Kill Phil (Phan)

The Basement Dweller

TW: Food mentions

Dan's POV

We woke up early the next morning, and packed up our bags. We couldn't stay in one place for too long, so staying another night was unfortunately out of the question. Plus, we need to save our money and we don't know how long we have to be on the run.

We decide to order breakfast for the road, and then start walking. We knew it was going to be a long day.

The summer heat combined with the weight of our bags was awful, which lead to a whiny Dylan. The day was miserable, and it wasn't even noon.

"Philll, I wanna go home!" Dylan whimpered, after we'd been walking for a while.

"We'll find somewhere to stop soon," Phil promises. I hope he's right, I don't know how much longer we can go on like this.

Unfortunately, the road just goes on and on, with no sign of any life. It seems like we've been walking for hours, but it could just be the undesirable circumstances making time seem like it's dragging by. For all I know it's only been a minute since Phil promised Dylan that we'd stop.

We don't talk, there's nothing to say. I wish I could do something to stop this. Unfortunately, I know this is our only option is we all want to live.

It gets quieter and quieter as we continue walking. It's like everything has stopped to stare, not understanding why we're even attempting to do anything on a day like today.

We must be quite a sight. Phil and I are both pretty tall, and have vibrantly colored hair. We're carrying bags and pulling a wagon, and Phil is pushing a small, grumpy child in a beat up stroller.

I can't help but wonder what I would do if I were to see us. I like to think I would offer some kind of help, even if it was just pointing us in the right direction.

Suddenly, Phil speaks, pulling me away from my thoughts. "Dan, look!" he's pointing in front of us, where you can sort of make out a forest.

"Oh my god, finally!" I exclaim. We begin walking faster. The heat and weight of the bags is no longer an issue. The thought of rest makes it seem like our problems are nonexistent.

Eventually, we reach the forest, which could quite possibly be the one we took shelter in a couple nights before.

We walk into the shade provided by the large trees, and we're enchanted by our surroundings. The leaves are a magnificent shade of green, and they seem to sparkle. Everything seemed so alive here, compared to what we had seen in the few hours prior. It reminded me of a Disney movie.

I go to set one of the bags on a pile of leaves, but when I set it down, it falls straight down, dragging the leaves down with it. I look at the space where it was sitting, and see a long staircase.

"Phil, look at this," I say. I need to make sure I'm not just imagining it.

He looks at the staircase, and then looks back at me. "Woah," he says quietly.

"What is it?" Dylan asks, trying to worm out of his stroller.

"Well, I might as well see what's down there," I say, as I start to walk down the stairs.

"Dan, no. We don't know what's down there," Phil says nervously.

"It'll be fine. Plus, anything is better than having to walk more. This place is probably empty anyways," I yell as I get towards the end of the staircase. I finally reach the bottom of the staircase, and thankfully the light from the sun is bright enough to reveal a light switch.