Mending Her Beast (A NaLu FanFiction)

Chapter Four: The Basement

Chapter Four: The Basement

The noises are louder than they have been in the past. It's like something is down there. And it knows she is home. Home when she isn't allowed to be. Lucy has only been living with Jude for nearly four weeks, and she is already breaking one of his two rules.

And she knows she is about to break a second.

The handle is different now. It is round and modern with a lock. It is an easy enough lock to pick. At Lucy's previous school, they refused to replace the lock on her locker, stating that it would be her expense seeing as she was the one who broke it. But instead of spending money on a new lock, she simply learnt how to pick it by using her bobby pins. It didn't take long to learn – not when there are tones of videos on he internet that show you how.

Rushing up to her bathroom, she grabs a few bobby pins, bending them the way that she needs to on her way back down the steps. Quickly glancing at her watch, she sees that it is only four o'clock. Still three hours till Jude will be back.

The scraping sound grows louder, grinding Lucy's nerve endings. The sound is unsettling, causing the blood in her veins to run ice cold. She pauses at the lock, hesitating. What if I find a family of possums? What if they attack me?

But Lucy knows that the sound isn't from possums. It's something else entirely. Jude might not be lying about the possums, but somehow Lucy knows that the sound isn't possum-related. When the sound softens, Lucy moves to pick the lock.

Fiddling with the bobby pins in the lock, a short while it clicks. Lucy's eyes widen, her heart hammering in her chest. Taking a long breath, she straightens up before reaching to twist the round handle. Hearing another click, the weight of the door bares down on her and she pulls it open slowly, revealing a dark staircase leading straight down.

The smell that attacks her nostrils burns horridly. It's a god awful stench, one that Lucy can't think about describing. The odour scalds her eyes, causing them to water and bloom red with irritation. Rubbing her eyes before holding her nose and covering her mouth, Lucy takes the stairs slowly, cautiously. She has no idea how to father can work in a such an awful smell.

Maybe he has left food down here and hasn't thrown it out. But Lucy can't be sure. This smell seems to intense to be rotten food.

The steps creak under her footsteps, causing her to wince. If her father had been in the house he would have heard her, for sure. The sound of scraping is suddenly heard again, like something to trying to get away from the creaky floorboards. Lucy hesitates for a moment, until the sound stops again. Her heart pounds frantically in her chest, threatening to break free. She begins to wonder whether the saying 'curiosity killed the cat' could be a premonition of her future.

Stop being so over dramatic, Lucy. It's just a basement.

Biting her tongue and clenching her fists against her chest, Lucy continues down the stairs, her eyes listening to any other sounds. The darkness closes in around her, but she can see a dim light off in front of her. It is very dim, but still seemingly acting as a beacon to her.

Approaching the light, the sound is softer in her eyes now. Her curious mind pumping random ideas of what it could be around her mind like wild fire.

When she reaches the bottom, the room is only illuminated by the tiny windows close to the roof. She knows that they are the windows that she tried to look into, but couldn't due to the thick layer of dust on the inside.

Glancing around the room, her eyes slowly adjust to the darkness. She can see machines in a variety of sizes, grouped together in one corner of the room. Lucy can't tell what kind of machines they are, they are to unfamiliar.