Alfie brushed at his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. Oh, but he was crying. At least, his cheeks were moist, and his heart rate was off the charts. He jumped a little when he felt his sister suddenly wrap her arms around him, but he welcomed the feeling of having her close to him. At least she was safe. At least he wasn't alone.
He trembled a little in her arms but otherwise gripped her perhaps a little tighter than he meant to. Sometimes, he just didn't know his own strength. "Okay," he replied, agreeing to going down to the basement. After all, one never knew what was going to happen up here. "Why is this happening, Lexie? It's so weird!" He'd never been so scared in all his life. No scary movie on the planet compared to this.