Trauma in Resonance

“They were older than us; so, we presumed they were trying to prank us.”

The slim build man, in his late forties; who had introduced himself as Frank earlier, sighed deeply as he looked the young boy up and down. He was such a small, frail thing, with tiny trembling fingers and a thick scarf wrapped around his mouth. However, despite being through such a horrific ordeal, the boy kept a convincingly straight face. Frank presumed that this was the boy’s way of handling shock: to lock away his emotions to everyone even himself. Though who could blame him: never in all his years of service had such a ‘thing’ happened. Knowing this, and taking in mind that the boy was only ten; the cop knew that it wasn’t too presumptuous to say that the shock could erase some of the facts.

They were sat in the boy’s silence in a small room hidden away at the back of the police station. The room had no windows but a slim, rather stiff door with a rectangular glass panel leading out into a long hallway. Inside was a two-seater red leather settee that could be folded down to a bed, a small coffee table and a rather uncomfortable chair Frank sat on. Placed on the table was nearly finished black coffee and an untouched orange squash for the boy. Alongside a small saucer of biscuits which both ignored.

Frank was dressed in his navy uniform attire, but had his top button undone and his sleeves rolled up, with his blazer resting on the boy’s shoulders. On top of the boy’s head was a small damp towel that had soaked up little of his dripping hair. The cop fidgeted uncomfortably, the boy was too young to be questioned like this… nonetheless.

“What exactly did these older boys tell you?”

The cop really didn’t want to throw such questions at the young boy, it upset him watching him curl up inside, flinching as though thinking back was painful. Poor kid, was all Frank could think. He waited patiently as he watched the boy on the settee opposite him, wrapped in an oversized jacket with his scarf touching the ground. His gaze never left the floor. The tips of his damp black hair tickled the tip of his nose as his fish-like eyes expressed everything the cop needed to know: lifelessness caused by trauma.

“They…” The boy finally lifted his head with eyes glazed with the hint of tears and his fingers digging into his scarf. “They told us about the desolate house at the end of the street.” He spoke as quickly as possible to get rid of the words he had built up inside. “They told us to never enter the house because, you know, ‘weird’ things have been known to happen.” His panicked fast paced talking slowed near the end as he returned to fiddling with his fingers.

“And you didn’t believe them?”

“Like I said, they were older than us…” The boy looked a little embarrassed. “Older kids always prank the younger ones. We thought it was their way of saying we shouldn’t go in because ‘little kids get scared easily’. Like we were inferior, or something.”

For a ten-year-old, the boy sure did know some big words. At his age, the cop thought he would be bawling all over the place, calling out for his mum. It was a bit of a shock finding him curled up in a phonebooth with the phone circling above his head. From what he was told, the boy had phoned in asking for help. At first there seemed to be nothing too urgent about it, the boy only expressed on the phone that he would like a police officer to pick him up, even on the phone he sounded older. However, seeing a young boy trembling in a ball out in the street late at night stirred up a lot of concern.

“So, you took it as a challenge?” The cop chose his words carefully, he knew that ‘boys will be boys’ was such a common thing to think, but this was different. This was pure fear he was seeing in the boy’s pleading eyes. The young child before him lowered his head even further and nodded slightly. The cop bit his lip feeling regretful of the words he had to say next, but he pressed forward anyway. “Then what?” There was a moment’s hesitation as the boy clenched his fist and closed his eyes.

“The five of us decided to meet up late so we could go into the house together....”

The rumors about the house didn’t give it enough credit. Tales of ghosts, shadows and strange noises were only child’s play in comparison to walking through. It stood at the end of the street with peeling off-white paint and navy framed windows. Once upon a time it would have been the beauty of the street but for some reason it was left to ruin. The garden was overgrown with stinging nettles and thick thistles that grew over the now nonexistent path. And it wasn’t until the boys reached the front step that they realized the house had no front door, only sliced splintered wood swinging off rusty hinges. The tallest of the boys shrieked as a curtain flapped in the window making it seem like someone was watching them.

