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Chloe's Basement Terror
Chloe Beale had always been more than a little afraid of the dark. When she was little, like five years old, she'd been convinced the basement of her Grandparent's house was haunted. No matter how many times her parents explained the noises and the shadows Chloe just knew that there were things in the shadows that could do more than go bump in the night.
To her, it was only natural to fear the dark. As she grew up she came to understand this as the survival instinct. The natural inclination of the primitive part of the human mind is to be wary of things that can hurt or kill them. It's why people seek the light and flock around its protection. Thus Chloe had always favored the light and had tried to infuse within herself the very essence of what the light meant to her.
As Chloe grew up from a small child, into a teen she was told over and over that her fear of the dark was irrational, so as she grew older she had learned ways to hide her fears from her friends and family. Yet those fears were always there, it was something she'd learned to suppress and even ignore at times, but it was never far from the surface of her consciousness, ready to grip her with its cold grasp.
As she grew into her later teen years, the rational side of her came to understand that basements such as at her Grandparents house were just old and creepy, but not inherently evil. Yet still another portion of Chloe knew there was something more to her fears. Maybe not in her Grandparents home, but she knew there were things not so nice in the dark.
This is why when Aubrey decided to have a yard sale at the Bellas house to get rid of some of the junk that had gathered in the basement over the years, Chloe felt a chill go up her spine. She had tried to come up with alternative ways to make money, but to no avail.
"A yard sale could be a great money maker, Chloe, and we really need the funds," Aubrey had stated every time Chloe had tried to dissuade her blonde friend.
The day the Bellas were to go through the basement, Chloe was filled with dread. Aubrey was moving about the Bellas house with her clipboard, checking the assignments she had set the night before. "Fat Amy is a no show so far," the blonde grumbled. "Chloe you'll have to cover for her downstairs."
"What!?" Chloe felt the panic start to rise in her.
"Yeah," Aubrey went over her sheet. "I need you to take charge down there. You'll have Beca, Lily, if we can find her, Jessica and Ashley when they come after class, and Fat Amy, if she shows up."
"Maybe we could switch…" Chloe started.
"Chloe, I really need you to take charge down there, while I keep things organized up here," Aubrey said, not even looking up from her clipboard.
"But…" Chloe started.
"We need to raise money for the Bellas," Aubrey said matter of factly. "After the debacle of a fundraiser at the Fall Mixer, we're really hurting."
"I really don't think I can go down there," the redhead looked down the stairs into the basement with great trepidation. She wished now that maybe she had confided her fears with Aubrey before now, but her natural inclination was always to suppress and hide it.
"I need you to go down with the Hobbit," Aubrey said as she looked up from her clipboard.
"Hey!" Beca said from the couch, where she had been grumbling about being the only Bella that had shown up so far, while she played with her grandfather's lucky charm. "I'm with Chloe on this," the petite freshman said.
The redhead smiled at the snarky freshman, glad to have her support. While she watched, she noticed the younger woman tuck a small shiny object into her front pocket. Chloe hadn't figured out what it was, yet, but knew it was important to Beca.
"Fine," Aubrey replied. "I can set you up with more singing telegrams. Jesse wanted to buy about a hundred dollars worth and send them to himself."
"Hauling boxes from the basement it is." Beca grumbled as she came over to Chloe.
The redhead did her best to hide her disappointment.
The blonde Bellas captain ignored the freshman and started for the front door so she could corral Stacie and CR, who she saw walking up the front step. She had plans for them going to get a truck full of other items she had managed to secure for their yard sale.
"I really think this is a bad idea," the redhead said under her breath for about the hundredth time.
Beca stepped up next to the redhead. She hadn't known Chloe long, but she did recognize that Chloe wasn't her usual carefree and happy self. "You okay?"
The redhead took a deep breath, and let it out slowly to calm herself. She didn't think she could use her voice, so she simply nodded.
"You sure," Beca asked as she moved closer, so she could whisper the question. It seemed obvious that Chloe didn't want to make a big deal about her trepidation.
"Yeah," Chloe's voice was soft and without conviction.
