Got the battery...here's the basement key...the keycard should be in the bathroom...and with this hammer to rip the boards off, that should be everything we need.
Jake had collected the items needed to made a decisive push into the basement and was looking them over in the living room; the only thing he didn't have on him was the keycard, but he knew where it was hidden. The neighbor was dead, so it wouldn't be any trouble for him to grab it when they entered the neighbor's house again.
It had only been ten minutes since he and Jeffrey had gotten back home, and as far as Jake saw, they were ready. Jake already had the hammer on his belt, the key in his pocket, and the battery on the floor. Now all there was left to do was to get Jeffrey's confirmation that he was prepared to go.
When Jake turned to face him, he saw Jeffrey on the floor, stroking Jo-Jo.
"Ready, Jeffrey? This is it." Jake said.
"Just a second. Petting Jo-Jo." Jeffrey replied. "Man, we're about to go and leave him again. Makes me wish we had another cat so we could have someone to keep him company."
Jake shrugged acceptingly. "We can look into getting him a friend at some point and see if we're capable of getting another. But today, our job is to get into the basement and free everyone. I've already got everything we need, so if you're ready, we can go."
"I'm ready, I'm ready." Jeffrey stood up, and took one last look at the cat at his feet. "Behave while we're gone, okay? We won't be away for long."
The cat meowed and ran over to the couch, no doubt planning to take another nap while Jake and Jeffrey got to work.
"Okay, since you're ready, I'll get in contact with the others." Jake said. From inside his jacket, he took the walkie-talkie and turned it on. "Guys, are you there? Come in."
"We're here. Over." Came the response from Aaron.
"We don't really have to talk like this, y'know." Nicky commented, sounding amused. "We can do away with the 'over' and just talk normally."
"Hey, come on. I thought it would add a cool effect."
Jeffrey chuckled. "Whatever the case, we've got the stuff. Just letting you guys know we're ready so we can get this underway."
"Thanks for that. We're ready too." Aaron replied. "Come to think of it, there's never a time where we aren't ready. Being stuck down here gives us a lot of free time to do whatever's available."
"Anyways, getting in shouldn't be hard. Unless...uh oh. I think I forgot something." Jake mentioned. "When we scared the neighbor earlier, and he ran inside his house...he kind of locked the front gate. I'm kind of worried that it might still be locked."
"You're not wrong. It might be." Jeffrey said, frowning. "In that case, we'll need to go over the fence again."
"You might as well check the gate first to see if it's still locked." Nicky suggested. "If it isn't, that makes things easier. If it is, then you have a backup plan."
"What Nicky said. You know what to do, so go." Aaron said.
"Right." Jake and Jeffrey nodded to each other, then headed out of the house.
It took no time at all to get across the street. The roads were almost always vacant of any passing cars or other vehicles. When they reached the front of the house, Jake leapt over the moat and tested the front gate. Sure enough, his suspicions were confirmed: the door was locked.
"It's locked. I knew it." Jake muttered. "I had a feeling things wouldn't be that easy, even though the lack of the neighbor being here makes it easy enough to begin with."
"Then let's go around the side. We can climb over the fence using one of the trees." Jeffrey decided.
The two of them went for that plan. They went around the side of the house and climbed one of the nearby trees, then got over the fence and landed on the grass by the side of the house.
"We're in. Now all that's left is to see if the front door is locked, too." Jake said.
"Let's hope it isn't." Aaron muttered.
Jake and Jeffrey went to the front yard and made their way to the front doors. As they approached, Jake glanced at the cameras by the front door. They were deactivated again. Jake was glad they were, because them not being there would make things more effortless. And even if the cameras had been on, the neighbor was dead, so the cameras sounding an alarm wouldn't do anything.
He went to the front doors shortly after to see if they were indeed locked. When Jake tested them, they weren't locked. He could open the doors right up.
"It isn't locked. Phew." Jeffrey commented. "Let's go in already. No point standing here when the goal is right in front of us."
They went inside the house and crossed the foyer, heading into the living room. The basement door was right there, waiting for them. The two of them got to work. Jake ripped the boards off while Jeffrey used the key. Two of the door's components were now handled.