“Come on Kyle. It wasn’t that scary.” Tyler felt Kyle cling to his back and could only chuckled at the sight of an older boy acting so panicky. Kyle was an unusually tall boy for his age, with a dangerously skinny figure and neat brown hair. Yet, through his mature looking appearance, he always relied on Tyler. It had always been that way, Tyler had always held the position of the responsible one, he took pride in that.

Tyler confidently adjusted his thick framed glasses. He was quite the opposite to Kyle in every way, he had striking blond hair swept to one side and slightly spiky. Behind his glasses shone bright green eyes and, although his sleeveless jacket hid it, he had quite the muscular body consider he was only twelve.

He pulled Kyle out from behind him and grinned at his shaky friend. “Look at Kieron.” Kyle hesitated to look but once he did he only slipped back behind Tyler again. “Kieron’s not scared and he’s the youngest.” Tyler chuckled again out of sympathy, then turned and placed his hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “Do you wanna go home?”

Kyle watched from behind Tyler as Kieron fearlessly, or rather, emotionlessly, stepped inside the house and hopped over a small splattering of broken glass. He admired Kieron for being so courageous, but also saw him as an idiot for being so carefree. He thought about protesting and calling Keiron back but after watching the two brothers follow after Keiron with smirks, Kyle broadened his shoulders and shock Tyler off.

“It’s okay.” He said unconvincingly. “If Kieron can do it…” There was no point finishing, he of all people knew that Kieron could do things most kids his age couldn’t. He gathered up the courage and walked ahead of Tyler into the house and stopped besides the others as they all admired how barren the place was. Kyle seemed to be holding his nerve well until Stephen spoke.

“I don’t get why you’re so scared all the time. You knew the plan, yet you still came along.” If anyone’s opinion counted less in Kyle’s eyes it was Stephen’s. He may have been older than Stephen by four years but by measure of courage: Stephen was superior. In fact, Stephen was so brave that he often had no sympathy for anyone who was not so fearless.

Appearance wise, Stephen was a short stubby boy with a bulky build often getting him called chubby. Though, with his boisterous and slightly violent attitude, no one really dared to bully him. His hair was a light ginger, curly but with signs of him trying to straighten it. Yet amongst all the scruffiness, stood two very unique amber eyes, eyes that took pleasure in mocking Kyle.

“Yeah, well…” Kyle hesitated, he didn’t have a reason for coming as such. He just liked hanging out with his friends. He didn’t have any friends his own age, he was weak-hearted, a fraidy-cat. Yet Tyler and the others saw him differently: they understood that his kind and soft personality wasn’t at all weak and that made him grow into the supportive person he was.

“Stop pestering him. No one can be as unafraid as you.” There it was again: Tyler and his voice of reason. It was for this reason that the others look up to him as being the superior one of their little group. The ‘leader’ so to say; as he showed great amounts of compassion and intelligence. As well as his uncanny ability to read the air around him.

“Tsk. Whatever.” They all knew that although Stephen often bullied Kyle, it was his way of accepting Kyle as friend. Knowing this, Stephen’s older brother Sam stepped in to apologize on Stephen’s behalf. Kyle smiled and conveyed sweetly that it was alright, after all: Kyle admired Stephen for being able to be himself with no worries of being abandoned. Maybe it was because Stephen knew that his older brother will always be there for him. It was nice seeing brothers so close.

With their bickering solved, they all grouped together and ventured further in. As they suspected, it was hard to see at first. Yet they were prepared for it as they all took hold some type of flashlight, albeit Stephen brought a keyring light and Kyle held up a light from a bike, but it still made them feel like adventures. The lights revealed all sorts of freaky things about the abandoned house. Like the way the dust rose from each of their steps or the entanglement of cobwebs at every corner.

