"Run! Hurry!"
Jake ushered Jeffrey on as they burst through the door to their left, coming into another dark room. Just as they entered, Jake turned around, slammed the door behind him, and stomped on the knob. It broke off, hitting the floor with a clatter.
From the other side of the door, rough banging began to sound as the neighbor tried to force his way through the door, but was unable to.
"Damn it!" They heard him yell. "Hey! Let me in, you horrid kids! Open this door!"
"Okay, the door's jammed." Jake reported to Jeffrey. "That should buy us some time."
"Alright, that'll work to our advantage." Jeffrey replied. "We can take this time to look around, and...and...woah."
"Woah, what?"
"Look around! This room is..."
Jake stopped looking at Jeffrey and took a look around at the room. It had a gloomy look to it. The room was dark, as was the staircase, and only brightened by some candles. There was a light above them, but it wasn't on. The room had basic wooden floors and a wall with wallpaper decorated with finely-drawn flowers. There were piles of blankets on the floor, disheveled and messy as if they had been left there in a hurry. There was a crib against the opposite wall with some playing blocks laying around near it. To the right was another door, also left slightly ajar.
"Oh my god." Jake muttered. "There's blankets on the floor, and a crib here...we did hear some voices down here as we came down the stairs. Was this-?"
"-where the missing people were hiding out? I think so." Jeffrey agreed. "They must've been down here before we entered. But it looks like they've ran further down into the basement. Why, though, is the question..."
"Well, then we have to go deeper and find out where they ran off to! Nowhere to go but forward."
"Right, let's not waste any time. This is a time to get serious."
They ran for the right door and pushed it open. Ahead was a dark hallway with blue walls, illuminated by small lights and yet more candles. Furniture and other things were lying around the room, such as a chair pushed to the side and a couple of small cardboard boxes stacked against the right wall.
Jake took a step forward, anticipating what else the basement would have to offer, when the reality of the situation caught up with him as a loud sound of a door being thrown open came. The neighbor had gotten past the jammed door.
"Alright, you kids, nowhere to run! Where are you?!" They heard him yell.
"Keep running!" Jake ushered, and he and Jeffrey took off down the hall, skirting past the objects laying around as they ran up to the end of the hall. There was another room here, with a small table and even more candles. There were two doorways to the left and the right, each leading on down another hallway.
Jake stopped short. Now that the path had split, he and Jeffrey would have to choose between the hallways, go down a random one, and hope for the best. Not the overall best strategy, but with the neighbor following them down there, they had no time to waste trying to decide where to go.
So Jake looked back and forth at the two doorways, thought for a moment, then pointed at the right doorway. "This way! Come on!"
"Wait, are you sure this is the right way?" Jeffrey asked.
"There's no time! We just have to hope we're going the right way!"
"Fine, I get your logic! Lead on!"
They ran through the doorway, which led them to another hallway. This hallway was winding, first to the left, then towards the right and further on. Lamps and candles lit the way forward for them. They went down the hallway, winding left, then winding right and curving. They kept going and arrived at yet another fork in the road. There were once again two paths forward; one to the left that led down a straight hallway, and another to the right that went down a flight of stairs.
"Which way do we go now?!" Jake exclaimed.
"I have a hunch of what we need to do, but you're not gonna like it." Jeffrey said, grimacing. "Let's split up. I'll go to the left, you go to the right. We'll meet along the way."
"What?! That sounds like a bad idea!"
"We need to cover as much ground as possible, Jake, if we want to find anyone! Now, hurry and go! Tell me if you find anything down your path!"
"Wait!" Jake called, but Jeffrey had already gone sprinting down the hall to the left. Jake shook his head, but followed Jeffrey's advice and turned to the right, going down the stairs.
He went down them and arrived at a landing, which also counted as another room. This one had some paintings on the walls for decoration, but they did not make the place look any nicer. In fact, a huge pile of furniture and crates had been stacked together in this room, making it feel slightly junky.
Jake didn't stop to admire the room (since there was nothing to admire), and he noticed another hallway to his left. He went down it. The walls were a nice shade of light blue, giving a somewhat more pleasant yet still frightening atmosphere. Jake ran on as the hall went straight, then weaved to the left and down another short flight of stairs to another landing, then left again down another flight of stairs to yet another landing, and then to the right this time down another flight of stairs. Deeper and deeper down Jake went, working his legs hard as he weaved past more chairs and candles laying about the halls and staircases.
As he went down, Jake could feel his fear growing deeper and deeper as he heard things that made him shiver: clambering in other places of the basement, footsteps after footsteps, and every now and then, a loud scream of terror from an unknown person. From everything he heard, he knew he and Jeffrey weren't alone down here. The missing people had to be down here as well, trying to run back to wherever it is they were trying to get back to. This was a huge escape altogether, with so many factors in play that it made Jake's head spin with how everything was.
And Jake knew that meant the neighbor was a part of it. He was afraid, in fact, that the screams might belong to someone, or a group of people, that the neighbor had found and caught. He was hoping that wasn't the case, but as he listened closer to the screams, the possibility seemed to get closer and closer to being true.
At the end of the staircase was another hall, leading off to the right. Jake ran down in it and made to turn left, but quickly stopped his momentum and hid around the corner to avoid detection.
This action wasn't for no reason; the neighbor was here somehow, standing alone in the room ahead. He was at door at the other side of the room, closing it up and locking it, before he turned around and began to look around the room.
At first, Jake couldn't piece together how the neighbor had arrived there before him. Jake had gotten a head start and was way ahead of him earlier. But then he remembered that there had been multiple ways to go, so the neighbor must have gone down a different path and arrived at this room earlier than Jake.
"Alright, I've secured this door. That should block anyone who went down there. Now, where are they?" The neighbor grunted as he looked around the room. "Can't believe they all tried to escape. I've already caught some of them, but there's more of them down here, along with those dumb kids! I've got to be fast in catching them, or else they might sneak around me and escape the basement...I need to go back and cover the exit. Some of them may have already gotten around me." The neighbor ran off to the left, heading up a staircase and disappearing.
Jake crept into the room the neighbor had been in. This room had the same color walls as the hallways and staircases Jake had traversed earlier. There were more chairs laying around, as well as misc. objects like a broken teacup and an empty box. There were more paintings on the walls. On the opposite wall was another door that was closed up. To the bottom right corner of the room was another doorway, leading off elsewhere.
