Page 18 of In Her Fears
Alone in the backyard, Alexis felt the night settle around her.The chirp of crickets and the occasional distant car provided a subtle soundtrack to her solitude.She returned to the telescope, adjusting it slightly to focus on different features of the lunar landscape.
There was something soothing about tracing the familiar contours of the moon’s surface, identifying craters and seas she’d learned to recognize years ago.It made her feel connected to something larger than herself, larger than Trentville with its small-town dynamics and secrets.
Time slipped by unnoticed as Alexis lost herself in observation.It wasn't until her phone buzzed with a text from Ryan—"Just finished first set.Miss you,"—that she realized it was nearly ten o'clock.
She texted back quickly—"Miss you too"—then stood as she began gathering their empty bottles, a sound carried across the quiet backyard—high-pitched, distant, but distinct.
“Help!Help me, please!”
Alexis froze, bottles clutched in her hands.It sounded like a child’s voice, a little girl.She turned slowly, trying to pinpoint the direction.
“Hello?”she called out.“Where are you?”
A moment of silence, then: “I’m stuck!Please help!”
The voice was coming from beyond their fence, somewhere past the narrow alley that ran behind their back yard.Alexis set the bottles down on the table and moved toward the fence, her heart rate picking up.What was a child doing out alone at this hour?
“Keep talking so I can find you,” she called, unlatching their back gate.“What’s your name?”
“I’m Lily,” came the frightened reply.“I’m under the house and I can’t get out!”
Alexis stepped into the alley, her eyes adjusting to the deeper shadows here where the moonlight was partially blocked by the houses on either side.Across from her stood a small, unoccupied house that had been vacant since she and Chloe had moved into the neighborhood.The FOR RENT sign in its window had faded to near illegibility from sun exposure.
“Lily?I’m coming.Keep talking to me.”
“I’m scared,” the voice whimpered.“My leg hurts.I think it’s broken.”
Alexis crossed the alley quickly, her eyes scanning the ground level of the house.There, near the side, was a small square door—the entrance to a crawlspace beneath the structure.
“Are you under the house?In the crawlspace?”she called, approaching the small door.
“Yes!Please hurry!”The voice sounded pained now, tearful.
Alexis knelt by the door, suddenly wishing she'd brought her phone with her.She could use the flashlight or call for help if needed.But it was sitting back on the table next to the telescope.She hesitated, considering whether to go back for it.
“Are you still there?”The child’s voice rose in fear.“Please don’t leave me!”
“I’m right here,” Alexis assured her, making a quick decision.The child sounded genuinely hurt and frightened.Going back for her phone would waste precious minutes.“I’m going to open the door now, okay?”
She tugged at the small door, which resisted briefly before giving way with a groan of rusted hinges.The opening revealed absolute darkness, a void that seemed to swallow even the moonlight.
“Lily?Can you come toward me if I help guide you out?”
A sob echoed from the depths of the crawlspace.“I can’t!Something fell on me.My leg really hurts.”
“Okay, stay calm.I’m coming in to help you.”Alexis took a deep breath, fighting down a flicker of claustrophobia as she assessed the small entrance.She’d have to crawl on her hands and knees.“Keep talking so I can find you.”
“I’m over to the left of you.Please hurry.”
Alexis dropped to her hands and knees and began to crawl forward into the darkness.The ground beneath her palms was packed dirt, cool and slightly damp.The air inside smelled of earth and mildew, thick in her nostrils as she moved deeper into the confined space.
“I’m coming, Lily.Just keep talking.”
“It hurts,” the voice whimpered.“Please hurry.”
As Alexis crawled farther from the entrance, the darkness became absolute.She could barely make out her own hands in front of her face.The space was tight—just enough room for her to move on hands and knees with perhaps a foot of clearance above her head.Cobwebs brushed against her face, making her skin crawl.
“I’m getting closer,” she said, trying to sound reassuring despite her own growing discomfort.“Are you right or left from where I am now?”
