The Outskirts: The Sky Raiders (Jace x OC) BOOK 1

The Sky Raiders: 4

Cole and Jenna went down the stairs, me and Dalton followed. The basement was dark, not far beyond the foot of the creaky stairs, black curtains ran from floor to ceiling on all sides, concealing most of the room. The only light leaked from an old lantern sitting on a low stool. The thing was grimy and rusty, and it looked like a relic from the Old West.
Dalton tugged on me and Cole's sleeves. Dramatic shadows fell across his face making his frowning clown makeup look eerie. A painted tear sparkles on one of his cheeks the glitter barely reflecting the lanterns glow.
"That guy locked the door," Dalton whispered. He had been the last one down the stairs.
"What?" I said.
"The Boo shirt guy. When he shut the door, I heard it click, so I checked it. We're locked down here."
Sighing, Cole glanced up the stairs. "He probably just did it to add suspense."
"I don't like it." Dalton insisted.
The three of us have been friends since Cole moved from here to Mesa from Boise in first grade. Dalton didn't tend to get stressed easily.
"It's just for effect," Cole assured him. "They're trying to make it scarier." He look like he was trying to reassure himself as much as us.
Dalton shook his head. "He did it quietly. I barely heard it. What kind of effect does it have if know one hears it?"
It was starting to make me nervous, and I could tell Cole felt the same.
"You heard it. You checked. Your scared. Seems like there experts." Cole said.
"Or psychopaths." I muttered. Dalton was nodding in agreement.
Everyone else was already at the bottom of the stairs. Blake had crouched to inspect the lantern. "This way." Blake said pulling back the drapes, revealing a large man. Lantern light reflected off his mostly bald head with a bristly fringe around the sides. His wife, flat nose topped a drooping handlebar mustache. A fragile bone protruded from on earlobe. His overalls looked homemade, sloppily patched together from rough material. Curly hair sprouted from his thick bare shoulders.
I jumped. Most of the kids did likewise. Lacie shrieked. The bulky guy grinned at our reaction. Two of his teeth look like they were made of dull grey metal.
"Ready to be scared?" The man said, eyes eager. His voice had a vaguely southern twang. He rubbed his large meaty hands together.
I glanced at Dalton and Cole. Maybe Dalton was right. I didn't like the idea of being down here alone with this guy.
"Who are you?" Jenna asked him.
"Me?" The man replied, squinting at her. "You came her to be frightened, am I wrong?"
"That's right," Blake said, stupidly.
The big stranger leered. "I'll make sure you get what you came for. I'll take you around, be certain you behave. You mustn't touch anything."
I saw Dalton step closer to Cole. Jenna grabbed my hand.
"They call me Ham," he said bending down to pick up the lantern. He reeked like sweat and dust. "Tonight I will guide you to terrors like you've never known. Sure you want to keep going?"
"The door is locked." Dalton said weakly, nodding towards the stairs.
"The man glared at him. "Then you'd better stay with me." The man held the curtain aside, Blake led the way through. I was average height for my grade, as was Jenna, and we barely came up to Hams chest. Cole and Dalton brought up the rear.
After everyone was through, Ham let the curtain fall. More dark curtains framed the room. Bones lay on the floor, some yellowed, some cracked or chipped. To one side of the space rested a skull that was the size of a shopping cart and it had a pair of thick broken tusks. The skull didn't match anything I had ever seen. It couldn't be real, not even prehistoric. But it looked just as genuine as the other bones. But I thought that just meant they were fake.
"Wow." I said quietly.
Blake picked up an arm bone. "This feels realistic."
"Real as you are." Ham replied.
A few moments later a young voice started screaming, coming from the behind the curtains to my left. "Run! It's almost to late. Run for it! This isn't a—"
The voice abruptly stopped.