The door opened with a creak that declared a warning, not of the intruder, but to her. A waft of foul air slapped her in the face. Darkness surrounded every inch of the room. She gulped as fear gripped her heart, remembering the warning, 'If they find you, they'll kill you.' Willing it away, she made her way down the stairs, wincing with every groan they uttered. When she'd at last reached the bottom, she shakily removed the box of matches from her pocket, but gasped and dropped them when something whacked her in the face. Squinting, she made it out to be a chain that connected to what she assumed was a lightbulb. She pulled downward and the basement was flooded with light. When her eyes adjusted, a horrified scream tore from her throat.
40 parts