The Sakai Basement
June 17, 2001
1:30 AM
The basement was silent except for the rhythmic thump-thump of the washing machine in the corner. Kenji's mom had started a load of laundry before leaving for her night shift, oblivious to the fact that her basement was currently housing five fugitives from a monster-infested power plant.
Sarah sat on the beanbag chair, her left ankle propped up on a stack of encyclopedias. It was swollen to the size of a grapefruit and turning a nasty shade of purple.
"It's not broken," Maya said softly, her hands glowing with that faint, warm yellow light as she hovered them over Sarah's injury. "Just a bad sprain. But I can't fix it fully. I'm empty."
"It's fine," Sarah gritted her teeth, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Just wrap it."
Kenji sat at his desk, staring at the photograph they had taken from the Black Box. Under the harsh light of his desk lamp, the image seemed even more haunting.
Five scientists. Twenty years ago.
"This is crazy," Marco said, pacing the room. He was eating a jar of peanut butter with a spoon—he needed the calories to keep his density up. "So you're saying our parents... what? Sold us to the government?"
"Not sold," Aris said. He was sitting on the floor, examining the brass compass-device with a magnifying glass. "Engineered. Or at least, selected."
Aris pointed to the back of the photo.
"Look at the dates next to the names," Aris said. "1987. 1988. That's when we were born. 'Subject 1: Void Walker'. That has to be Kenji. 'Subject 3: Photon'. That's Sarah."
"My grandfather is in the picture," Sarah said, her voice hard. "But who are the others?"
Kenji squinted at the photo. "The tall one on the left... he looks kind of like Mr. Clarke."
"Our science teacher?" Marco choked on his peanut butter. "Mr. 'Don't-Forget-Your-Safety-Goggles' Clarke?"
"Think about it," Kenji said. "He's the only teacher who pushes us. He always lets Aris use the lab after hours. He knows my mom. He's lived here forever."
"And the guy on the right," Sarah pointed a trembling finger. "The one with the cold eyes. That's the Detective. Before he turned into... that."
"So the monster hunting us used to be a human," Kenji realized. "He was part of the team. Maybe he volunteered for an experiment."
"Or maybe he was the first victim," Maya whispered.
Aris turned his attention back to the device. It was a strange machine—a mix of brass gears, glass tubes, and a core of pulsing blue crystal. It didn't have an On switch.
"It's not just a compass," Aris muttered. "It's a resonator. It reacts to the Void energy."
He looked at Kenji.
"Kenji, touch it."
"Why me?" Kenji asked, leaning back in his chair.
"Because you're Subject One," Aris said. "You're the 'Key', remember? The Detective said he wanted the Key. Maybe he didn't mean you personally. Maybe he meant your bio-signature is the key to turning this thing on."
Kenji looked at the device. It hummed softly, a sound he felt in his teeth.
He took a deep breath. He reached out his hand.
His fingertips brushed the cold brass.
HUMMM.
The device didn't just turn on. It woke up.
The brass rings began to spin, gyroscope-style. The blue crystal in the center flared bright, casting a holographic projection onto the basement ceiling.
It was a map.
But it wasn't a map of Ravenwood Creek. It was a 3D wireframe of the entire town, but distorted. Some houses were marked with red dots. The school was pulsing red. The power plant was a massive red blotch.
And right in the center of the map, blinking green, was a single point.
"What is that?" Marco asked, looking up at the ceiling.
"It's a radar," Aris said, his eyes wide. "The red dots... those are rifts. Openings. The map shows where the Void is leaking through."
"And the green dot?" Kenji asked.
"It's a signal," Aris said. "A beacon. It's coming from... the scrapyard? No, past the scrapyard."
"The Old Train Tunnel," Sarah said. She leaned forward, wincing in pain. "That tunnel has been collapsed since the seventies. Nobody goes there."
"The device is pointing us there," Kenji said. "Dr. Vance left this for us. Maybe the green dot is a weapon. Or a shelter."
Suddenly, the map flickered. The blue light turned angry red. The device let out a sharp screech.
WARNING. PROXIMITY ALERT. SIGNATURE DETECTED.
