FALTER

CHAPTER 16: A girl in the basement.

Imti ignored the ugly feeling of the wet grass on his feet as he ran across the backyard of his house. Clutching his precious treasure close to his chest, he used his free hand to fumble with the damp metal on the basement doors. The sound of the children chasing him grew closer and closer. The boy's heart skipped multiple beats every time the image of the ginger boy finally getting his hands on what Imti was holding.

As his hands slipped again on the lock, Imti cursed out loud, before immediately flushing a bright red. His father would've beaten him to a pulp of black and blue if he had heard, and this reminder prompted the child to flicker his eyes around for any sign of danger. With one final grimace, he unlatched the door and slipped into his shelter just as the unruly gang turned the corner.

Needles stabbed into the child's lungs as he fumbled around in the dark. He laid the box on the table, took a few more seconds to collect himself before finally resting his finger on the dusty light switch.

The light bulb flickered to life, revealing a young girl standing right next to Imti.

"Dear Azrael! Wha- huh?" Imti lost his breathing privileges again as he clutched his chest. The girl did nothing to help and continued staring a hole through him. "Wh- How did you get in here?"

There was no light in her eyes, Imti realized. It was just a black void that he found quite scary.

 Unwilling to break her silence, the girl simply pointed at the door Imti had come through.

"How-?" His voice cracked. Embarrassed, Imti tried to ignore her and turned around, but sadly had another heart attack. The voices of the boys chasing him echoed from outside.

Imti crouched down and slowly walked back towards the door. They were right outside the door and wondering out aloud where Imti could've gone.

"Down there? No..." One of them yelled. Beads of sweat formed on Imti's hands as he held the door handle from inside.

His breathing became shallow as the footsteps crunched closer and closer.

Then he heard it. The booming voice. The one that had yelled at him so many times before the impact came, usually on his left cheek.

Imti couldn't help but involuntarily flinch as his father roared into the backyard. Not wanting to make the day any worse, Imti let go of the handle and stepped away from the door. When he turned around, the girl was once again standing face to face with him.

Poor Imti now fell to the floor, his knees having finally given out.

"Stop doing that!" Imti hissed as he slouched back to the table. The girl silently followed him and looked over his shoulder. Neither of them said a word until Imti finished unravelling the package.

Both children admired the case in front of them. It was a fresh new video game, with Imti's hero in all his glory decorating the cover. The boy had chills just looking at it. He reached out with his fingers, relishing every moment before he actually touched it.