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Part 12. Well That Escalated Quickly

Trish looked out at the window. The sky was dark while the wind blew hard. Water dripped from the grey cloud to the ground. There was no school today since a big storm would pass their house. The weather was as bad as the forecast said. Both Trish and Doppio prepare themselves for it.

Doppio closed his mouth and held his scream. He almost forgot why Diavolo forbade Trish from going into the basement. It used to be a place for interrogation. There were torture devices and red gushes all over the floor. Looking from the blood splatter, a man was tortured while sitting on the chair.

The scene alone was enough to give Trish another unnecessary trauma.

This would be a long clean-up. He had to use bleach from the storage. Doppio needed help for the rest of the preparation. The young man called Trish for it. "I must clean the basement. Can you prepare few goods? Collects blankets, pillows, flashlights, candles. I handle the foods."

She nodded at the order. "Okay!"

Doppio scrubbed the floor and wall while sobbing. After a few minutes of cleaning, the place was decent enough to stay. At least it looked like no murder took place in the room. Meanwhile, Trish had finished her job. She was going to feed King Crimson but noticed it escaped again. King Crimson had a bad habit of going out of its house. She could not found the red iguana under the table or in its favourite place.

The wind blew harder, so both moved to the basement. Trish and Doppio built a pillow fort with collected items. She jumped on the sofa and giggled. Now the place was comfy and warm. Trish had to settle with books and board games since there was no signal on her phone that day.

The thunder roared loudly. Trish almost jumped from the sounds. "That's really loud!"

"I guess the storm finally comes."

"It's so dangerous out there." Trish was thinking about her father. "I wonder how he's doing."

Doppio smiled. "Oh! Did you warm up to the boss?"

Trish puffed her cheek. "No, I wish the storm swallows him up!"

He laughed at her wish. "Hahaha, that's nasty."

"First, he tried to kill me. Suddenly, he enrolled me in school and bought me hundreds of gifts. What's next? He asks me to call him father?"

"Maybe?"

"No way! That's creepy!"

Only radio was available in this situation. The newscaster talked about the current state of the horrible weather. The storm would continue until the next morning. They had to spend the night in the basement. Both spent the time playing board games. Doppio grunted when he rolled the dice and landed in jail. "Not again!"

"This is the third time. You really don't have luck."

Doppio moved his piece to the prison. The picture of the police reminded him of something. "Trish, what do you want to do in the future?"

"Future?"

"Something like being police or astronaut."

"Hmmm... I like singing and wear a pretty dress. Maybe a singer or model?"

"You're a pretty girl. I think you will succeed in the future!"

Trish giggled at his reply. "How about you? What do you want to be?"

"I wanted to be a sailor, but I ended up working under your father. It's a strange story."

She met all of his father subordinates. Everyone fell into two categories; either respected or feared him. Doppio was a rare case. He was not scared of Diavolo, but his attitude was not based on loyalty either. Perhaps he was the only person who treated her father like an equal.

"Can you tell me the story about it?" She asked with a puppy face. Doppio hesitated, but he could not say no to that face. "Well, it began when I was a teenager. I still lived in Italy at that time."

Trish surprised. "You come from Italy?"

"Yes. I was an orphan, but the church took me. One day, I bumped against one of the gangsters in there. I apologized hundreds of times, but they just did not cut it. The gangster kept harassing me and the church. One day, they just stopped bothering me. I received a letter from the boss, asking me to be part of his organization. I found out from people around me that he was the one who ended the dispute. I accepted the offer and moved to work with him. The job paid well!"

After he finished the story, a bolt of lightning hit the house. Trish yelped and held Doppio in panic. They were surrounded by darkness as the light went out. Fortunately, Doppio brought matches and candles in case of an emergency. When the candle burned, he saw her filled with fear. "Trish, you're trembling!"

"I-I'm fine! I just hate the dark."

Both were startled when they heard the sound of footsteps from above. Trish was frightened to death. "What is that?"

"I don't know." Doppio took the flashlight and went upstairs. "I'm going to find out and turn back the switch. Wait for me and don't go out, okay?"

Trish was frightened but pretended to be brave. After Doppio left, she heard a loud thump followed by the sound of shattered glass. The little girl hugged her teddy bear tightly. After a moment of silence, she did not hear any noises. She was worried, but Doppio told her to stay. However, Trish was afraid something terrible happened to him. Before she touched the doorknob, the electricity returned. He appeared a few minutes later with blood on his head.

Trish screamed when she saw it. "Do-Doppio! You're bleeding!"

"I crashed a lot of stuff and accidentally smacked myself against the wall. It was really dark."

"The footstep?"

"It's King Crimson!" He held the big iguana in his hand. "I almost stepped on it but jumped back on time. I ended up knocking the vase and broke it. Boss is going to be mad."

"Forget about that! We need to treat you first."

Trish took care of his injury. She was glad it was not a serious wound. They continued residing in the basement until the storm was over. They ate a sandwich and continued their games. She listened to a bedtime story then fell asleep on the couch. Doppio watched her sleeping and yawned. The young man eventually got tired and dozed off to the dreamland.

He opened his eyes. That man moved gently not to wake up Trish. He stepped on the stairs and went to the living room. A corpse of an unknown man laid cold on the floor. He put on the raincoat and dug a hole to bury the dead body. The rain washed away the blood trail as he returned back to the house. He threw a piece of the bloody sharp shard and cleaned the wet blood on the floor. The man looked at the broken vase and ignored it. His voice was heavy.

"I'll take care of the rest tomorrow morning."

Author note:

This goes from fluffy to thriller.

Stay safe inside your home, folks!