Holiday Romance: Halloween Movie Marathon (Part 3 of 4)
Holiday Romance: Halloween Movie Marathon (Part 3 of 4)
He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He was dripping with sweat.
He took the first step into the basement and flicked the light switch. The stairway ignited with light, then with a pop followed by a decaying orange glow his path grew dark once more.
"I just changed that bulb," he muttered. "On sale. Yeah, last time I fall for that." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and ventured into the depths of despair, otherwise known as, the basement.
The glow of his phone wasn't nearly close to what the lightbulb would've offered. At the bottom of the stairs, he had a choice to go either left or right. To the right was a small area he'd put together for when he had friends over and wanted to play videogames. There was a couch and a TV, along with a small display of his favorite movies and videogames. To the right was the washer and dryer, along with a portion of the basement dedicated to storage. Cranberry wasn't asleep on the couch like he thought she'd be, when he was down there playing games was the only time she'd brave the basement, to be by his side.
"This is getting too weird," he whispered. He checked around the couch, making sure his dog wasn't resting behind it or to the side. "Cran?"
A patter of footsteps on the cold concrete floor caught his attention. He pointed his phone at the commotion, only to see the washer and dryer sitting dormant.
"A mouse? Do we have mice? That's the last thing I need tonight. Cranberry, was that you? What're you doing?"
James walked closer to the storage space, the last section of the basement he wanted to check before heading back upstairs. The light on his phone blinked. He turned it over in his hand and checked the battery on the screen, and then it went dark.
"This isn't a good place to be after watching all those movies."
His heart was pounding. He went to place his phone back into his pocket and missed. It hit the floor and he dropped to his knees to find it. As he searched in the darkness, he could hear a deep breathing coming from the other end of the room, cutting through the silence.
"Hello?"
He patted the floor with his hands for his phone.
"Found you." He shoved the phone into his pocket and got to his feet. He took a step forward, and then stopped, unable to move. The breathing from the other end of the room had gotten closer. He could hear it; he could hear it right in front of him.
"Who's there?" he asked the darkness.
He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He was dripping with sweat.
"Who's there?"
The breathing stopped. He took a step forward. The breathing started up again, this time behind him. He ran for the stairs, leapt up the creaking steps, and slammed the door behind him.
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Dan Leicht is a romance, mystery, and science fiction author living in Upstate New York with his wife Barbara and their mischievous tortie cat. He has a Bachelor's in Creative Writing from SUNY Brockport. His work has appeared in Sci-fi Shorts, 365 Tomorrows, The Kraken Lore, and Ripples in Space. You can find him online at danleicht.com and on Instagram/Threads @danleicht.
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