Chapter 7
They pulled up infront of an old, white house. April put her finger to her lips and whispered, "Shhh!" Quietly, they snuck up and hid behind a bush. "Okay. You guys are going in by yourselves," she informed them. As she began to head back to her car, JC once again grabbed her arm. "You're not coming in with us!?!"
"If Julia finds out I had anything to do with this..." she let the sentence trial. There was a moment of silence, then April said, "Justin is chained up in the attic. The key to the chain is tied to the attic door."
JC released her arm and April began to head back when she was once again stopped. "Where is the attic!?!" Joey wondered.
"If you walk into the house, there's a coat closet straight ahead. At very back of the coat closet, there is a door. Open the door and you're in the attic." She paused. "I'll be waiting in my car. When you find him, come out and I�ll get you outta here." April began to head towards her car, when she stopped and looked back at them. "Good luck!"
* * * * *
Cautiously, four men crept up to the front porch. They pressed their backs up against the brick wall as if they were melting into it. "I feel like a police dude on one TV," Chris quietly laughed.
"SHHH!" the other guys silenced him.
"Okay. On the count of three, Joey's gonna open the door," JC informed them.
"Wait, how come I have to do it!?!" Joey demanded.
"Because I said!" JC told him. Joey cursed under his breath. "Okay. On the count of three. Ready?" The three men nodded their heads. "One...Two...THREE!" Joey quickly turned the handle on the door and closed his eyes.
"You can open your eyes, you COWARD!" Chris laughed.
As Joey opened his eyes, he saw that he was the only one left on the porch. "Wait for me guys!" he called as he ran inside the house.
He was running so fast that he ran into someone ahead of him. "Watch where you're going!" Chris demanded.
"Sorry!" Joey apologized. "Why are we stopped?"
"Ask JC," Lance answered.
Chris, Joey, and Lance turned to look at "the man in charge." JC looked at all of them. "We're waiting for you, Phat-One!" JC informed him.
"Well, he'd here, so why are we still standing here!?!" Chris wondered.
"I don't know," JC admitted. "Let's go."
Slowly and silently, they walked towards an old coat closet. JC opened it and peered in. There was one single article of clothing , a worn out grey petticoat. "Where did she say the door was?" he wondered, feeling around in the dark.
"At the very back of the closet," Lance answered.
JC stepped further into the closet and felt around some more. "I can't feel anything!" JC exclaimed with frustration. "She is SUCH a liar!" JC exited the closet and began to head out the door. "When I get a hold of her-"
"Try the ceiling," Lance suggested. JC turned around and looked at him with a quizzical look on his face. "In my house, the attic door is in the ceiling."
"But she said 'at very back of the coat closet, there is a door,'" Joey reminded him.
"Maybe she meant it's on the ceiling at the very back," Lance proposed. He felt around the top of the ceiling.
"You're not going to find any-" JC started, but stopped when he heard a small squeak. He quickly stepped into the closet and stared at a ladder that had come down.
"Told you!" Lance exclaimed with a smile.
"I'll go first," JC volunteered. Slowly, he stepped onto the lowest ladder rung and began to climb up it.
JC finally reached the top of the ladder and pushed open a small door. He stepped up and entered the attic. "Is he there!?!" he heard Lance ask.
Scanning the dark room, JC spotted a pale figure on the other side of the room. "JUSTIN!"
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