Sal led them into the basement. The archway walls on both ends had been caved in between every business, making it impossible to tell which way they had gone.

“Everyone always goes right. Let’s go left.” Seth offered.

“Makes sense.” Mikel pitched in.

“Let’s spit up. Mikel, you and Byron come with me. Edward, Seth, and Becka, you go left. Don’t shoot David.” Sal ordered. Everyone fell in line. Sal would have done well in the military if made an officer. As an enlisted man, he would have struggled.

Sal and Mikel turned right and turned on their flashlights. Seth and Edward turned left, turning theirs on. Becka hesitated and decided she’d go back upstairs with the rest of the group.

“You sure? I’d miss you, but I’d feel a bit better knowing you’re here with the group.”

"Yeah, I think you two will be quicker than the three of us would be." She didn't want to go and had only been down there because she thought he wanted her to be.

“Okay, see you when we get back. If you end up going to Julie’s be sure to leave a note. Say something like “Gone to Giordano’s.” Don’t mention Julie’s.”

“Okay. Love you.” She gave him a quick kiss and was gone up the stairs.

“Let’s go,” Edward said.

They headed down the basement and stepped through the broken wall between the businesses. Three archways later, there were signs of a struggle. A wolf had lost a limb in a fight. It was possibly with a human, but it looked more like another wolf had done the damage. The limb appeared to be torn off rather than cut. They decided it was an arm. The paw was shaped like an elongated hand.

The blood around the arm had printed on it. None were entirely wolves, but they were clearly not human. Edward held his index finger to his lips and pointed above them with his other hand. Shallow, rapid breathing was barely audible through the closed basement door.

“Sounds like we found the loser,” he whispered.

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“Should we get Sal?” Seth asked.

“Na, we got this. Remember, aim for the chest.”

“Okay, you first.”

The stairs were old, creaky wood, and there was almost no light except for the small amount that found its way under the door above. Edward and Seth tried their best to be silent, but with the condition of the stairs, a few squeaks and creaks were inevitable.

They listened at the door, waiting with bated breath, hoping the injured wolf hadn't heard their approach. Shallow breathing continued on the other side. It was quieter, weaker. The breath sounded wetter, as if it were starting to drown in its blood. Seth had beads of sweat dripping off his neck, sending small clouds of dust into the air from the age-old stairs below. He knew they shouldn't open the door, and he knew they were going to.

Edward was whispering a prayer. His cross was in his hand as he finished. He crossed himself and lifted his head to the door.

"Here we go," he whispered. A second later, the door flew open, and Edward stormed forward. Seth followed him in and circled to the left, keeping his back to the wall. Edward was moving to his right with his gun against his shoulder, ready to fire.

Seth bumped into a shelf and stumbled. His rifle slipped to the ground, and he scrambled to catch it before it fell out of his reach. He was too slow, and the rifle went skittering a few feet away. He fell to the floor, bringing several dishes from the shelf he bumped into down with him. The shattering dishwater, along with the crashing rifle and Seth smashing into the floor, made quite the racket.

From the other side of the room, Edward locked eyes with Seth, then turned towards the door to the next room. The entity that was the cause of the investigation hadn’t made an appearance. Seth stood quickly and picked up the rifle from amongst the broken glass and pottery. They stepped in unison towards the door.

Edward stood on the right side of the door frame and leaned his shoulder against it. Seth joined on the left frame. Between them, they had a good view of most of the next room. They paused and listened for the entity to make itself known but were met with silence.

Edward craned his neck to lean around the corner. Seth watched with his firearm raised to his shoulder, ready to fire if needed. Sweat covered his neck and forehead, running into his eyes, which he kept wiping with his sleeve. As he moved to wipe away another rivulet of sweat, Edward started to scream, then fell silent. His body jerked up in the air, then remained still.

After a moment, it slumped to the floor. Edward was dead. Half of his head had been removed with almost surgical precision. It was much cleaner than the arm in the basement. Seth hadn't seen the creature that caused such horrible and instantaneous damage. It was lurking just beyond his line of sight, lying in ambush.

That's when it started breathing again. Wet, gurgling, shallow breaths. It was wounded but had destroyed Edward in an instant. Seth slowly walked back towards the stairs, rifle at his shoulder, ready to fire. He felt the back wall against him after what felt like hours, though he couldn't remember which way the door was. Fearing an assault if he turned his head, he guessed left.