Book Four: Finding Life

"Urgh..." I grumble. I groggily sit up in bed. Emily squints her eyes open a little.

"You alright?"

"Mmm, gotta pee," I mumble.

"Kay..." She shifts a little, seemingly going back to sleep. I get up, walking out of our room and down the hall. That's right, I didn't get to go before bed because I was too tired... I drowsily walk down the hall. Even sleepy, I feel way better than before, after getting hit with lightning...

Unlike the other night, it's nearly a full moon, so I can see fine from the light coming in the window at the end of the hall. My half-awake thoughts roll over today, or yesterday, whatever. Even considering lightning, things went pretty well, didn't they? I learned a whole lot. I send a drowsy smile down the empty hall.

After I finish, I head back to my room, but... I feel like something catches my eye. I stop and turn, looking down the stairs. There's no one there though... Why do I feel like I just saw something move then? Now I'm curious...

Shaking off my sleepiness a little, I decide to investigate. I slide down the stairs one at a time. "Haven't had to do this in a while..." I mutter. Even with the light of the moons coming in the windows, the stairway is in the middle of the house, so it's pretty dark and I need to be careful going down. When I reach the second floor, I look both ways down the hall. It's much brighter than the stairs. But there's no one here either.

"Hello?" I ask quietly. My whisper seems to echo in the unusually dark and silent space. For a few moments, I don't hear anything, only my own breathing and heartbeat. Then, there's a tap. So soft, so faint, I feel like I shouldn't be able to hear it, but it's there. I turn down the hall, walking, practically shuffling a bit at a time. One hallway, then another. I keep having to stop and listen. Wait for that tiny, nearly outside of hearing tap, before I go toward where I heard it again.

a little way until I arrive at the stairs to the first floor. I think it came from down there. As if to confirm my thought, the tap sounds again, just a little louder. It's definitely coming from downstairs.

Now I'm really curious. I slide down the stairs to the first floor. It's a lot darker here since there aren't as many windows to let the light in. I look to either side. Off to the right, heading toward the kitchen, I catch sight of something. Just a swish of some dark shape as it slips around the corner. With it right in front of me, I run after it. I dash through the door into the kitchen, but it's nowhere to be found. There's a window in one wall to let more light into this room, so unless it's hiding up on the shelves or down inside the hearth, the thing doesn't seem to be here.

I continue to wander, probably by habit, over into the dining room. I crouch down to look all around the table and chairs, but find nothing of note here either. Then a sound catches my ear again. A single light scraping sound. I move in its direction, going into the empty room next to the dining room. I think it might have been further past here... I keep walking, taking one slow step after another while listening closely for any more sounds. Then I hear it, but it's different this time. Not a tap or scrape, more of a splash.

It repeats. A steady pattern that draws me down the short hall, where I stop at the door to the storeroom on my left. It's coming from inside. I slowly open the door, peering into the room on the other side. There are no windows, so it is completely black inside. However, I glance to the side. Just through the doorway, the dripping sound is coming from right there on the left side. I only have to take two steps through the door to find a small bucket sitting on the edge of a table. In the dim light in the doorway, I can see that it's filled with water. It looks like a small crack in the wood is letting small drops of water escape though.

"Just a bucket full of water, huh?" I mutter. I don't know what I was thinking, but this wasn't it. Then a shudder goes through me.

This isn't right. The situation is wrong. I turn back to look. A bucket. A leaking bucket. Full of water. I look closely. Yes, this bucket is filled most of the way to the top. It's the middle of the night. This bucket must have been leaking for a long time, so why is it full?

I turn the situation back around in my head. I wasn't drawn here by the leaking bucket. I heard tapping. I saw movement. Someone put this bucket here. Someone drew me to this spot! My head snaps up, eyes scanning the dark storeroom.

"Good."