1999 by Amy Cross

Author:Amy Cross [Cross, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2023-12-21T16:00:00+00:00

***

“Okay,” Annie said half an hour later, as she reached the bottom of the narrow staircase and switched the flashlight on, casting its beam across the cramped basement, “let's see what we've got down here.”

She turned and looked all around, but all she saw were rotten old bare shelves that seemed to be barely clinging to the walls. Making her way over, she gave one of the shelves a tug, stopping when she realized that she was on the verge of pulling it free. She couldn't help but notice that there was a distinctly damp smell in the air, and when she looked down she saw several large cracks running across the floor; crouching down, she shone the flashlight into the crack but saw only darkness, although when she slipped her fingertips into the gap she realized she could feel a fair amount of moisture.

“I hope you got a proper survey done, Dad,” she whispered. “This house had better not fall down around us or -”

Before she could finish, she spotted movement in the crack, and she watched as a couple of ants crawled up into the light.

“You guys get everywhere, don't you?” she continued, impressed by the insects' tenacity as she saw several more ants emerging from the crack. “I feel like this is actually your house, and we're just kind of squatting.”

She leaned closer to the crack and tilted the flashlight, trying to see deeper and deeper. A few more ants were crawling up on either sides of the gap, and after a moment Annie realized that none of the ants so far had gone the other way. Struck by the sense that the insects were seeking sanctuary in the house, she realized she could just about make out something moving much further down in the darkness, although tilting the flashlight in different directions offered her little more of a view.

“How many ants can there be under one house?” she asked, peering even closer at the crack, until her eye was almost touching the ground. “What -”

Suddenly she saw another eye, bloodshot and bulging, staring up at her from the bottom of the crack. Startled, she pulled back and dropped the flashlight, letting it roll until it bumped against the far wall. After a moment, trying not to panic, she crawled over and grabbed the flashlight before crawling back to the crack and looking into the depths; this time, instead of darkness, she saw that the two sides of the opening met a few inches further down, with just a tiny gap that allowed ants to wriggled through.

This time, some of the ants were making their way down into the depths.

“You're losing your mind,” she said out loud, trying to steady her nerves. “Come on, Annie, this isn't like you. You're usually the sane one.”

As she took a series of deep breaths and tried to get her racing mind back under control, she failed to notice that a headless figure was stepping up behind her. Rubbing her hands

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