So I realize this is short, but I wanted to end it where I did. I'm sorry I keep writing so many stories, but I got this idea last night while randomly watching that old movie Anastasia. It's a little out there, I know, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Enjoy!

He stared at the rope, hanging from the ceiling boards of his room in the attic. He took a big gulp, swallowing any of the saliva he had left, his mouth turning dry. Silent tears streamed down his face. Desperate for an escape from his life, he stepped up onto the rickety wooden chair, now eye level with the noose. Every little detail of his life, memories from being a child up to now flashed before his eyes. His body shook with fear, a cold sweat dripping down his back and neck. Quickly he looked down to make sure the floorboard was secure, where he'd hidden his journal, along with the note explaining why he was giving up, why he couldn't go on with his life anymore. Another, final tear slid down his cheek. "I'm sorry for being a failure." The boy whispered into the darkness. He reached out to place the noose around his neck, feeling the rough texture of the rope scrape against his skin. "Goodbye." He kicked away the chair. His mouth fell open into a perfect O, shrieking at the top of his lungs, a silent scream escaping his lips that no one ever had the chance to hear.

Kendall Knight stepped out his of his family's old, beat up station wagon. The dirt from the ground smeared along his new shoes. He sighed, finally lifting his head, his shaggy blonde hair falling into his eyes. In front of him stood an old country home, two stories with a wraparound porch and peeling yellow paint. Lovely, Kendall thought darkly. His mom walked around to his side of the car, hugging him close to her side with her other hand holding tightly onto his little sister. "I know it's not much, but it's home." Mrs. Knight exhaled. She squeezed Kendall's shoulder lovingly. "Come on honey, help the movers unpack, then you can explore."

Kendall followed her to the back of the U-Haul, grabbing what boxes he could lift and walking them into the house. He took his time to look around. Wood paneling covered the walls within visible distance, along with wooden floors that were scuffed beyond belief. Despite the 80 degree weather, the inside of the house was cold, maybe in the lower 60s. Thinking the air conditioning must have been on high, Kendall shivered and made his way back outside. He was surprised a house so old even had air conditioning.

After a few more rounds and helping the movers carry in their couch and bedposts, all of the Knights' possessions were scattered around the living room. Kendall noted the boxes marked as his. He was ready to get this show on the road and set up his new room, wherever it may be in this new place. His mom clapped her hands together behind him, causing him to turn around.

"Well, that's all of it. Kendall honey, there are three bedrooms upstairs, go choose whichever one you like."

"Are you sure Mom? You and Katie should choose first, I'll take whatever's left over." Kendall muttered, finding a spot on the couch and relaxing for a moment. He still couldn't get over how cold it was.

"Thanks honey. Come on Katie let's go find your new room." The two girls took off together, Katie's pigtails bouncing on either side of her head as they headed up the stairs.

In the living room, Kendall picked himself up off the sofa, deciding to take a look around. An old brick fireplace; probably filled with who knew how many spiders rested inside the wall across from him. He switched on a few lights as he made his way around, checking out the kitchen and dining room, even stopping into what looked like a small study where a few bookshelves with flyaway books settled. The floorboards creaked under his weight as he continued his investigation. If his right hand hadn't swung into something hard and metal, Kendall wouldn't have even realized he had walked right past a door camouflaged into the wall. Damn wooden paneling. He tried the knob, turning and twisting it several times either way until giving up. The door wouldn't budge. "Whatever." Kendall muttered, turning around and finding his way back to the living room.

A few minutes later, his mom and Katie returned downstairs, meeting him with smiling faces. "Well we found our rooms. The one we left for you is good too Kendall, don't worry."

"Mine is big!" Katie squealed. "Even bigger than yours!" She stuck out her tongue. "Come on my lets go set up my stuff!" Katie tugged on Mrs. Knight's hand.

"Well at least someone's excited about the move." Mrs. Knight laughed, letting Katie drag her around the living room searching for her belongings.

"Thanks for that Mom." Kendall grabbed his backpack that hung over the side of the couch before taking the stairs up, two at a time. He wandered down the lonely hall, flicking on a light switch. Every corner of the ceiling along the wooden hallway was surrounded with spider webs. This is just fucking creepy. He glanced in each of the rooms, already able to tell which rooms had been taken. The one left for him was dark, a dresser resting against the wall with the old closet doors hanging open. He didn't know what it was, but something about this room irked him, he didn't like it.