The five boys had walked into history. They were awestruck seeing with their own eyes the effects of being forgotten. Before them stood a grand hallway, smaller than what they expected, but with an air of dead grace. A wide staircase stood to the right, draped in a long thin, once emerald green rug; which welcomed them to a historic adventure.

Stephen stepped beyond the staircase towards two large glass doors covered in a thick layer of opaque dust, he used his sleeve to try and wipe away some of the dirt with little effect.

“Hey, Sam help me out here?” Stephen pulled on the door feeling defeated when he realized it wouldn’t budge. Sam hesitated to grab the filthy handle but even with both their strength something was jamming the door from the other side. “Shame.” Stephen complained as he kicked around some of the shredded wood scattered across the rustic floorboards. The clattering of debris sent shockwaves through Kyle as he jumped out of his skin and retreated behind Tyler. Tyler couldn’t help but laugh, he knew how much of a scaredy cat Kyle was, and although Stephen was quickly getting annoyed with Kyle, Tyler just chuckled away.

“I’m bored.” Stephen, being a very curious and strong-willed person; was someone who was also easily disinterested in things. He needed things to move quickly, to find new and exciting things every few minutes or he’ll just lose all interest.

“You’re unbelievable.” Sam, Stephen’s older and more chilled brother, was the opposite to Stephen in almost every way. He was often seen as the handsome version of Stephen, with his ginger hair more in control and his crystallized amber eyes always catching others attention. But what really made Sam stand out from Stephen was that Sam was an awful lot taller and slimmer. However, he was a cautious boy, smart and relaxed. He hardly spoke but when he did it was with a low monotone moan, and just like his voice, he was neither interested nor uninterested in anything. To be honest, Sam and Stephen had a consistent balance, where one without the other would cause their strong personalities to become hard to handle. Maybe that’s why they subconsciously stuck close to each other.

Sam dragged Stephen away from kicking more debris across the already torn up floor. He managed to distract Stephen long enough until a sudden and unfamiliar tune sounded out form one of the other rooms. Some slow and mellow notes added up to a rather tentative melody. Again, Kyle jolted behind Tyler causing Stephen to laugh mockingly. Sam sighed and decided to walk towards the room where the sound was coming from. He disappeared for a moment behind a large door, leaving the other boys shaking in their shoes at the thought that maybe the place was haunted.

“Look who’s scared now.” Tyler mocked, noting the way Stephen played with the edge of his jacket nervously.

“Shut up!” Stephen said apoplectically. He shifted from foot to foot. “Shut up.” He repeated like a mantra. Again, Tyler chuckled.

Suddenly a cacophony of unrhythmic notes sounded out disturbing them all. “Oi.” They heard Sam calling out plainly. “Come here.” For a moment silence fell until the door flung open and Sam strode out dragging a catatonic Kieron behind him. He threw the younger boy onto the floor before them looking around disdainfully.

“He was playing with the piano.”

“He what!?” Stephen snapped.

“I think it was some type of nursery or something like that. I found him playing with some old toys.” Sam grabbed Stephen by the collar and held him back from attacking Kieron, who hated the fact that Kieron made him scared for once. Kieron on the other hand didn’t look remotely bothered by anything around him. Just like always.

“And where are you going?” Stephen snapped again as Tyler walked past him; picking Kieron up from the floor, and with Kyle clinging to him still. He pushed opened the door to the nursery and stepping inside in awe at how preserved it all was.

Someone once upon a time loved this room. It was like dust and cobwebs were unable to reach this room, and each toy was attentively placed in their rightful place with care. Even though the rest of the house was in ruin, this room still looked fresh and clean. In the center of the room stood a proud and well-polished table, with a few small wicker chairs around it and a large rocking chair facing towards the large cracked window.

Kieron fidgeted from Tyler’s grip and headed towards the piano where he started to play the same melancholy tune again. Kyle, feeling a bit more at ease and confident, picked up a tatted old bear, while Tyler played with a delicately made zoetrope; spinning it gently to watch the pictures play inside. There was no doubt this used to be a children’s nursery judging by the abundance of toys.

