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Chapter 3

I grasped the handle above my seat and the one on the dashboard as Cliff raced away from that spot with that dark look on his face. Now not only was I scared to death of that creature, but now I was scared to death of crashing and dying in this car. However wouldn't it be better to die here and have people know I was dead and be able to find my body versus getting taken and killed somewhere else that no one would find me? Just rotting away in the darkness or something? So I hung on tight, bit my lip and kept quiet. Only when we saw the little town did Cliff finally start to slow. He looked back as we drove into town going a solid fifteen. He cast me a quick glance then back to the road. We stopped in front of the antique. Cliff got out after pretty much yanking his keys out of the ignition. I sat in the car still kind of frozen from what had just happened. My hands still gripping the handles like my life depended on it or something. Cliff opened my door.

"Hey." He placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Huh?" I looked at him. A worried expression on his features. "Oh…"

I quickly got out and followed him into the antique shop. Mr. O'lair sat at the front counter. He looked up at the sound of the bell ringing above the door, telling him someone had just entered. He smiled at our entrance. He smiled at our entrance like he was when we believed him and his 'crazy' stories back then about some monster in the woods that took his son Josh. We were the only ones who believed him back then.

We had been so excited to hear of something so amazing in the forest right by our grandparents house. So close to comfort that if we ever got scared in the woods we could just run back, have some cookies or something then just be comforted by the fact that our grandparents were there for us. Like if the creature did try to kill us we could just wash away the problem by eating cookies and playing board games.

"You're both still ok." He beamed.

Cliff took great strides to the counter. I took much faster steps as I tried to keep up, but he still made it there before I did. Before I did he placed his hands on the counter. Before I did he did something I hadn't expected him to do.

"Mr. O'lair." Cliff started, staring the old man in the eye with that darkened look of his, the one Mr. O'lair had come to know over the years along with the rest of the people in this little town. "Tell me what happened. What happened to Josh?"

I was stunned. I had stopped several feet from the counter. Just standing there dumbfounded and a little worried. Had I just heard him right? Had he just asked Mr. O'lair what happened to his missing son? The son that vanished when he was only eight? The relieved and somewhat happy look melted from Mr. O'lair's features. He looked like we had just asked him for the one thing in the world that he treasured most. A better example would be like his dog just died. I kind of felt bad for him now. But here Cliff was being so blunt and asking him something like the disappearance of his son.

"Mr…. Mr. O'lair?" I asked unsure now.

He was silent as he seemed to be reliving some moment. What moment he was reliving we could guess, but what exactly happened we couldn't even guess. Cliff gave him a few minutes, but never lost that look of his. Keeping that dark stare throughout the whole silence, but it had to end and Cliff had enough of waiting.

"Mr. O'lair, I need you to tell me." Cliff told him. There was another round of silence.

"Please. I need to know what happened." Cliff pressed with a pleading note in his voice. Just there for half a second, but I caught it and I was sure Mr. O'lair caught it as well since he seemed to be drawn out of his little trance.

Cliff wasn't one to beg and press on subjects he didn't think were important. He was strong and stood on his own and I admired him for that. Strong, determined, silent and he was my role model. I looked up to him and admired him. My brother. Mr. O'lair studied him. Cliff however didn't want to waste anymore time.

"Tell me. I'm not sure how much time is left here. That Thing is going to take my brother."

"He… saw it?" Mr. O'lair asked.

"Yes." Cliff replied right away. More silence followed. "Please help me. It's going to take my little brother. Please. I can't protect him by myself from that thing. It's going to take my baby brother." Cliff pleaded and the sight of it just about broke my heart. It hurt to see my brother this way.

What was worse was that it was my fault. I was causing my brother pain. Emotional stress and… He was the one person I could count on in the world. The one person I cared for more than anything. He was my best friend and I was pretty sure I would never feel that way about anyone else. Especially now since there was the chance I wouldn't make it out of this alive. I'm so sorry...

Mr. O'lair sighed. "I'm sorry. But there's nothing I can do."

Nothing he could do? Nothing? I was dead? I was going to die this summer? All my dreams seemed to vanish in a large mushroom cloud and evaporate into the air along with my future. This summer was going to be my last. This summer… I wasn't going to make it even halfway in. I was going to be sitting awake everything night just wondering when it was going to come next and drag me into the woods. I was going to be jumping at even the slightest sounds. I wasn't ever going to see any of my friends again. I was going to end up having a mental breakdown and start rocking in a corner or something. I was going to die and there was nothing I nor anyone could do about it. Mom… Mom would care, wouldn't she? She'd care that if I vanished never to be seen again, wouldn't she? My brother… He was going to be blaming himself for this. I snapped myself out of my little trance and looked to my brother.

He looked like all his hope had been completely and utterly destroyed with no chance of fixing. He looked so… I was never going to… Nothing was possible for me anymore and Cliff… He was so broken. I took a step forward.

"I am sorry. I truly am." Mr. O'lair apologized.

Cliff slammed his hands on the countertop startling us both. "No! There must be something I can do! You just don't understand! He's my baby brother d_mmit! It can't take him from me! It can't take him away from Gran and Gramps! That Thing can't take him away from us! I won't let it!"

Mr. O'lair looked at him with what looked like sympathy no… It wasn't sympathy. It was empathy. He understood more than we knew. He had gone through it. he stayed silent however. Just watching as Cliff stared down the counter like it would give him the answer. The tension in the air had quickly turned into an air of devastation and pain. So thick you swore you could cut it from the air with a knife. Cliffs hands slowly turned into fists on the cold countertop and he shook slightly from how tight he was clenching his fists.

"...But… He's my baby brother… He hasn't even begun to live his life yet… There's so much he hasn't done… It can't… It just can't…" Cliffs voice wavered and cracked.

"Cliff…" I said quietly.

He didn't respond. Never would I ever meet someone who cared about me so much. My life was about to come to an end and I was going to break down my brothers as well. Not just his, but my grandparents. They were going to become like Mr. O'lair. Swearing that some creature from the woods took me away. My fault. i couldn't take this deafening silence anymore. I couldn't stand to watch my brother as he had some mental war with himself as he tried to understand what he had been just told. Trying to accept that I was a lost cause now.

I took a few slow steps back and when no one paid any attention to that I turned and walked out. I sat on the curb. The warm summer breeze was nice. At least there was something good about today. A nice summer breeze to go with the great weather. I smiled. At least I actually did have my brother as a best friend. Most people didn't have that. I looked up and felt that small sense of security dissolve away like it had never even been there. It stood on the opposite side of the deserted street like it belonged there. I looked back hearing fast steps inside the little shop and the door opened with the ringing of the bell. Cliff looked down at me and the panic that was just on his face vanished in a split second.

He smiled as he took up is usually calm facade. The one that I had most the time when we were home, but here at Gran and Gramps I didn't feel that need to hide anymore.

"Come on. Lets go and get some ice cream." He smiled and offered me his hand.

Cliff...

Yeah I know. 2 chapters in one day and one at like midnight on a school night, but I was in the zone and like last time when I started chapter and I decided to sleep and continue tomorrow it took me a month to finish it because I lost my zone. I lost what I wanted to happen.