Kendall stepped back into the hallway, heading farther down and coming to a stop at the end. One door remained. When he swung the door open, he expected it to be a closet, not another set of a few short steps. "What the-?" Kendall muttered aloud. Walking up the four or five steps, he found himself in a small reserved room. Cobwebs lingered along the many boards of the ceiling. A single bed lain in the middle. The mattress was old with a few springs sticking out at odd angles and the head board was cracked along the sides. Well that's not sketchy as fuck.

He stepped to turn around, but some unknown force held him back. So maybe he was stuck in an attic, with an old creepy bed and spiders to the dozen. Kendall wanted to stay here. In this room he'd have his privacy where he'd be able to avoid his mother's nagging questions and his sister's annoying and endless banter. This would be his new home, at least until they moved again.

Kendall shivered walking back down the stairs. The temperature was dropping; it had to be with how cold he felt. "Mom, can you turn the heat on or something, if this place even has a heater?" Kendall looked around, scrunching his nose at the old house.

"Are you kidding me Kendall? It feels like it's 90 degrees in here. We need to get an air conditioner. I think I may have one installed tomorrow."

Hugging himself Kendall shivered again. "You're kidding right? I'm freezing." Kendall's teeth were even beginning to chatter.

Mrs. Knight's face turned into a look of concern. "Are you okay honey? You're not getting sick or anything are you?"

"I feel fine." Kendall shrugged his shoulders lazily. "I'm just cold." He bit his lip before continuing on. "I found a room, I think I may just sleep in the attic."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah Kendall, attics are scary! Are there spiders?" Katie asked, looking up from her box of dolls and stuffed animals, hugging her teddy bear close to her chest.

"Katie, this place is full of spiders, so it doesn't really make a difference. And yeah Mom I like the attic, except for the old mattress up there. It's all beat up and broken."

"Okay honey whatever you want, do you need any help moving your things along?"

Kendall shook his head, his hair falling to cover his eyes. "No thanks Mom, I'll be good."

He spent the next hour or so walking back and forth up and down the stairs, slowly filling his new room with his belongings. Sure he had difficulties switching out beds, but he managed on his own, knowing his Mom had enough trouble having to help Katie fix up her bedroom situation. Once everything was settled, his things still packed away into boxes he fell back on his bed and rested his hands behind his head to look up at the ceiling. The silk of the spider webs shone in the light of the one lone light bulb who's string was lazily swinging back and forth. "Can't get any older than this," Kendall whispered to himself. He wasn't going to lie, his room creeped him out; everything about this house creeped him out. Shrugging away his thoughts he began unpacking his clothes and books and everything he would soon need for school. He couldn't wait until he would finish so he could go to bed, all he wanted was this day to end.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Kendall awoke with a start. He checked the time on his watch. It was 12:01. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up in bed, collecting the blankets around him to warm himself up. This house was a refrigerator. He didn't care what his mom said, it was fucking cold.

Thump. Thump. Thump. The sound that had first awoken Kendall was becoming steadily louder. It sounded like footsteps, heavy footsteps dragging along the hall on the second floor. Kendall's heart was beating frantically in his chest. It was passed midnight, and Katie and his mom should have been asleep by now.

Frozen to the bone, Kendall refused to move. He didn't want to leave the warmth and safety his bed provided him. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! Kendall gulped. Now the steps were full on pounding against the floorboards as if they were walking up the few steps to his room, until they stopped, Kendall unable to hear anything at all. He was going crazy, he had to be. There wasn't anything standing outside his room. It was all inside his head. Kendall shook away his fear and took another glance at his watch. 12:01, read the bright green numbers shining back at him. That can't be possible, it was 12:01 five minutes ago. Kendall dug his fingers through his hair, tugging on the ends of his blonde locks. Sleep, he needed sleep. Everything going on was only in his imagination. It had to be.