“Whoa!” Stephen waltzed in loudly, ruining the peaceful and solemn moment they all had.

“Carefully.” Sam moaned as Stephen picked up a spinning top and spun it mercilessly. Stephen grimaced and continued playing. Until he got bored and sneakily decided to hide behind an old curtain to scare Kyle again. To which Kyle amusingly screeched out, hitting Stephen with shaky fists. Stephen rolled over with laughter. So Sam hit him on the back of the head.

Maybe time stopped as they played with history. As if, in that large playful room; time didn’t exist. It was kind of odd seeing how, compared to what they had seen of the rest of the house, how this room looked so different. Slowly Kieron’s piano playing dwindled away into silence as he stepped away from the instrument and back out of the doors into the hallway. Kyle watched Kieron out from the corner of his eye. He knew Kieron was an apathetic boy, who often ostracized himself from everyone else. Other than that, he was a total mystery.

Once Kieron had fully vanished, Kyle put down the tin car he was examining and followed after him carefully. “You guys.” He called out as Kieron wondered around by himself. “He’s going up stairs.”

“What!?” Tyler got off the small rocking horse he was barely riding and ran to the door seeing Kieron steadily climbing the stairs by himself. “Urgh, I can’t believe him. Can’t leave him alone for two minutes without him wondering off.”

“Should we follow after him?” Kyle said sheepishly.

“I was getting bored anyway.” Stephen immediately got up, ecstatic that something more interesting was going on. Sure, he didn’t really understand why Kieron was so adamant to separate himself from everyone else, but at least he kept things thrilling. Merrily, he rushed past them all and followed Kieron up. “Let’s go.” He commanded, stretching his small torch upwards as if he was leading an army. Sam solemnly pursued his younger and more energetic brother.

“I guess that means we’re going up.” Tyler sighed as he dropped his shoulders. He knew it was exciting and all, but they could at least admire it at a slower pace. He didn’t want to rush around, who knows what trouble that could cause. Also, shouldn’t they stick together anyway?

He saw Kyle wince from the corner of his eye and decided to grab the nervous boy’s hand and followed the others despite his nagging thoughts. After a moment of him complaining, the others were finally convinced to stick together, after all, they knew nothing about this house and it was getting quite late. They there was no telling what could happen, the house was already falling apart, anything from floorboards giving way; or the ceiling collapse on top of them. Even nails and splinters were a threat to them in the dim light. However, they were young curious boys, so, even though they huddled together a little more, they still continued through. All apart from Kieron, who’s pace didn’t slow until he was at the top of the first flight of stairs.

“Can you not just wait for us?” Tyler cautiously separated himself from the group to catch up to Kieron. He grabbed the younger boy’s arm and made sure he couldn’t go further up. “I know it’s exciting going through such a place…” Tyler shone his bike light across a row of ominous looking portraits on the way to the floor above. “But we have no idea what’s up there. We have to be careful.” Kieron, like usual, didn’t say anything but glared at the small group with his fish eyes and relaxed enough to let Tyler know that he was going to slow down.

“Practice caution.” Sam said a little vaguely. “We might not be alone here.” Sam had a strange way of communicating with people. Stephen and he couldn’t be more different, in a way that Stephen was harsh with his words, a bit straightforward while holding nothing back. While Sam was vague and rarely spoke unless it had meaning (It was often misjudged that Stephen was older). So to hear Sam speaking out about how dangerous the house might be rang out to the others that they hadn’t thought it through properly.

“Don’t be such a downer. We’ll be fine. Those teenagers come here all the time don’t they?” What was Stephens way of wanting to continue turned into a daunting question that made everyone think. Sure, those older lads they spoke to earlier warned them about not entering the house, yet they did it anyway. They had the house pictured out as being a yobo’s den; graffiti on the walls, beer cans and glass everywhere. Used cigarette buds. Yet looking around them; granted they hadn’t got very far, there was no sign of any life existing in the house before them.