"I'll be with you," Beca assured her… friend? The redhead had definitely made every effort to make good on her statement that they were going to be fast friends. And if someone were to ask, Beca would have to admit that the redhead had become a friend. It wasn't something she was used to; she hadn't had many girlfriends up until this point.
While the brunette contemplated her newly forming friendship with the senior, said redhead had snagged the brunette's hand within her own. Not typically a 'handholding' type of girl, Beca didn't pull her hand away. She was beginning to learn that Chloe was this very unique exception to rules Beca had placed on every other person in the world.
Together the two women made their way towards the door to the basement. It was, as usual, closed. Chloe had actually never seen the door left open, which had been fine with her. She stared at the door handle with extreme apprehension. As this was happening, she was holding onto Beca's hand so tightly she was beginning to cut off Beca's circulation.
"Easy Chloe. Going to need that hand," the petite brunette said as she winced.
"Oh, yeah…" Chloe nodded, still focused on the door handle. However, she didn't ease up on her grip.
"Seriously Chloe, my hand is starting to go numb."
"Oh! I'm so sorry, Becs," Chloe replied plaintively.
"No harm done," Beca assured the redhead with a warm smile even as she reached out and opened the door. Chloe could feel her heartbeat increase as the door swung open. "It's going to be okay, Chlo." And with that, the petite brunette walked through the basement door.
Following Beca, the two women descended into the basement. With each step Chloe felt a steady increase in pressure, as if the basement was projecting an oppressive force. The old stairs made creaky noises with every step, that just added to the tension.
Upon reaching the bottom stair, Beca stopped, and started to feel for the light switch. "Whoa dude," grunted Beca as she felt Chloe crash into her back. She heard the redhead whimper, and she realized how much the darkness was affecting the usually cheerful redhead. "Hey, it's okay! It's just dark in here,"
To help her friend, the brunette reached up and finally found the light switch and flicked it on.
Nothing.
The darkness remained. For Chloe it seemed to grow darker. For her part, Beca swore and repeatedly flipped the switch up and down but nothing happened.
"Damn! Looks like the light is out," said Beca as she looked around more carefully, unable to see anything at all at first.
"We should go back up," Chloe suggested in a small voice.
"It's okay," Beca replied as she shifted in the dark. "Aubrey thought there was this chance, and gave me this." With that she clicked on a flashlight, which lit up her face.
The sudden burst of light momentarily startled Chloe, but she quickly appreciated the small pool of light, especially as it lit the freshman's features. At the same time it seemed to make the surrounding space of the basement seem even darker. Looking out into the basement it seemed too dark. She saw nothing but that inky blackness of the basement, which left her feeling as if she could never leave.
As she stared into the shadows of the basement, Chloe could have sworn she saw movement, but that would be aca-crazy! Wouldn't it?
Yet even now the thought was in her head, and she couldn't not see shadows moving in the near opaque darkness of the basement. What was worse, Chloe was positive she heard sounds corresponding with the movements in the shadows.
As the panic began to build Chloe felt a vague sense of unease; she couldn't put an exact finger on it, but if she were to be pressed, she would have put it as a feeling of being watched.
What was that? To the right! Was that the sound of a floorboard?
To the left! What was that skittering? Did the basement have RATS?!
What was that noise in the back?
Chloe's head was filled with a cacophony that she couldn't block out. Beca's hand was the only tether to sanity that Chloe had now.
Unknowingly, Beca gave Chloe's hand a comforting squeeze. "Aubrey told me relatively where the fuse box is located," Beca said as she swung the light towards the back wall. With the light swung towards the back, both women could see that the basement was filled with stacked boxes of various sizes, but all Chloe could focus on was that she had been engulfed in shadows again.
With the flashlight showing a path through the boxes, Beca began to slowly make her way through the dark, guiding the terrified redhead. The only thing allowing Chloe to move was she was more afraid of losing her hold on Beca than she was afraid of the dark.