Jake quickly looked back at the left doorway of the room. The neighbor was lone gone. He then looked at the closed door ahead. He had a feeling that that was the way forward, but his mind was still thinking of Jeffrey. Jeffrey had told him to meet him in the middle some time after they had split up, so Jake felt as if he could not progress further until he found out where Jeffrey was.
So he ran towards the door at the bottom right corner of the room, heading down a straight hallway with brick walls. The hallway curved to the left and kept going, and as Jake got to this point, he realized that a light was coming from above. He looked up to see a hole above him, with another room far above. The hole above seemed deep, but only just deep enough to make falling down it slightly harder. This was an interesting thing to see, but Jake decided to leave it behind as he kept going down the hall.
The hall went forward, then curved to the left again, then forward some more, and then it curved to the right. Jake went down all this way, going past more crates, boxes, furniture, and candles that lit the way, and after he went down the right curve, he saw something he was hoping for in the straight hallway ahead: Jeffrey, who was standing looking at a ladder at the end of the hallway that went up a hole in the ceiling to somewhere else. Next to the ladder was a sign that read: Gravesite Entrance.
"Jeffrey! Hey!" Jake called as he ran over to his friend.
"Jake! You made it." Jeffrey replied, seeing Jake approach and grinning. "Glad I managed to catch up with you."
"Me too. Did you hear the-"
"The screams? Yeah, I did. Man, they're worrying me sick. Do you think the neighbor caught some of the escaping people?"
"I don't just think so, I know so. I had to sneak by him earlier, and I heard him mention how he 'already caught some of them' earlier."
"Wait, what?! God, this is worse than I thought!"
"Yeah. By the way, what's with that ladder? Is there anything up there?"
"I'm not sure. I tried to go up there and look, but the hole above is locked from the other side by some metal door. No going that way."
"Okay, then forget that way. We'll need to backtrack and get to this door I saw earlier-" Jake paused. Loud footsteps were heading their way from the hallway behind them. "Jeffrey, we need to hide! It's the neighbor!" Jake said this as if he knew this, but Jake wasn't sure himself. However, Jake decided that it was best not to take any chances.
Jeffrey didn't hesitate as he and Jake made their way around a nearby pile of crates and hid behind them, laying in wait. Sure enough, the neighbor came around the corner seconds later, coming to a stop and looking around at the area.
"Anyone over here?!" The neighbor called. "Hmph, doesn't seem like they came this way. The gravesite's blocked, anyway, so they'd be cornered if they came over here. No, they must've went elsewhere." The neighbor narrowed his eyes at the nearby ladder. "Good thing I covered that area up. I don't want anyone messing with it. The gravesite needs to stay away from public eyes. Well, since this way is blocked, they must have gone back on the other paths. I'd better turn around and find those people before they escape. I can't waste any time."
The neighbor turned right back around and went back the way he came, disappearing around the corner and leaving Jake's sight once again.
"He's gone. Let's get back to that door I saw earlier." Jake said, and he ushered Jeffrey to follow him as they went out from behind the crates and went back the way they had come.
A minute later, they arrived back in the room from earlier, with the staircase at the left and the door just ahead. They went up to it, and Jake got a closer look at the door. A black-colored lock was hanging at the door handle, preventing it from being turned.
"It's locked?! Dang!" Jake cursed. "I think I saw the neighbor locking this door earlier, too. He must be trying to stop anyone from getting in or out of whatever's behind this door."
"Wait, we can still get through the door. Look." Jeffrey pointed out, pointing at something next to the door. Next to the door were three keys hanging on hooks connected to the wall; one was silver, one red, and another one was black. "But wait, there's three keys and only one lock. The neighbor must have set this up to prevent people from getting in or out of whatever's on the other side. We'll have to find the right key to unlock the door if we want to get to the other side of it."
"Alright, then let's hurry and try them all before he comes back. We don't know how much time we have left before he finds us."
Jeffrey nodded in understanding, knowing full well just how the stakes were at the current moment, then bent over and began to work, taking the black key from its hook and inserting it into the lock. The black key refused to turn properly, signaling that it was not the right key. Frowning, Jeffrey took the key out and put it back, taking another key, the red key, and doing the process again.
As Jeffrey did this, Jake winced as he heard yet more screams echoing from somewhere else in the basement. He knew now that this meant the neighbor had either found and/or caught someone, so it did not comfort him to hear it again. He was both curious and afraid of how close the neighbor might be to finding and catching every person who had been fleeing through the lengthy corridors of the basement, and he hoped that whoever hadn't been caught yet might still be able to find a way to escape the neighbor and get to safety.
By now, Jeffrey had already tested the red key and had put it back. Finally, Jeffrey took the silver key and put it into the lock. This time, the key fit in without complications, and Jeffrey was able to turn it. Jake heard footsteps approaching from the staircase to the left and knew someone was coming again, so as Jeffrey turned the lock and finally unlocked it, Jake quickly forced his hands at the door, pushing it wide open and hurrying through, Jeffrey following him forward.
Now they were in a hall with dark blue wallpaper that was slightly curving to the right, with more items laying around, including empty bags and what looked like the cover of a wooden coffin. They ran past it, heading down the curved hallway until they arrived at yet another branching path. The path to the left was a hallway with tan walls that led further on, but the hallway to the left stopped at a dead end. However, crates were piled up over by the dead end, providing a hiding spot.
"Hey! Why is this door open?!" Jake could hear the neighbor exclaim, his voice echoing from somewhere far behind them. "I've already caught all of those damn people already, so...it has to be those damn kids that went in there! That's it, I've had it with them! I'm not letting them get any farther!"
"Quick, we need to hide again!" Jeffrey alerted Jake, and they ran down the left hall right for the cover that was so clearly out there. As they turned around and hid behind the boxes, Jake swore that he could hear voices coming from behind the crates...and then, as they turned and got behind them, they saw two crouched figures standing where they had been planning to hide.
"Augh! Stay back!" Jake exclaimed, expecting it to be the neighbor, or a trap, or some other horrible thing that had been waiting to capture them.
"Woah! No, you stay away!" A voice called back as one of the crouched figures leapt back. "You'll have to fight us if you want to capture u- wait...who are you?"
Jake and Jeffrey stayed silent as they looked ahead at the crouched figures, who they could now see better: They were two guys, both looking around the same age as Jake and Jeffrey. One of them had tan skin, with brown hair and brown eyes to match. He was wearing a unbuttoned pastel red shirt with a white collar that looked slightly ragged, as well as a pair of light blue shorts that had several rips in them, and blue sneakers that hastily tied with white laces. He was looking at them strangely, as if he had not seen anyone like them in a long time.
