⚠️Chapter warning - gore-ish scenes⚠️
...he wouldn't...
~
Sam ran back into the house, breathily heavily as he entered. Although he was in a hurry, he was still careful to keep his movements light as to not alert anyone to his whereabouts.
The house was dim with only the moon and the light from his candle illuminating his way.
He ran into the kitchen, practically ripping the door to the refrigerator open.
All that was there was fruits and vegetables and the cuts of meat that Sam and Alastor caught during their hunts...
Sam recognized it all... He knew which meat belonged to which animal just by looking at it. Venison, chicken, rabbit...
...but no veal...
The teen took a deep breath to calm himself. This doesn't mean anything. Maybe Alastor just used the rest of it earlier. Yeah, that's what he did.
The calmness only lasted a few seconds before his mind began to worry once more. How could he prove this was the case.
He shuddered and gagged at the thought that entered his mind next. There was only one way he could prove this. Alastor tended to bring... pieces... of his victims home from time to time. Sam knew this very well. And he always brought it straight to...
The basement.
If he went down there and found the...
Sam's thought paused as he covered his mouth, the nausea almost getting the better of him.
If he went down to the basement and found the body parts that the police report said were missing from this 'Frank' victim. Then it just proves Alastor didn't... feed it to them...
Sam found himself staring at the basement door. He stood right in front of it, his hand on the cold doorknob, but he just couldn't open it.
He was scared. Scared of getting caught in the basement, one of the few places he's not allowed in, despite him spending quite a bit of time there... He was scared of getting stuck there again...
But most of all, he was scared of finding out the truth.
He wanted to believe that Alastor wasn't that bad. He tried to hide himself from the truth of the environment he found himself in, but some things just couldn't be overlooked.
Sam laughed nervously as he rubbed his sweat covered hair away from his eyes.
Curiosity killed the cat. The teen recited to himself before lifting his head up with newfound confidence. But satisfaction brought it back.
With that, Sam turned the knob and the door opened with a slight creak. The stairs looked as though it led to a dark, dark abyss. An abyss that had one way in and no way out.
The boy's confidence faltered and he turned his head back towards the rest of the house.
Just go! Stop being a coward! Sam scolded himself, shifting his gaze back towards the stairs, descending one step at a time.
When he got to the bottom, he stood paralyzed looking towards the room he was trapped in, what was it? A year ago? Maybe more, maybe less. He couldn't tell.
Time was passing so quickly. Heck, he was almost an adult now...
Sam lightly smacked his own cheek. Yeah, he's almost an adult, and adults aren't scared of basements.
He had to do this...
The teen reached the bottom step and held out his candle. It didn't illuminate much but it was enough to allow him to see Alastor's workbench and the different tools that hung above it. A mix of cleavers, knives, hatchets, saws, and hooks lined the walls. Each were sparkling with cleanliness.
When Sam was being kept here, he had gotten used to seeing these terrifying weapons around him, but he tried not to pay too much attention to it.
Then, he was successful in his attempts for the most part. Now, he was failing miserably. He couldn't stop looking at them.
What caught his attention even more was the contents on the workbench. Exactly what he was looking for.
Sam stepped towards the desk, nearly tripping on something. Bringing his candle downward he saw that he had tripped on seemed to be a small trash bin, inside were all the crumbled paper and plastic bags that Alastor constantly carried into the house. Some still had blood on them.
Sam could feel his stomach turning but he knew he had to keep pushing forward. Though, he did have to cover his nose with shirt to block out the horrid smell that floated in the room.
He stepped closer to the wooden table until he could see what was on it. When he was stuck here, he didn't get up front he ground much and it was too dark for him to see what was on the workbench. Frankly, he didn't want to, but just because he consciously didn't want to know didn't mean he didn't subconsciously know.
That must be why when he saw a mess of dried blood and pieces of organs on the desk, he wasn't surprised. Though, what did surprise him was a small metal box on the corner of the workbench.
When he put his hand on it, it was... cold? Sam was startled to see ice cubes in it. He had never seen something like this before. Why would someone need to put ice cubes in a metal box? It's like a mini refrigerator.
Upon closer inspection, his eyes widened more than they ever had before and he froze. Within the ice were the body parts he was looking for... they were... organs...
Sam shook his head violently, not only shaking away his fear but his nausea along with it.
