This short story was written for English class just to get our brains working for the first days of high school. Please don’t forget to review!

I have no idea how it got in the box. Every time I think about it, it never really made any sense to me. It was also hard to forget the day I found it, since it was the day we arrived at our new house.

          A very easy-to-miss new house, except it didn’t look new at all. Vines clinched the almost black gates; the house itself looked ancient, with it beige bricks and black roof. Anyone who would have laid eyes on it would have thought it a miracle it hadn’t crumbled yet, because that’s exactly what I thought as I got out of my Dad’s car.

          “Feels like home, don’t you think?” My Dad said as he stood in front of the grayish door. I shrugged, how could it feel like home when it didn’t look like it?

          “I don’t know.”

          Mum was still rooted beside the car. “Betty heard rumors that the attic is haunted.”

          I looked heavenward, shaking my head slightly. Not only was the house in major disorder, the attic was haunted.

          “But of course, its only rumors,” she said, indicating the end of that discussion. For Mum though, I doubt it will end, she was the most superstitious person I have ever known. She’ll believe anything with the word ‘haunted’ in it.

          I walked away from the car and stood beside my Dad. “Where is the furniture?” I asked, not really curious of where our belongings are at all.

          “The workmen said that it’s already in the house. Although, he did have trouble with some stuff, he put some of the boxes in the attic.”

Mum gave a small breathless gasp at the word ‘attic’, but it was ignored.

          “I’ll sort out the boxes if you want,” I offered, anything was better than acknowledging that your house was a dump.

          My Dad smiled. “Good for you,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice. He turned back to the door, eyeing it with satisfaction and walked towards it. I was right behind him, which was why I walked right smack into him, I hadn’t noticed him stopping. He was looking at the doorstep; he blinked twice before bending down to pick up a paper.

          “Look at this,” he said, obviously interested. It was a notice paper, with a large black ‘missing’ written on top. A picture of a cat underneath it; its black shiny fur matched its azure eyes. Somehow, the thought of a missing cat, it made me sad, I wondered where it was right now…it might even be dead. I forced these thoughts out of my head. He can’t be dead, cats are smart animals, and they can be wild enough to survive.

          I shrugged. “He can’t be that far. His owners will find him soon, since it’s their fault he’s lost,” I muttered as I walked around my father to open the door. It wasn’t that bad inside, except for the mass blankets of dust everywhere. As I walked up the stairs, the air was gradually getting colder. The attic was a total mess.

          Boxes were scattered everywhere, there was hardly any space to move around. It wasn’t only messy, there were spider webs everywhere. In addition that the light switch wasn’t working, so the only light I had to work with came from a small round window at the far end of the room.

          I started shoving some of the boxes to make a path for me, but as I reached for the third box, I slipped and crashed straight into the other boxes, and later hit the hard, cold floor. As my body slammed into the dusty surface, a loud hiss echoed the room. I was lying frozen on the ground, not daring enough to move. Was it me or did it almost sound sinister?

          Suddenly I thought of what my Mum said; that the attic was haunted. I felt like laughing at the thought of that, how could that thought even creep into my mind?

          Just as I was getting up, another sound reached my ears. It was close to a scratching sound, as if trying to dig out something. The scratching sound was faint, but I was able to detect it coming from the corner of the room, where the big boxes were placed.

          I tiptoed, half hoping to scare whatever was making the scratching sound. Only the scratching wasn’t exactly at the corner of the room, it came from one of the boxes placed there. There was something in that box; somehow the thought of it was chilling to the bone. Maybe I’ll come back later with Dad? 

          But that would make Dad curious as to why I couldn’t open the box and looked inside it myself. What would I say? That the attic was truly haunted?

          My only option was to open the box. I felt my hands sweat at the thought of it; I took deep breaths to calm myself down. I took a step forward, clenching and unclenching my hands as it made its way to the box. The moment my finger tips touched the surface of the box, it was as if something exploded from within, because suddenly the box was shaking so hard, and the scratching was loud as well. It was only for a second, but it was enough to scare me to death, if it’s possible. Again, I doubted the only option I had, it then occurred to me whatever was in that box could practically be able to either hurt or kill me. But I wasn’t aware that whatever was in that box was going to ‘haunt’ me forever

          Again I summoned whatever was left of my courage, which wasn’t much to begin with, and reached for the box. My hands were trembling but I opened it fast, hoping to get it over with. The moment I did though, a large black spot leapt right out of the box and flew right to my face. I lost my balance and fell backwards, again meeting with the hard, cold floor. When I dared to open my eyes again, round azure ones were staring right back.

          “I found you.”

I hope you guys enjoyed this…just don’t forget to send in your reviews and criticisms!