I popped my skateboard into my hand and walked up the gravel driveway. After a long day at school, I was excited to be home. I already had plans to fill this coming weekend. Rounding the corner of the house, I saw Perry’s skateboard leaning on the door. He beat me home and was probably scouring the kitchen for any scrap of edible food.

Perry and I have been friends since grade school. We lived on the same street, Second street, and had similar interests in music and hobbies. Throughout school we stuck together at all costs and practically remained brothers since. Despite doing some dumb stuff, both of us have saved each other’s back many times. Walking through the front door, I heard the fridge door slam.
“God, Mitch. What took you so long? You ran out of cereal, Cheez-its, AND poptarts. I almost died!” I laughed, tossing my bag in the general direction of my room.
“It wouldn’t be home without you, Perry. Did you eat everything?”
“What do you mean? Just about anything insignificant I could find. Why?”
“Good. That means you didn’t find the nachos.”
“Wait- WHAT nachos??”
I reached to the back of the fridge, and slid my fingers to the far side. I heard the crinkle I was looking for, and gently pulled out a white plastic bag. Inside was a full tray of nachos topped with cheese and salsa. Perry seemed to be redder than the salsa.
“How did I not find that? God, I’m an idiot.”
I laughed at his frustration and offered him a chip. He took one and ate it in one bite. We enjoyed the crunch filled silence.
“So, now that you’re finally home, what should we do?”
I roll my eyes. I had a few movies picked out, some games, I wanted to skate for a bit then a concert was playing tomorrow. We were set for the whole weekend.
“Well, we can chill a bit, or we can skate. Any other great ideas?”
He sat and thought about this for a second, then his eyes widened. It was as if he had discovered a cure for a disease.
“Oooh, I know what we should do. Let’s go through the attic!”
“Perry, seriously. Dad straight up told us we cannot go in there. It’s the only place we aren’t allowed. No, we aren’t doing that”
The second we stepped into our new house, Dad told me the attic was off limits. It was literally immediate. I had never even seen the inside of it. But after a while, my curiosity waned. I soon after lost interest in the old room, and eventually forgot about it entirely. I knew Dad kept things up there, but he never went up there, so they must not be that important.
“Come on, Mitch. Don’t be such a coward. It isn’t like he keeps ouija boards or weapons up there. Let’s do this.”
“Fine. If it will get you to shut up. God. Nothing’s even up there, just some old junk and paper that he never looks at.”
Perry’s face was plastered in an expression I had never seen before. It reminded me of pure wonder, a face full of an explorative need. I set down the nachos and followed him into the garage, watching him pull the flimsy drawstring. The stairs unfolded with a loud groan. Dust blasted around us in a thick cloud, threatening to steal our oxygen. Coughing and fanning it away, we looked up at a black hole. No lights, not even the garage light, shone in there. A shiver shot down my back but I shook it off.
Perry seemed frozen. I punched his arm and he looked back at me.
“What’s your problem man? I'm going, jeez. Get off me.”
I could tell he was nervous now. His knees were shaking and it seemed like he had problems climbing the steps. With every motion he took, his body was sucked further and further into the black abyss.
“Yo Perry!” I called behind him.
“What man?”
“Be careful. I don’t know what’s up there.”
“Thank you mom. I’m safe. Hey, we need some flashlights. This is REALLY dark.”
“Ok, I’ll go get them. I still can’t believe you talked me into this.”
“I can’t believe you've never done this on your own. Now hurry up, I wanna see what’s up here.”
I ran to the kitchen and started rummaging through shelves. Not finding anything, my frustration grew. I threw open the small doors to the spot under the sink, and saw one lone flashlight. I didn’t even know if the batteries worked or not, but I grabbed it anyway. Running back to the garage, I flung open the door.
“Hey, Perry. I found one, but I’m not sure if it works. We might as well give it a shot.”
Nothing. I looked up from the flashlight, and he wasn’t on the stairs anymore.
“Come on, Perry. Don’t play this game. We’re too old for jump scaring each other man. Get out here.”
Still nothing. Slightly disturbed, I climbed the first few steps to the attic. I knew he was messing with me. He’s sitting in the attic right now waiting for me. I rolled my eyes, and shuffled my feet up the next few stairs. I flicked the switch on the flashlight, and it flickered. After banging it a bit, it shone bright and boldly. I walked the rest of the way in the attic and looked around. Nothing here. It was empty, except for a solitary chest at the far wall. Slowly, I approached it, every creak and groan making me swing the flashlight wildly. I was standing in front of it, the mysterious children’s toy chest. Suddenly, my flashlight flickered and turned off. I turned around in panic and watched the attic door close me in. The silence following was deafening. After what seemed, like seconds, hours, maybe even days, I heard my name. It was subtle at first, but grew in pace and volume until i could not hear anything else.
“Mitch. Mitch. Mitch! Mitch! MITCH! MITCH! MITCH! MITCH!”
I dropped to my knees, screaming, begging for it to end. I lay, knees to my chest, crying. Desperately calling out for the voices to stop, to leave me alone. Then it all went silent. I could no longer feel the floor, or smell the damp smell of the attic. My ears stopped ringing. Then it hit me.
“I’m dead.” I whispered.
“I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead.”
And there I lay, never to be found or seen again, eternally whispering that simple phrase. I no longer tasted the sweet taste of life running through my veins. I crumbled to dust over time, and was forgotten.