Part 2

The police came. Kelly was in shock. She couldn't believe that all this was happening! And worse yet, she knew it was her fault. If she hadn't gone inside to answer the phone call, Thomas would have never gotten lost! But even though all this was spinning around her, she still went to school the next day.

Kelly got off the bus after a long, stressful day at school. She couldn't concentrate on anything except on getting home and finding out news on her brother. She approached her house, and went up to the mailbox to get the mail, as she did every normal day.

She was flipping through the crisp, white envelopes when she came upon a strange, beaten, brown envelope. There was no return address. Kelly stopped in the middle of the driveway and opened the curious letter. Inside was a torn piece of paper with a word scribbled on it in black ink. The word was 'the'.

Kelly stared at the letter with wide eyes. At first it didn't come to her, but then she remembered the first word she discovered on Thomas's abandoned bike. The words were forming a sentence! 'Check the-'. Someone was giving her hints as to where her brother was! At least that's what Kelly thought. Someone could just be toying with her. But that someone would have to know her well enough to know that SHE would find her brother's bike and the word 'check' on it, and that SHE checked the mail every day after school. For probably one of the few times in her life, Kelly was truly scared. And anxiously awaiting the last word.

Kelly's parents were both at work. Only Kelly's uncle was sitting on the sofa, staring into space as Kelly came in.

"Hello, Uncle." Kelly said, a bit shaky. Should she tell him about the words? Or would he not understand?

"Hello, Kelly." Her Uncle replied, still staring at something only he found fascinating. "Good day, today is." Kelly glanced at her Uncle uneasily.

"Uncle, no day will ever be 'good' until we find Thomas. Aren't you worried?"

"No, because you will find him." Uncle replied, and smiled at the wall. Kelly rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad you have faith, Uncle." With that Kelly took her book-bag and went up to her room.

In her room, Kelly unzipped her book-bag and took out her homework. Half way through, she sighed. She was so tired, ever since Thomas disappeared she was full of stress. She anxiously looked at the phone in her room, hoping the police to call and say that they found him, safe and sound. She went to her bed and lay down. Soon her eyes were feeling heavier, and the softness of her pillow had been silently lulling her to sleep. She let it envelope her, until she drifted into darkness.

She was awakened by the sound of her phone ringing. She groaned and glanced at the clock. It said 4:30 pm. Kelly had been asleep for one hour. She picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Honey, your father and I are stuck in traffic. We'll probably be home a little late." It was her parents. "If you're hungry, there's plenty of food in the fridge."

"Thanks Mom, bye." She hung up. Then she went back to her bed. She lay down on her back and stared up at the ceiling. Then she gasped and let out a tiny shriek. On the ceiling just above her bed was the word 'attic.'

Shaking, Kelly put her hand on the attic doorknob. The door opened with an eerie creak. Kelly advanced up the wooden stairs, each creaking just like the door. Kelly's heart throbbed against her chest, about to burst.

"Thomas?" Her tiny voice seemed to make a huge noise in the silent attic. The light was dim, the air smelled stale. It was hot and musty. She slowly approached the top of the stairs. There was dust on the floor, and her feet made imprints on the wooden floorboards. But she noticed that just beside her footprints were larger ones.

As she reached the top, she looked around for any sign of her brother. The attic was fairly large. Shaking from head to foot, Kelly spotted a large mound of cloth in the corner. She swallowed hard, and stepped closer.

With wide eyes, she stared at the cloth mound. It was wet...with blood? She couldn't tell, the cloth was dark brown. It seemed to cover something, and Kelly knew she had to have the courage to lift the cloth. She leaned forward, and just as her hand touched the cloth, she noticed something written on the floor in the dust. It was 'I told you you would find him.' Kelly screamed just as she yanked up the dark brown cloth.

Thomas lay under the cloth, just as the message said. Kelly fainted at the condition he was in.

When Kelly came to her senses, she was in the hospital. A nurse with a concerned look on her face came up to her and told her not to move. Kelly tried asking what happened, but her speech was slurred and inarticulate. Giving up, she let herself drift back into nothingness.

Later she found out what happened. After she fainted at the sight of her brother, her Uncle came in and mutilated her body. He cut off her ears, nose, and fingers. Her parents came home to find all three of them unconscious, but only Kelly was the one who would rouse. Thomas was dead, and her Uncle had committed suicide. They called an ambulance right away, and it took Kelly to the hospital where she woke up. She never told anyone about the hints from the murderer.

This story should tell all you older brothers and sisters to watch your little siblings more closely, no matter how annoying they get. And to always love them no matter what they do, because you have no idea how long they have to live.