Free Terror Town by James Roy Daley Page A

enough for me,” Roger said. He descended.
    Cameron looked down the hole with a troubled expression before positioning herself on the ladder. Her first few steps were slow and careful.
    Dan said, “You okay?”
    “Yeah, it’s just… I’m worried about the ladder.”
    “I think the ladder is fine.”
    “Alright.” Cameron said into her chest, swallowing back her fears. “If you say so.” She began her descent.
    Pat and Dan followed.
     
    ∞∞Θ∞∞
     
    Halfway between the 500-watt work-light and the doorway, Roger stopped climbing, changed the sponged-flashlight from one hand to the other and adjusted his footing. Looking up, he could see an odd shaped silhouette inside a square box of light, climbing very slowly. With the assumption that things were going as planned, he continued his descent. But he was cold now, and wished he’d brought a jacket. After climbing another half-dozen feet he stopped again, shouting, “Hey Daniel! It’s freezing down here! You should have warned me!”
    Still near the top of the ladder, Daniel stopped climbing. “That’s right,” he said to himself. “I totally forgot.” Louder: “I’ll grab us sweaters!”
    Now Cameron stopped. “You’re leaving us?”
    “Only for a second.” Daniel moved up two rungs.
    “But… ” she huffed.
    “Cameron, it’s cold down there. Can’t you feel it yet? I’m grabbing us something to wear because we’ll need it. Trust me. So just keep climbing, please. No offence, but you’re slower than shit.”
    Cameron’s eyes shifted left and right as her lips pursed together. Reluctantly she said, “Alright.” But Roger seemed to be way down there now, and she had a bad feeling growing inside the hollows of her stomach, a very bad feeling.
    She looked up, seeing that Patrick had also stopped climbing. He had no choice; he was caught between the two of them.
    Higher than Pat, Daniel scrambled up the ladder. He plunked the lantern on the floor, pulled his body from the hole, and moved across the basement promptly. He didn’t run but he moved fast, careful not to step on any tools that were lying about. Within a few seconds he was upstairs, looking through the front closet.
    A jean jacket, a sweater, a blue hoodie and a black hoodie, were bundled together in a ball.
    The front door was open.
    That’s odd , he thought, looking outside. Why is the door open?
    Seeing nothing out of the ordinary he closed the door and made his way to the basement, figuring Pat had left the door open. But was Pat in charge of closing the door, or was he in charge?
    Standing at the mouth of the hole, Daniel yelled, “Hey Roger, I’m going to drop a jacket. Catch it?”
    Roger had just descended past the work light. He said, “Wait a second, ‘kay? Don’t drop the jacket ‘til I say.”
    Daniel said, “Hey Cameron, Pat… watch your head a minute and I’ll try not to hit you with this thing.”
    Patrick leaned against the ladder.
    Cameron looked up. She wanted out. That was the truth of the matter. She didn’t care about the temperature or the clothing that was being dropped. She wanted out of the hole. It was all she could think about. It was beginning to nag at her, but she didn’t want to say anything because being a team player was important. Besides, she’d be kicking herself if she didn’t go down there and the guys found something valuable and didn’t split it with her.
    “Cameron,” Daniel repeated. “Did you hear me?”
    “I hear you. I’m just thinking, is all. Don’t worry about it.”
    “You okay?”
    “I’m fine.”
    Beneath them, Roger yelled, “I’m going to drop the flashlight! Here it goes!”
    He let the flashlight fall from his hand and watched it drop. For a moment he thought it would fall forever, but of course, it didn’t. It hit the ground, bouncing a couple times before settling. Best of all, the light didn’t break. It kept on shinning; the sponges worked beautifully.
    “Bingo!” Roger shouted. “I can see