The other, who stood up right then, had darker brown hair with lighter brown eyes and a five-o-clock shadow to rival Jeffrey's. He wearing a cream-colored flannel jacket over a white shirt with red trim and red sleeves, one of which was pulled up so that Jake could see a brown watch on the guy's left wrist. He also had blue jeans and slightly-stained red sneakers on his legs and feet. His face, which looked somewhat tired, wore an interested expression as he gazed at them from where he stood.
"Who...who are you guys?" The one who had stood up asked.
"We should be asking you the same question." Jeffrey replied. "We didn't expect to run into anyone hiding this fast."
"Run into anyone hiding? You're not working for the neighbor, are you?"
"No, no, it's the opposite, actually. We're trying to get away from him."
"Get away from him? Okay, this is going too fast." The other one cut in. "Tell us who you guys are!"
"Okay, that, we can do." Jake accepted. "My name is Jake, and this here is Jeffrey. We're not from inside this basement. We're here because we heard the stories of the missing people down here and we wanted to find them and save them. We've managed to get down here, and we're trying to find everyone and get them out of here. Does that explanation make sense?"
The second guy stepped back. "Wait...really? You're here to get us out of this place? No joke?"
"Yeah, no joke. We've been working at it for a while."
The second guy did a fist pump. "Yes! I knew someone would come down to help eventually! You shouldn't have had your doubts, Nicky!"
"I mean, I doubted it because I never expected anyone to actually try." The other guy, apparently named Nicky, replied. "Nobody's gotten down here in ages, remember?"
"Well, now that's changed! If there are other people helping us out, we might have a good chance at getting out of here! We've been hoping for this for so long!"
"You might be right. These guys are going to help us, though, right? This had better not be an elaborate scheme to double-cross us."
"That's neighbor levels of bad. We are definitely not like that." Jeffrey assured them. "I was planning on getting you guys out of here for a while, but it was only when Jake came that I had an actual shot. You can thank him."
"Hey, wait. You said your name is Jeffrey?" The first guy asked. "I think I've heard of you before."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah. Cool, modest guy living down the street. I had a friend that mentioned you once or twice."
"Oh, well, that's nice. Didn't know people in the neighborhood talked about me-"
"Guys, wait!" The guy named Nicky said. "Stay quiet. I can hear him coming."
Jake paused, confused at what this meant at first, but then he heard footsteps coming down the hallway and knew that this time, it must be the neighbor approaching. Jake quickly crouched down with the others, hiding behind the crates and staying out of sight just as the neighbor came barreling down the hallway.
"Where'd they go?!" He yelled, looking around. "Drat, can't see anybody here. They must've went further down. I need to catch up with them!" He ran down the right path of the hallway, completely missing them, and disappeared.
"Phew. That was a close one." The guy named Nicky said, getting to his feet. "You guys had better be good at hiding, because when you deal with the neighbor, you tend to have to hide pretty often."
"We've, er, got quite a bit of experience with hiding from him already." Jake replied. "We always have to sneak by him when he's looking out for us. Anyway, he's gone for now, so we should be okay for the time being. We introduced ourselves, so could you guys tell us who you are?"
"Yeah, got to return the favor!" The first guy agreed, grinning. "I'm Aaron! This over here is my friend, Nicholas."
"Call me Nicky, please." The guy named Nicky said. "I prefer it over the other option."
"Sure, sure. He and I met after we got kidnapped and trapped down in this place. We've been down here for a long time, actually. Can't even remember when we got here; there's no clocks or windows to the outside world in sight."
"Yep, and I doubt the neighbor would be hospitable enough to give us even one clock. Not the type of thing he does."
"We got that clue already, thank you very much." Jake responded. "Speaking of...Jeffrey and I have actually got some things we need to clear with you guys. See, he and I entered this basement while the neighbor was distracted earlier, but when we were coming down the stairs, we heard voices down in the room below and people heading away...was that you guys with those other people?"
Nicky nodded. "Yeah, that was us. We were hiding out down there before you guys came along."
"Yeah, I thought so, but why did you guys run away? We were trying to come down and help you!"
"Drat, didn't know it was only you guys coming down the stairs." Aaron groaned. "We made this plan and everything, and it almost worked, but then all this happened...er, you weren't there for it, so you probably don't know what I mean. See, Nicky and I, as well as the other people that were trapped down there with us, made a plan."
"The neighbor doesn't check the basement all the time, you see." Nicky explained. "He has to re-do the lock system on the front door every time he checks on us again. No, he does a routinely check around every two weeks to make sure we're still trapped down there. He leaves us more food to keep us alive, secures all the locks in the basement, then locks up the basement exit again. We learned that much from when we heard the neighbor muttering it all under his breath. He tends to talk to himself a lot."
"So we decided to take advantage of this and come up with a way to escape the basement." Aaron continued. "This one guy in our group, Isaiah. He told us he knew how to make a lockpick. We were skeptical of him at first, but he actually did make one. Wasn't easy for him, apparently. He had only gotten lucky enough to get the materials because of a bobby pin and paperclip he found in a hole in this one wall. He even had a pair of pliers with him and everything, so he got to work and BAM...there it was."
"We were all shocked at how fortunate that was, but since it worked in our favor, we didn't even question it much. So we had Isaiah use that pick to open the door of the holding room. He spent almost five minutes trying to unlock the door, but he got it. After that, we decided to split the group off. Nicky and I took about half of the group out of the holding room and into the depths of the basement, while the other half, we left behind in the holding room to come back for."
"We made sure to grab some food to keep ourselves fed while we ventured out, too. The trip up to the highest point in the basement wasn't easy, and it tired out a lot of people in the group, but we managed to make it up to that one room. We hid out there for the next few days, waiting and waiting for the right opportunity to get out."
"Our plan was to wait until the day where the neighbor would do his routinely check on the basement, sneak up to the exit door, and knock him right out as soon as he got it open, but as you probably already know, that backfired. You two opened the basement door a couple days before we were expecting the routinely check to happen, and we only knew someone was coming because this one woman, Marcia, warned everybody in the room when she heard you two coming down the stairs."
"Everybody pretty much panicked after that. We were caught completely off guard, and we hadn't even thought of making a back-up plan in case things went bad, so we all decided to do the only thing that would come to our minds: run. Well, it was Marcia telling us to run that really made us want to do it, but when you deal with someone like the neighbor a lot, you tend to want to run away from someone like him."
