JULIAN GONZALEZ360Please respect copyright.PENANADlalnmTfi1
This guy sucks.360Please respect copyright.PENANAACxLGqunWE
He’s ashamed of his own dad. And that basement? Yeah, something was definitely fishy about it—and I mean literally. Even from the second floor, where Davis’s room was, I could smell… whatever it was. Something old. Something that wanted to stay hidden.360Please respect copyright.PENANAyCEcc6ODdR
For a scientist’s kid, his room was weirdly plain. Walls white enough to blind you. No posters, no LED lights, no trophies, not even a pair of dirty socks. Just drawers, cabinets, a TV, a Switch, and five... yeah, five different backpacks.360Please respect copyright.PENANA9FzqKdw6y8
How many schools does this guy go to?360Please respect copyright.PENANAzqgpbwhHdr
Everyone was chattering about nonsense except Cassedy, who had gone into psycho-analysis mode, staring holes into Davis’s head.360Please respect copyright.PENANAr21t6rWgu6
I was just standing there, bored outta my mind.360Please respect copyright.PENANAvTCFK85BN4
“Hey, Dave. What you got five bags for?” I asked.360Please respect copyright.PENANAxnB8o6A8D1
“Clothes,” he replied, not even looking up.360Please respect copyright.PENANAH9VYnZs4TE
I squinted. “How much clothes do you have?”360Please respect copyright.PENANA9Cuxvenp41
“Not much. Just enough to fill the bags.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAjcayKcboCz
“Then what are the drawers for?”360Please respect copyright.PENANAhlAs1ABttH
He shrugged, avoiding eye contact. “Just random ‘nerd’ stuff you wouldn’t be interested in.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAL9nxZklVMm
He finally noticed Cassedy staring. He turned sharply. “Eyeyey! Watch the children, not me!”360Please respect copyright.PENANAZTBrnetcH4
Dang, this guy gets uncomfortable fast. I mean, I get it. If someone stared at me like that, I’d probably be in jail for beating the stalker to death. 360Please respect copyright.PENANA4kvnLuphrU
“Eyo, Cass, what are you? Obsessed with this guy?” I asked, smirking.360Please respect copyright.PENANAsWljSQQ9WP
Cassedy turned toward me so fast I thought her neck was gonna snap off.360Please respect copyright.PENANAaTVfB0LgLm
“NO!” she shouted.360Please respect copyright.PENANAv0MIVU5YDi
Davis turned away, muttering something under his breath like he was regretting every life decision he ever made.360Please respect copyright.PENANAcaOPZguzFG
“Hey! Is there gonna be a fight? I bet the money I don’t have that Julian wins!” Adan cheered.360Please respect copyright.PENANA2Cc7xtrmS0
Davis stood up slowly. “There’s no fight.” He pointed directly at me. “Don’t be dumb.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAnCjwWDbFIS
That annoyed me. “The only dumb one will be you after I bash your brains against the wall, frickin' Dave!”360Please respect copyright.PENANAONEzCnRrrj
He shook his head like I wasn’t even worth the effort, grabbed his Switch, and sat back down.360Please respect copyright.PENANALGEqGulKWQ
“Who wants to play Smash?”360Please respect copyright.PENANANzKdFnpGMZ
Everyone joined. Even Cassedy.360Please respect copyright.PENANArzFuaL2rRl
Me? I flopped on the floor, yanked one of Davis’s bags over, and used it as a pillow. I drifted off to sleep.360Please respect copyright.PENANAO0DWLoIaXV
----360Please respect copyright.PENANAtSH69vV97d
I stood in black nothingness.360Please respect copyright.PENANAjtJdCYeanD
No floor. No ceiling. Just floating.360Please respect copyright.PENANAvycO7MHpkJ
A square formed ahead of me… then vanished.360Please respect copyright.PENANAndJx0kpN40
In its place: flashes. Images. Hooded people. Blurry. Warped. Like they were being scrambled on purpose.360Please respect copyright.PENANAFGSOcerK2Q
