Kyler Murlas
Period 4 W-S
The Journey
Mary pulled out the laundry from the washer and placed it in the dryer. A sock dropped from the load onto the ground. She waved her hand about in a rhythmic motion; the dryer sputtered and coughed, then started with a low groan. Mary turned and walked out of the basement closing the door behind her.
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He hit the ground.
“Ouch.” James said under his breath as darkness enclosed the room.
He was there again. He knew this place. Webs were draped from the ceiling. There were a few ants that had found their way in from the outside. It was dusty. Mold was growing in the corners of the room. James shuddered. The air was damp and cold.
He looked around. Charlie was sitting in the corner. He was rumbling again. His face was turning red. Steam was rushing out of his ears. James had tried to help him in the past but Charlie refused to listen. He wouldn't calm down, so James left him alone.
Boxes were stacked on either side of Charlie. James could see that the ones on the right were, for the most part, empty. But the ones on the left were closed and taped shut. He never had the chance to see them being opened. Sometimes one or two disappeared and was never seen again. Otherwise they pretty much stayed in the same place.
James was still wet, and now he was dusty from the fall. He hadn't dried off well enough from his swim. He would just have to wait. He was locked in.
He got locked in periodically. It was no big deal; He was usually found after a short period of time. Mary just sometimes forgot and left without him. He could still see light through the bottom of the door so he wasn't worrying too much.
It wasn't long before the door opened and light flooded the room revealing the dirt that covered the wooden walls. James' heart jumped. She had scared him. Rubbing her eyes, attempting to see into the darkness, Mary carefully made her way towards the dryer. She pulled the warm clothes out and loaded them into a white basket. James waved at her trying to get her attention, but she didn't notice him. Finally, after the basket was full, she closed the dryer, picked up the basket, and started towards the door. She hadn't seen him.
He yelled up at her, “Wait!” But she didn't respond. He tried again, “Mary!” Still no reaction. Why was she doing this? Did she not care for him anymore? Mary took one last step, passing the threshold of the doorway, and swung the door shut. Light slowly left the room until there was only the strip under the door, and even that was starting to fade.
James' heart was racing. He had never been in this situation before. Questions raced through his mind. What would he do for the night? How would he get out? How would he stay warm? Would the night crawlers leave him alone, or climb all over him? James looked around. A shadow seemed to move in the corner of the room. He scooted back. He tripped. He fell. It hurt. James got up and looked to see what it was. It was nothing. James had a throbbing pain all over. He looked down. His skin was torn; no blood though—it just a surface scratch.
Darkness swallowed him. If he didn't find a way out soon... he might be stuck there. James knew it was no time to panic, he had already hurt himself. He slowed his breathing, focused his vision, and let all his thoughts go; he was going to get out of here. He would show Mary that he didn't need her help. He could do it himself.
What were the ways to get out? He asked himself. Windows; none. Door; one, but it was locked. He couldn't go down. The only way out was up. There must be a hole in the ceiling for him to slip through.
The ground shook. James almost fell but caught his balance. He looked over, it was just Charlie. If there was a hole, James would need a ladder to get through it. There were no actual ladders lying around in the room (because when does that happen?), he would have to make his own. He didn't see anything long, or big, or wide. Nothing was really just lying around that he could use—some stuff must be in the boxes.
James inched along towards the pile. It took longer than he had thought. The room was huge. He started to climb the boxes, looking in each of them for things that he might be able to use. Old books, no. A random assortment of color changing cups from Mc Donald's, no. Beanie Babys and Batman action figures, no. A blow-up beach ball, maybe.
Nothing he found caught his attention. Then he started to think; maybe it would work to combined all the items together into a SUPER DEVICE! It would be like that one reality T.V. shows where you had to survive with only a select few items. He could... hmm... stack the books to make a stand, then the cups on top of the books to make it even higher, he could put the beanie babies, for cushion and stability, around the blow-up beach ball, half blown up for bounce, and the action figures could be used as tests! It wasn't a ladder, but it would surely work to shoot him through the ceiling.
