Don ' t always need new stuff . My dad bought his first new car at 50 . <| sep |> Works fine on my 4 K TV . <| sep |>, trump will tow the putin line <| sep |> I opened my eyes and immediately felt the walls closing in on me . My chest pulsated rapidly as I cradled my knees and pressed my forehead to my elbow , a wave of nausea and fear overcoming me . Unprepared for the fine layer of dust which had settled on the floor of the room over the years , my rapid breathing grew shaky as I fought to stifle the tickle in my throat . Eventually , the need to cough overcame me , and my hyperventilation came to a temporary halt . When my coughs subsided , my mind slowly began to thumb through the many memories of coping techniques my parents had drilled into my head throughout my youth . Take slower breaths . Close your eyes . Breathe . Calm . Think of oceans , of puppies , of kittens , of pandas . My eyes slowly fluttered open once more , and I was reluctant for them to do so . I knew I wouldn ' t like what I ' d see . From what I could tell , I was sitting in the center of an attic of sorts . It was sparselyfurnished , with nothing but a dusty oak chair and table set sitting in the corner . The ceiling was slanted and extended to about a foot above me from the center of the room , but I would need to crouch to stand closer to the walls . From one wall to the other was about 3 yards , giveortake . The room was small , very small , oh god , it ' s small , it ' s really really small ! I jerked my mind away from those thoughts and scanned the floor . It almost reminded me of the deck of an abandoned pirate ship , with worseforwear wood planks running along the sides of the room . In the corner across from me , there was a single hatch , which presumably led to the floor below . My memories came back to me . Hey , Jack . Glad to see you ' re letting your skin see the light of day for once , Wesley clapped his hand on my shoulder , his transition lenses glinting in the sun . Are you gonna be on tonight , bro ? Yeah , I grinned as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder , gazing down off of the hill which our school rested on , surveying the parking lot for his mother ' s bright blue Honda car . You ? What else would I have to do ? Text your girlfriend , I replied . Good one ! He guffawed , his long blonde ponytail bouncing with each laugh . Now , listen , son , the only thing less likely than that is it happening to you . I grinned at his gentle teasing and shrugged his arm off . Go on , scat ! Your mom is waving at you . Wesley lifted his backpack onto his shoulder and paused at the top of the stairwell which crawled down the hill and to the lot . Alrighty , then . I ' ll be on once I get home , so right around 320 . When ' ll you go online ? Probably around 4 , I replied . My mom ' s gonna be late . She forgot she was supposed to pick me up today , so she ' s at the food store right now , and she has a few more errands to run . You sure you don ' t want me to drive you home , bro ? Wesley asked over his shoulder as he took a few drawn out steps down the stairwell . His blue eyes scanned mine . I mean , I ' m not sure it ' s so nice for you to be standing out here , all alone in the cold . It ' s 305 right now it ' ll be an hour before your mom gets here , if that ' s the case . I don ' t mind . It ' s all okay . It ' s just an hour , and the weather ' s not so bad right now . Suit yourself , Wesley replied . Smell ya later , bestie ! I grinned at the Pokemon reference and waved him goodbye as I watched his figure descend the hill to greet his mother at the bottom . She smiled at me before they both retreated to their car . Once they drove away , I stood there a while , admiring the forest which surrounded the fringes of the school property . The leaves had turned crisp and ranged from blood red to sunset orange . I pondered my strategy for when I would log on and work with Wesley later in the afternoon . We were currently fixated on an FPSplatformer hybrid called Look ! The game was relatively unpopular and hadn ' t received much publicity , but it was definitely a hidden gem , and we were deadset on playing through its Story Mode until we got to the end . My thoughts were interrupted when I saw my mother ' s small black convertible pull up by the nowempty parking lot . I checked my watch . 320 . She was early ! Ecstatic with the idea that I could have more time to play with Wesley , I practically bolted down the stairs . Upon nearing the bottom , however , my phone vibrated , and I glanced down it . Mom Be there in 20 minutes , honey ! At the painter ' s ! Got a nice surprise ! 3 My phone clattered against the ground as a sweetsmelling rag was pressed against my mouth and my mind grew hazy . There were a pair of arms wrapped around me and a feminine voice whispering in my head . I ' m not your mom , sweetie . I felt my breathing grow ragged . It ' s okay , it ' s okay . Let ' s think of how many words with P I can list . Happy things , happy things . Puppies , penguins , puffins , pineapples , pandas . I softly crawled over to the hatch leading down below . Apprehension seized me , and I clutched my stomach , feeling the need to vomit . There was probably someone down there , someone who took me , someone who had a car just like my mom ' s , someone who wanted me . My mind whirled , but I grabbed ahold of myself and tried to think things through . If I opened it , my killer may be down there , but she may not notice . I may be able to escape . But if I did nothing , she would come up here eventually , and I don ' t know what she ' d do , but it wouldn ' t be pleasant . Making up my mind , I gave a gentle tug on the hatch ' s door , and was partially relieved to find that it gave way . At least it wasn ' t locked . I opened the door just a sliver about the size of a peanut butter jelly sandwich and took a peak down below from my little corner . There was no ladder to allow me to descend the 7 foot drop to the floor below , and it looked like there was a hallway directly underneath , though my vision was limited . No sign of people . I closed the hatch and tried to formulate a plan . Usually , in the games I played , the characters would have a ladder or a rope or something in the room with them , for them to escape quietly . The table and chair wouldn ' t help much , and I didn ' t have any rope . I realized that I would probably have to lower myself down and make as little noise as possible there was no other option . I just had to hope that my 5 ' 9 , musclefree body could lower itself softly enough . I gritted my teeth as I lifted the hatch once more , checking for signs of life , and then opened it all the way and lowered myself down from the top , my hands tightly gripping the rims of the hole . My knuckles began to turn white and I suppressed panting from my own bodyweight . I made a mental note to take Wesley ' s advice on visiting rFitness much more seriously if I managed to survive . I was able to land softly , like a kitten , and I stared forward and backward at the halls which extended forward . The walls were a dull grey , and it was only slightly brighter than the dark attic I had been locked inside . One end led to a stairwell , the other to more rooms . Slowly , quietly , I crouched , attempting to mimic the characters of Look ! when they were hunting their targets , preparing to shoot , and glided across the floor , huddling close to the wall . I internally flinched at every squeak , every groan , every quack which emanated from the hardwood beneath my feet as I slowly approached the stairwell . Just one step at a time . One . Two . Three . As the number of steps went up , so did a bubbling feeling within my chest emerge a sense of wonder , of hope . I was going to make it outside of the house ! My mind began to devise a plan of where to go where to run upon making it outside . I would have to abandon my stealth and spring free , kamikazestyle , allornothing , thisisit , e i t h eryoufreeyourselforyoudon ' t .