you better get me one too!?”

      I took a few steps back into the kitchen, grabbing another knife out of my knife holder, and handing it to her. I quickly took the lead, walking up the stairs to my attic.

“Alright you piece of shit! I’m sick of you torturing us! I want you to show yourself and face us face to face!” I shouted, looking over at Lacey, noticing that she wasn’t looking to well,” Are you alright?”

“Yeah I’m fine. Why do you ask?” She cleared her throat.

    I shrugged her off and moved forward in my attic, getting closer to whatever it was that shot across the room. When I got to the end of the attic, I quickly saw that it was a box full of junk. I started to call out  for the spirit to show its self, but before I could do anything, a big puff of wind, energy, or something swished right by me, quickly forcing me to the ground, causing me to drop my knife. Before I was able to get back up, I heard Lacey making what sounded like coughing noises. I quickly got up grabbing my knife looking at her. She stood straight up, like some something had cracked her back. I started to call out to her, but before I could say anything she tossed her knife at me, nicking my left arm. At first I didn’t think it was too deep, until a lot of blood started to ooze out, and fast.

“What the hell, Lacey?! What’s wrong with you!? You could have killed me just now.”

“Oh I’m sorry…Next time I will aim a little higher.” She had an evil looking smirk come across her face.  

    It was that moment that I realized she wasn’t who she was,” Shit,” I muttered. Lacey quickly jetted off toward me trying to spear me with all of her might. I quickly moved out of the way and darted down the stairs to the front door, slamming it shut behind me.

    The shed! There’s something wrong with this house…No, not so much my house, but my attic. I thought to myself, quickly running to my shed grabbing the gasoline out of it and pouring it all up the sides of my house; I was quickly tackled to the ground before I could get to my front porch.

“Get off of me you crazy bitch!” I kicked Lacey off of me, before she could stab me with the knife she had in her hand. When I kicked her off me, she dropped it, I quickly picked it back up, and stabbed it through her shirt, pinning her to the ground knowing it would buy me some time,” Stay here. I’ll be back!” I took off running with the gas can.
 
  I entered the front door of my house and poured more gasoline. I quickly grabbed the lighter sticking it in my pocket and exited outside. I met backup with Lacey, stuck the lighter to the ground, and watched the flames consume my house. As the house slowly went up into flames Lacey slowly went back to her normal self. I’m not really sure what was in my house, but I’m just glad whatever it was is gone now.