Page 41 of The King of Halloween
Adam’s stomach dropped. “What?”
“If we don’t get out of here, we could drown by morning.”
No longer caring about personal space, Adam leaped up beside Raj. Both of them pounded on the door screaming, “Help!”
Only the lone caw of a passing crow answered.
?CHAPTER THIRTEEN
?
“HELP!” ADAM SHOUTED, his voice raw from the past hour of screaming. No one had heard them.
The movie had to be playing now. The one he brought, that he always introduced. And no one gave more than a passing thought to try to find him.
Raj grunted and slammed the wrench into one of the pipes.
“Hey! Don’t break that. Last thing we need is to drown faster.”
The water had risen over their knees. For a time, Adam had tried to huddle on the stairs while Raj kept trying to find this leak. He also whacked the sump pump that refused to do any pumping. All that did was cause it to gurgle, then let out one large bubble before going silent.
Adam’s entire right side ached from slamming into the door. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear the damn thing was barricaded on the other side. No matter how hard he swung, or even if Raj helped, it wouldn’t budge. And still the water rose.
At first, he’d found the idea rather comical, being trapped in a slow death trap with his worst enemy. But as the hours ticked on, Adam’s smile turned into a rot in his stomach. He eased up the stairs to check on his phone. No matter how close he pressed it to the door, he still couldn’t get a signal. Raj’s was in an even worse state. The fool had let it drain to nothing. They couldn’t contact anyone, they couldn’t budge the door, and no one could hear their screams.
All they’ll find are two handsome but bloated corpses come the morning.
“Damn it!” Raj cried out. The wrench cut through the air, banging into the exposed pipe before hitting the wall. It tore from his hands and landed with a kerplunk into the rising pond.
Both men stared at the wrench’s watery grave. The air thickened with the allure of giving in, laying down with the wrench, and letting the water wash them away. A tic shivered up Raj’s shoulders. He shoved his arm up to the shoulder into the sludge and dredged up the wrench. Sloshing in a half circle, he wielded the tool at Adam. “This is all your fault.”
“Mine? I didn’t make you put in shoddy pipes.”
“You shut the damn door. If you hadn’t… If you hadn’t come down here, I could have left, turned off the water, and everything would be fine.”
Adam sneered. “Who builds a cellar door that locks on its own?”
“I don’t know. This place is old and weird, and…that’s not the point!” Raj smacked the wrench in his hand. “You did this. Again.”
Scoffing, Adam nearly rolled his eyes. He peered through the dark gap in the locked door. No matter how much he looked, no one was coming to save him. There was no point in pretending any longer.
“I wouldn’t even be down here if not for you.” Adam seethed.
“I didn’t invite you to join me.” Raj stared up at him and blinked before he spun to face the sump pump once again. “Every time I turn around, there you are with that fucking smile. Waving to people. Acting like you’re so damn happy with everything! Ah!”
Happy?He was anything but happy. Adam rose off the stairs. Not caring about his shoes or trousers, he descended down the steps. “Excuse me. You don’t know me.”
“I know you well enough. Think you’re the fucking peacock around here. The rooster running around, keeping all the hens in check.”
“I’m sorry, did you run a farm on a movie set?” Adam laughed.
“But you’re miserable,” Raj grunted. His face turned bright red as he tried to turn a stripped bolt. The wrench slipped off, banging his knuckles into the wall. Cursing, Raj slapped the pipe and shouted, “Fuck you. And fuck you too. You’re ruining my life.”
“Your life?” Adam sloshed through the water, walking toward the man holding a weapon that could shatter his jaw. “I’m sorry, did you get humiliated in front of the whole town? Oh no, that was me.”
“I didn’t— How could you even think I’d want some sniveling brats to do that?”
“You sold them the apples.”
