JULIAN GONZALEZ356Please respect copyright.PENANACuKnTiRsS5
This guy sucks.356Please respect copyright.PENANAtbZONbajpm
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.356Please respect copyright.PENANADZTLorgn94
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.356Please respect copyright.PENANAJiQaqaPcT0
How many schools does this guy go to?356Please respect copyright.PENANAupEeUGVER4
Everyone was chattering about nonsense except Cassedy, who had gone into psycho-analysis mode, staring holes into Davis’s head.356Please respect copyright.PENANA25bdkCL0w4
I was just standing there, bored outta my mind.356Please respect copyright.PENANAWVFa4ZAtKp
“Hey, Dave. What you got five bags for?” I asked.356Please respect copyright.PENANAKC3C9mRFCM
“Clothes,” he replied, not even looking up.356Please respect copyright.PENANAC6M3oLdrqN
I squinted. “How much clothes do you have?”356Please respect copyright.PENANA7iKm88TZuR
“Not much. Just enough to fill the bags.”356Please respect copyright.PENANAi5ONzAvTYM
“Then what are the drawers for?”356Please respect copyright.PENANAmRh4aWYZGl
He shrugged, avoiding eye contact. “Just random ‘nerd’ stuff you wouldn’t be interested in.”356Please respect copyright.PENANApp6VZily7r
He finally noticed Cassedy staring. He turned sharply. “Eyeyey! Watch the children, not me!”356Please respect copyright.PENANAKCnPebLHhh
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. 356Please respect copyright.PENANAHQ4aePNrnS
“Eyo, Cass, what are you? Obsessed with this guy?” I asked, smirking.356Please respect copyright.PENANA1ZiiVJdevH
Cassedy turned toward me so fast I thought her neck was gonna snap off.356Please respect copyright.PENANApy3Qfcawvu
“NO!” she shouted.356Please respect copyright.PENANASaqNc7Apx2
Davis turned away, muttering something under his breath like he was regretting every life decision he ever made.356Please respect copyright.PENANAZCdzjqZiAJ
“Hey! Is there gonna be a fight? I bet the money I don’t have that Julian wins!” Adan cheered.356Please respect copyright.PENANAikwx0EwTe7
Davis stood up slowly. “There’s no fight.” He pointed directly at me. “Don’t be dumb.”356Please respect copyright.PENANApLgl4wuClf
That annoyed me. “The only dumb one will be you after I bash your brains against the wall, frickin' Dave!”356Please respect copyright.PENANAbgVtxxuq8u
He shook his head like I wasn’t even worth the effort, grabbed his Switch, and sat back down.356Please respect copyright.PENANAgv1ekCxS0F
“Who wants to play Smash?”356Please respect copyright.PENANAkkbD0sWL9l
Everyone joined. Even Cassedy.356Please respect copyright.PENANAwk1thqIVeQ
Me? I flopped on the floor, yanked one of Davis’s bags over, and used it as a pillow. I drifted off to sleep.356Please respect copyright.PENANA0wwi61Nk4h
----356Please respect copyright.PENANAYx5vcjqdDj
I stood in black nothingness.356Please respect copyright.PENANAd1FWlPntio
No floor. No ceiling. Just floating.356Please respect copyright.PENANAVTsb15v7t8
A square formed ahead of me… then vanished.356Please respect copyright.PENANACRweoUANi2
In its place: flashes. Images. Hooded people. Blurry. Warped. Like they were being scrambled on purpose.356Please respect copyright.PENANAC32PB0Ojim
One figure stood clearer than the rest—a half-cybernetic guy with a glowing red eye.356Please respect copyright.PENANAxSgA1L9ZEy
He turned. Glaring right at me.356Please respect copyright.PENANApcMoyUCQbf
Then a giant, robotic beast stepped out from behind him.356Please respect copyright.PENANAo6e1xktQld
From the darkness, a voice whispered.356Please respect copyright.PENANAPAyVY2C6Za
“Don’t.”356Please respect copyright.PENANAYlW5Fyh3lW
That was it. Just don’t.356Please respect copyright.PENANAQNez0dV68d
I wanted to ask “Don’t what?” but my mouth wouldn’t move.356Please respect copyright.PENANAubKKIMN6jz
Everything warped again—sucked toward a new image. The basement door.356Please respect copyright.PENANAYsUNtcVXOx
The smell hit me like a train.356Please respect copyright.PENANA87gHEex4Tr
Not fishy anymore. Worse.356Please respect copyright.PENANAeDNQH7Ypxu
Like some dude who hadn’t bathed in a decade rolled in a dumpster full of rotting sushi. Times ten.356Please respect copyright.PENANAZ75MwhIFcB
“Don’t.”356Please respect copyright.PENANAXQDRStPVHI
My hand reached for the doorknob. My fingers twisted. The voice begged again.356Please respect copyright.PENANAEJj92DMCcx
“Don’t.”356Please respect copyright.PENANAdanNP37Pyy
I pulled. The door creaked open.356Please respect copyright.PENANAIV5HMWPv9G
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…356Please respect copyright.PENANAWy1W8HBOCR
…turned black.356Please respect copyright.PENANAGrW5MyaEDC
“Don’t.”356Please respect copyright.PENANAN88yEoRZek
I fell.356Please respect copyright.PENANAQZNmewdO5e
----356Please respect copyright.PENANAR3bIcLLJDE
“Dang,” I muttered, sitting up groggily. “That was dark.”356Please respect copyright.PENANAJegrZWXZr1
Everyone was sitting around, talking about Davis’s dad—except Davis, who was just nodding occasionally and trying to change the subject.356Please respect copyright.PENANAYW5ydskTJT
He cleared his throat. “Anyone want lunch?”356Please respect copyright.PENANAdSzfJWAM63
Everyone nodded.356Please respect copyright.PENANAFUW4ziKQmi
“Eyeyey! Let’s go in the basement!” I said, stretching.356Please respect copyright.PENANArxsyBmEs3r
“No,” Davis snapped. “How many times do I have to tell you?”356Please respect copyright.PENANAtkIu2CQ5zu
“Not enough.”356Please respect copyright.PENANAIwbWT8YiKj
“No.”356Please respect copyright.PENANAAG0yk9jP0u
“Why? You got a dead body in there or something?”356Please respect copyright.PENANAjhPnKNnU9r
“No!” Davis looked around, visibly confused and tense. “My dad will get mad.”356Please respect copyright.PENANA9e6H61i7VB
“Where is he?”356Please respect copyright.PENANAqORzFpDpSd
“He’s asleep.”356Please respect copyright.PENANAmNwDMDeo9k
Cassedy stepped in, finally. “Julian, we should respect the rules, okay?”356Please respect copyright.PENANATZDgSHBSgU
The twins tugged on her sleeves. “I wanna see what’s inside!”356Please respect copyright.PENANA2E3zw2O9sx
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.”356Please respect copyright.PENANADJAk1mXQbI
Davis sighed. Big sigh. Like the kind of sigh that carries trauma.356Please respect copyright.PENANA7m29pKCwiW
“Fine,” he muttered. “No touching anything.”356Please respect copyright.PENANADxcxp5kkeh
“Well…” I started, already smiling.356Please respect copyright.PENANAx9tgDUKXG2
He looked at me with a stare that could crack glass. His voice was low.356Please respect copyright.PENANATKf8ATTIYK
“Don’t.”356Please respect copyright.PENANAP3LRahjnxR