: (Clay) Mum!

Chapter 8: (Clay) "Mum!"

I watched Axel leave, concerned. This guy had just been having some hallucinations on the floor and cutting his leg with a knife. And there's everyone thinking that Axel was a happy, popular guy. And then I remembered. Mum.

I raced down the cold, wet road, slipping several times which covered the front of my trousers with filthy water. I didn't care though. The wind rushed past my ears, adrenaline surging me forward and then I arrived home. However, it looked odd. There were no lights switched on, making everything dark. And the windows were all wide open too. I stepped into the house. "Mum!" I called. "I brought you a Big Mac!" No reply. Mildly concerned, I walked through the house checking the rooms. My Mom was nowhere to be found. Cold wind whipped me, reminding me to shut the windows. Goosebumps pricked my skin and I wrapped my blazer tighter around my body. I shut the windows, noticing that I hadn't checked the attic.

Thump. Thump. Thump. CRASH!

The sound seemed to be coming from the attic. I climbed up the first rung of the ladder leading to where I needed to go. I slipped off, crashing my head against the floor. Someone had covered the ladder in oil, obviously intending for no one to see what was going on up there. I swore loudly and threw the ladder aside. "MUM!" I screamed as loud as I could, hoping for a reply. And that's when I remembered. The spare ladder in the shed outside.

As fast as I could, I raced through the dark corridor, my head burning but I had to ignore the pain. I ran outside whilst buckets of rain came crashing down. I yanked open the shed door and found the ladder. It was blue and rusted but it would have to do. Because I was rushing, instead of managing to lug the ladder out the shed, it came crashing down on top of me. I swore continuously as the metal ladder sliced through my head. I winced and my hand instinctively went to my head. My hand came away covered in blood.

Still swearing under my breath, I grabbed hold of a shelf to steady me and help myself up. There wasn't a second to waste. With my bloody hand, I grabbed hold of the ladder and hauled it out of the shed. I dragged it into the house. It made a horrible scratching, scraping sound on the floor. Breathing heavily, I shoved the ladder up against the attic door and took a moment to steady myself. Taking a deep breath, I began to climb.