JULIAN GONZALEZ362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVrctYJQki
This guy sucks.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSvzuyn6A4
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.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIoQTTa6kvX
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.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUf7jZnvcWY
How many schools does this guy go to?362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGR64eXO6W
Everyone was chattering about nonsense except Cassedy, who had gone into psycho-analysis mode, staring holes into Davis’s head.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Hom6zS7rV
I was just standing there, bored outta my mind.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADxzxUDik5
“Hey, Dave. What you got five bags for?” I asked.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0EMoRaMOi
“Clothes,” he replied, not even looking up.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3QVlJvfqI
I squinted. “How much clothes do you have?”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYWHzSkdcq
“Not much. Just enough to fill the bags.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhNQfYZcmu
“Then what are the drawers for?”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhis9ZIPJGH
He shrugged, avoiding eye contact. “Just random ‘nerd’ stuff you wouldn’t be interested in.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHvZTTnIH7
He finally noticed Cassedy staring. He turned sharply. “Eyeyey! Watch the children, not me!”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZILdTnK2Cq
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. 362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0FI1GUCcp
“Eyo, Cass, what are you? Obsessed with this guy?” I asked, smirking.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfxuKeHawz
Cassedy turned toward me so fast I thought her neck was gonna snap off.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLkbDbfGe1
“NO!” she shouted.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSe4COgQP0
Davis turned away, muttering something under his breath like he was regretting every life decision he ever made.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJFtPk9TrY
“Hey! Is there gonna be a fight? I bet the money I don’t have that Julian wins!” Adan cheered.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqpyHiv7Xp
Davis stood up slowly. “There’s no fight.” He pointed directly at me. “Don’t be dumb.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KRgQWnN6g
That annoyed me. “The only dumb one will be you after I bash your brains against the wall, frickin' Dave!”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHvUfAMLTm
He shook his head like I wasn’t even worth the effort, grabbed his Switch, and sat back down.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzDfg1HYs5B
“Who wants to play Smash?”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1vo8o60nj
Everyone joined. Even Cassedy.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQee6SZWkXn
Me? I flopped on the floor, yanked one of Davis’s bags over, and used it as a pillow. I drifted off to sleep.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytQdqCXNec
----362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwIMv5BE5u
I stood in black nothingness.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9N3PZVrP4h
No floor. No ceiling. Just floating.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQOLmFPh3E
A square formed ahead of me… then vanished.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3GM1vJsR5
In its place: flashes. Images. Hooded people. Blurry. Warped. Like they were being scrambled on purpose.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIDuSvz6mo
One figure stood clearer than the rest—a half-cybernetic guy with a glowing red eye.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnDvK5WDR2
He turned. Glaring right at me.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9ilerCzJ9
Then a giant, robotic beast stepped out from behind him.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPpNcGCMCK
From the darkness, a voice whispered.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSNz5RAfkL
“Don’t.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53d2P9q3uM
That was it. Just don’t.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDH86OsWUs
I wanted to ask “Don’t what?” but my mouth wouldn’t move.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkF81Vz9sFe
Everything warped again—sucked toward a new image. The basement door.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5yGlbdC3t
The smell hit me like a train.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQY2ihLNVvs
Not fishy anymore. Worse.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzguhmFNw1
Like some dude who hadn’t bathed in a decade rolled in a dumpster full of rotting sushi. Times ten.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYocor6WWZ
“Don’t.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIXddWuxfT
My hand reached for the doorknob. My fingers twisted. The voice begged again.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlOLtBm8Sa
“Don’t.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurBdHiE3on
I pulled. The door creaked open.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPboYEnbSQ
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…362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWaC79A0JNm
…turned black.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxP1nJRjXSX
“Don’t.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkX8vtrGHR
I fell.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbcD5x6RJB
----362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkjojEvLhZu
“Dang,” I muttered, sitting up groggily. “That was dark.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAXCoWDsHw
Everyone was sitting around, talking about Davis’s dad—except Davis, who was just nodding occasionally and trying to change the subject.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbUNV8yi9M
He cleared his throat. “Anyone want lunch?”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vQLkoeFTi
Everyone nodded.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJokdopnWp5
“Eyeyey! Let’s go in the basement!” I said, stretching.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpluq9hGueB
“No,” Davis snapped. “How many times do I have to tell you?”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28Lx8OYma6
“Not enough.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIEdknTgP8
“No.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfP08uJ8y3u
“Why? You got a dead body in there or something?”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDQijfMQ2v
“No!” Davis looked around, visibly confused and tense. “My dad will get mad.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefCdqw1lgG
“Where is he?”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDrMMQfdA2
“He’s asleep.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXKhnvRtraT
Cassedy stepped in, finally. “Julian, we should respect the rules, okay?”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0W1WIUyrk
The twins tugged on her sleeves. “I wanna see what’s inside!”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhOK4Fh0up
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.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1oxKNBttD
Davis sighed. Big sigh. Like the kind of sigh that carries trauma.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2As5waquX
“Fine,” he muttered. “No touching anything.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79wehxAxCy
“Well…” I started, already smiling.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8Kb5tB2ba
He looked at me with a stare that could crack glass. His voice was low.362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQmFAqtsac
“Don’t.”362Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5ABjOiBHW
