It was laughter, I realized – Max’s laughter. What was he doing up so late? I was suddenly filled with apprehension. I practically leapt out of bed, intent on racing to my brother’s rescue, not that it sounded as though he needed any rescuing.
I paused as my hand touched the doorknob, suddenly pulling back as though the metal had burned me. What if it’s a trap? I thought, fear starting to poke holes in my earlier bravado. The thing from my dreams could be luring me down, lying in wait for me to make one wrong move…
But then I heard my brother again, calling for me by name, and I realized that I didn’t care. So what if it was a trap? I couldn’t leave Max to some dark fate on a whim. Besides… maybe it would be better this way. If I were to die that night, then Max could have a normal life without a cursed sister, without exhausted parents. If I was dying for that cause… well. I could live with that.
As quietly as possible, I slipped out the door to my room, praying that my parents would forgive me for what I was about to do.
As soon as I entered the hallway, I cocked my head and listened hard. Max’s voice sounded far away, as though he was calling to me from the first floor. I crept down the stairs, but Max’s voice still seemed so far away. I moved through the first floor, tracing my hands along the wall where the thing had gouged out the paint, wondering what was waiting for me.
I heard Max’s voice again, a little louder this time.
“Shelby! Shelby, come quick, I’m in the basement!”
