Chapter ~ 8# ~ Crawl Space

Noah ~ POV

I walked into the master bedroom as I saw Ethan look around in Nathaniel's room. Gotta say, being in the house felt creepy.

"Doesn't this seem off?" I asked, which seemed to confuse Ethan a little.

"Mr. Davis was never one for decoration…." He began to speak, but I interrupted him.

"No, no… the space… there should be more room here…." I said as I looked around the room.

It didn't make sense to me. This house may be old, but even back when it was being built, people had closets. I paced back and forth in a small corner of the room as I tried to think. Ethan walked up to the bookshelf, looking among the books. Most of them were classics, with some random texts here and there. There was one book on cooking; a few blank binders; I also noticed some books on survival tactics, which is a little weird. Maybe Mr. Davis is into hardcore survival. As Ethan looked through the books, I saw a stack of papers fall to the floor.

Ethan noticed it too and began helping me. Though I saw something weird… one of the spilled papers on the floor had slipped under the wardrobe. That was weird as it should just be a wall, but looking closer, I couldn't help but notice the paper fluttered a bit, almost like a draft. I looked up along the shelf and saw something along the inner wall. It looked like a wear pattern along the inner walls of the wardrobe. Almost like something was constantly rubbed up against it.

I stood up, focusing on the wardrobe; the wear pattern along the shelves only seemed to extend to that point. Standing up, I noticed something underneath one of the bookend pieces. Right along the edge of the wood base of the end piece looked like a circular wear pattern. It clicked in my head what I needed to do; I set the papers on Mr. Davis's bed. Ethan seemed confused as he held some of the documents. I reached over and took hold of the bookend piece. I began twisting it, which took a little force; as I turned the end piece, I saw it rub against the side wall of the wardrobe shelf before I heard a click. The end peace was now facing the side sat flush against the wall; I looked back to Ethan, who stepped forward. From what I could guess he figured out what I was working on.

He took hold of the wardrobe and raised a fist ready to fight. Slamming his whole body into the wardrobe, he looked ready for a charge. I honestly expected someone to be hiding back there. Still, when nothing happened, I noticed only a surprised look on Ethan's face. I slowly stepped up to the edge of the doorway. When I peeked in, I saw why he was so surprised. It was a small narrow room; it seemed like there was barely any space for two people. Thick soundproof foam lined the walls as an audible hum could be heard. Four different types of old computer screens hung from one of the walls. I slowly stepped inside, a little impressed with the setup. I noticed a few different kinds of old P.C. tower systems linked together. They had been stacked onto a table that took up most of the room. A large box fan that had been mounted to the ceiling seemed to be blowing down onto them.

"Gotta admit… this is impressive…." I looked over the spliced-together computer system.

"And a little creepy." Ethan said as he looked at the monitors.

Each one is lined with viewing screens for cameras. I honestly could lose count of how many there were. The cameras were set up in black and white night vision. I felt more chills run down my back as I slowly took in everything. It looked like this system had been built over years of somehow connecting old salvaged systems. This looked like something my dad would use for his work; if he used cheap parts.

"Hey… what's that?" Ethan asked as he pointed to one of the smaller screens.

I looked at it and noticed it looked like a loading screen. I squinted at it as I saw an I.P. address, but suddenly the screen turned black. I jumped a little; I felt Ethan catch me as he stared at the now black screen. Then, as I began straightening myself, I noticed words starting to type on the screen. 'GET OUT!' was all that was on the screen. I looked at the screen in surprise, though my attention quickly turned to Ethan as he ran towards the doorway. Without saying a word, he closed it shut and locked it. I was confused until I looked at the cameras and saw why. A dark hooded figure could be seen standing at the front door. They looked around to see if the coast was clear before they kicked.

I felt my heart jump with the first kick. My eyes were fixed on the figure as they went for a second kick. The door cracked, and a third one forced it open. I pulled my phone out, ready to call the police as I tried to find Ethan in the maze of cameras. I watched as he stepped into the bathroom out of sight. I looked at my phone, cursing; there was no signal. I put my phone back in my pocket as I tried thinking of a way to call for help. And then I knew what I had to do. I took hold of the old wired keyboard and began typing on it. The dark screen with the message gets turned back to blank black as another message appears 'STOP'. I clenched my jaw as I kept working; if I could use this system to call the police, I would find a way. I ignored the repeated stop warnings on the black screen as I looked up at the cameras.