"And that's pretty much everything." Nicky finished. "We were just hiding out here, hoping we could sneak past the neighbor, but we didn't expect to see you guys finding us instead of him. Not that I'm complaining; I'd rather be found by friends than enemies."
"Wow. That sounds rough." Jeffrey sighed. "This basement must be a god-awful place to be stuck in for so long. All the more reason for us to find everyone else and get the heck out of here."
"Right." Jake agreed. "But before we do anything else, I'm kind of curious...Aaron, Nicky, do you know anything about the neighbor that we might need to know?"
At this question, Jake was pleased to see that neither Aaron nor Nicky smiled.
"We do know some things, but it's better we don't tell you here. We're not out of the danger zone yet." Aaron responded grimly, yet also reasonably. Jake took one look at Aaron and decided not to pursue the topic any further. After all, he felt as if Aaron was indeed right. They needed move on to more important matters.
"Okay, nevermind that." Jake took back. "We need to focus on getting those missing people out of here. You guys seem pretty reasonable. Do you think we can team up and work together to get out of here?"
"I'll do it if Aaron wants to do it." Nicky accepted, shrugging.
"And I don't see why not." Aaron agreed, seeing the advantage he would gain if he did. "The more people we have, the more we can do around this place. Be careful, though. Big groups like us will get spotted easily if we don't watch where we're going- hold on...he's coming back! Quiet down!"
The four of them quickly stopped talking and stayed silent as the neighbor came running back into the area from the hallway he had went down earlier.
"Alright, this area's secured. They must not have gone this way yet." He said out loud. "They must've went back the other way. I can't let them escape! Especially not him."
He ran off again, heading through the hallway towards the door from earlier and once again disappearing from sight.
"This is a good opportunity for us." Nicky noted as they stood up from their hiding place. "We should get moving before he comes back again. The lower levels are further ahead, we'll need to get down there and get to the holding room if we want to find everyone else."
"But what about everyone else who was down here?" Jeffrey asked. "You guys said you had a group with you, right? Where are they?"
"Well, we split up when we were scrambling down the basement corridors." Aaron replied. "They probably went and hid somewhere el-"
"No." Nicky spoke up, and he let out a sigh. "No, that's not it. Aaron, didn't you hear those screams as we were running?"
"The...screams? Wait...yeah, I did hear some noises, but...that can't mean..."
"Aaron, I hate to say this, but I think I know what happened to everyone else, and you're not going to like it." Nicky sighed. "I think they all got caught. We're the only ones left."
"What?! No, that can't be right! They're strong, they're capable, they could've gotten out of there!"
"I don't think they did, though. Did you see anyone else run by and catch up to us besides the neighbor?"
"...no, I didn't, but..."
"Then they all must've gotten knocked out."
"Damn it!" Aaron growled, stomping the ground. "This is a load of garbage! Why couldn't we have made sure they followed us?"
"Aaron, there was no time." Nicky muttered sadly. "If we turned around to try and find them and get them to safety, who knows if we would have gotten out safely? We only managed to get all this way because we kept running. I know you and I both hate leaving everyone behind, but...there was nothing we could've done."
"...yeah. Yeah, you're right. But damn...I hope they're all okay."
"Let's hope so." Jake spoke up, feeling saddened. "But where even are they? I wasn't able to find anyone when I went down the basement corridors."
"Probably back down in the holding room." Nicky guessed.
Jeffrey looked flabbergasted, and Jake felt the same way. "What?! But how?!" Jeffrey sputtered. "Wouldn't we have seen the neighbor carrying tons of unconscious bodies when we passed him?"
"Well...it's not that simple." Aaron said. "We don't know how he does it, but...every time someone gets caught, they end up back in the holding room several seconds later. And yes, we don't know how." Aaron continued, interrupting Jake and Jeffery, who had opened their mouths and had almost shouted out trying to say why they couldn't possibly believe such an outlandish explanation. "When it comes to how D- the neighbor, I mean, does what he does, we honestly know about as much as you guys probably do. But it just seems to happen."
"We think so because we once saw a guy try to escape the holding room when the neighbor came in to make sure we weren't messing with anything. The neighbor gave chase and closed the door behind him as he left...and about a minute later, we heard the guy's scream. Seconds later- and don't ask me how- a chute in the ceiling opens up, and the same exact guy drops in, out cold."
"What in the-?!" Jeffrey exclaimed. "I knew the neighbor was a capable guy, and I knew he could do some things that normal people couldn't, but this is just...how does he even get someone back there that fast?!"
"Once again, we have no idea." Aaron responded, shaking his head. "Everyone in our entire group was protesting this theory, too- some of them believed it, some of them didn't- but overall, we can't come up with a solid explanation for it. It just...happens."
"Well, that settles it." Jake huffed, getting to his feet. "This guy is bad news, inside and out. We need to stop sitting here and jump back into action before he does more stuff like this."
"Agreed. I'm not going to sit around and let the neighbor keep everyone locked up without a good enough reason." Nicky agreed, nodding. "That guy...well...I don't like him. I might never like him. And here and now, he's doing more unlikeable stuff. So I'm going to put a stop to him, however I can."
"Then you know I'll join in." Jeffrey joined in, looking determined. "Let's all work together, every one of us. The neighbor will have no idea what's coming to him."
Jake looked over at Aaron, who was staring back at them, looking...unsure?
"Um...yeah. We do need to stop him." Aaron agreed, but Jake could see how hesitant Aaron was. What was with him? Why did he not feel as into it as everybody else? Did he know something that everyone else did not? But as soon as Aaron had started to look this way, he snapped out of it, and he grinned as if nothing was wrong. "Definitely! No doubt about it!"
"Then let's go." Jake spoke up, putting what he had seen out of his mind for the time being. Now was not the time to delay things. "Which way should we go?"
"We need to get to the holding room down below." Nicky described to them. "This basement runs deep, actually. It won't be easy to get there."
"But we all aren't here because we thought this was easy." Aaron encouraged everyone. "We're here because we need to get everyone out of this place. Now, we need to head down to the lower levels, and we ARE going to make it, no matter how far we have to run. Got it, guys?"
Everyone nodded. It would be rough, but they were ready to give it a good try.
"Good answer! Now, follow me!" Jake followed Aaron and the others out of the hiding spot, heading back over to the intersection of the curved hallway. Aaron pointed at the right hallway, which was the only clear path leading ahead. "This way! The door to the lower levels is just up ahead!"
