Elizabeth's hands were shaking as she seized the cold smooth knob with sweaty fingers. Although her grip was quit firm and her jaw quit set, Elizabeth was horrified.
It was dripping through her every limb and crevice. Feeding off the last threads of nerve she had left, till maddening.
She had many times thought of returning safely to her room, where a nice blanket and pillow were calling to her. But her feet seemed to be on their own accord, for even
though they felt like jelly and her brain told them other wise, her feet pressed onwards, sinking in slightly with the plush of the carpet, grinding her sole into its soft surface
creating a small crater as she passed. Shadows surrounded her. And the bare walls with no insulation, brought in a draft that was chilling her exposed neck and arms, causing
goose bumps to spring up her back and her hair to stand on end. A couple of times she had jumped in surprise at a moan or creak in the floor boards. She slapped a hand on her
mouth to keep any sound from erupting, her heart throbbing against her rib cage. After calming herself down she proceeded down the hall, flashlight gripped tightly at hand.
Before she knew it she was facing the out line of the hallway door, her hand touched the knob nimbly and with circumspect raised her flashlight slightly just daring something to
jump from the eerie depths of the shadows at attempt to drag her in. Nothing happened so she progressed after a long pause of turning the small rounded handle. With a great tug
she pulled open the door. It swung back on its hinges weeping as its limbs were stretched. She sucked in air sharply as she glanced towards her parent's room petrified they would
awake thinking she was a brigand, to find her in this awkward position. But they did not. This puzzled Elizabeth to no extent. Having the attic window shatter was one thing but
the old rustic closet door right across from their room? She just didn't know what to make of it.
Pushing this into the back of her mind, Elizabeth clumsily climbed into the closet and noisily closed the door. She cringed while directing the light towards the ceiling, where it
danced upon an old hidden door leading up to the attic. Flashlight in the clenches of her jaw, Elizabeth braced both hands on either side of the small storage space intending on
using the shelf that was build into the wall as a ladder. She placed a foot on the bottom most shelf, testing it before putting her full body weight upon it she advanced ahead on to
the higher shelves, moving cleaning supplies and blankets as she worked upwards. When she finally had reached the top there came some more thumps trailing across the ceiling
as if the thing that had flown through or fell through the window was wounded in some way and was trying most desperately to flee from the accursed closed in space. She
stopped in an out stretched motion as she was about to push on the flimsy wood lid to bat it away from the entrance.
"Pull yourself together Liz." She told herself taking a couple of breaths. Now she was really starting to wonder why her parents had not awakened and maybe she should just
wait until morning to continue on her exploration. No she said finally, curiosity getting the better of her. What if it was gone by then, or worse... What harm would it do if she
just took a little peek? If it turned out to be the criminal that escaped from prison on last nights news, although it was unlikely, she would just scream bloody murder and hope the
whole neighbor hood would wake up to hear what all the racked was. At least she would die in peace knowing her family was safe and was not murdered in their sleep in the dead
of the night by a crazed lunatic. Or she could go back down the painstaking shelf to go hide in her bed with her tail between her legs. All reason pointed towards continuing her
discoveries. She gripped the side of the top shelf with all her might while taking the other hand and lifting the cube like door to have dust and such waft down from the opening and
promptly be sucked in and then choked on by Elizabeth.
Elizabeth screwed her eyes shut in disgust as she raked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and her teeth, desperately trying to ride her the taste of dirt and grim. Coughing a
couple of times, Elizabeth bracketed her hands on both sides of the opening and with all her might pulled upwards quickly and fluently placing all but her legs in the vase space of
darkness. Her flashlight which was placed on the top shelf was forgotten in haste.
