Chapter 11

Braylan heard the car park and the sound of the main door opening. They were in Samuel's house, which was next door.

"I think they're here. I better get going. See you guys soon." He said and came out of Samuel's house.

"Hi mom, Hi dad." How was it?"

"We don't know! She just gave us some rules and stuff to include in his routine. You should ask him. He slept the whole way. We didn't get a chance to ask him." Jane replied while sorting out and storing the groceries. "Oh yeah, we picked up your stationers. I guess it's still in the car. Can you grab it please!"

"Yeah, sure! Why not. Dad keys !" Braylan went out and took the stationary out of the trunk. He glanced up at the first floor and saw a silhouette in Jayden's room. No way Jayden was that tall. So was someone in the house? He walked briskly and left the stationary in the living room and climbed the stairs, trying his best not to run. The moment he stepped on the landing, he dashed towards Jayden's room and entered the room. He saw Jayden standing beside the door, stating at the window. Braylan didn't see anyone but he could feel something. The room was a mess. It was littered with bits of paper and the closet was emptied. The mattress was pulled halfway down and the study table was covered with handprints.

Even though Braylan was unable to see anything, he could feel it. There was a faint rattling noise, rotten smell, and a blow of cold air now and then. He had gone rigid with the fear of unknown and unseen. Suddenly a fire erupted out of nowhere and he could swear that a black owl fluttered out of the flames and flew out of the window. The moment it flew, the fire died and there was not a single scratch on the carpet or wall.

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Jayden realized that he was about to start High school in just a day's time. He didn't know what to expect and he was nervous. He was really nervous as he would belong to the junior-most class and was nervous to be in the middle of so many unknown persons. The only thought that made this lighter was that he and Jacob would be together in this. Despite everything since morning, he smiled to himself, and for the first time in the past 24 hours, he was thinking about something other than soul eaters.

He was so much into his High school fantasy that it took him a minute to realize what had happened in his room. His room was a mess. Someone had emptied his closet. All his clothes were lying in a big heap. The floor was covered with bits of paper. The mattress was halfway pulled down.

The same ghost boy who wanted to protect Jayden was sitting on the floor, picking up the papers.

'Bits of paper

Bits of paper

Lying on the floor

Makes the place untidy

Pick them up' The boy was singing and cleaning. Then came a faint rattling noise and the boy turned towards the window and disapparated. Jayden turned towards the window. Standing there, was a skinny man with angry scars on his face. He was holding a rattle and he shook it playfully. But in his other hand was the necklace with the amulet. With him in the room, the air started stinking. The man was murmuring something inaudible. His lips were moving and it was the only way that proved he was murmuring. He stood there, mesmerized. But he felt weak again. His knees felt like they would give away and he will fall. He stood there leaning on the wall, taking its support. Then suddenly, the man was engulfed in flames and he could see his silhouette transferring into a bird. The bird opened its wings and fluttered. it was an owl and it flew. With the flight of the owl, the flames died and everything was back to normal.

"Jay! Jay? Are you alright?" Braylan was shaking him. He nodded and put some weight on his legs. They supported. He put his complete weight on them and walked towards the washroom. He closed the door and saw his face in the mirror. A pale boy was staring at him from the mirror. He washed his face and stood there, doing nothing but staring at his own reflection. Things have heated up. He knew he needed to do something. But what to do? was the question. All the adults were out of the discussion. That left Jacob and Braylon. 'What can a couple of boys do?' he whispered to himself. He was not aware of how long he could take this before his energy and resistance are all gone and he is left empty.

"Jayden, are you alright?" Braylan asked with soft thumping on the door after who knows how long. 'Poor kid!' he thought, 'He is so worried about me.' He opened the door and walked out. The room was clean. At least the bits of papers were not there anymore.

"Did you clean it?" He asked and Braylan nodded. He helped Jayden with his closet and mattress. He didn't ask anything.

"So what happened in the morning?" He asked after some time.

"I saw a weird creature. Its body was spinning but its head was fixed. It was a horrible creature, scary, boiling, with eyes like cat's and ears like horns. He whispered soul and caught fire and disappeared. I was scared. I ran upstairs and took shower as quickly as possible. I came out and found you sitting on the bed, wai..."

"But I never came up! I went out to..."

"Don't interrupt. Listen first." Jayden said raising his hand to stop him. "I narrated everything to him. He ignored me and then he suddenly turned into a bald man. I know it was not you. He had the necklace in one hand and a diary in another. He tried to make me wear the necklace. But there was some sort of force. it knocked both of us. I don't know what happened after that. This is not the end! Today, while returning, I felt something cold on my neck and turned to see the red-cloaked figure. Its gaze sucked up the energy from me and when he gripped my left shoulder, the pain was too much to handle and I passed out. Mom and dad thought I was sleeping for two hours. But I was unconscious."

"You didn't tell them anything?" Braylan asked, already knowing the answer. Jayden shook his head. "Well, Me Jacob and Sam were here. We were passing by your room when the door closed and opened on its own accord. The hallway started smelling like rotten eggs, just like sometime before. I can swear that the temperature dropped a few degrees. It was cold and Jacob grabbed us and we ran. I told Sam about it and he says he will help you and he won't tell anyone about anything. You won't be mad at me for telling it to him right?"

"No! It's fine," he replied shortly.

"What about now? What happened?" Braylan asked and Jayden narrated the incident. The boys sat quietly. The older one thinking of how to end this and the younger one determined to help his brother in as many ways as possible. The silence stretched. No one said a word. Their heads were full of thoughts and were trying to find some solution for this cursed problem.

Every problem has a solution! With this motto in their brains, they were determined to fight this problem too. Even though the approaches couldn't be any different, the intention was the same.

"Boys... What are you doing here?" A whisper rang across the room. The voice sent chills down their spines. It was cold and harsh, empty of all the emotions. It looked like the person who owned the voice, is cold-hearted. The speaker was not visible. The voice didn't come from a particular direction. It seemed like someone had installed speakers all over the room and played a recording. There was a loud thud that came from the window, and they turned towards the window. There was nothing to see. It was empty. Even Jayden who had been able to see creatures no one else saw, wasn't able t see anything. "Boys! Come down for lunch!" their mo called from downstairs and the room was filled with some sort of mad laughter. Each and everything seemed to be laughing the cold, humorless laugh. Again, the laughter seemed to be coming from all directions. The boys glanced at each other and an out of the room without even looking back.