The garage was huge,  housing a big blue late model Suburban,  a creamy white BMW, and a cherry red Porsche Carrera.   There were spots for three more cars but they were desperately oil stained and empty.  Racks upon racks of tools, boxes, crates and all other manner of clutter lined the back checkerboard walls.   I was looking for a ladder.   So far I had found both a small square two step ladder and a huge twelve foot monstrosity that would probably be great for getting up on the roof.   What I couldn't find was the five or six foot ladder I needed to carry into the house and cram into that obstreperous elevator.   I was just giving up when I noticed a silver gleam from the back of the Suburban.    It had recently been used to drive to Galveston for some trout fishing and, undoubtedly,  some quiet but heavy handed drinking.  I had declined to go on that trip because it would have meant forced bonding with my father and I didn't really like to be around him once he'd had a few beers in him.

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I crept into the kitchen and fished around in the front drawer where I knew that the keys to the cars were usually kept and, after flipping through several layers of rubber bands, paper clips,  and various other kitchen drawer type items, I succeeded in finding them.  The Suburban had two tackle boxes in the back,  along with two fishing rods, a couple of floats,  and what appeared to be several pairs of men's pants.  What had really caught my eye though was a greyish item jammed between the floats.   It was a very thin and rickety looking metal ladder that looked to be about four or five feet high.   It was a good thing that there was no one here to hide my giddiness from because I was absolutely overflowing.   I grabbed the tarnished metal ladder and ran inside the house, quickly heading into the elevator.

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The ladder was a good fit for the elevator coming in just under the scratchy wooden hatch.   Setting it against the side wall I pressed the second floor button and braced myself for the jolt upward.    Arriving on the second floor I briskly shoved the ladder underneath the upward aperture and climbed to the top rung.    There was just a few feet of space between me and the wooden opening so I reached out my right hand and pressed gently but firmly upward on the closest corner.  "Crack", "Creak", the ceiling complained fiercely but ultimately started to give way. It was obvious that no one had opened this hatch in quite a long time.  A bit more negotiating and some serious elbow grease meant I was able to slam it up and over just a few feet, creating a narrow pathway.   Carefully climbing on top of the ladder and teetering on the flat square at the top, I  placed both hands at the edge of the hatch and pulled myself up.  I slid my head through the newly created hole.  I really didn't expect to see much.  Maybe some wires and a typical kind of attic space that didn't hold anything special save for some insulation and the random occasional critter.   I didn't think I would see what I was seeing now.   I didn't think I would see a nightmare world.  I pulled myself fully on top of the elevator and stared into the abyss, trying hard not to let it stare into me.

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End of Part 5