Dead Beat (❌)

Chapter Eleven

Alfie

"Why are you being so reckless?!" Johnie yells at my back, but my anger keeps my jaw clenched.

I don't fully understand why I'm doing this, but I do know that if Johnie keeps trying to put me first he's going to end up dead.

If we both put in the effort, we might both make it out alive...or we'll both end up dead.

My muscles tense up thinking about what happened to the last person who put me first. Johnie doesn't know why, but he doesn't need to know.

Not yet, anyway.

Letting anger get the best of me, I don't realize how far I go until I'm back standing in front of the stairs that lead back up to the police station.

I peer upwards and I'm able to see the basement door still wide open, but there's no sign of the man from before.

Should I run back up? Should I take this opportunity to run back to Dad? I can't just leave Johnie here. That man can be anywhere and he didn't necessarily seem like he wanted to host two trespassing teens.

Unsure and confused on what I should do next, I grip my forearm nervously. Turning back towards the three passageways, I quietly scan all three but nothing helps me make a decision.

I never meant to actually leave Johnie and now I don't want to seem like a bitch by crawling back to him.

Maybe I should just wait...?

Figuring that to be the best option, I plop down on the bottom step of the stairs. Despite the circumstances, the silence is somewhat peaceful until a soft muffling draws my attention upwards to the ceiling above.

That false sense of peace is more than thrown out the window. It's smashed, smeared, and completely burned to a crisp as I see the ceiling covered in bloody sacs. I can only imagine what's in them and when I see skeletons and decomposing corpses swinging alongside them, I'm up and on my feet before I can even process an appropriate reaction.

I don't want to admit that my brother was right, but I could've probably went on with life without adding that to the mix.

Feeling my stomach churn uncomfortably, my feet start to take me down the left passageway. This probably isn't the best idea, but I don't have much of a choice unless I wanna try to get pass the crazy man upstairs.

Shoving my clenched fists deep into my pockets, I continue down the hallway that leads to the next undiscovered room. That scream from earlier is still fresh in my mind, but it's not enough to deter me.

Thankfully, I don't encounter anything but as I continue to walk farther down the hall, the fear of the unknown presses down harder and harder until I'm frozen in my tracks.

A faint light tells me that something lies ahead, but what it is I'm not excited to find out. Second guessing myself, I peer over my shoulder to maybe head back, but the choice is instantly made for me.

"Not all seeds are wonderful," the man's voice hisses quietly at me. I can barely see his expression in the dark, but by his tone I can imagine it's not friendly.

"I-I can explain!" I immediately blurt out, my body whipping around as I innocently raise my hands in front of my chest, "We just came here for help! We'll leave! We'll leave, I swear!"