"Feels nice to be able to do this without the threat of the neighbor coming in and trying to assault us." Jake said.
"No kidding. Without the tension, it makes it feel weird that we ever struggled in the first place." Jeffrey added. "Still, we've got to focus. Where's the keycard?"
"You guys said it was in the neighbor's bathroom, right?" Nicky reminded them. "Go look in there. You'll probably find it."
"Yeah." Jake agreed. He gestured Jeffrey to follow him as the two of them went into the kitchen and down the short hall. The bathroom door was to the right, waiting to be opened.
However, before Jake could even consider doing so, something made him stop. There were noises coming from inside the bathroom, noises he didn't expect to hear. He gaped in harsh realization.
"Do...do you hear that?" He stammered.
"Hear what?" Jeffrey asked, and he paused for a moment. Then he gaped too. "Wait...no way...is that...?"
"The neighbor."
"Guys? What's going on?" Aaron asked from the other side of the walkie-talkie, but he didn't get a response.
It was the neighbor's voice coming from inside the bathroom. The sink was turned on and Jake could only guess that he was washing his hands while talking to himself. However, shortly after he realized this, the talking stopped. Had the neighbor heard them?
"Oh no." Jeffrey muttered. "Quick, inside the closet. Before he sees us."
"Before who sees you?" Nicky said confusedly.
The two of them went into the closet and closed themselves inside. Now that they were out of sight, Jake spoke again.
"He's back." Jake whispered. "He's not dead. The neighbor is here."
"What? But you said he was dead!" Aaron replied.
"He's not dead. I don't know how!"
"You shot him, though. He didn't have a pulse. This is unbelievable..." Nicky stuttered.
"Will you guys quit talking? He's going to hear us!" Jeffrey urged as quietly as he could.
Instantly, all conversation ceased. It was just in time, too, as the bathroom door opened right then, and out came the neighbor. His eyes scanned the perimeter, looking suspicious.
"Swore I heard something out here..." He muttered. "...hmph. Maybe it was my imagination. This is what I get for being so aware all the time...well, whatever. What matters is that I'm alert. And I'll need to add to that, so I should probably get some more sacrifices soon. Or else things might get soured..."
Sacrifices... Jake thought.
"As long as I do it, though, he'll be satisfied. Ugh...why was I even down in the dirt again? Can't remember, but that was damn frustrating, digging myself out like that. Not to mention all the dirt I had to clean off afterwards..."
The neighbor went back into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
"Okay, we have a chance to move." Jeffrey said. "Let's hurry."
They carefully exited the closet and got out of the hallway as well as the kitchen. When they re-entered the living room, they heard the creak of the bathroom door. In a panic over being found, the two of them dived into the living room closet and hid themselves again. Seconds later, the neighbor entered the room. Now he was inspecting his furniture in the room and doing some cleaning. He dusted his shelving unit, wiped down the window, and cleaned the tv screen of any dust.
It was after doing so that he finally noticed that the boards were lying in front of the basement door instead of being stuck onto it. "Wait...why are the boards not on the door? Damn, must've forgotten to nail them back in." The neighbor left the room and returned minutes later with a hammer. Apparently, he had a replacement for the hammer Jake had snagged from him. Then the man got to work and nailed the boards back into the door with renewed vigor.
"I still don't understand how he's alive." Jake muttered, keeping his voice low. "We shot him. There were bullet wounds on his chest. He was really, truly dead this time. We even checked to make sure. But now he's back again?"
"None of this makes sense. It would take some kind of magic to come back from death." Jeffrey added, frowning and shaking his head. "But magic doesn't exist...does it?"
"It doesn't. There's no way it does." Nicky refused. "But it's still so strange how you guys are saying he's back. Are you sure he was dead?"
"Of course we were sure. We checked his pulse and his breathing before we hauled him to the grave. There wasn't any signs of life."
"That's what we thought, too." Aaron went over seriously. "So why, then...?"
Jeffrey just sighed. "Either way, this whole town is still in trouble because of him. We thought we had him, but we didn't. When we thought we were ahead, we were actually behind. When we finally took a step forwards, we found that we had to take a step back. Is there no end to the neighbor? Is he just going to keep outwitting us at every turn? It's no wonder this whole town still hasn't recovered. This guy's bad news...more so than I thought at first."
