The Girl in the Attic

by Jon Athan

“Damn it, man!” Tyler yelled as he shoved him. Seth lost his footing on the mud and landed on his ass on the ground. Tyler shouted, “This is all your fucking fault! I told you to leave them alone!

You could have just called the police!” “I was going to, but you talked me out of it! You said I’d get in trouble if I didn’t have proof!” “And I told you to stay away, too! But you didn’t listen to me that time, did you?! And now look! She was hurt when you first saw her and now… now she’s doing the hurting. She was the victim and now she’s a monster like Evan.”

“What if something goes wrong?” Tyler whispered. “What if someone stays behind with Chandler? What if the back door is blocked or locked? What if there are more people there? You heard that guy, right? He was calling someone when we left.”

“That’s enough water,” Evan said. As Cooper walked away, Frederick pleaded, “Please wait… More… Just a little more.” “No more.” “Please, I’m so–” “No more,” Evan repeated sternly as he sat across from him.

Got it?” “I… I understand,” Frederick rasped. “Good. Sydney’s gonna come down here in a minute or two. She wants to talk to you alone. She has something to say, so you have something to listen to. I’m gonna be close by. If I hear a peep from you, I’m gonna come back here and hurt ya real bad. Might just break the rest of your teeth. You understand me?”

Frederick stared down at his trembling knees. The thugs were gone, but he was still shaking. For the first time in his life, he feared his youngest daughter—his own flesh and blood.

Well she did u

Frederick slowly brought his gaze up to his daughter’s cold face. He saw a confident, fierce young woman sitting in front of him. Although her feet and hands still ached, most of her injuries had healed. Freed from her shackles and indoctrinated by the gang, she was stronger than ever.

There was nothing else to say. His fate was sealed. He saw a reflection of his old self in his daughter—miserable, angry, hateful. She had adopted his worst traits. He realized he had created a monster through his monstrous actions. Like father, like daughter.

Yup

Seth said, “I’ll drag you, but you have to help me. Roll over.”

TOO risky

Gunner swung his machete at his legs. The blade cut his right pants leg open and slashed his calf muscle diagonally.

Wtffffff

Although he felt the hot blood streaming down his leg and soaking his pants, he didn’t realize he was cut. The pain sent his mind into overdrive, though.

There was no way they could get away with his murder.

Evan drew a revolver from the back of his waistband and pointed it at Seth. He yelled, “Don’t make me shoot you, you dumb fuck!” Seth gasped and raised his hands, scared into submission. Evan said, “Syd. Sydney, get up. Go get your dad and finish the job. Sydney, get your ass up, damn it!”

Evan cried and writhed on the stairs. He had been shot in the lower chest at a downward angle. The bullet shattered a rib, penetrated his diaphragm, pierced his liver, then exited through his back.

Seth was surprised to see the agony and fear on his face. He had always envisioned Evan as the type to laugh in the face of death—the type of person who was as ready to die as he was ready to kill. It turned out that even the worst killers were scared of death.

“No, Easy, no. We were supposed to get away together. Please stay with me. I can’t be alone again. I can’t, baby, I can’t!”

He couldn’t help people who didn’t want to be helped. His belief in the concept of ‘Good Samaritans’ died at that very moment.

Seth said, “I didn’t want...” Sydney put the muzzle of the revolver against her temple. Seth yelled, “No!”

Damnnnnn

After about a minute, she stopped moving. She passed away in his arms. He laid her down gently on the ground in front of him.

Then it hit him. They were just teenagers who had made terrible mistakes. There was nothing else they could do. It was the perfect time to cry. He wrapped his arms around Seth and wept his heart out. “We fucked up, man,” he said. “We fucked up.”

Some of the local teenagers used the house as a successor to the Spot, but they were often caught and kicked out by the neighbors and the police.

After the incident in the woods, Seth and Tyler were arrested under suspicion of murder, kidnapping, and trespassing as well as a litany of other charges.

Evan, Frederick, and Sydney were pronounced dead at the scene while Cooper passed away during ...

Shortly after their arrest, Seth and Tyler were exonerated of the charges—except for the trespassing—thanks to the unedited footage found on Paul’s camcorder and Dominic’s testimonial.

“You okay, sweetie?” Melissa asked from the driveway. Seth glanced at her, then at Tyler, then back at her. Although she wanted to keep him away from their neighbors, she understood his need for closure. She sucked her lips into her mouth and nodded at him: ‘Go ahead.’

“I’m leaving and I’m not coming back,” Seth said. “I won’t, um... I won’t contact you again if you don’t want me to. I can delete your number and all that stuff. I just wanted to say thank you and I’m sorry.”

“I’m going to stick around here, obviously. But, if you ever wanna jump into a game with me, maybe play some Warzone or something, just hit me up. Seriously, man, there’s no hard feelings. We’re good, bro.”

“Then I’ll see you online, Tyler. Take care of yourself.”