The hooded figure slowly walked into the house and looked around. I watched as they ran their fingers along the walls where some missing pictures hung. As the figure turned and walked down the halls, I could barely make out a face in the cameras. Whoever they were walked through the entrance with conviction. Until they arrived at Nathaniel's room. I watched as the figure stepped into the room slowly, their hand brushing past all the robots that sat on the shelves. It started turning from creepy to scary as the figure walked over to Nathaniel's bed. They slowly laid down in the bed; they clutched his pillow close to their chest.

I saw the hood fall back; I looked closely, trying to see who it was. I saw a middle-aged woman with long messy hair; their long dark hair was tied back into a ponytail. They closed their eyes as they hugged Nathaniel's pillow; it might just be me, but it looked like whoever this person was; was breathing in the scent of the pillow. The chills in my back grew stronger as that thought passed through my head. I watched as they gently traced circles with their fingers on the cushion. The cameras had no audio, but it looked like she was saying something.

Suddenly I noticed one of the items on the shelves in Nathaniel's room fall to the floor. The person sprang up; I saw they looked like a full-grown woman. They stood up from the bed and looked towards the doorway leading to the hallway and Mr. Davis's room. I quickly turned back to the computer as I raced through its systems. I thought there had to be a way to call the police; suddenly the computer stopped. It stopped listening to me; the curser of the mouse moved on its own as it undid everything I was looking through.

"No, no, stop, stop it!" I yelled as I slammed my hands onto the desk.

I noticed movement on one of the cameras that caught my attention. Ethan was fighting with the woman now; Ethan slammed into the hallway wall with the woman right behind. Did Ethan close the door on me so he could run and leave me behind? So I thought to myself as I watched Ethan try and scramble to his feet, only for the woman to pounce on him. With her back to me, I could see the fear in Ethan's face as he wrestled with her. I know he practices fighting… but still, this one didn't have pads around the fists. I watched as Ethan forced her against one of the hallway walls in a strange arm hold. The woman bit into Ethan's leg, causing him to kick her away. Though she was back on him in a minute. I slammed my hands against the table.

"PLEASE… whoever's watching… do something!" I yelled out to whoever was watching us and warned us.

I could feel the tears in my eyes as I watched Ethan and the woman roll on the ground, trying to pin and beat the other. The two stood up and began throwing fists and kicks. I watch as Ethan takes a few of the punches but doesn't react. With skills I had only seen in some anime, I watched as Ethan dove close to the woman only to throw her against the wall. The woman left a significant dent. I felt the house shack as she was smashed into the wall before charging back at Ethan. I couldn't keep up with the two as they fought through the house, the woman throwing wild punches with Ethan blocking a few and taking others.

Soon the two were back to wrestling with each other as suddenly I watched Ethan throw the woman over his shoulder onto the dinner room table. The table still stood but had a dent in it after. The woman swiveled around quickly, trying to trap Ethan's arm. I watched as Ethan fought and struggled in the hold till bright flashing lights could be seen in the front yard. I looked to the front yard seeing a sheriff's vehicle arrive quickly. A single officer jumped out of their truck and rushed to the front door. The woman kicked Ethan in the face as she rolled off the table and ran for the back door.

I watched as the Sheriff yelled something taking aim with his pistol, only to lose sight of her as she ran into the local forest. The Sheriff looked down at Ethan, who fell to his butt against a wall. He gave a weak smile to the Sheriff, who I could tell was pissed. The Sheriff helped Ethan onto the front porch, where he started scolding him. I continued to watch until I heard a click come from behind me. I spun around, thinking the woman had come back and found me. Only to find the door had been unlocked. My heart raced as I looked at the door; before looking back to the monitors. I only saw one message in simple black and white. 'GO HOME' is typed out in the same bold lettering. I swallowed a lump as I slowly walked out of the hidden space. I could tell the fight was much worse in the hallway than I saw on the monitors. Picture frames lay on the floor, smashed and broken from what little pictures were left.

There were scuff marks along the walls; I was lost in the aftermath of this chaos until I felt something bump into the back of my foot. I looked back and saw no one; for a second, I thought I was going crazy; until I felt the bump again. Looking down, I saw a small metal ball. It looked roughly about the size of a baseball; it bumped against my foot a second time. Before it suddenly rolled towards one of the smashed and broken picture frames. Though I noticed something, a tiny faint glint sparkled under the remains of the picture. I gently walked over to it and brushed the broken pieces aside. When I picked up the piece, it looked like a key.