"We need to get out of here. And fast." Jake muttered. "Wait for an opening...then when I open the doors, run."
They waited as patiently as they could. When the neighbor finished his work at the basement door, he went into the foyer. A minute passed. Then he came back into the living room and walked into the kitchen. As soon as he disappeared through the doorway, they took the chance. The two of them went out of the closet and into the foyer as quickly and efficiently as they could go.
But when Jake approached the front door and tried to open it, he gasped. "...he locked it back up."
"Damn it." Jeffrey cursed. "We have to hide again. Um...that way!" Jeffrey pointed to the front hallway across the room from the front door. They ran in that direction and kept going, turning right around the corner and finally deciding to jump into the closet by the blocked staircase.
They laid in wait for another opportunity. The neighbor passed by several times, a broom and dustpan in his hands as he swept the floors. Jake and Jeffrey were lucky enough that the neighbor never bothered to look into the closet, but there wasn't an opening for them to run and find an escape route.
The neighbor had went into the room right next to the door to his workshop and seemed to be sorting through the crates in that room. Several items were tossed onto the floor, including a rubber ball, a bowl, and...a Kevlar vest?
The neighbor has a freaking bulletproof vest in his storage?! Jake exclaimed in his thoughts. Where the hell did he even get that? A gun store?
"...so, while we wait...do you guys have any idea why he might block the stairs with a solid wall?" Jeffrey asked.
"No clue why he'd do that. Maybe there's something on the second floor he doesn't want anyone seeing." Aaron suggested.
"Like what?" Nicky wondered.
"We don't know. We've looked up there before, but there was nothing much to find except one of his journal entries." Jake explained. "That reminds me...wonder when I'll be able to get into the attic of my own house. Since I don't have the key, I haven't been able to get in there. But once I find a way, who knows what we might be able to use it for? Could make a good place to spy on the neighbor from a safe distance."
"That's a mission for another day." Jeffrey responded. "Top priority right now is escaping. Hmm...the neighbor must have the front door key on him. If we can get him in a state where we can swipe that key, we'll be able to get out of here."
They nodded to each other, and it was settled. As the neighbor went into his bedroom, the two of them snuck out of the closet and waited behind the doorway into the storage room. They didn't have to wait long for an opportunity to present itself, as the neighbor came out of his bedroom and went down the front hallway. Jake went out from behind the doorway and followed the neighbor silently, Jeffrey right behind him. The neighbor came to a stop, not turning around. It was the perfect time to strike.
Jake took the hammer from his belt. He raised it and prepared to strike the neighbor from behind, hopefully knocking him out.
Three...two...one...
He swung.
A hand caught the hammer in its path.
"Nice try." The neighbor muttered, and he slowly turned around. "But you'd have to try harder than that to knock me out."
"Tch. I dunno." Jake responded, gritting his teeth. "You didn't seem so strong when I accidentally shot you. Speaking of, how'd you even survive that? We thought you were gone."
The neighbor just grinned. "Took a miracle, is all I can say. And it'll take a miracle for you to learn from your actions. When are you two going to quit this charade and leave my house to myself?"
"Oh, I don't know. Let's think. Maybe because...there's a bunch of innocent people in your basement? Gee, I don't know, that might be the reason."
"You know why I'm not about to let them free. I have my own reasons for everything, and I don't care if you disagree with them. Now...I was considering being nice and leaving you alone, but since you won't give up...maybe it'd be better if I used force again. Come on, then. Come and make this easy for me."
Jake tugged the hammer out of the neighbor's grip and backed away. The neighbor had his own hammer, though, and he gripped it tightly as Jake let go. Then he began his approach, serious as ever.
"Jake. Come on." Jeffrey muttered. "Follow me. Quickly." Jeffrey ran into the neighbor's bedroom, and Jake followed.
"Huh? Hey, where are you going now?!" The neighbor exclaimed.
