"Do you hear that?" Cas shot me a look of terror.
"Casey, shush!" I calmly insisted. Cas and I were currently crouched down trying to carefully step around shards of broken glass we had noticed just outside one of the bedrooms. Cas' house only had two floors including the basement, which was known as the forbidden zone due to the fact that Stan would demolish anyone who dared to enter his 'man cave'.
I had only been down there once about a year ago, Stan was gone away for a weekend, Cas and I decided to go snooping. Thankfully, on our way in, I noticed a small fold of paper flutter down to the ground as we opened the door at the top of the staircase to the 'pit'. I remembered reading something about keeping a piece of paper between door hinges, so you could tell if someone had been in your room. If I hadn't caught and recognized what it was, Cas and I likely wouldn't be alive today!
I concluded that the shards of glass resting on the hardwood tiles before us were from a vase that used to sit on an end table by a worn-out red lounge chair. If this was all that appeared to be disrupted, what had happened?!
During my moment of contemplation, came what appeared to be a muffled sounding scream from the basement. Cas was very obviously frozen where he stood, as he hadn't said anything in ages, and kept staring at the shattered vase before him.
"I think we should take a peek." I stared at Cas until his gaze met mine, a look of utter disbelief spreading across his face. I could see the dread in his eyes as he spoke in his quiet yet harsh whisper-yell, "ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY, SAR!!!????!" Seeing his goofy expression, I couldn't help but giggle, which made him think I was even more insane.
"Cas, wouldn't someone have seen something, or heard a commotion?" I spoke in a calm and comforting voice. When I received no response, I sighed; I decided that if people had broken in they would have made themselves known by now. "Casey. I think we should go downstairs."
After a moment of waiting, Casey let out a large heaving sigh, as if he had been underwater for five minutes straight. "You okay there bud? We don't have to go down, but if any of your family is down there...we can't leave them out to dry!" I noted a compassionate look on my face.
"Alright. Fine. Let's just get this over and done with." Though there was still a shrillness to his voice, he seemed more at peace with his fears.
After getting the 'all clear' from Cas I began my decline into the depths of the pit, Casey not far behind. The closer we got to the dimly lit room that smelled of cologne and cigarettes, many more muffled gasps could be heard. After reaching the bottom of the stairs, we froze. I prepared myself for what I was thought I was about to see, and with a sigh, I turned the corner...