James Gullickson
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
It was a scurrying sound, quick and light on the basement floor.
Will lay in the dark, listening, his heart beating fast.
Mice.
The mice had come back.
The basement had mice before, years ago, before his dad had sealed up the gaps around the foundation.
They must have found a new way in.
The sound picked up again, quick, skittering movements, like something was scurrying from one side of the room to the other.
Will reached for his phone and turned on the flashlight.
The beam cut through the darkness, illuminating the familiar shapes of his furniture, his clothes on the floor, the coffee table with the magic kit still spread across it.
He swept the light across the room, checking the corners, the space under his bed, the gap behind the mini-fridge.
Nothing.
Mice, he told himself.
Just mice.
He'd tell Dad in the morning.
Will turned off the flashlight and laid back down.
The darkness settled around him.
He closed his eyes.
The scurrying came again.
Will didn't move.
He didn't open his eyes.