He laid his head back down against his pillows. He hugged his blankets desperately against his chest, his heart still racing excitedly. Just calm down, and go to sleep. Closing his eyes and deepening his breaths, Kendall fell back into an uneasy sleep, trying and failing to ignore the endless heavy footfalls that started back up again. Shooting back up in bed, Kendall opened his eyes wide. They were in his room; whatever it was making the noise was in his room.

"H-Hello?" Kendall whispered into the dark. Now was when he wished he had picked the other room. At least it had a window, but right now, Kendall was engulfed in pitch black, unable to see three inches in front of him. The glowing of his watch was brought back to his attention. He turned his wrist awkwardly so that he could shine the pale light on his nightstand as he searched for his phone or iPod. Anything to bring him light since the string he had to pull was out of reaching distance.

On his stand he found his phone. He flipped it open and turned it on, glancing briefly at the screen before shining it around the empty room. "Wait…" he mumbled, looking back at his phone screen again, doing a double take. 12:01 am was the time. "What the fuck is going on?" Kendall breathed. There was no way this was happening. He checked his watch, the time displayed showing the same time it did a half hour ago.

THUMP! Kendall reached up to cover his ears with his hands. "Go away." He pleaded in the darkness. His room was empty, for that much he knew, after shining his phone light around the small confined space. THUMP! Whatever the noise was, not only was it in his room, it was at the foot of his bed.

"Please just go away." Kendall cried. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. No longer were they thumps, but the shuffling of what had to be feet sliding across the wooden floor. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. The sound continued, until stopping right beside his bed, right next to where Kendall sat, his hands still covering his ears with his squeezed shut tight. He fought the urge to open his eyes, to look to his side where he knew there would be nothing to find.

He uncovered his ears. At least five minutes had to have passed by then when the shuffling of the feet finally stopped. In the quiet room Kendall could hear nothing, except for maybe the beating of his heart…and breathing? Was that breathing? Kendall held his breath perking his ears at any new sound. Sure enough he heard steady breathing, coming from right behind him. Slowly, he cocked his head to the side and turned his neck, seeing nothing but blackness.

"Hello?" He whispered again, knowing he was losing his mind. He had to be. Maybe this was all some creepy dream that he would wake up from in the morning and laugh about.

Instead of hearing a response, Kendall turned desperately colder, his body heat dropping to what felt like 10 degrees. He shivered violently in his bed. "Leave me alone. Please just go away." He cried, a few tears now springing to his eyes. Kendall checked his watch. 12:02, anything but 12:01 please. 12:01. His watch was mocking him. Maybe it was broken.

Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. It returned; the haunting noise that wouldn't leave him alone. Kendall cowered against his headboard. Wrapping every inch of the blankets he could reach around his still trembling body. The Shhh's turned back into THUMP! This time they were fading though, the eerie footsteps fading into the blackness.

When the noises stopped, Kendall began collecting his bearings and wiggled deeper under his sheets.

He emptied his mind of everything that had happened since first waking up that night. Kendall exhaled deeply, willing himself to fall asleep. Without realizing it, he fell back into a stream of unconsciousness, just as the time on his watch changed to 12:02.

When Kendall woke up to the sound of a fist pounding on his door Kendall flipped out, thrashing wildly in his sheets and falling to the floor. "Fuck! Ow." He rubbed his head softly as his bedroom door opened, revealing a tear eyed Katie.

"Kendall?" She whispered, running to his side.

"Katie? Katie what's wrong?" Kendall asked, standing up and pulling his sister into a hug.

"D-Did you steal T-Teddy from me last n-night? He's g-g-gone." Katie cried, tears spilling over and wetting the front of Kendall's shirt.

"What? No why would I take him?" Kendall asked, rubbing his hands down her back softly.

"I don't know! But someone did because he's gone and I can't find him anywhere!" Katie yelled. She stomped her feet out back through Kendall's door.

Kendall shook his head of sleep. Remembering the night before, Kendall checked his watch, happy to see the time reading 9:17 am. "Must have been a dream." Kendall yawned. He bent down to throw his sheets back onto his bed in a lumpy pile. Taking the few steps it took to his door, Kendall stopped just before walking out. There, etched into the wood along the door frame read four letters in large capital letters. Four letters creating a word Kendall was sure he hadn't seen there yesterday.

HELP.