Chapter 2 - Sounds Behind the Walls
The movement lasted only a second.
A faint scraping.
Almost too quiet to notice.
But Rick heard it.
His ears stood straight.
His muscles tightened.
Then he exploded into furious barking.
The sound echoed throughout the kitchen.
I froze beneath the vent.
The flashlight beam shook violently in my hand.
Another scrape.
Closer this time.
It sounded less like an animal...
and more like someone crawling very slowly through a narrow tunnel.
I stepped backward.
The old ladder creaked beneath my feet.
The house suddenly felt much smaller than it ever had before.
I grabbed my phone and turned on the video camera.
If someone had somehow entered the ventilation system, I wanted proof.
Minutes passed.
Silence returned.
Only Rick continued staring upward.
I decided to inspect the rest of the ventilation network.
The house had been built in the early 1970s.
Perhaps there was an access panel in the attic.
The attic ladder folded down from the hallway ceiling with a loud snap.
Warm air poured downward.
Dust floated like tiny insects through the flashlight beam.
Rick refused to follow.
Instead, he remained below the ladder, whining softly.
That wasn't like him.
Normally he followed me everywhere.
I climbed into the attic alone.
Rows of wooden beams stretched across the darkness.
Old insulation covered the floor.
The ventilation ducts crossed the attic before disappearing beneath another section of roofing.
Then I noticed footprints.
Fresh footprints.
Not animal tracks.
Human shoes.
Leading straight toward the far corner.
I swallowed hard.
Nobody else had access to this house.
At least...
that's what I believed.
The footprints stopped beside a large plywood sheet.
It looked newer than everything around it.
I knelt carefully.
The board had recently been lifted.
Fresh scratches surrounded the edges.
Someone had opened it.
Very recently.
My heartbeat pounded inside my ears.
Slowly, I pulled the plywood aside.
Below it wasn't insulation.
It was another hidden passage.
Large enough for an adult to crawl through.
Cold air drifted upward carrying a strange smell.
Old wood.
Mold.
And something metallic.
Almost like dried blood.
I aimed the flashlight deeper inside.
The tunnel continued beyond the reach of the light.
Then...
Two tiny reflections appeared in the darkness.
Eyes.
Watching me.
They blinked once.
Then disappeared.
From somewhere deep below came a whisper.
So quiet I almost convinced myself I imagined it.
May you like
"You're finally looking."
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