They had just started to walk among the first stacks of boxes when the flashlight flicked. It caused Beca to stop in her tracks, and Chloe to whimper. Beca brought the light up so it lit up her face again as she studied the bulb. She shook it, and the flashlight grew brighter. Both women breathed a sigh of relief, only for the flashlight's bulb, as if to spite them, flickered again and then died completely, leaving the two young women in complete pitch darkness.
The only thing that kept Chloe from screaming was that her throat seemed to squeeze shut to the point that it grew hard for her to breathe. Her chest heaved as she fought to breathe and felt as if she were on the verge of sobbing uncontrollably. Something bumped into the stack of boxes, Chloe wasn't sure if it had been Beca, herself, or something else.
A box fell and caught Chloe's hand, dislodging her grasp on Beca's hand. This pushed Chloe over the edge. She turned in the direction she thought was the stairs, and tried to run. She stepped on the creaky floorboards of the basement which sounded so loud in the pitch blackness. It added to the redhead's terror, even as she ran into a stack of boxes. As more boxes fell, Chloe heard Beca call out, but in the darkness Chloe couldn't tell which direction the freshman was. She needed to get out, but tripped over one of the fallen boxes.
Having fallen to the basement floor, Chloe's hands were scraped and bruised as she caught her fall. In a panic she wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled herself into a tight ball. A single tear ran down her face, as the panic took over, as she gave into fear and despair.
It was then that Chloe felt a sudden icy chill on her cheek. The redhead's instincts all of a sudden were screaming that there was more than something wrong with the basement, and no matter how she turned her head she couldn't see anything except for a faint shadow of something just out of the corner of her eyes.
The air in the basement felt as if it had dropped in temperature, growing damp and cold. There was a tightness to the shadows too close to her skin, clinging like a film Chloe would swear she could feel.
It felt as though there were eyes everywhere, that every shadow had an unblinking stare. For an instant, Chloe was five years old again and still terrified of her grandparents' basement.
Panic flooding through her, the overhanging worry that she and Beca would be trapped here forever. She knew this was irrational, yet there was this staggering feeling in the back of her head, and a panic clawing at her throat.
Something brushed her legs, causing the frightened woman to jerk away. Out of the shadows Chloe was sure she felt long fingers tips ghosting over her skin. Her breath stuttered in and out too rapidly to do Chloe any good, and the resulting dizziness only made the redhead feel more insecure.
A soft whine escaped between her gasping breaths and the moisture she had felt growing in her eyes finally won the battle. The tears were a humiliation she had not had to deal with since she was seven years old.
Once the tears started falling, everything else just collapsed, and Chloe felt horrifyingly little control over herself at that moment. The redhead wanted to scream but her mouth wouldn't work. Something scrambled over her leg, and she was positive she heard something skittering towards her. It was enough to move her, yet in the dark she had no clue where she was crawling, and so moved deeper into the basement. At that point she didn't care. Rationality was gone, she just knew she had to get away from whatever was crawling towards her.
A shriek to her right told Chloe that Beca was in trouble too. It took an act of will, but Chloe was able to steer herself towards where she heard Beca's cry.
Pitch Perfect SpookFest
The dark had never really bothered Beca as a child. It had never concerned her to think about what could lurk in the shadows. For her the darkness had just been a lack of light. Yet there was something about the complete lack of light emanating from the basement that did eat at her with every step down she took. When she arrived at the bottom of the steps, and the light switch had failed to work, she should have just sent Chloe back up the stairs, or better yet escorted her back up. However she had thought she had the situation in hand; she had the flashlight, and the fuse box was only supposed to be sixteen feet from the stairs. They could handle it.
When the redhead bumped into her, it did start to shake her confidence. She wasn't sure why, but it did. She could feel Chloe's fear as if it was radiating off the redhead. This only seemed to add to Beca's own sense of dread at being down here.
She effected an air of confidence as Chloe suggested, "We should go back up." The freshman couldn't help notice how small a voice the older Bella used.
To help she pulled out the flashlight Aubrey had given her. She had seen the meticulous, some like Beca might say anal, blonde check the flashlight, and had even put in fresh batteries, so they should be good.
