"Quiet!" Mack shouts while doing his best to whisper. "None of this is normal... Grab what you can, and let's leave through the basement." Sophia starts to cry, leaping into the nearest corner. "What do you mean? How do you know this isn't a drill?" Mack tosses a few items in his bag and throws the strap over his shoulder. "Understand, collectively, no one has a clue of what is unfolding around us. I am as blind as you are, but we must stick together and find somewhere safe to hide." Conner opens the door leading to the basement. "He's right. What other options do we have?"12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUDZAUdmhJv
As Sophia wiped the tears from her face and began to answer, Lucas rushed into the room and slammed the door shut. "Okay, okay, okay… Help me move some furniture in front of the door!" Mack runs to aid Lucas while Conner packs a bag for Sophia. "Sophia, we survive now; talk later. Both of our families will want to see us again." Lucas grabs a rag to capture the sweat collecting on his forehead. "Mack, toss me my backpack. I'll see you kids downstairs in a few minutes." Mack pats Conner on the shoulder before following his brother into the basement.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpAuZhtcy8
"How are they doing?" Mack was a little puzzled by the question. "Fine, I guess." Lucas trips over the hatch, relieved but in pain. "F*ck! Yeah… they seem to be doing better than most in their position." Mack dusts off the hatch. "What's that?" Sophia squints while approaching Mack as Conner shuts the door behind them. "Hopefully, not a death sentence." Lucas chuckles. Mack pulls the hatch open. "A funny joke, right?" Conner takes a few steps closer to the opening. Lucas stares down the hatch for a few seconds, then begins his descent. "Conner, you go next, Sophia will follow, and I will go last. Someone has to close and secure the hatch." Mack insisted. Conner hesitates but follows Lucas with Sophia close behind. As Mack is about to close the hatch, he sees the basement door open.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMEf9KKOv5
"Alright, a cut from a rusty ladder and the stench of body odor… Fantastic." Lucas enters the first room and turns on his flashlight to see gasoline canisters beside a portable generator. "A few more steps, Sophia. Lucas went into the other room; here, let me help." Sophia's foot enters the warm, shallow puddle below. "Is that what smells down here?!" Conner looks down. "Water?" Conner bends over and dips his fingers into the warm substance. A light shines on his hand, revealing the blood filling the creases of his palm. "Where's Mack?" Lucas sounded concerned.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RjE9PehwL
A few drops of blood land on Sophia's forehead; Lucas stumbles backward; he fights the urge for a moment, then traces the steps back up the ladder with his flashlight. One by one, each bar is now stained in red. The sound of blood dripping on cool metal fades. "Mack…" Lucas mutters under his breath. "Boom!" the hatch screeches shut. "Watch Out!" Lucas shouts as what's left of Mack's lower torso hits the ground. "Jesus, F*ck!" Mack's blood paints the room around them. Lucas vomits while Conner rushes Sophia into the next room. "No, no, No, No, No, No. What did they do to you?" Conner covers Sophia's Ears. "Lucas, I'm Sorry… But we have to keep moving. Mack would have-"Lucas interrupts. "Give. Me. A. F*cking. Minute."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9u9LtW8Hc
Silence creeps into an already crowded space. Lucas picks himself up, dragging his feet as he walks through the doorway. "I found a couple of gas canisters and a portable generator earlier… There's another hatch in the second room. We need to search for an exit once we lower the generator and gasoline. Whoever or whatever did that to Mack will come after us, eventually…" Conner and Sophia nod in agreement. Lucas goes up the bloody ladder and locks the second hatch.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19yVO28H4U
"Mack, quit hogging the Chocolate Apocalypse!" Lucas lunges across the table, almost knocking over the remaining few pints of milk between them. "Bro?" Mack attempts to speak with a mouth full of chocolate and milk. "Yooooo, I didn't think I had to bring a poncho to breakfast this morning." Mack grins, revealing the scattered pieces of chocolate on his teeth. They stare at each other for a moment, then break out laughing. Lucas smiles, then shakes his head. "Do you ever think about-"Mack disrupts Lucas mid-sentence. "You abandoned me, Lucas."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwQq6NGYLR
