The four of us shifted our attentions to our new house. A small gasp fell out of my gaping mouth. Goosebumps appeared on my skin. The wind that had kicked up was making me shiver. I recognized the scream and dashed to the front door.

"Gemma!" I yelled. "Gemma!"

I wanted to punch myself. How could I have left her all alone with intruders? If something bad were to happen to her, I would never forgive myself.

I burst through the door. My heart was beating against my ribs. My hands were clammy, so I had to be careful grabbing and holding stuff. I glanced left and right. No Gemma. My eyes trailed up the staircase - and I let out a gasp that echoed through the house.

At the top of the staircase was an unconscious Gemma. She was lying on her belly with her head facing away. I noticed her body moving. Her stomach was moving up and down. She was still breathing! She was still alive!

"Gemma!"

I scrambled upstairs and around her. I fell to my knees and shook her. I was out of breath. Sweat ran down my forehead.

"G...Gemma. Gemma. W...wake up."

I shuddered. My teeth chattered. She was cold. As cold as ice. I touched her arms. Her legs. Her face. It was as if she had been in the snow for hours. I fought back the cold blasting up my arms and shook her hard. I looked from left to right, expecting to see someone. Nobody in the hall. I had a sneaky hunch that whoever was hiding in the attic knocked her out or something.

I would not let them get away with this. I would tell my parents about the footsteps and convince them to go to the attic. No way was I staying in a home with a person or people who would hurt me - or worse.

"Justine!" Mom called.

My parents and Jarvis were at the bottom of the stairs. They were looking up at me and Gemma. Fear plagued Mom's and Dad's faces. Jarvis just looked annoyed. He told me once that girls screaming drive him nuts. Girls usually scream over the tiniest things. And the screams always make his ears bleed. I agree with those reasons. Do you agree too, readers? But I explained that us girls scream when we are in danger too. I would rather have a girl scream for no reason than one who never does in the face of danger.

Besides, Gemma screams only when strangers touch or grab her or she is attacked.

Mom sprinted up the stairs. "What happened, Justine? What happened to Gemma?"

I did not look up from Gemma and kept shaking her. "I do not know...but I think that I know who did this."

She reached the top and stepped over her. "Who?"

Dad grabbed my brother's hand and dragged him up.

"Promise me that you and Dad will not call me crazy."

"Why would we call you crazy?"

I swallowed a lump in my throat before my eyes moved towards the ceiling. I was hearing faint footsteps above my head. "Someone is in the attic."

I did not have to convince my parents to check because they also heard the footsteps. As did my brother. Dad's face was bright red. It turns red only when he is ticked. He was ticked that somebody was in our home. If I was not afraid, I would have been ticked too. He ordered us to stay put and rushed downstairs and out the door.

Mom was scanning all around us. She seemed nervous. "That cannot be a person, Justine. Nobody else is here. The guy who sold us the house checked it and found no signs of squatters or animals."

"Then what is making the footsteps?" I challenged.

"Maybe an animal managed to get in when the guy was done checking."

I stopped shaking Gemma and brushed back my hair. I rubbed my hands together to get rid of the sweat. "Um, I do not think that animals can make heavy footsteps - unless that it is a large animal."

"A bear is in our attic? Cool!" Jarvis exclaimed. "I have always wanted my own pet bear! I will take it on walks. I will feed it and play with it and call it...Jarvis Jr. I will read it bedtime stories and teach it English and unique tricks. I will take great care of it."

"You are not having a pet bear, Jarvis," Mom spoke. "It will want to tear you apart the minute that it sees you."

"Not if I show it affection." He pointed to his face. "Tell me. What animal can resist me? I am too darn cute!"

"Girls," I replied without cracking a smile. "All the girls at our old school avoided you like the plague. I am sure that the girls here will do the same if they know what is good for them."

"Says the girl who sends the boys running in fear. I will have a girlfriend before you have a boyfriend."

"Pfft. Like I care." I gasped when Gemma wrapped her hand around my wrist. "Gemma."

Her eyes fluttered open. "J-Justine?"

"Yeah. It is me. Does it hurt anywhere?"

"The...the top of my head." She coughed hard. "Is...is it bleeding?"

I checked her head and ran my fingers along the top.

"Ow!" She jerked away. "That hurt."

I squinted. "Looks like that you have a big bump."

She groaned and lifted her eyes to me. No. She was not looking at me. She was looking behind me. I was afraid that the trespasser or trespassers were hiding in one of the rooms behind me. I slowly gazed over my shoulder. No one there. Not that I saw. I gazed back down at her.

"What are you trying to look for?"

"Let us get her off the floor," Mom said.

"A man...hit my head..."