After looking around but failing to find anything to use as a glove, he weaved through the ice with his bare hands.
Trying his best to stay focused despite his sickly feeling, the shocking feeling from the cold ice, and his own tiredness, he began counting and naming the different parts he found in the box.
When he was finished, his heart had dropped.
He counted once more.
Twice more.
A third time.
...no...
Sam grabbed his candle and pushed himself off the ground in a rush. A loud crackle entered his ears as, in his panic, the box tipped over and its contents spilled out. But he didn't care. He ran up the stairs in horror, slamming the door closed, leaning against it.
He slid down to the ground, unable to contain his tears anymore.
~
Sam stared blankly at the bowl of food in front of him as Alastor sat down in his seat.
It had been a few days since his shocking discovery but he knew what the real ingredients of this dish was now, but he was in shock... Who was it this time? What kind of life did they have? What happened to land them here in front of him like this?
Little did Sam know that Alastor was watching him closely. Over the past few days, the man knew very well that something was off. He knew Sam was upset about something no matter how hard the teen tried to hide it.
To Alastor it was all too obvious, but Edith was completely oblivious. To her, nothing was wrong. The days were normal. She didn't see Sam's gaze shift to her and she grabbed a spoonful of her meal.
However, that spoonful suddenly vanished as Sam reached over and knocked it out of her hands before she could bring it too close to her mouth.
The girl stared at him with shock and confusion. Why did he do that?
However, Alastor glared at him. It was now when he realized why the boy had been acting strange. Oh yes, now he understands. He understands perfectly.
Sam's heart sped up as Alastor stood from his chair. Though, he only left the room. Why? Sam didn't know nor did he care.
"W-Why'd you do that?" Edith asked, her face looking almost betrayed. She stood up from her chair to retrieve her now dirtied spoon from the floor.
Before she could, Sam rushed the her side of the table, grabbing the bowl and spoon from her. "I-I j-just realized that... um.... this wasn't cooked properly! So... I'm going to go ahead and get you something else, okay?"
The girl watched with confused eyes as her brother disappeared into the kitchen. She didn't know what was going on but knew something was up.
She watched suspiciously as Sam reentered the room and placed a hastily thrown together bowl of cereal in front of her. Her eyes were glued to him as she ate the wheat cereal in front of her with caution.
Why did she have caution when doing something so trivial? She didn't know. All she could guess was that something was just strange... off... weird... what was it? What was happening?! Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? Did something happen? What's going on?!
It was only when Edith had finished her cereal when she realized Sam hadn't eaten anything. He just watched her eat. WHY??
"Sam, what's going on?" Her soft voice rang through his ears.
The teen's head and eyes snapped to attention. "What? N-Nothing! Nothings going on! Why would something be going on? What would give you that notion?" He said way too quickly to be inconspicuous like he wished.
Edith was surprised when she found herself getting frustrated. She's always found herself to be soft and conflict avoidant. "Stop it! What's going on, you're scaring me."
Sam looked at her, his focus shifting from one eye to the other... "E-Edith... I-... I found out that-"
He was cut off by Alastor reentering the room. Though, this time he wasn't alone. Instead, he had Rosie by his side...
Edith smiled with delight and ran to hug her. Meanwhile, Sam just looked at the two for one second before turning back around in his seat and staring forward...
Of course he had her by his side. Why did he think he could actually have a nice life here? Why did he let himself get comfortable? How dare he give himself false hope. How dare he let himself begin to care...
Tears began forming at the corners of his eyes again as he balled up his fists in anger and despair.
For a moment there he genuinely thought his life may not end up as bad as he thought it would. Boy, was he wrong. How could he be so stupid??
Sam stayed at the table in his own little thought bubble.
When he felt Edith's arms wrap around him, he gave her a slight hug back and just like that... Things were right back where they started... Alastor taking his sister away and leaving him a with a babysitter prison guard...
The teen let his head hit the table as he heard the two leave. He was trapped. He felt suffocated... He wanted to scream but nothing would come out. He wanted to throw a chair out the window but his arms wouldn't move. He wanted to run away but his legs were paralyzed.
He walked into this by giving himself the false hope that his life could actually be decent here... How dare he do this to himself....
~
This chapter was kinda rushed... yeah... but I hope you enjoy either way!