Page 1 of Alien in the Attic

Chapter 1

Carmen

“Oh, wow. The Smiths have seriously upgraded their Halloween décor since we were last here,” Sofia exclaimed, pointing to the two-story house.

Carmen risked a quick peek, her eyebrows raising at the overly detailed murder scene on the manicured lawn. She focused herattention back to the asphalt, making a left turn onto the small town’s main shopping road.

Festoon lights were strung between the lampposts, accompanied by fake spiderwebs and plastic cut-outs of mystical creatures. The shop fronts were covered in Halloween decorations of varying intensity, going from innocent-looking carved pumpkins to downright malevolent-looking figures cloaked in black. Shades of orange and black were everywhere, complementing the red, orange, and yellow leaves of the fall trees.

Carmen pulled into a free parking spot in front of the grocer, turning off the old SUV. A quick glance at the back seat confirmed that Elena was still fully focused on her tablet. With a small smirk, she wondered if her youngest sister had even realized they’d arrived. At twenty-two, Elena had just finished her degree in engineering and was constantly working on some techy gadget.

“Will you grab us some coffees while I do a quick food shop? Then we can all head over to Hudson and Sons,” Carmen asked Sofia.

Sofia’s green eyes met hers, laughter dancing in the bright depths. Her auburn hair, so different from Carmen’s jet black, was pulled into a ponytail. Carmen smirked when she read the slogan on Sofia’s T-shirt. The bright pink shirt had black text on it, proudly proclaiming,You can’t scare me. I’m a ghost hunter.Huge ceramic earrings in the form of ghosts hung from her ears, and Carmen couldn’t help but admire her sister’s wacky style.

“Sure thing, sis. I’ll get some beans from the coffee shop, too. They’ll be better than whatever Sally stocks.” The two older sisters laughed and jumped out, leaving Elena to wait in the car.

A scream tore from Carmen’s throat as she entered the grocer. She clutched her chest, laughing as she saw the animated Chucky doll retreat.

“Hi, Sally. Good to see Hollowbrook still takes Halloween very seriously.” She chuckled as she passed the till. Sally grinned, her round cheeks and corkscrew curls making her look younger than she was.

“Carmen! I wondered when you were arriving.” Her face grew serious. “I’m so sorry about your grandparents, dear. They’ve been dearly missed, and knowing now they won’t be coming back…”

Carmen shrugged and gave Sally a small smile. “Thank you. We suspected it would turn out this way, but it doesn’t make it easier. You know?”

Sally reached out and patted her hand, and then they both chuckled as the next customer was terrorized.

“I’ll just grab a few things for the next couple of days, and then we’ll be back to get more supplies.” Sally nodded and turned to the new customer.

When Carmen walked out of the grocery store, Sofia and Elena were waiting next to the car. Elena had blessedly tucked hertablet away and leaned against the car. Her oversized sweatshirt drowned her petite frame. They quickly loaded their groceries and walked together to the solicitor’s office, coffee in hand, while Carmen updated them on what Sally had said.

They were still chuckling about the Chucky incident when they entered the dreary-looking office. The receptionist, a young man they didn’t recognize, stared at them with wide eyes. The sisters exchanged confused looks.

“Ah, the Flores sisters! I’ve been expecting you.” A wiry old man limped from the office on the left, using his cane to nudge the receptionist on the leg. The young man startled and turned beet-red.

“Sorry, sir, they just walked in,” he stammered.

“Yes, yes. Come, ladies.” They walked into a musty-smelling meeting room. “Apologies for young Denny there. The Halloween stories have been getting to him.” Mr. Hudson chortled, and Carmen suspected that he had contributed to the poor boy’s fears.

Carmen stifled a yawn as Mr. Hudson explained the details of their inheritance. He had already done so over the phone and during a Zoom meeting, in which he’d unknowingly had a cat filter on his face. She had also read the documents a million times, trying to make sense of some of the strange requests her grandparents had left before they disappeared five years ago, so none of this was new information.

“Now, since they’ve been presumed dead, though it could not be confirmed, there are some additional clauses…” Mr. Hudson droned on. Carmen winced in sympathy as Sofia kicked a sleeping Elena in the shin, making her jolt. The long drive had taken a toll on them all.

Finally, the old man finished. When they exited the meeting room, Denny jumped up.

“Nice to meet you, uh, miss. Sorry about earlier. I just worry, you know, what with the ghost— Ow!” Denny’s ramblings were cut off by another of Mr. Hudson’s cane taps.

“Ghost?” Sofia perked up, and Carmen suppressed an eye roll.

“Nothing to worry about, ladies. Denny here’s imagination is getting away from him, that’s all.”

“Is there something happening at the mansion?” Sofia asked excitedly, hoisting her backpack higher on her lean shoulders.

“Oh, just electrical faults and wind gusts, I’m sure. Nothing to worry about,” Mr. Hudson repeated, though he looked a bit unsure. “I do apologize for the state of the mansion. The local cleaning company refused to go in, what with all this nonsense.”

Carmen exchanged an exasperated look with her youngest sister as Sofia dug out her notebook. She started firing off questions rapidly. “So, flashing lights, shadows, moving curtains? Any reports of cold spots? Has anyone measured electromagnetic activity? When did it start?”

“Sofia, I’m sure it’s just as Mr. Hudson said. Electrical faults or whatever. We should get going. Come on. There’s lots to do at the house.”

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