James first placed the beach ball and Beanie Babies around it. He slowly climbed the boxes one by one until he reached the top. He then placed books on top of each other until there were none left and then he stacked the cups. The drop was extreme.
The light was almost gone from the room, all James could see were shadows. He would have to trust his design and jump without fear.
He bowed his head, and closed his eyes, before getting onto his structure. Suddenly light surrounded him. It was almost as if he could see, but his eyes were closed. Maybe he was in Heaven! James opened his eyes. He could see everything clearly. The path he would need to take wasn't clouded by darkness anymore. He took a step forward. WAIT! He thought to himself. Why is there light?
James looked behind himself. The light was coming from a hole in the ceiling three boxes across. James slowly navigated the path towards it so as not to fall. He was just tall enough to reach through the hole and hoist himself up. James was weighed down by the dirt that clung to him from the climb. Pulling himself up was difficult but he still managed to do it. Ha. James had gotten out of the basement all by himself.
He stood staring at a familiar sight. It was the bathroom. He had officially gotten out of the basement. The door was on his left. All he would have to do is get out of the bathroom, make it through the kitchen and past the dinning room, and he would be in his room. It was simple enough.
Excited by the possibility of finally being back, safe and comfortable, James scurried out of the bathroom into the kitchen. The floor was sticky here and there, but still easy to move quietly on without waking anyone up. The room was dark, but the black and white tiled floor still gleamed up at James. The journey look significantly longer than he had originally planned in his mind.
As he pushed along past the dishwasher something caught his eye up above the counter. Someone had left the cupboard open.
THUMP.
Crap. James tripped. He was wet. He pushed himself up but the gooey substance pulled back on him. It was a glob of strawberry jelly. He was dizzy from the fall. He needed to rest a second.
Click-Clack.
No. No. It couldn't be. There was one thing that James knew he couldn't handle.
Click-Clack.
Slowly the noise was becoming louder. How would James get away? His head still hurt. He tried to push himself up. He couldn't.
Click-Clack.
His system was flooded with adrenaline. James started to squirm. The jelly clung to his body. It wasn't going to let go of him any time soon.
Click-Clack.
James stopped. He saw the outline. It was Rufus. This would be his end. Maybe if he acted asleep Rufus would leave him alone. James pressed his body against the floor.
No chance. Rufus spotted him immediately and rushed onto him.
James was gliding through the air. Soaked in the grasp of Rufus. He couldn't move. He wasn't going anywhere but Rufus' room. The kitchen faded, he was now in the dining room. Chairs whizzed by. The piano passed in seconds. He was done for. James closed his eyes. He felt as if he were flying. There was no more clenching. Air rushed past his body.
THUMP.
James hit the floor. He opened his eyes. Rufus had become interested in the light flashing nearby. Now was James' chance to get away. With all his strength mustered, he bolted for his room.
He was out of the dining area, Rufus still hadn't noticed. Now he was at his door. It was closed. He couldn't reach the door handle. He couldn't get in. The gleaming knob shined back at him as if it knew James couldn't succeed.
Click-Clack.
Rufus, done playing with the light, remembered about James and came trotting back. James had nowhere to go. He couldn't outrun Rufus, and there was no place to hide. He had almost made it. He couldn't open the door without help.
James opened his mouth and tried to shout, but no sound came out. He tried again. This time a soft, trembling voice murmured.
“Mary.”
Click-Clack.
He could feel Rufus' hot breath against his back.
He closed his eyes. Darkness surrounded him.
Squeak.
James opened his eyes. The door had opened. John was standing there, with light rushing into the hallway from behind him. John had saved him!
“Thanks,” James whispered.
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John heard Rufus outside of his door. Maybe he needed to go to the bathroom. He got up from his desk, walked to his door, and opened it.
Rufus was standing right outside with a sock hanging from his mouth.
“RUFUS! LEGO MY SOCK!” John yelled.
Shocked, Rufus dropped the sock and trotted away as if nothing had happened.
John picked up the sock. It was wet and covered with dirt.
“Damn.”
He moved it to his other hand, pinching it with his thumb and index finder, and carried it to the next load of laundry to go downstairs.