They ran down the dark hallway, with its tan walls, going along it, past candles lighting the way forward. The hallway was quite peculiar, as it curved not only to the right, then to the left, making it a bit winding of a hallway, but it also was slanted upward, forcing the four teens to have to go uphill as the ran along the corridor.
They reached a doorway at the end of the winding hallway, leading into another room with walls the same color as the last: tan walls with a barely-visible plaid texture. There was a green carpet in the center of the room, with a wooden table and a couple of chairs on top of it. There were more boxes piled one corner, but not entirely against the wall, offering a small space to hide behind it. A wooden closet was set against the left wall of the room, and there were more candles laying about, giving a bit more lighting to the slightly dark room.
But, most noticeably of all, there was a doorway straight ahead blocked by a metal gate. A wire was connected to the gate, which led down to a power box. The wire continued out from the underneath of the power box, going along the wall and then on the floor over to what looked to be a grey and red generator of some kind, outfitted with wheels and a panel next to a giant power button and a red light. There was another button on the wall in the hall on the other side of the doorway, but it was inaccessible to them.
"Huh? What even is this?" Jake uttered. "There's an entire metal gate blocking the doorway. How are we supposed to get through now?"
"One of the neighbor's defense mechanisms." Aaron said, gritting his teeth. "He set this up to keep us from getting out of the lower levels. We were only able to get through last time because the generator on the other side had been left activated. I should've remembered that this was here."
"We need to get that gate open if we want to keep going." Nicky stated, walking over to the generator. "If I remember correctly, we need to activate the generator so the gate powers on, and then flick the switch inside the power box so we can lift the gate open. Let me see if I can get this on." Nicky crouched down by the generator and examined the panel with the small buttons. Jake watched him observe the buttons, as well as the big button, and the red light, hoping that the generator wouldn't be too complicated and that they would be able to find a way to turn it on.
Then, Nicky let out a sigh, shook his head, and stood up, turning towards the others. "We've got a problem."
"Another problem?" Jeffrey asked. "What happened this time? Is the generator broken or something?"
"No, but there's still a problem. I checked the power gauge, and the generator's out of energy. We won't be able to turn it on unless we can find a way to refuel it."
"Well, how do we refuel it, then?!" Aaron demanded, looking annoyed by this turn of events. "We can't sit around trying to fiddle with it; The neighbor could be back any second!"
"I'm looking, I'm looking." Nicky assured them, and he gazed over the generator again. He reached over, popping open some type of door on top of the generator and looking inside. "Ah, here we go. It looks like the generator's powered by a sizeable battery. Neighbor must've forgotten to replace it. I could replace the battery myself, but I'd need a battery that's about the size of...a science textbook, let's say. Anybody got anything like that?"
The others looked at each other, then looked in their various pockets for anything like what Nicky described.
"Nope." Aaron replied. "No batteries here."
"Me neither." Jake added. "Never thought we'd need one."
"I've got a battery, but it's too small." Jeffrey told them, taking out a battery from his pocket that was about the size of his hand. "I always bring a battery in case I need to power something, but I never thought we'd need a battery the size of an entire textbook..."
"Wait, that reminds me! This gate wasn't sealed earlier, Nicky!" Aaron called out, scowling. "How did it get closed?"
"Actually, we did see the neighbor run into the room earlier." Jeffrey mentioned. "And he did say something about 'securing' the room. He might've went and closed the gate to prevent us from getting in or out of the other side."
"Damn, why'd this have to happen?!" Aaron groaned. "We only just started heading for the lower levels, and there's ALREADY no way for us to get any further! What do we do now?"
"I don't think we can go back and find everyone else at this rate." Nicky reasoned. "What else can we do?"
"...we should get out of this basement." Jake suggested.
"What?! But what about the others?" Aaron asked incredulously. "They're still trapped down there! We can't just leave them behind!"
"I know, and if I had a choice, we wouldn't! But there's no way we can get to them at this rate. The best we can do is get out of this place while we still can, get the supplies we need, and then come back and free them for good."
"That's not a terrible idea." Nicky admit. "I don't like the idea of leaving everyone down there for longer, but at this rate, we don't have too many options. We'll have to bail if we want to get out of here unscathed."
"Yeah, I've got to agree with this one." Jeffrey chimed in. "Once we get back, we can find the battery we need and come back. That sounds like a plan, right?"
"Ugh, but..." Aaron began, hesitated, looking at the gate and back at the others, then finally said, grumbling: "Ugh, fine, we can get out of here. But we better come back for them as soon as we can!"
"Don't worry, we will." Jake assured him, nodding confidently. "We're not leaving them down there forever."
"Alright, then let's head back before anything else happens-" Jeffrey began, but even as he started to step towards the door that led back the way they came, he stopped abruptly.
Just down the exit behind them, echoing footsteps were beginning to play their tune, getting louder and louder all the time. And since everyone else had been caught, that could only mean one thing.
"The neighbor's coming!" Nicky exclaimed, standing bolt upright. "We need to hide again!" He looked quickly around the room, then pointed at the closet. "There! We can hide there!"
"Wait, but there's not enough room!" Jeffrey called. "We can't all fit in there!"
"Guys, there's not much time!" Jake called, interrupting them. "Aaron, Nicky, I see a bunch of crates over there. There's a hiding place behind them." He pointed at the pile of crates stacked in the corner. "Hide behind them. Jeffrey and I will hide in the closet."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Nicky replied, and he ran right over to the crates right away.
Jeffrey sprinted right for the closet, opening it up. Jake made to follow him, but he heard a voice behind him.
"Jake, wait!" Aaron called, going over to Jake. "I need to give you something." The teen reached into a pocket in his shorts, fished in it, and pulled out a black device. "Take this walkie-talkie, alright?"
"Okay, but what do I need this for?" Jake asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Communication. Who knows if we'll get separated, right? Take the walkie-talkie and keep it with you. I've got the other one with me. If you need to get in contact with me at all, just press the button and speak into it. We'll be able to tell each other things, even if we're split up. Got all that?"
"Oh, I get it now. I'll take it, then." Jake took the device, tucking it into his jacket to keep it safe and hidden. He could see the merit in having such a thing with him. All sorts of situations could happen, and if he got split up from Aaron and Nicky, it would be handy to be able to contact them without being right next to them.