And they were, the flashlight turned on, and was quite bright. It even blinded her for a second or two as it lit up her face. The brunette was relieved to see that having the light was helping the redhead, who looked so skittish at the moment.
She shined the flashlight towards the back of the basement, and was surprised at how filled it was. There must be years of junk stacked down here. As she passed the light over the stacks, it looked like the number of boxes were in the hundreds.
The redhead behind her squeezed Beca's hand, as if looking to reassure Beca, or attempting to reassure herself. It did help to get Beca moving forward. The light showed there were paths through the boxes. They had been stacked in ways to allow people to move among them.
The two shuffled over to where the first boxes were stacked. They passed the first boxes when Beca noticed that the flashlight had begun to flicker. Beca stopped in her tracks, which caused Chloe to whimper. The brunette assured the redhead that everything was okay as she brought the light up so she could study the bulb. She gave the flashlight a shake, and breathed a sigh of relief as it grew brighter. But then the flashlight's bulb, as if to spite them, flickered again and died completely, leaving the two young women in complete darkness.
A moment of panic took hold of Beca's heart as she felt Chloe begin to panic next to her. With great care, the freshman forced herself to take a deep breath. It proved to be a mistake as the dampness of the space caught in Beca's throat and forced her to cough. The sudden noise in the dark startled Chloe who gave a scared whimper. It only took that moment of fear for Beca to lose control of her own sense of safety, and she too began to lose the fight against the fear rising in her own mind. Something bumped into a stack of boxes. One fell in the dark and hit the hand holding onto Chloe's. She lost her grip, and the comfort she actually took from the warmth of Chloe's hand in hers.
The freshman sensed Chloe's fall more than she heard or felt it. Before she could do anything another box fell to the basement floor, and now she was sure she had felt something scitter past her feet.
Beca Mitchell has never been scared of the dark, but she's always had a healthy fear of…
RATS!
"God I seriously hate rats!"
Taking a deep breath to shrug off the fear that was building, and the wave of panic that came to squeeze her stomach. She tried to assure herself it was only a rat, but the mounting fear ran away with her as a second and third rodent scurried across her feet.
The rats scurried and squeaked, and though she had only sensed three so far, she was positive from the squeaking, she was sure they were swarming. In her mind's eye she sees them move like a dark wave, squealing, and scratching. Even now she imagines the feel of their tails curling around her legs.
Again Beca took a deep breath, as she fought for calm. She was furiously shutting out the panic lingering just under the surface, threatening to drown her, and for the first time she felt the darkness of the basement closing in on her as if it were going to trap her into its cold void.
Then all presence of steadiness flew out the window as one of the rats ran up her leg. She felt their small paws clawing at her clothes as they climbed.
It was too much.
She bolted!
Beca felt the rat fall away as she let out a shriek. Adrenaline was crashing through her, was this really happening? In the dark she ran into another stack of boxes and one fell, narrowly missing her, but it did force her to go deeper into the darkness. She's sure she heard more squeaking, and it freaks her out more.
Luckily Beca had enough forethought to have her arms outstretched in front of her, otherwise she might've run head on into the concrete wall. As is she did bruise her hand. The wall however didn't help; if anything it increased the feeling of being trapped. Her mind began to picture herself being stuck down here in the dark with the rats.
She slammed her eyes closed as she dropped to her knees, and buried her face, shaking her way through screaming sobs as she felt the fear draping itself over her back like a cloak.
Suddenly a hand was tightly grabbing her wrist.
"I-got -you - Becs… Have - have to - leave," stuttered Chloe.
Beca felt her own fear diminish, when she heard the terrified tenor of Chloe's voice.
"We're leaving," Beca assured the frightened redhead. "I - I - promise, but you - you - need - to breathe." Even in the dark she was able to find Chloe's cheek, which she lightly brushed. "You're hyperventilating." Beca was pretty sure she was too, but forcing herself to talk was helping. "You - you - you're going to - to - pass out. Listen to - to - to - my - my - voice and know I'm right - right - here for - you - you." Beca's voice is choppy and she's stuttering, but she manages to keep it soft and close, and despite the complete lack of light, Chloe feels a little better, especially knowing that Beca is a little afraid too.
