Arthur Barclay Columbus.

Chapter 2: I am just going to the bathroom

My hands were clasped on my stomach as I laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. The sounds coming from the basement were, frankly, quite annoying.
I used to be terrified of the screams and the cries, covering up my ears and the whole shablang, but not anymore.
 I had grown cold.
I flinched heavily when a poster on my wall shifted.
I had grown kind of cold.

Eventually, I hadn't read the messages. I knew that if they were truly an emergency, they wouldn't contact my mum's 'secondary' phone. Secondary, but still forbidden.
I sat up when the screams suddenly stopped.
That hadn't happened before. The screams never stopped abruptly, they died down as whoever was in my basement was carried outside, before a gunshot sounded. The screams only stop after the gunshot.
Not this. This meant that either this one fainted or it was simply incredibly clever.
And they never faint.

My mum always told 'never be curious'. Never 'check it out' and never, ever, ever interrupt whatever was going on downstairs. It was the events of this evening that made me get out of bed and open the door slightly. I poked my head out, coming up with about seven excuses, just in case I got caught. I knew Mum had several strange men in the house to make sure we were safe, but I never really knew where they were at night, if they were here at night and what they did at night. I am just going to the bathroom. I am just going to the bathroom.

The stairs creaked as I tried to get downstairs. It was as if the entire house was telling me not to go, heavily protesting against my attempts to discover what was going on in that forbidden basement. I skipped the last two, taking one big step and planted my right foot on the cold floor. I shivered. This was wrong. This was very, very wrong. But I happened to be very, very curious. I searched for the light switch for a moment, knowing it was somewhere near my hand – until I felt a hand that definitely did not belong to me covering the light switch.

I froze. I had two choices. I could A) run like the wind and hope they'll think they imagined it or B) confess and probably die. I would've gone for A, but it was dark and whoever this person was had a very large chance of outrunning me, whereas I had a very small chance of surviving either of the options.
"Get me out of here." a female voice whispered, interrupting my suicidal thoughts. Mum only had male bodyguards.

My options had drastically changed. A) I could help them out and live a happy life, or B) I get killed. Why was there always a fifty percent chance I died? I thought quickly. "The second door to the right. Walk all the way down the hallway and then last door to the left. I mean right."
A silence. "You better not be lying, sissy." she spoke and I dared to laugh.
"I'm too afraid to lie."
Another silence. "Fair point." A snap, a crack and a dash and her presence disappeared.

Oh my god. Am I going to jail now? That must've been the clever girl from the basement. I helped a killer out. Oh my god. Oh my fricking god. I rushed upstairs, the stairs no longer creaking and I silently closed my door behind me. Not a second later I heard footsteps downstairs, rapidly pacing around and some muffled voices. A gunshot sounded next. Was the woman dead? No way I was going downstairs to check it out. In fact, I'm never, ever going to get involved in this chaotic mess.

Ping!