I had made my way into the kitchen, which housed the basement door. It was ajar, and a soft light streamed from inside. I peered down the dark stairs, but I couldn’t see my brother. Still, I knew that something was down there.
“Shelby, hurry up! Thomas wants to play. I want to play. You’ll play with us, won’t you, Shelby?”
A shiver crawled up my spine. What if this wasn’t my brother? But… it sounded like him. And I couldn’t take any chances – if he was down there and something happened to him, I knew I’d never forgive myself.
Taking a deep breath, I started down the stairs.
The first few steps I took slowly because I was still very afraid, the sinking feeling in my stomach telling me that I was sealing my own fate.
The next few steps I took slowly because it felt like something was blocking the way. My legs seemed sluggish, as though they had been weighted down. I was practically sloshing through the air, trying to reach the bottom of the stairs.
I was about halfway down the staircase when, suddenly, everything went dark and I started to scream.
When I opened my eyes, I was in my father’s arms, being pulled out of the swimming hole in the woods.
I was soaked all the way up to my chest, and I shivered as he pulled me into his arms. My mother was screaming, my father was answering her, and I was dreadfully confused.
“What happened?” I asked, grabbing my father like a lifeline.
“Your mother woke up and you were gone… the door was open and we came out here on instinct. We saw you walking into the water, trying to drown yourself…”