When they got into the bedroom, Jake could see the obvious escape route: the window. It was covered in boards again. Without hesitation, Jake ran over and swung the hammer at the boards several times. The boards fell away, and the window was open. He vaulted out of the window, Jeffrey close behind. Now they were in the backyard, and they ran around the side of the house. They could hear the neighbor somewhere behind them.
"Get back here! I'm not finished!" The neighbor called.
"Screw that! We're running!" Jake called. "You learn from our mistakes, right? Well, we're learning from our mishaps, too! And we're using that knowledge to get out of here!"
They made it to the front yard and then to the front gate. Jeffrey quickly undid the latches and locks of the gate and swung it open, allowing the two of them to get past the fence, jump over the moat, and make it across the street without getting caught.
Jake looked over his shoulder. The neighbor was standing there, looking at them from the other side of his fence. Then, without another word, he slammed the gate closed and went back into his house. Jake found this strange, as the neighbor usually threw some cold remark at them about how they'd pay. This time, he didn't seem to have anything much to say. What was up with that?
The two of them made it inside Jake's house, and they were safe once again. They caught their breath again before speaking to each other.
"Well...that backfired." Jeffrey muttered. "Turns out that the neighbor doesn't die very easily. We're going to have to deal with again."
"How'd it go, guys? We heard yelling from our walkie-talkie, but we stayed quiet in case the neighbor was there." Aaron reported.
"We got away this time, but we couldn't get into the basement." Jake replied. "There weren't any openings. The neighbor caught us by surprise, too, so the safest thing to do was to escape."
"At least you got out of there without being knocked out. That's improvement." Nicky said.
"I suppose so. Although when we do escape, I've always wondered why the neighbor doesn't just...chase us across the street. He always stops short."
"That is weird." Jeffrey noted. "Every time we make it out, he always goes back into his house instead of following us. What's the motivation behind that?"
"Hmm...well, if I had to guess, I think he sees defending his house as more important than catching fleeing intruders. If you guys make it far enough away, he probably just wants to stay in his house so he doesn't leave it undefended. That's what it seems to me."
"Must be really determined to stop us if that's the case..." Aaron said.
"I think we have to be more careful now." Jeffrey decided. "We need to plan things out better. From now on, Jake and I are going to have to take turns doing watch duty."
"Yeah. You don't mind taking first watch, do you? I kind of want to relax." Jake asked.
Jeffrey nodded slowly. "Alright, I guess I can do that."
"Thanks." Jake paused to think. "Another thing. You know how the neighbor threw that Kevlar vest aside when he was in that one room? That might've been how he survived."
"The neighbor has a Kevlar vest?!" Aaron shouted.
"Not so loud, Aaron. We don't want the others to get weirded out." Nicky advised.
"Oh. Yeah, sorry...but still, the neighbor has equipment like that? Holy crap..."
"Jake's right, though. The vest has to be the reason the bullets didn't kill him. Doesn't explain how we didn't sense a pulse...maybe the death was faked? No, there's no way of that happening...and his talk about sacrifices was worrying, too."
"No telling what he means by that. We'll have to investigate more later on." Jake said. "But there's another thing I want to focus on. Remember that other house he had? With the weird room and the lab and the rabbits? That should be our plan for tomorrow. Not today, though. The neighbor's probably on high guard right now. Aaron, Nicky...Jeffrey and I are going to settle down for now. We'll contact you again tomorrow."
"Roger that. Over and out." Aaron replied.
"Aaron, you don't have to speak like that, y'know." Nicky commented.
"What? It sounds cool, doesn't it?"
"Nevermind. You two have a good one. Aaron and I will be back whenever you need us. Bye."
"See you." Jake said, and he turned off the walkie-talkie and tucked it away. With the situation finally over, he allowed himself to yawn and stretch. "I'm going to go take a nap. You can handle first watch, right, Jeffrey?"
"Course I can." Jeffrey affirmed. "You go ahead and rest now. I'll keep an eye out."
Jake nodded and left the room to head to his bedroom. With the neighbor's unpredictable nature, slew of defenses, and other hidden surprises, it'd be the sensible thing to watch out for anything unexpected in the future. If the dominoes fell correctly, they could turn things around some day...