The Boy with Words for Skin

Chapter 29: Back Into the Basement

We followed Light as quietly as we could, but we still made a lot of noise. The stairs were just too old and wobbly. They creaked and shook and moaned with every movement we made. I was sure the thing had heard us, that it'd come after us any second. But we reached the bottom and all was silent.

With Light glowing, we could several feet in every direction. The stacks of boxes on either side of the stairs were in clear view. The rocking horse with the half-missing face was still in front of the foot of the stairs. I could see my blood smeared on it.

"A little less light," I said.

The light dimmed. The details of everything around us sank into thin shadows.

"Which way?" I asked Face.

He motioned to the right, the same way I had gone when I heard it growl at me, and led the way. We followed close behind.

I gripped the knife handle so hard that my hand hurt. I barely let myself breathe so I could listen for any noises not made by us. My foot brushed against something. I looked down and saw one of the spikes sticking out of the ground. My right palm throbbed.

"Stop, guys! Stop!" I whispered.

Everyone stopped.

"What's going on?" Face said.

"These spikes," I said, pointing.

Everyone except Face and Tang looked. "What about them?" Face asked.

"You and Tang put them there, right? Why?"

"They're booby traps."

"For it or us?"

He started moving forward again. "Both."

"Scoot your feet, guys," I said through gritted teeth. "Be careful where you step. Those things are sharp."

We entered the maze of boxes and junk and wound our way through several passageways. I recognized the green guitar case, the wardrobe of broken toilets, and then the long brick wall with the dark hallway.

"It's down there?" I asked.

Face nodded.

"Okay. Go do your thing."

Face and Tang reached into their bags and pulled out the animals. Face took them all by their tails and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway. The rest of us huddled against the wall.

There was a THUDTHUDTHUD. Footsteps ran back our way. Face threw himself around the corner and leaned against the wall. I motioned for Light to stop glowing. Everything went black. We waited. We listened.

We waited for what felt like forever but couldn't have been more than two minutes. We heard nothing.

"This isn't right," Face said. "It never takes this long."

"What does it mean?" I said.

"I don't know."

Maybe it's already full, I thought. My stomach clenched so hard it nearly took my breath away. "Light, light up again," I said. "Let's go see if we can unlock the door."

Face led us down the hallway. We passed one set of doors and came to another. Face pointed to the one on the right. It looked solid, heavy. It even gleamed in the dim light like it'd just been washed. The dead animals were in a heap in front of it.

We listened for any sounds coming through the door. There was nothing. No heavy breathing, no growling. No crying, pleading, or moaning from a terrified little girl. I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign.