He has been upstairs for 20 minutes now. Is there really enough time to check out the basement? You decide to make a quick trip downstairs. You will not be able to inspect much, but you may find some sort of clue. You tell Michelle that you are going to see what is in the basement. You also instruct her to call out for Dennis if she hears him coming. This will alert you of his return and provide enough time to get upstairs. She nervously agrees and you head down the hall.
You quickly open the basement door and flip the light switch. The stairwell lights up, as does a corner of the basement. Your courage dissipates when you realize you must walk down an open staircase, one where anything could grab your ankles. You swallow hard and taking three steps at a time, quietly as possible, you make it to the bottom. You whirl around scanning the basement, making sure nothing else is down here. The basement is unfinished, and filled with old wooden shelves, cardboard boxes and cobwebs. In the corner where the other light hangs, there is a pile of blankets and trash. There is a foul odor and not the usual musty basement smell either. As you move toward the light, your foot slips in something. You steady yourself and look down. It is feces. You grab one of the blankets, place a hand against the wall to steady yourself and begin wiping your shoe off. When you are finished, you dust your hands off and notice that the hand you placed against the wall is now red. Quickly you turn to the wall and find a trail of red leading up to a small broken window. There is blood on the jagged remains embedded in the frame. Something crawled through that window.
You crouch by the blankets and trash and begin inspecting them. You find small heaps of rope, one of them is still tied in a shackle formation. Dried blood and little fragments of something that could only be skin are embedded in the creases of fibers. You shudder and drop it.
"Dennis?" you hear Michelle yell from upstairs. That is your cue.
You sprint across the basement and up the stairs. You push through the basement door, shut it quietly and reach the bathroom door as Dennis steps off the final stair and into the hallway. You pull on the handle, feigning an exit from the bathroom, and turn to walk toward the main room.
"You kids want the cold soda I promised you?" He asks, looking at you, and then down at your feet. "Did you step in your own crap, boy?"
You must have stepped in more of the feces when you ran across the basement. But how could he know that? The hallway is too dark for him to see your shoes. You look at your feet and see them illuminated by a light coming from the bottom of the basement door. You slowly raise your head to face him. You forgot to turn the light off.
If you decide to confront Dennis about what you saw in the basement, turn to page 45.
If you accept the offer for a soda and ask for something to clean your shoes, turn to page 38.
If you go outside to clean your shoes off and attempt to accomplish your goal outside, turn to page 43.
If you make a break for the front door, turn to page47.
