The Walls Surround Us

A few hours later I was still hunched over my desk. My interest in my homework had waned and I could now only think about that light. What were the implications of it, anyway? Was it a sign that I was crazy? Or perhaps just that I'm the only not? Still, I was perplexed. Whether someone was there or not, I could almost hear the place calling out my name.

Around nine o'clock, as I was starting to think about heading to bed, I heard a knocking on the front door of our house. I left the sanctity of my bedroom and answered the knocks that were getting more and more frantic the longer I took. As I pulled the door open, outside were three of my old friends from high school, Sara, Hayley and Jayce.

"Oh thank God you're home, Jackson!" I heard as Sara burst in the door, latching herself around my waist, "I really need your help!"

"Okay," I said slowly, surprised by the impromptu visit, "what is it?"

"My cat Peirre ran away," she said, almost frantically, "and I saw someone in that creepy house on the corner grab him up!"

"But that's impossible," I replied knowingly, "no one's lived in that house for decades."

"I think it's just a squatter," Jayce said, then adding with a grin, "probably just looking for a cheap meal."

"You're disgusting," said Hayley, stepping inside to comfort the obviously distraught Sara.

"Alright, so your cat's missing," I mused idly, "so what the hell do you need me for?"

"Well your place is the closest to the house," said Hayley, "so we want to use your place as somewhere we can easily get to if there is some squatters in there, or if we need to call the police or something."

I rolled my eyes listlessly. Of course they wanted to use this place, but they'd never admit that they also needed my help just to get inside. The doors have been locked up tight for as long as any of us can remember and unless they've been doing some shady things while I've not been around, I'm the only one with a pair of bolt cutters big enough to get the lock off. I honestly didn't care about Sara's cat, but this would be the perfect excuse to look into where that light is coming from.

"Alright, fine," I grunted, turning inside, "but if you're cat has been gutted, I'm not going to be the one carrying it back here."

To that, Sara let out a distraught groan and Hayley shot me a glare that would make Ving Rhames question himself.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic," I scolded, then turned and headed towards the garage, "let me just get a torch."

As I walked through the door, Jayce pushed himself around the girls and headed after me. "Hey, listen," he said softly, "I have a plan to fuck Hayley tonight; if you want I can try hook you up with Sara."

"I appreciate the offer," I muttered, rifling through some piles of junk, "but I think I can manage my own affairs."

"Your loss," he whistled as he turned around and leaned against my father's work bench. "This is going to be so fucking sweet," he said, his eyes staring off into space, "girls always get really jumpy and clingy doing stuff like this, and they tend to latch onto the first big, strong guy that's there to protect them."

"Well then you've got no hope," I said, grinning at him lightly.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" he cried as I heaved out a pair of bolt cutters and a flash light, "I'm strong and way more of a match for some homeless bum to handle."

"Yeah," I agreed, "it's when they get your pants off that they'll be disappointed." Jayce just dropped his jaw and stared after me as I made my way back over to the girls and took the lead out into the night air.