"Keep it safe, alright? Don't let the neighbor get his hands on it, otherwise I did this for nothi-"
"Guys, hurry up!" Jeffrey called, snapping the two of them out of their conversation. "The neighbor will be in here any second!"
"I got it!" Aaron confirmed. "Keep quiet, alright, Jake? Don't get caught."
"Will do." Jake agreed, and the two of them finally ran to their hiding spots, with Aaron jumping behind the crates himself as Jake ran over to the closet, which Jeffrey held open.
"Come in, get in quickly!" Jeffrey commanded, ushering Jake inside and slamming the door shut.
And, seconds later, they heard the footsteps finally get quiet loud, and compared with the sounds of breathing, the neighbor had just entered the room.
"Alright, who's here? I know I heard voices in here." The neighbor's voice was calm and focused this time, but it had a concentrated venom to it, too. "Better make things easy for yourself and show yourself already. Nowhere to run this time." Jake could not see the neighbor completely, but there was a small crack in the closet in which he could see the shadow of the neighbor moving around the room, coupled with the sounds of the neighbor's footsteps heading around the room. "Hmm...the generator's not active, it seems. Wait...the top's open? Did those stupid kids tamper with it?"
Dang it, Nicky must've forgotten to close it. Jake cursed in his thoughts. Everything happened so fast! If only we had been given more time.
"Good thing I disabled the generator. Nobody's getting out on my watch." There were more footsteps, then a pause. "You know, you damn kids, I'm not as stupid as you think. I know you're hiding in this room somewhere. I've got you cornered, good and proper. Make things easy and come out." Another pause. "No? Well, then, we'll have to do things the hard way. I don't care if I have to find you myself...I will find you. And you WILL pay. And I know that he's here too...hiding with that friend of his. He'll be around here somewhere, won't he? To think he dares hide from me, despite everything..."
Him? Does he mean...Aaron? Jake wondered. Why would he care about Aaron? He's just another missing person, too, isn't he?
"Hmm...ahhh...what do we have here? This looks like what I'm looking for..."
The footsteps were approaching the closet, steadier and steadier...Jake held his breath...he didn't want it to be too late...
But it was.
The doors of the closet came open, thrown open violently, like an uncontrollable breeze had forced them to come open. Jake and Jeffrey yelled out at the same time, but before Jake could even fully see what was happening, he could feel his collar being taken hold of as a hand with a horribly tough grip hoisted him out of the closet, and seconds later, Jake yelled out as he was thrown to the floor, hitting the wood in an awkward manner. He could feel a bruise on his elbow as he landed.
Jeffrey was thrown right next to him, hitting the ground and wincing himself as he and Jake looked up at the neighbor, who was standing over them, looking both appalled to see them and triumphant over having caught them.
"I knew you two were hiding there!" The neighbor yelled out, grinning. "You two should've known better than to hide in such obvious places as my closets...but, not that I'm against you doing that. After all, it only makes it easier to catch you!"
"We're just doing it because of what you've been doing!" Jake called back, feeling a strange sense of bravery inside him. "Tell us: why are you doing this?! Why can't you just let those innocent people go?!"
"Ah, the same question again, I see! I'm afraid that I don't need to tell you that. I have my own reasons for all of this...and none of it concerns you! Now...what to do with you? You're the first miscreants in a long time to penetrate my basement...but don't worry. I'll make sure you're the last."
"Fine, then, knock us out!" Jeffrey yelled. "We'll keep trying until you decide to quit!"
"Heh...you think I'm going to just let you go that easily? No, no, you've got it wrong. You two have seen far too much for me to just let you off with another warning. I've been far too nice to you all...I think it's time I changed that. But before I do, let me imprint the message into your heads again, since you didn't seem to understand last time."
The neighbor started to talk more, going on about how he had given them many warnings and told them they were at their own fault if they decided to disturb him and his things, but Jake got slightly distracted. From where he was, he could see Aaron and Nicky's heads pop up from behind the pile of crates. Both of them looked extremely troubled to see Jake and Jeffrey caught like this, and both seemed ready to spring out and help them.
Jake took one quick look at the neighbor, who was thankfully so busy speaking that he wasn't fully giving his attention to Jake, and then Jake shook his head at them.
No, don't try to attack the neighbor. It won't work! Jake mouthed at their direction, hoping they could read his lips well enough from that distance.
Thankfully, Aaron seemed to understand, and he mouthed back: We can't just leave you guys there! You're screwed unless we do something!
Jake mouthed back at Aaron: I know, okay? But although it's too late for us, it's not too late for you guys. Jake had taken notice of the fact that the pile of crates that Aaron and Nicky had chosen to hide behind were very close to the door leading back the way they came. If they tried to escape while the neighbor was distracted, they might be able to get away. You guys are pretty close to the doorway. Hurry and get out of here. Run out the basement door and escape this place while you can. Jeffrey and I will be okay.
But what about you guys? Nicky mouthed.
This isn't about me and Jeffrey, okay? We'll find a way out ourselves. You two still have a chance, though. You can get out of here!
How do you know this'll even work?! Aaron mouthed, looking mad.
I don't! Jake mouthed back to them, giving a pleading look. You just have to trust me!
Neither Aaron nor Nicky mouthed back anything. Jake grimaced, hoping he hadn't said things the wrong way, but thankfully enough, both Aaron and Nicky nodded their heads in agreement. Jake, in his head, breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this all wouldn't turn out so bad.
But then, Jake found himself quickly propelled back into his own situation as the neighbor was finally starting to shift his attention back towards Jake and Jeffrey.
"-but now, here we are. After all of this, you still decided to mess with me and my things." The neighbor finished. "Well, this time, I'm not letting you two get out of here in one piece. It's time you learned what happens to the people who think they can interfere with stuff that's beyond them. Time to finish this job-"
"HURRY! GET AWAY!" Jake called out, finally giving the signal.
Aaron and Nicky scrambled out of their hiding spot, heading straight through the doorway and running off back the way they had came before. The neighbor saw them leaving almost immediately. He looked horribly angry.
"YOU!" He called. "AARON! I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY!" The neighbor looked as if he was about to run, but then he paused and looked back down at Jake and Jeffrey. "So you're his accomplices, are you?! And now you're trying to let him get away?! That's it! You're FINISHED!"
He seized them by their collars again, lifting them both off of the floor. Jake struggled in the neighbor's grip, trying and trying his hardest to let go from this uncomfortable state, but it if there was any hope of shaking the neighbor's iron grip, it had already been lost. Jeffrey, held in the neighbor's other arm, struggled as well, but for all the effort he could put in at that very moment, he might as well have had better luck trying to knock down a brick wall with his bare hands.
