"I look forward to hearing from you again soon.

Sincerely,

Wilson Percival Higgsbury

P.S. Thank for the cookies. They were quite wonderful."

Cecelia sighed as she looked at the last letter she had gotten from her son for what was probably the tenth time that day. It had been months since she had last heard from him.

I wonder if my last letter got lost on its way to him. He usually responds within a month or so.

She slumped against the table she was at, running a hand through her hair.

Maybe he's just busy. Wilson always did have a habit of getting caught up in his work that he'd forget about things. Percival had that habit too. He's a grown man now, he can take care of himself without me having to worry about him so much… yet I can't help it.

"Cece?"

Cecelia looked up, seeing her brother come into the kitchen.

"Ah, Emmett. Shift over already?"

"Yeah, they let me off early since the equipment was being temperamental and they didn't want me being a liability." He gave a small smile. "How about you though? Lungs doing alright?"

"Yes, starting to feel a little better. I just hate not being able to work alongside you at the factory."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Emmett made his way over to her, stroking her back. "Your health comes first and those fumes were not doing you any favors."

"Still though…"

Emmett shook his head before looking at the letter in Cecelia's hands.

"Thinking about him again?"

"Yes." Cecelia closed her eyes. "Emmett… It's been months since we've heard from him. I know I shouldn't worry so much but… my heart tells me something might've happened to him. He's never this quiet even on his bad days or months. I know my son and this isn't like him."

"It is concerning." Emmett frowned. "Then again, Wilson hasn't really been himself since he left home. Seemed like every year he just grew more distant from us but he never went silent entirely."

"That's what worries me." Cecelia lowered her head.

Emmett stroked his sister's back, humming in thought.

"Tell you what, how about we visit him this weekend? I have that time off."

Cecelia looked up to her brother in surprise.

"You sure?"

"Positive. Besides, I want to be sure my nephew's okay."

Cecelia gave a small smile.

"Should we send a letter to let him know we're coming?"

"Nah." Emmett smirked. "Let's surprise him."

oooooo

Cecelia and Emmett stared at the building before them. Cecelia looked at the address from the last letter Wilson had sent her and back up and the house.

Or what could be loosely, LOOSELY described as a house. It was leaning ominously to the side and there was a poorly made picket fence around it. The house had several tiles missing in the roof as well.

"This… This is his house?" Emmett gasped, jaw dropping open.

Cecelia made a sound very akin to when she was in pain as she rushed to the door, knocking on it.

"No, no, I don't care if he's a grown man he is NOT staying here! NO!"

"Cece, slow down and careful!" Emmett shouted, chasing after her, making sure to watch his step as he ran up to the house, soon at Cecelia's side.

After a few minutes of no answer being heard, Cecelia opened the door, looking around.

"Wilson?" She asked, looking around. "Wilson, are you home?"

As the two walked around the house, they couldn't help but notice how… orderly the place was. Not in the good way though. It was orderly in the manner that no one had been moving around the place for quite some time.

"Wilson? Wilson boy?" Emmett asked, stopping in front of a table with papers stacked on it. He took one of them, noting it was the last letter Cecelia had sent to Wilson. "Looks like he got your letter Cece. Seems he didn't reply though."

Cecelia didn't answer as she made her way through the different levels of the house, checking every room, despair gripping at her mind tighter and tighter when she found no sign of her son anywhere. Finally, she made her way to the attic, Emmett right behind her.

There… They weren't sure what to think. The place was a mess. Papers scattered everywhere along with tools, books lying open on the floor. It was like a storm had blown through the place. The biggest thing that caught their attention was the odd contraption that was in the center of the room.

"What… is that…?" Emmett questioned, walking up to it. "It… kind of looks like a face."

"Wilson…" Cecelia whispered. "What were you doing…?"

Emmett frowned, looking to her sister before glancing around the room again, his eyes noting something on one of the tables. He made his way over, picking up what had caught his attention. It was a knife that had blood on it. Dried up blood. That had been there for who knows how long.

"Cece… I've got a bad feeling about what was going on in here."

Cecelia turned to him, her eyes going wide as she took in the knife, horror filling her.

"No." She went closer looking at it.

Emmett frowned, letting her take it into her hands carefully.

"Cece… I-"

"... He can't be." She whispered looking down at it in shock. What had he been doing?

What had he done?

Her gaze flickered to the large window, hurrying to it, looking out and down, seeing a large chasm below.

"... You don't think he...?"

"I hope to high heaven he didn't." Emmett looked at he contraption again. "Somehow… I wonder if all this mess has something to do with that thing."

Cecelia set the knife down, looking at the contraption before picking up the papers scattered around, reading through them, concern going through her.

"I fear I'll wind up forgotten. It feels like every day I get farther and farther from a break through. I'm such a failure."

"I'm going to figure it out. No matter how many years it takes. I won't wind up like others before me."

"A voice has called out to me today." She read aloud from the final note. "I've never felt such energy before. So many ideas, so much knowledge. I feel elated. Yet as if my head might explode from too much. I have to keep working. I have to finish it.."

I'm worried. What if something got him like it got Ed?

Emmett kept his eyes on the contraption, examining it, trying to see exactly what Wilson was intending to accomplish with it. Though none of it really made sense. The only thing clear about how it worked was a lever attached to it

Do I even dare…?

He reached his hand out, hovering it over the knob of the lever.

"Emmett?" Cece made her way over, eyes full of concern. "What are you doing?"

"It's either find out what this did or climb down the cliff to see if we can find him." He told her before he pulled the lever.

The contraption creaked and whirred as it came to life. Both looked at the machine in horror at how much it seemed to resemble a face of sorts. A very unwelcoming one at that. They moved back, starting to head for the exit till both felt something grab at their feet. They looked down, their eyes widening at the sight of shadow hands coming out of the floor and grabbing at them.

"Cece!" Emmett reached for his sister as he was being pulled through the floor by the hands.

Cecelia reached out grasping his wrists with both of her hands as he did the same for her, trying to stay together as the shadow hands pulled harder, faster.

"EMMETT!"

The room faded to black for both of them and they were gone from sight.