The Haunting

The Last Night

I was surprised at the offer, since he hadn't talked to me all day, but turned him down. "Nah, I'm good. I'm not that hungry, and I don't need to get any fatter than I already am." I was kidding, but I really did need to get out more and eat less.

Armen hopped down. "Alright." He was suddenly slightly hostile again, as if turning him down was a bad choice.

I followed him down the stairs. "Armen...." He turned, his eyes with a look somewhere between curiosity and disgust. I tried to not be disturbed by his angry glare, but it hurt. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry about what happened this morning. I was being an ass, and I shouldn't have lashed out like that." I felt like I should say more, but I was afraid I would start rambling and making excuses for the way I had acted.

Armen seemed to relax a bit, but looked unsure of what to say to my apology. He looked at the floor, awkwardly rubbing his shaggy hair around and making a mess of it. "I...yeah...." He looked up. "I'm sorry, too, Drake. I guess I just...I don't really know...I was mad that you'd yelled at me, but...I guess I was being a bit of an ass, too."

I chuckled a bit. "Are we good now?"

He laughed. "Yeah, we're good."

"Alright," I said. "Now, I'd like to point something out."

Armen raised his eyebrow. "Point what out?"

I cocked my thumb behind me, pointing at the stairs and the basement door. "I didn't open that door, and I don't think you did, either."

He looked past me. "It is open! How did you see it? I didn't even notice, and I'm facing it!"

I snorted. "I'm psychic, remember?"

"No, you're not, Drake. How did you know?"

"Super secret Noxum powers?"

Armen looked like he was starting to get pissed at me again. "Drake, did you open the door just to screw around?"

"No," I replied, "I could smell it. It's dank and cold, and it feels different from every other part of the house." I paused. " And I may have guessed a little, too."

Armen laughed. "Super secret Noxum powers," he muttered, rolling his eyes at the thought. I smiled. I was glad to see that everything was pretty much back to normal between us.

I watched as Armen carefully picked his way down the stairs. I followed his lead, careful to not trip over him as we slowly went down.

The bottom looked much the same as it had the night before, except for one thing: there was a strange, glowing spiderweb in the corner. Armen cautiously moved closer, inspecting the cobweb.

"Why is it glowing?" he whispered.

I was about to answer with a simple "I don't know" as he moved to a different angle, but never got the chance. Armen cried out in surprise as the floor collapsed beneath him, crumbling away to reveal what looked like an old door under the wall. Armen coughed and stood, squinting through the dust up at me.

I hopped down next to him. It was an easy climb out, so I wasn't really worried about that, but I was curious about the old door that the mini cave-in had uncovered.

Armen seemed unhurt, which I was grateful for. He seemed as curious about the door as I did. "Where do you think it goes?" he whispered.

"I don't know," I replied softly.

"Why are we whispering?" asked Armen.

"That's a good question."

Armen walked closer to the door. "Do we just-" He lightly pushed the door. The rusted hinges creaked and groaned in resistance, but the door opened. He cautiously entered, running his hand along the dark wall.