Then, the neighbor reared back far, his grip getting tighter and tighter, and then he made a quick motion. For a split second, Jake thought he had been released, but it was quite worse: he was flying backward, as the neighbor had thrown him. He had no time to make a move, no time to slow himself down, and no time to stop or decrease the impact.
All he could do was scream.
And he did, but only for a second. Because he felt himself colliding with the wall of the room hard, banging his head in the process, and just like a lightbulb being burnt out, he could feel unconsciousness seize him and pull him into darkness...
"Alright...I've done it. I've finally dealt with them all. At long last...this is over."
"INDEED, IT IS. YOU HAVE FINALLY DEALT WITH THE INTRUDERS. THIS WAS WHAT YOU DESIRED, WAS IT NOT?"
"Yes, yes, this was what I needed. Had they gotten any further...they would've been too far in. They would've found it all."
"YOU ARE NOT WRONG. YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPLESS ON YOUR OWN. BUT YOU CAN BE THANKFUL THAT YOU HAVE ME TO GIVE YOU THE STRENGH TO EXPELL THESE INTERLOPERS FROM YOUR SIGHT. NOW...ENOUGH WITH THE MONOLOGUING. I ASSUME YOU WILL WANT TO DECIDE THEIR FATE?"
"Yes."
"THEN LET US CONSIDER IT. LET US START YOUR FAILINGS, SHALL WE?"
"..."
"DO NOT LIE TO YOURSELF. YOU HAD NEARLY FAILED THERE. AFTER ALL THIS TIME, YOU ALMOST LET YOUR LIFE CRUMBLE TO THE HANDS OF THOSE YOUNGER THAN YOU. THOSE WHO ARE INSIGNIFGANT. MEDDLING. USELESS. I AM MOST DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS TURN OF EVENTS. I HAVE GIVEN YOU THE POWER YOU SOUGHT, AND YET YOU STILL HAD DIFFICULTY."
"I know, but...it was just so much to do at once. I nearly jeopardized all of my plans...but I won't do it again. I won't ever let this happen again, I swear! I can do better, I can-"
"SILENCE!"
"..."
"SAYING YOU WILL IMPROVE MEANS NOTHING TO ME. WHAT MATTERS IS THAT YOU TAKE WHAT I HAVE GIVEN...AND DO NOT FAIL AGAIN. YOU DO NOT WANT THEM TO TAKE HIM AWAY, DO YOU?"
"No, of course not."
"THEN YOU SHALL CLEAN UP YOUR ACT...LEST I GO BACK ON WHAT WE HAVE AGREED ON. IS THAT CLEAR?"
"Yes."
"GOOD. NOW, WE MUST CHANGE OUR PLANS. OUR PREVIOUS PLANS WERE MESSY, INCOHERENT, AND SLOPPY. WE MUST RECONSIDER EVERYTHING. FIRST, THE BASEMENT'S SECURITY. YOU MUST RE-DOUBLE YOUR PROTECTIONS AROUND THE BASEMENT. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LET ANYONE PENETRATE THE DOOR EVER AGAIN."
"Definitely. Will you give me the powers necessary to make more improvements?"
"YES, I CAN GRANT YOU SUCH THINGS. HOWEVER, YOU KNOW WHAT YOU MUST PAY IN RETURN. I WILL HAND OVER NEW POWER TO YOU, BUT IN RETURN, YOU MUST BRING ME MORE SACRIFICES. YOU ARE CAPABLE OF THIS, YES?"
"Of course. I've got them all trapped in that one room, and I can round up more if I need to. I will supply the needed number of sacrifices."
"EXCELLENT. THEN YOU CAN REST ASSURED THAT OUR DEAL WILL REMAIN UNBROKEN IN THAT SECTION."
"Okay, so what do I do with him and his friend?"
"YOU KNOW THE ANSWER YOURSELF."
"I do indeed...I will put them back where they belong. I will keep them trapped down there, no matter the cost. They will never be allowed out again, no matter the cost. I don't care what I have to do...they never break free again."
"THEN THAT IS YOUR DECISION AND OUR AGREEMENT."
"And what about the other two? What do you think?"
"THEY HAVE MEDDLED IN THINGS FOR FAR TOO LONG. I RECOMMEND YOU DISPOSE OF THEM. I DO NOT CARE HOW THIS IS DONE- YOU MAY DEAL WITH THEM AS YOU SEE FIT. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU MAKE SURE THEY WILL NEVER RETURN."
"Yes. I have an idea in mind. I will use it as soon as possible, and with this, they won't be able to come back anymore."
"I SHALL LEAVE YOU TO THAT. WE HAVE MUCH MORE TO DISCUSS FROM HERE...BUT UNTIL THEN, IT IS TIME YOU GOT TO YOUR BUSINESS. BE SWIFT, AND BE EFFICIENT. I WILL BE WAITING FOR WHEN YOU ARE READY TO SPEAK AGAIN."
"It will be soon. And do not ask to be let out. I don't care what you say, I won't let you go."
"AN UNFORTUNATE DECISION, BUT I DO NOT CARE ABOUT THIS NOW. AS LONG AS YOU ARE WILLING TO FOLLOW UP ON THE DEAL, I AM WILLING TO CONTINUE GRANTING YOU WHAT YOU NEED."
"Good. Let us keep it that way. Now, I must take care of business. I will see you another time."
"YES. UNTIL WE CONVERSATE AGAIN, MY LOYAL CLIENT..."
Some time later, Jake could feel himself coming to. He expected to feel the sensation of a soft couch beneath him, with the buzz of a tv program nearby, as he began to come awake.
But this sensation was gone, replaced by the feeling of laying on something hard and solid, with the sounds of crickets chirping above him.
His body was aching like no end, especially his backside, which had taken most of the brunt from the impact of being thrown at the wall. He stalled for a brief moment, momentarily hesitating from trying to get up, then, he slowly forced his eyes open.
He was not in his house, or the neighbor's house, or in any house at all. He was looking up, instead, at a night sky, full of twinkling stars high above. He was laying inside of a dirt hole, deep enough to bury him several feet down from the surface, laying inside a half-rotten wooden coffin that had no top on it.