A flutter came beyond her vision as Elizabeth narrowed her eyes trying to see where the noise was coming from. A musty sort of smell filled her nostrils as she tuned out the
sound of the storm and looked around for any given movement for the little bugger that
seemingly stilled as soon as her head broke through the entry way. She settled her rump
against the edge of the entrance her long dangling legs swayed slightly as she searched the room. She caught sight of the ruined glass window, fractured pieces of glass glittered
the floor surrounding the windowpane. Her vision began to clear as she sought light from the opening. She could just make out the tops of the neighborhood trees sway back and
forth dangerously; giving the impression that if they bent any farther they would surely snap in half. The sky was a dark grey almost a black as it rolled throughout the sky, rain
fell down like a foset, soaking one to the bone in minutes. Rain and wind blew through the window as Elizabeth cautiously rose from the ground. She dusted her hands and rump
off and crossed the room, leaving dusty tracks of foot prints behind her. She brushed a couple of stranse away from her face as she awkwardly walked towards the window. She
turned sharply as the soundings of wings beating against the air fluttered to her ears. An object from the rafters swooped down upon her awkwardly missing as she ducked
quickly. Elizabeth cried out in surprise, spasmodically darting from where she stood last and coward in the corner.
"Back off man, I've got five years of Tai-Kwan doe in and I'm not afraid to use it," She held out her hands and placed her feet in attacking position, showing the intruder that she
indeed new the moves to back up the statement. Of course anyone could have guessed she was afraid with the way she held her self and the way her eyes darted from corner to
corner. There came a hissing sound that oddly sounded to her like laughing or ... maybe even a chuckle. She shook her head.
"Great now I'm going crazy," she mumbled to herself, screwing her eyes smaller to try and figure out what she was up against. She felt a small breeze filter across her face,
realizing this sensation from before she just narrowly grabbed at her head while jumping out off the way as the trespasser missed her again. Hissing pain ran up her right leg as she came crashing towards the ground. She cringed as pieces of glass scraped up against her palms cutting and bruising them. She moved to leave the graveyard of glass
but resulted in snapping her eyes closed in pain. She looked towards her ankle to see it slowly yellowing.
She frowned gazing sharply at the glass that sat twinkling innocently in what light it had. There came a disgruntled sound and of feathers as something ungainly plopped to the ground.
She felt and heard the sound of scratching as something drug it self towards her.
Elizabeth tensed not knowing what to do to protect herself, all she could think of was taking her bloodied hands and arms and wrapping them around her frail form, she curled
up into a ball and began to recite lines from her favorite little book she had found in this vary room many years ago.
"Give me the child," she whispered, "I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City," she paused feeling her body relax slightly to something familiar, "to take
back the child in which you have stolen..." a flash of blue and brown meet her tear stricken face. "For my..." she stopped in surprise and in a chocked sob as a fluff of
feathers stepped into the windows light. Its miss matched eyes flashed fiercely gazing at her as though it pierced strait through her and into her very soul.
She had to turn her gaze for they were haunting.
"So-o-o," she croaked, "you're the cause of all the ruckus," Elizabeth smiled lop sided as she cooed for it to come closer. It backed away slightly obviously not trusting humans.
"Oh I understand, you don't trust me..." she looked into the bright eyes of the beautiful creature that stood before her, "That's alright I wouldn't trust me either," she watched in
awe as it stuck up its head slightly, "Oh well I'm so sorry your grace for gracing you with my unworthy presence...my what a beautiful bird you are." The snowy white owl stood
looking at her with his head turned slightly, it hooted and shuffled just a slightly to the side, giving Elizabeth a view of one of his wings.
"Oh you poor thing," she purred, watching as it ruffled its wing painfully. Blood stained its milky feathers and a couple of feather stuck out strait or in the opposite direction that
couldn't have been natural. She sobbed slightly as she trailed down to his tail to see a few of his feathers broken and hanging on just by a strand or completely missing.
Only a couple where salvaged. As If understanding who her sadness was directed towards, the owl hobbled shamely into the shadows of the attic.
"Oh please don't go," she moved to rise but her ankle was too weak to withstand her body weight that she plopped back down on her behind in a heap.
She cursed her luck as she searched for the ivory fluff in which belonged to the snowy white.
To be continued. . .