The holographic map zoomed out. A purple dot appeared on the edge of the projection. It was moving fast. Straight toward Kenji's house.
"Is that... us?" Marco asked.
"No," Kenji stood up, his heart hammering. "That's him."
"The Detective?" Maya gasped.
"He's tracking the device," Aris realized, horrified. "We turned it on, and it pinged him like a GPS locator. We just told him exactly where we are."
Kenji grabbed the device. The metal was hot now. He shoved it back into the black foam case and slammed the lid shut. The hologram vanished. The room went dark again.
"Did that stop it?" Marco asked.
"I don't know," Kenji said. He ran to the basement window and peeked through the blinds.
The street outside was empty. The streetlights buzzed. A stray cat ran across the lawn.
Then, the streetlights went out.
One by one, down the block, the bulbs exploded. Pop. Pop. Pop. Darkness rolled down the street like a wave, heading straight for the Sakai house.
"He's here," Kenji whispered.
"My mom," Kenji turned to them, panic in his eyes. "My mom comes home in twenty minutes. If she walks into this..."
"We have to draw him away," Sarah said, grabbing her crutches (two old broomsticks Marco had found). "We can't fight him here. Not in a residential neighborhood."
"Where do we go?" Maya asked. "He's faster than us."
Kenji looked at the black box. Then he looked at Marco.
"Marco," Kenji said. "Do you still have those fireworks? The M-80s you bought for the Fourth of July?"
"Yeah," Marco nodded. "In my backpack. Why?"
"And Aris," Kenji said. "Can you hook that tape recorder up to the house stereo system?"
"Technically, yes," Aris said. "But it'll blow the speakers."
"Good," Kenji said. He put his glasses on straight. His fear was still there, but the adrenaline was pushing it down. He was thinking like a leader now.
"Here's the plan," Kenji said. "We're not going to run. We're going to ambush him. We set a trap, make a ton of noise to confuse his senses, and then we split up."
"Split up?" Sarah argued. "That's how people die!"
"He wants the Key," Kenji said, tapping the black box. "So I'm going to take the box and run toward the woods. You guys go the other way. He'll follow me."
"No way," Marco stepped forward. "I'm not letting you go solo against Slenderman."
"I'm the only one who can move fast enough," Kenji argued. "If I have the box, he won't hurt you. He needs the device."
CRASH.
The front door upstairs was kicked in.
The sound echoed through the house. Heavy footsteps walked across the hardwood floor of the living room, right above their heads.
Creak. Creak.
The footsteps stopped directly above the basement door.
A voice, muffled by the floorboards but still terrifyingly clear, drifted down to them.
"Knock, knock," the Detective's voice sneered.
Kenji grabbed the box.
"Plan B," Kenji whispered. "We run like hell."
He pointed to the small basement window well. "Marco, break the window. Everyone out. Go!"
Marco didn't hesitate. He grabbed a dumbbell from the floor and smashed the glass of the egress window. He climbed out into the backyard, then reached down to pull Maya and Sarah up.
Aris followed.
Kenji was the last one. He paused, looking at the stairs. The doorknob to the basement was slowly turning.
Kenji looked at the stereo system Aris had rigged up. He reached out and cranked the volume dial to maximum.
Then he hit Play on the tape recorder loaded with Aris's feedback loop.
SCREEEEEEEEECH!
The house shook with the high-pitched electronic wail.
Upstairs, the Detective roared in annoyance.
Kenji scrambled out the window just as the basement door exploded into splinters behind him.
He hit the grass of the backyard. The cool night air hit his face. His friends were already sprinting toward the alleyway.
Kenji clutched the heavy black case to his chest and ran.
"This way!" Kenji yelled. "To the Tunnel!"
If the map was right, the Old Train Tunnel was their only hope. If it was a trap, they were dead. But if it was a weapon... maybe they stood a chance.
As they sprinted down the dark alley, Kenji looked back.
Standing on the roof of his house, silhouetted against the moon, was the Detective. His coat billowed in the wind. He didn't chase them immediately. He just watched, his blue eyes glowing.
He was letting them run. Like a cat playing with mice before the final snap.