The Basement

Chapter four

The air below is sour and damp and my knees are soaked through my jeans but i keep moving until i hit another wall. This time the wall is wood planks, the kind that don't touch, that leave gaps. I peek through them, and i see light, flickering and blue like that from a tv and i follow it to a corner where i can see into the room more clearly. I freeze. A figure sits, draped on a small couch in the center of the empty room. No other furniture can be seen but my eyes are focused on him as he stares blankly into the flashing screen. Aside from the tv, the only other light shines from behind him coming from what looks like a hallway that leads far down with no doors but one at the very end. The stairs to our porch are beside the hall but that is it. From what i can see, there is no one else here, only the boy. I catch myself feeling disappointed in him for lying but then i shake it away, now feeling stupid again for believing him at all. I decide that its not a good idea to go any further so i turn to leave but my foot catches on something in the dark and there is a scuffle as i fall as gently as i can to the mud. I lay there panting, afraid to move, afraid to look in case he might have heard. I curse myself for being here and i drag myself back up onto aching knees. And then i see him. His eyes glisten only slightly in the dark as he stares at me through the hole in the corner. Tears sting my eyes, begging me to blink but i cant.

“Ellinor?” he speaks and i hold my breath. “Is that you?”

“ yes” i reply, against everything in me.

“How did you get down here?” he asks, i can see he is working out a possible route of escape.

I slowly crawl toward him, cautiously keeping my distance from the gaps where he might reach through but my curiosity draws me in, until i am pressed against the boards again. He backs away and sits down on his knees, waiting for me to speak again.

“I need to talk to you” i say and he looks surprised.

“You need to talk to me?” he repeats. “What if i dont want to talk to you?”

“You have to”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Because i can get you out of here” i say firmly and he closes his mouth “you have to promise not to hurt me”

“Promise not to-” he begins to protest.

“Promise you wont touch me and i’ll help you”

He wears a displeased look but nods his head “i promise, i wont hurt you”
As satisfied as i can be with his answer, i feel along the board for a weak spot, trying to pry my way in. “help me” i say and he leaps up to grab ahold of the board and pulls until it cracks and falls inward. The gap is big enough for me to crawl through so i do, sliding in carefully to avoid splinters. He reaches out to me but i shoot him an icy glance and he takes my warning with a step back, his hands up in surrender.

My hands touch the cool cement floor and i am able to stand finally, brushing the mud from my clothes. My eyes adjust slowly to the dim light and then i am suddenly aware that i am standing face to face with the boy from below. I fall back into the wall, pressing myself as far from him as i can while he stands unmoving and taking me in from head to toe. I feel vulnerable and foolish.

“ you don’t look how you sound” he breaks the silence with a slight smile.

“And how do i sound?” i ask, taken aback by his casual demeanor and by his ability to make light of the situation.

“Miserable” he says after a thoughtful pause.

“and how do i look?”

“Kind”

I blush and look away, his eyes never leaving me, burning into me and i desperately clasp at words to change the subject.

“What is your name?” i ask awkwardly. The tv breaks through with loud static and a snowy screen and we both look to it.