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As if it were an impulse, everyday reaction, the boys started sprinting. Down the hall, to the stairs, down the stairs, through a winding hallway part of the house, they had yet to see, to the basement door. The basement that only Rian and Zack had explored thus far.
Jasey Rae held onto Alex's shirt with one hand, but onto her ear with the other. Both of her ears rang out from the sound of the gunshot, her right ear slightly bleeding. She once again was shaking with fear.
Jack kicked the door, sprinting down the stairs, paying no attention to Alex as he set down the poor girl in his arms. She looked up at him with big sad, eyes. Frantically, Alex turned to her.
In a little over a whisper, Alex began."Stay here, Jasey Rae. Do not move. I will be right back." She had to strain her eyes to read his lips and make out what he was saying since the gunshot was still ringing too loudly in her ears to make anything else audible. She thanked God that she was such a good lip reader.
But before she could fully process what had just happened, Alex was gone. Jasey's stomach dropped into her toes yet again. Did he just leave her?
Yes.
No. He ran down a grand total of three steps before he turned and stopped. For four seconds he just stood there while Jack kept running. Then, out of nowhere, Alex sprinted, full speed back to Jasey. He planted a very fast peck on her lips and threw himself down the entire flight of stairs in a blur. Jasey's lips tingled. But now he had left her.
Alex had dashed down the steep set of stairs, nearly tripping over his own two feet every few steps. Jack was already in the basement but Alex's flashlight's light didn't reach that far. He could only really see the steps in front of him. If the boys thought the rest of the house was dark, the basement was in a whole other universe.
"Jack?," Alex had heard a voice call out.
"Zack!" Jack had responded, clearly a bit relived.
Alex let out a sigh and jumped off the last step, landing on the linoleum basement floor. He took a few steps forward, being careful not to make too much noise, still unaware of the situation at hand.
"No, no Jack, leave. Right now. Get Alex and Jasey out of here." Zack had yelled. So much for not making too much noise.
"Zack where are you?" Alex, finally, called. "What was that noise, man?"
"Rian and I are tied up." Zack's voice sounded absolutely petrified. "I think he's passed out." Jack put his left hand to his forehead, cradling his headache, and began following the sound of Zack's voice. "The shot was just to scare us, I think... Where is Jasey Rae? We need to get out of here, now."
