AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He pulls out his cell phone and turns on the flashlight, nearly blinding me. I’m too afraid to extract myself, so I hold on like a baby monkey as he walks toward the stairs.
I dig my feet into the floor in a wasted attempt to stop him. “Where are you going?”
“To go find the breaker panel.” He attempts to break my hold.
“No!”
A chilling sound echoes through the house.
Julian’s eyes widen.
My voice drops. “What the hell was that?”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “I don’t know.”
“Did that sound like Ryder to you?”
“Maybe a wounded animal got into the attic?”
“Yeah, and what? Bit the electrical cables and caused a power outage?”
He makes a face. “Plausible. It happened once with a lizard that fell into a power box at one of our sites.”
I rub my throbbing temple. “Will you stop being so damn logical for once?”
“Would you prefer for me to break out into hysterics like you?”
“I amnotbreaking out into hysterics.”
Another hair-raising sound echoes through the corridor above, followed by the ominous sound of a hacking cough.
Julian only makes it up one step before my fingernails are embedded into his arm.
“You can’t go up there.”
He pats my hand like one would a scared child. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back.”
“No! You can’t say shit like that!”
“You’re something else.” He shakes his head and laughs before darting up the stairs with his phone in hand.
I turn my phone’s flashlight on and stay frozen in place as he disappears up the stairs and around the corner in the direction of the east wing.
“Julian!” I whisper-shout a minute later, only to have my call go unanswered.
“Seriously. Quit fooling around and come back here. We can fix the power tomorrow, once it’s daytime.” I speak louder this time.
Something crashes above, sending my heart into overdrive. “Julian?”
I last four whole minutes without power or proof of life before I walk up the steps myself.
“If he’s not dead by the time I get up there, then I’m going to kill him myself.” My own voice can barely be heard over the hard pounding of my heart.
“Julian? Where are you?” I call out as I reach the landing.
I call his phone again, but it goes directly to voicemail.
Shit.