"Don't - don't - leave me, Beca," Chloe finally managed to get out between sobs. For her part Beca simply held the redhead closer in response, resting her head against Chloe's.
The redhead used that comfort, and tried her best to settle her breathing. All the while Beca just kept up the mantra, "It - It'll be - be - okay. You're o-o-okay. You're okay. I - I - w-won't let anything happen to - to y-y-you."
In time Beca's voice steadied, "It's okay, it's okay, we're okay." And with it Chloe regained enough control of her breathing that she was able to move again though they were still trapped in the dark.
"It's okay. You're okay Chloe, you're going to be fine." Beca said it in the same tone Chloe's mother would use when the redhead would awaken from a nightmare as a little girl.
"You're okay, you're okay," Beca continued as she kept Chloe's hand in hers, safe, shielded, stroking it with one finger slowly as she spoke; it helps.
The petite brunette pulled Chloe close. "It's okay," she whispers. She holds the redhead like she held her hand earlier, as if it's something so precious to her and worthy of love. The thought almost makes Chloe start crying again. The senior closes her eyes and buries her face in Beca's shoulder. The brunette runs her hand up and down Chloe's back
Over time as the redhead settled in her arms, and so the freshman began contemplating how she was going to get Chloe out of the basement. The soft sounds of tiny feet scurrying around across the room had her wondering how she was going to get herself out. If only she had a light…
Beca froze, as she realized she'd been stupid in her panic. She had forgotten she had a lighter in her pocket. It was her Grandfather's, and the one thing of his she had kept. He had habitually flicked it, and repeatedly told Beca it his lucky keepsake, having won it in a poker game where he won the money to buy the fishing boat he ran for years. When Beca's father had left her and her Mom, her Grandfather had helped raise her, he had been the most important person in her life after her mother.
The petite brunette moved just slightly enough to retrieve the lighter, without disturbing Chloe "Ummm-Chlo-ummm-I might have a light…"
"A - a - a - light?" Chloe stuttered.
"Yeah, but I didn't want to startle you…"
"P-p-please try…"
Even though it was too dark for Chloe to see, Beca nodded and she was sure Chloe knew she had. She flipped open the top and took a deep breath. She prayed this would work, and flicked the wheel. In the pitch black they both saw the sparks but were disappointed when it didn't catch. Beca tried again, and again it failed. A third time… a fourth… a fifth. On the failed sixth time Beca hung her head.
In the dark Chloe groped about till she found Beca's hand with the lighter. She gripped it and whispered, "Again."
The brunette positioned her thumb, paused and prayed again, then flicked the wheel one more time,
Light!
The small flame flared up, and despite that the flame was less than an inch, it created a pool that lit each woman's face in a soft warm light. Both women savored the ability to see the other, and each felt at least a bit of their fear recede.
Looking up, in the shadows, Beca could just make out a box-like shape on the wall. She grinned and whispered to Chloe, "The fuse box is right there." She nodded her head and Chloe looked up too.
The senior let out a shaky laugh. "Let's get the lights on."
The two women stood together, each helping the other at various times, till both were standing. Beca made sure to keep the lighter lit the whole time, while ensuring it didn't get near either woman's hair.
With Beca holding the lighter, Chloe pulled open the door to the fuse-box.
"Oh my god!" Beca breathed.
"What!?" Chloe whispered in confusion.
"This uses cylindrical fuses," Beca observed. "Is this the original fuse box?" The redhead could only shrug.
"Lucky for us there are a couple spares in here," Beca pointed at a couple small cylinders that were set in the bottom frame. "Can you pull that cylinder there?" Even in the flickering light Beca could see the burned out fuse. The redhead pulled the cylinder that the younger woman indicated. The brunette then picked up a spare and replaced it.
The lights in the basement came on immediately and both women could only smile and hug each other as both savored the relief. Beca shut the lighter, putting out the flame, and returned Chloe's hug with abandon.
