Free The Nelson Files: Episode #1 by Ryan Cecere, Scott Lucas Page B

on the walls. The atmosphere was cold and damp feeling. Water leaked from above, dripping and forming puddles. Chains were nailed into the walls. To his left-hand side, a few cages were seat up.
    Two of which were occupied.
    One held Ajay and the other Billy, the young boy who was abducted on the second night. Lance rushed to the cages. Billy was in a fetal position, his legs chained up, filthy and crying. Ajay was unconscious.
    "Hey, are you okay?" Lance asked.
    Billy, wild-eyed and shaking uncontrollably, looked over his shoulder at Lance. He gulped. "Help me...please."
    "Don't worry, that's what I'm here to do. I just need you to stay calm and you'll be out of here in no time, all right?" Lance pulled on the padlock. "These look like they're gonna be a bitch."
    Billy sat up and gripped the cage bars. "Try that big rock over there in the corner," he said, pointing.
    Lance grabbed the rock and smashed away at the padlock. "Dammit," he snarled. Lance swiped the sweat dripping off his forehead with the sleeve of his brown hooded jacket. Billy's eyes widened, his throat dried up. Lance noticed. "What's wrong?"
    Billy was looking beyond Lance. Behind him. That’s when Lance felt a warm gust of air on his neck. The hairs on his arms and neck stood at attention. He slowly turned around, and only got a glimpse at the monster. It grabbed him by the jacket and flung him across its lair. Lance smacked against the wall, sending dirt crumbling to the ground. "Ah!" Lance grunted as his body hit the ground.
    Billy shrieked as the Bogeyman dragged its feet, slowly approaching Lance. With its meaty hands, it grabbed a hold of Lance's throat–its hand large enough to cover the majority of it. The Bogeyman squeezed away. Lance's face quickly began to turn purple, his breath fading.
    He clawed at the Bogeyman's eyes, to no avail. He reached for the gun tucked into his belt. Lance pressed his forearm into the monster’s throat, grabbed his gun, pressed it against its temple, and fired a shot. The Bogeyman released Lance, who gasped for breath, as it stumbled back a few steps and dropped to its back. Lance shook the cobwebs and filth off and rushed to Billy's cage.
    "Is...is it dead?" Billy questioned.
    Lance nodded lightly, "I hope so. Let’s get the two of you out of here."
    The padlock to Billy's cage broke off, as did the one to Ajay's cage, which seemed easier than Billy's. Ajay was still unconscious. Lance bent over him, shaking his tiny body to wake him. "Hey, Ajay? Wake up."
    Ajay groaned, his eyes opening slowly. "W-who are you? What happened? Where am I?"
    "Come on, let’s get you two home."
    Lance, with Billy's help, assisted Ajay to his feet. Ajay looked to his left and saw the monster still, its head shattered. "What is that?" he asked in a high-pitched voice.
    "Nothing," Lance said.
    He lead them down the narrow path and back upstairs.
    "Wait. Hold up," Lance said. He couldn’t shake the feeling that it had all been too easy. The two boys turned to him. "I need the both of you to wait for me outside. This thing might not be dead, yet. Understand?"
    The boys nodded.
    "Okay, good. I'll meet you outside in a min–" before Lance could complete his sentence, Billy and Ajay screamed. Lance spun around to see, standing at the top of the stairwell, the Bogeyman. It punched Lance, knocking him down. It snarled at the boys, then turned its attention back to Lance.
    Lance scrambled backward. On the wall next to him was a fuse box. Lance jumped up and started fiddling around with the wires.
    "Die, you stupid motherfucker," Lance said as he turned on the switch, the Bogeyman just inches from him.
    A brilliant light illuminated the entire house, blinding, bright enough to light up the neighboring houses. The Bogeyman growled and pressed its paws against its head. Its flesh dripped off its body, dropping to the floor in gooey puddles. Turning into liquid, the Bogeyman roared in pain and agony as it melted away into a pool of green