Just as soon as he adjusted to his surroundings, Jake went into full panic mode. He tried to get up, to stand up from this hole he was in...but he found that he could barely move. He lifted an arm, but he felt tired and winded, and his body ached harder whenever he moved, so he could not keep his arm up forever before he put it back down. He tried to lift a leg, but even as he started to bend his knee, he could not gather the strength to go further, and his leg was put back too. There was nothing he could do, no way he could escape.
But while his body was unable to move, his mind was in overdrive.
What is this?! How did I get here?! He thought. And why...can't...I...move? What's...going on?
He continued thinking thoughts like this as he was in this situation. He knew this was real life, that was undeniable. He could feel the cold air on his skin and all the pain in his joints. But despite this, this was still so terrible that it was like a nightmare brought into real life. A situation where he was helpless, unable to act, unable to do anything, and forced to surrender his will to the forces at play in the world. This was, no doubt about it, one of his worst fears in the entirety of his life. This was a situation he had never wanted to be in, and now he had no choice but to be in it.
And then, he came into a view. The neighbor was there, lugging a shovel in his hands, and looking down upon Jake was an even worse grin than before.
"Well, hello there." The neighbor greeted viciously. "Look where we are now, boy. You, down there, unable to move and right where I want you. Me...in a position to finally take out the trash. How the tables have turned...the chemical did its work quite efficiently, I must say."
"C-c-chemical?" Jake spoke, managing to muster up just enough strength to speak.
"Yes, the chemical! I developed it specifically for this case...and it has never failed before. And look at how well it works! You're helpless, like a turtle turned onto its own shell...or in other words, the perfect state for me to finish this."
Jake paused, then remembered something: Jeffrey had been knocked out with him. Where was he? "Where...is...Jeffrey?"
"Oh, you mean your little accomplice? Well, he's already been put in his place...and do you know where that place might be? Underground, that's where!"
"Wait..." Jake looked around at the hole, and it all made sense. The neighbor was burying them alive. "...you...you buried him alive, didn't you?!"
"Exactly. Took you long enough to get the clue, boy!"
"You're...you're sick! JEFFREY! Jeffrey, can you hear me?! Please, respond!"
The neighbor laughed. "Too late. I've already put him in his coffin and buried him where he needs to be. I have him buried right next to where you are, actually! Aren't I so thoughtful? And now that I've put him under the six feet of dirt needed to bury him alive, you'll get to be next!"
"How...how can you do this? This...this is...messed up!"
"Messed up? No, this is not insane. This is NECESSARY! That is the fundamental truth of everything I have done. Oh, and if you're wondering...no need to worry about Aaron and Nicky. I've put them right back where they need to be."
"Then...then tell me...tell me what happened to make you want do all of this! If I'm going to die here...just tell me why!"
The neighbor was silent for a moment. Then, his grin faded, and in a low voice, he uttered: "I won't do such a favor for someone who's going to disappear. Do you understand how much you guys have been trying to do to me? You're like a bundle of weeds. Cut one away, and it sprouts back every single time. I get rid of you once, you come back. I hammer the message into your head, and yet you still return once more. Why...why do you keep coming back?"
"Because...because it's the right thing to do."
"The right thing? That's your justification? You say such things...and yet you don't know what I know. You can't understand, you would never understand what I have seen and dealt with. Nobody will ever understand. In fact, they'll do the opposite: they'll warp it to their own foolish ideas. You're not the first to have trifled with me, you know that? So many other people came before you, and all of them tried to take him away. All of them would have taken away what I had left, and left me with nothing. You're just another one of them."
"Him? Who's...him?"
"I won't bother telling you such things. But I will say this...he's the most important thing I have left in my life. I have lost too much before, back when things were different, back when I thought I had everything figured out...but now? The world is against me. It is my enemy...and in return, I am an enemy to it, too. I won't end with this. I won't let it end like this. I will fight back against this cruel, unrelenting world until the day I die. I will keep what is rightfully mine, and defend it until my body breaks and my mind is shattered. And that is how it shall be...now...and forever."
"But even so...I must admit, despite everything, I can still carry on. I have lost my cat, recently. Did you know that? At first, I was hung up over it. I would not let something else in my life disappear. But then I decided against such thoughts. After all, that cat of mine is useless now. I don't need him to get by, to do what must be done. I can shield what I have left on my own accord.
"So, we come to this. I will bury you underground, six feet down, shoved into a wooden coffin and immobile, thanks to my concoctions. You will have a limited supply of air down there. How much? I do not know. You could be down there for several days...or you could run out minutes after I finish burying you. Who knows? That is something that does not matter to me. What does is that I put a swift end to your meddling.
"You may have been persistent, boy...but sadly, you put your persistence to waste when you decided you could try and ruin everything. I won't let you take him away from me like everyone else tried to before. This is where it all ends. It's time to say goodbye."
The neighbor reached down somewhere where he was standing, and put down the shovel, grabbing...the top of the wooden coffin. Jake eyed it widely, panicking even more now. The neighbor was about to finish the job.
"Good night." The neighbor uttered, his voice barely a whisper. "May I never see you again."
And he dropped the coffin lid into the hole. Jake yelped and closed his eyes, bracing for an impact, but the coffin did not hit him. It did, however, land perfectly on top of the coffin, closing Jake inside. From the tiny hole in the coffin, Jake looked above, scared and afraid for things to end like this, at the neighbor. The man had picked up the shovel again, and he lifted it high, taking one last look down into the hole...
...and then it began. He reached somewhere out of sight, shoveling a pile of dirt, and throwing it into the hole.
Jake tried to struggle, but it was in vain. He tried to escape, but he was incapable. His mind flashed before his very eyes. He thought of Jeffrey, of Aaron and Nicky, of the people still trapped in the basement, of the life he had here and the life he had back home, of his parents, whose delicious food he would never taste again. Of his childhood friends, which he would never get another glimpse of.
And more and more dirt was shovel in, weighing down the coffin lid as it came. Finally, the dirt spread enough, blocking all the light from above. More and more dirt was being shoveled from above; Jake could hear it landing on top of each other as the hole filled up again.
It was too late. He was buried. It was getting darker and darker in the hole, with barely any light there for Jake to be able to see anything.
This was it. Jake could feel his regret washing over him.
He had lost. He had failed to live the life he had wanted to live. He had failed to save the innocents.
And just like that...it was over...
...or was it?
Nope! It's not over yet!
This seems bleak, right? This may yet be the worst situation Jake has come across yet...
...but it is not yet over. There is still a way out.
What is this way out?
Wait and see. It'll be coming in the next chapter.
Until then, I'll see you all next time.