One figure stood clearer than the rest—a half-cybernetic guy with a glowing red eye.360Please respect copyright.PENANApMuotbMe9U
He turned. Glaring right at me.360Please respect copyright.PENANAMMQzhuTZvm
Then a giant, robotic beast stepped out from behind him.360Please respect copyright.PENANAIQ7fKxp3a0
From the darkness, a voice whispered.360Please respect copyright.PENANAqcF6yKhe4u
“Don’t.”360Please respect copyright.PENANASi2CFi9Z9g
That was it. Just don’t.360Please respect copyright.PENANAYgjtWRHj5U
I wanted to ask “Don’t what?” but my mouth wouldn’t move.360Please respect copyright.PENANAFjy6enkIgx
Everything warped again—sucked toward a new image. The basement door.360Please respect copyright.PENANAHFm6KBsHol
The smell hit me like a train.360Please respect copyright.PENANAEjz0aRJFR5
Not fishy anymore. Worse.360Please respect copyright.PENANAPVsFfKPMGb
Like some dude who hadn’t bathed in a decade rolled in a dumpster full of rotting sushi. Times ten.360Please respect copyright.PENANAgQ5BawLHww
“Don’t.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAcaCgNp028g
My hand reached for the doorknob. My fingers twisted. The voice begged again.360Please respect copyright.PENANAzDELRGwtMC
“Don’t.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAvjjzlAcJin
I pulled. The door creaked open.360Please respect copyright.PENANAQ6TqGYSelq
I wasn’t looking into the basement. I was looking down at the house itself—like the basement floated in the sky. And then everything below…360Please respect copyright.PENANAsNYJ2fNUlM
…turned black.360Please respect copyright.PENANAjkvdYdSdHo
“Don’t.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAMn0eFbNZBs
I fell.360Please respect copyright.PENANAjlBcV3DWal
----360Please respect copyright.PENANAiH0xaHPAVO
“Dang,” I muttered, sitting up groggily. “That was dark.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAmt63xb5Gsx
Everyone was sitting around, talking about Davis’s dad—except Davis, who was just nodding occasionally and trying to change the subject.360Please respect copyright.PENANAWgLxl6nCs6
He cleared his throat. “Anyone want lunch?”360Please respect copyright.PENANAUjCQvkIYw5
Everyone nodded.360Please respect copyright.PENANA2gphEosRtR
“Eyeyey! Let’s go in the basement!” I said, stretching.360Please respect copyright.PENANA9cx6vyaXs2
“No,” Davis snapped. “How many times do I have to tell you?”360Please respect copyright.PENANAJYHeXUBHWp
“Not enough.”360Please respect copyright.PENANA58Y88OzGUl
“No.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAjZpGVEHqmy
“Why? You got a dead body in there or something?”360Please respect copyright.PENANAVeU4MiANTs
“No!” Davis looked around, visibly confused and tense. “My dad will get mad.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAjUxB18paZ1
“Where is he?”360Please respect copyright.PENANAaKrfomhJVZ
“He’s asleep.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAsOF4NI5ZDy
Cassedy stepped in, finally. “Julian, we should respect the rules, okay?”360Please respect copyright.PENANAJMwX7ka194
The twins tugged on her sleeves. “I wanna see what’s inside!”360Please respect copyright.PENANArIEqbTsw9y
Adan shrugged like he wasn’t the reason we were about to get grounded by a rogue scientist. “What if… since the doc’s off duty, we just peek? Look around, don’t touch anything. Then bounce.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAdtE0ifpNuC
Davis sighed. Big sigh. Like the kind of sigh that carries trauma.360Please respect copyright.PENANAnbbhjwxUQT
“Fine,” he muttered. “No touching anything.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAMLhcMdbXG3
“Well…” I started, already smiling.360Please respect copyright.PENANALYbKifqhnQ
He looked at me with a stare that could crack glass. His voice was low.360Please respect copyright.PENANA59jD05dok9
“Don’t.”360Please respect copyright.PENANAgtZSwu6lX2