Lucas jumps straight up before realizing it was all a dream; the nightmare is this new reality. Slowly, Lucas reaches into his pocket for a lighter and fumbles it a bit before lighting his cigarette in the dark room. "It's not safe to smoke down..." "Shut up, Connor." Lucas inhales his cigarette, and Connor decides to explore the room beside their chamber. "Sophia, wake up." Connor lightly shoves Sophia awake. "I need your help with something."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJvpJP2ara
As Lucas takes another drag, Connor begins to scan their surroundings. "Besides the full gas canister and portable generator, there is not much we can use down here, Lucas…" Sophia gets off the ground, turns on her flashlight, and helps Connor fill up the generator. "Almost there… Stop!" Connor puts the gas canister down and tells Sophia to take a few steps back before turning on the generator. Lucas tosses his cigarette on the ground, and as he snuffs out the embers, the room is illuminated. "Finally… some good luck for a change."12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NlDkHzixS
Lucas opens the third hatch and puts a flashlight in his mouth. Before descending, he quickly remembers to grab a knife nestled between the straps of his backpack. "Alright, you two. You are safe up here." Sophia goes to interrupt, but Lucas speaks over her. "I locked the hatch earlier; nothing is getting through. I need you both to be my eyes and ears up here. Okay? I'll only be gone for a minute." Lucas takes one last look at both of them, then takes his first step into the third chamber. At that moment, Sophia grabs Lucas's arm. "Be safe, Lucas." Lucas nods in agreement, then continues carefully climbing down the ladder.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3f7g9EYsq7
"What're we even doing, Connor?" Sophia asks while putting her head in the palm of her hands. "Mack is gone… Torn to pieces." Connor hesitates to answer. "We don't-"Sophia interrupts. "His blood is all over these walls, on the ladder; it's everywhere!" Sophia begins to cry. "I-I don't even think we will see our families again…" Connor looks at Sophia with sad eyes, revealing a truth stated without words. The two sit in silence, taking in their surroundings like they have a thousand times. This cold chamber resembles nothing the ordinary world could offer as relief or comfort at this moment. Neither the chamber nor the room connected felt like home. Unfortunately for the remaining three, this underground shelter would be the only haven they'll ever reach for miles.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcHwXFiCEA
Lucas takes his last step and lands in the third chamber. As he removes the flashlight from his mouth, he examines the room and finds himself surrounded by three walls and a gray door. Lucas walks a few steps closer to the doorway, then reaches for the knob. "There's gotta be food or a bed somewhere," Lucas mutters. He enters the room and discovers a shelf containing food with a cot beside it. After a few more moments of investigating, he notices another gray door on the other side of the room. Lucas Sighs. "Probably another hatch." He reluctantly goes to open the second door. In this room, Lucas sees nothing but another hatch. "Typical." Lucas opens the fourth hatch but is interrupted by sounds from the chamber beyond the next room.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6vnQ7F9Na
"Hey, Lucas! What's going on down there?" Connor continued to shout down the hatch's opening, receiving no sign of life from Lucas below. "Lucas!! Say something! Anything!!" Sophia would glance over at Conner now and then, watching him as he yelled down the hatch. The veins on his neck would flare up, and you could almost see the blood pulsing through. "Connor, quit it! There's nothing down there that can hurt him." Connor scoffs. "Oh, really, Sophia? Nothing could hurt him down there? How do YOU even know that?" Sophia didn't answer. Instead, she continued pacing back and forth in the room next to him. After a few more relentless minutes of screaming, Connor goes quiet and begins pacing around the hatch's opening. As he walks, his footsteps grow louder, and Sophia's footsteps grow louder, too. The sound of Mack's blood still dripping from the hatch above grows louder. Connor looks up and wonders what beast could have ripped Mack's torso like that. He couldn't help but be loath and crippled with fear at the thought of what lay ahead for him. Connor wanted to be a pillar of strength for Sophia; he liked to be the man who knew he could be for them both.
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