For her part, Chloe savored the feeling of the petite woman pressed against her. She had definitely recognized a growing crush on the younger woman, so even in this highly stressful moment she could definitely relish this moment.
After a couple minutes of just holding each other, the two mutually parted, though remained close. Neither woman was ready to surrender the comfort of the other.
"We should…" Beca started.
"Head upstairs?" Chloe finished.
"Yeah."
The two turned about together.
"AAAAHHHH!"
The two screamed together.
Standing just a few feet away stood Lily. The silent woman was staring at them, her eyes huge. She had a rat on her head, one on each shoulder, and was cradling two more.
"You woke my babies," whispered Lily accusingly. At least that's what Beca and Chloe thought that was what she said. She gave them an intense stare, then spun about and left with her rats.
"Do you want to get the Hell out of here?" Chloe whispered.
"Fuck yeah!" Beca responded in a slightly louder voice.
Both women quickly departed the basement, never once letting the other go.
Pitch Perfect SpookFest
That evening Beca lay in bed, staring at the ceiling of her dorm room, which was partly lit by the light on her nightstand. Usually she would be glad to not have her roommate there, but tonight she would have preferred the company.
After departing the basement, both women had looked so shaken that Aubrey hadn't argued when they said they were done.
Lily had appeared, and insisted she could get the basement cleared. The silent woman had then stood on her tippy-toes and whispered something into Amy's ear. No one knew what the quiet girl said, but Amy's eyes had widened to comic proportions at whatever she heard. Without another word the Aussie had rushed to help Lily with her work. None of the other Bellas had any inclination to learn what Lily had told Amy
The young freshman was a bit embarrassed by her weakness in the basement, and couldn't fall asleep. She had just repositioned herself for the tenth time when she heard a very soft knock on her dorm room door. Surprised by the knock, the young brunette went to the door and asked, "Who is it?"
"It's me Becs," replied Chloe in a soft voice.
Even more surprised by this, the brunette quickly unlocked her door and pulled it open. She opened the door to reveal the redhead, looking a bit lost and afraid.
"What?"
Chloe shuffled into the room, and in a very quiet voice asked if she could stay with Beca.
"You want to stay here?"
"I couldn't sleep…" Chloe said in a small vulnerable voice. "I can't sleep in that house. At least not tonight."
"You crossed the campus in the dark?" Beca asked incredulously.
The redhead gave a shrug. "I kept thinking I was coming to see you." She sighed. "You were so brave down there, while I was falling apart. I figured if I could just show half your strength, I could make it." She looked around. "It worked."
"Chloe…" Beca started.
"You're right," Chloe sighed. "This was a stupid idea, by a silly scared girl. I should just…"
The freshman took hold of Chloe's hand and interrupted. "You're not a scared silly girl. Walking here at night shows you can conquer your fears. And you helped save me in the basement too…"
"But…"
"Seriously Chloe," Beca held up her finger to stop Chloe from talking. "I was spiraling down there when you found me. You helped steady me, so I could help as steady you. We got through it as a team."
"Really?" Chloe asked hopefully.
"Really."
The smile on Chloe's face was real and warm, and Beca found herself hoping she could always make the redhead smile like that.
"Ummm-so, do you think, umm-maybe, uhhh-could I maybe - stay here tonight?" Chloe asked hesitantly.
Never one to deny another shelter from the dark, Beca took Chloe's hand and led her to her bed. She pulled back the covers and indicated that Chloe should get in. The redhead practically bounced into the bed with joy. It was enough for the petite brunette to roll her eyes, before she too climbed in.
Both women settled in, so they were facing each other.
"Good night Beca," whispered Chloe,
"Good night Chlo," yawned Beca back.
"Thank you for saving me, Becs."
"Any time. I'll always be there for you," Beca said as she faded out into sleep.
This caused Chloe to smile her most genuine and loving smile, and she knew this was the smile she would always have for the petite ball of snark, sarcasm, love, and fidelity. She knew her and Beca were destined to be together for many years to come. That was enough for now, for this instant, as the two young women curl together in her bed, Chloe is not afraid of the dark.
The End