The Purge: Savior In The Shadow

6 - Down

"W-What?" he asked, fear lacing in his voice. He looked at his chest to notice he was breathing irregularly. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. It took a few seconds for him to calm his mind. Once he was ready, he looked at her cautiously. "You heard me. I forgot something. Can I retrieve it?"

Not wanting to have bad consequences, he abruptly said in a loud, albeit, slightly angry voice. "I'll just go get it. Wait here." He turned around, starting to walk. But Melanie's voice stopped him from walking. "It's a family heirloom. I can't risk you breaking it." Her eyes looked at him, with a hint of a deadly glint. He quickly ran towards the kitchen, trying to find a knife. Once he found it, he grabbed and hid it behind his back while getting closer to the door.

He opened the lock, grip tightening around the knife. "You try anything, and I won't hesitate cutting you." He threatened, determined to keep his family safe. Melanie came in and shut the door quickly, her head leaning towards the door. Once she calmed herself down, she walked towards the basement. He observed every movement, trying to analyze if she was planning something. She was looking at the basement stairs, then turned around and said,

"Want to come down with me?" She snickered hysterically, enough to make him wonder if he made a bad decision. Gulping in nervousness, he said, "Go down there yourself." He held the knife with a vice grip. Eventually, she walked down the stairs, leaving his sight.

10 minutes later

He was sitting on the couch, watching the basement intently. He was too focused he didn't notice Emilia whispering. "Psst. Rafi! Psst!" She shouted, desperate to get his attention. Rafi looked to his right, seeing the balcony where Emilia was standing. "What is she doing?!" she asked, wanting to make her get out.

Having no choice, he stood up and said, "I'll go check." He gestured for her to come back to her room and hide. Emilia unhesitatingly nodded her head, running quickly back to her room. Having enough, he stealthily walked down the stairs, before seeing her on the left that unnerved him.

He saw Melanie pushing the big, wooden cabinet, grunting heavily. Even worse, her legs were on the wall pushing, eager to bring the cabinet down. It wasn't long until she noticed him before shouting, "Help me! Help me push!" He ran hesitatingly and pulled the cabinet at his direction, not budging one bit. He looked down and noticed a contraption under the drawer, blending in the wall, making it hard to see.

He grabbed the contraption and pulled, not budging. He pulled harder, squinting his eyes and teeth clenching his bottom lip. Luckily, it got out, making them both succeed in moving the cabinet out of the way. Unfortunately, the cabinet was pushed too much and Melanie fell on the ground, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

"Hey! Are you okay?!" He asked, making sure she didn't have any bruises. She looked at him and quickly stood up, patting him in the shoulder. "Thank you." She went closer to the cabinet and pushed it more. He noticed a discoloration on the wall behind the cabinet, wondering what it was. Melanie blocked his view, pulling sideways on the discolored wall.

His eyes widened in shock and fear, seeing Melanie reveal a secret path of stairs going down further. The pathway was lit by a dim, green light, making the place look abandoned. Melanie frantically adjusted her handbag on her shoulder and started to walk down. "Honey!" she shouted, running further on the stairs.

He quickly pushed himself up and followed her, his grip on the knife slightly shaking from fear. "Honey! Where are you?!" she shouted further down the stairs, making him breathe erratically. He turned to the left, the tight pathway, the lack of air, was slightly suffocating to him. He turned to the right and went down another set of stairs, wondering where it ends. He jumped on the ground with a grunt. He looked around the room in fear, noticing it looked like a sewer.

He turned to the left, seeing Melanie comforting a man lying on a dirty bed. "What the hell is this?" he looked at the both of them with wide eyes, his body fidgeting in fear.

To be continued...