Tʜᴇ Pᴀᴛʜ Tᴏ Hɪɢʜɢᴀᴛᴇs

Tʜᴇ Tʀᴀɪɴ Sᴛᴏᴘᴘᴇʀs Aɴᴅ Tʜᴇ Tɪɴ Mᴀɴ

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 19

Water dripped with a gentle drop. The valves spluttered, walls creaking in anguish. From somewhere below you, you could swear the gentle sound of scratching was shaking the wooden floorboards.

Your eyes traced the wooden panelling around you with wide intrigue. Rot was flourishing across the mushy wood with big black eyes, excreting a potent stench.

Flat mushrooms grew through the cracks of the exposed beams, some smaller ones trailing down the wall like little specks of freckles across the brown panelling.

"They didn't think of taking care of this place did they?" You joke, your eyes leaving the wall and latching onto Reich who was eyeing up a puddle of suspicious liquid with a scowl whilst Salem sniffed the crack skirting board with intrigue. "I zink zee ovners left once zee var schtarted, I can't really remember."

You hum as you spin around, taking in the empty shelves and floor strewn with rubbish. "Hey!" You exclaim, catching Reichs attention as you do, "a free bat!"

You bend down and grasp a wooden bat lying across the floor, it was covered in dust and as you lifted it, threads of spiderwebs curtain-tailed from the ground to the bat, small black smidges writhed through the silk.

You twisted the bat around in your hands, coiling the spiderwebs around its body, revealing the frantic spiders crawling to and fro, desperately shimmying to outrun their perceived threat.

"Put zat zing dovn it is disgusting." Reichs revulsed voice rung out behind you, his irreverent tone bouncing off the desolate walls around you and projecting through the echoey air.

You scoffed, then smacked the bat off the wall gently, causing some of the wood to splinter. "Thats what your dad said when your mother held you for the first time." You snigger, watching as most of the cobwebs come loose and feathered toward the ground.

You hit the bat once more, then noticed Reich was dead silent. Turning your head to face the angsty teen you realise he was pulling the most dad-like disappointed face you'd ever seen, his arms akimbo.

A giggle escaped your lips and you shrugged with a smile. "Sorry." Reich dropped his arms and instead took to crossing them, his eyelids dropping over his upper sclera, narrowing his eyes unimpressively.

"Look it's harmless!" You declare as you swing it, once to the right, then to the left. Though the weight of it brought you unevenly forward, causing the swipe you were about to take to be closer to Reich than you really intended.

The German half-ducked half-took-a-step-back, his eyes wide. "Watch it Schwachkopf." He hissed, bringing his hand up to hold his hat before it slipped off his head.

You smile wider, then threw the bat above your head, and down, aiming for Reichs head. The moment Reich noticed this, he jumped back to avoid having a bat smash his skull. But you stopped your motion last second and rolled the bat into your free hand, laughing to yourself.

Reich noticed this too late, and in an instant the motion of ducking he had committed himself to had caused his legs to lose balance; and you watch him tumble to the dirty ground.

Your hand moved to cup your mouth in shock, though it also doubled as to hide the growing smile you couldn't help but allow its place against your lips. "Oops." You snigger behind your hand, bringing the bat towards your body.

Reich pulled his hat back from covering his eyes. "Warum du kleines Stück Scheiße-" Suddenly, the German jumped to his feet, and charged towards you, hands outstretched.