THE BASEMENT
It was a hot day and beads of sweat dripped off of Will’s brow as he finished pounding a nail onto the floorboard. He looked to his right and spotted Chris pounding a nail into a 3x6. Chris used short strokes hitting the nail multiple times and sometimes missing the head completely.
Will walked up Chris.
“Let me show ya somethin’ Kiss.”
“Chris.”
“Whatever. It’s a little trick of the pros.” Said Will as he reached for a nail from the front pouch of his tool belt. He pulled his hammer from his hip, twirling it once in a circular motion like a gunslinger. He placed the nail in between his left index and middle finger. The palm faced him. He quickly knocked on the head once setting it in place instantly. He then removed his fingers and hand leaving in the nail. Hammer in right hand, he smacked the nail flush into the wood with a near overhand stroke. To John’s amazement it sunk deep into the wood. He jerked his hands out to his sides, “You juss do it, alright?” he said in a matter-a-fact tone. He holstered the hammer and walked away.
Chris took a dark gray nail from his pouch and slowly lined up a nail with his two fingers. Set the nail, but slipped and smacked his finger instead. He clenched his teeth and shook his left hand a bit.
* * *
Pete had just finished snapping chalk from his spool of blue string. The blue chalk line was a cutting guide for the drywall. Immediately after cutting the Tyvek board with his saw-zaw he walked towards his car, Chris was to his left.
Chris stacked more 2x4’s onto his shoulder.
“What is it you wanna really do in life? This? Got any dreams?” Pete asked leaning his pudgy arm over the stack.
“I want to write and direct movies,” Chris replied.
Pete just shook his head back and forth. “You’ll never be able to do it, you can barely keep up with this job.” He walked off and onto the deck going inside. Chris shook his head and his eyebrows scrunched together.
* * *
Will watched the conversation from a distance and temporarily halted hammering. Pete walked over to his truck opened the door. He grabbed a gray shoebox from the seat, tucked it under his arm and passed Will on his way to the basement.
“Hey, what’d you say to the new guy?”
Pete stopped, turned and took his shades off wiping his brow. “Nothing…just that he sucks, that’s all.”
“He might, but he’s new and we need the help so don’t scare him off okay?” Will replied.
Pete shook his head up and down in reply. “That’s unfortunate. Steve has to step it up too.”
“The only steppin he’s gonna do is off our worksite,” Will pointed his hammering towards Pete. “Don’t blow the box apart this time.”
Pete descended down the stairs. “Fuck that.” He replied defiantly.
Will slammed another nail into the wood, “And no swearing on my crew.”
“Fuck that too.” Pete replied now down into the dark basement.
He immediately planted his rear on the wooden bench with a hole firmly in the middle. Beneath the bench he placed his shoebox. Pete quickly dropped his pants, blew a loud fart and sat down on the bench. “Ugh!…shit…” Pete grunted. Ted pounded his hammer on the basement roof. “Hey! Keep it down, down there!” Ted smiled now bent over seemingly buttocks nude with his tool belt acting as a diaper. “Yeah!” Replied Pete.
As he squeezed and contracted his muscles for another heave, a long black dirt covered wooden box slightly shook. Something moved within it.
* * *
Inside the house, Ted placed a couple of 3x6 boards together leaning them against the open window portal. Under one of the long boards was a long orange extension cord connected to a saw-zaw Steve was currently using to cut up a wooden board. Ted walked off the deck and around the side of the house and below the window.
Steve pulled the cord slack. The cord flung a board over and through the window ledge falling only a foot from Ted’s head. The bottom end hit the ground and fell flat side onto the dirt.
Will watched the potentially fatal incident while chalking his Tyvek.
“I wish it hit ya, maybe it would’ve knocked some sense into ya.” Replied Will.
Ted suddenly looked behind him quickly jerking his shoulders back.
* * *
The dusty, dirty lid of the coffin didn’t even creak as it opened and pushed to the side. Silently a milk white complected figure sat up out of the light brown pine box. This corpse-like figure barely had any hair as its red eyes shone through the darkness behind Pete’s exposed shoulder and neck. It’s mouth curled back to expose its large front fangs in a grinning snarl. It’s nose wiggled. It might’ve been dead more then several decades but unfortunately its sense of smell at this moment was very alive. The stench was almost unbearable. It had to eat it quick, it was starving. It preferred to bite females necks so instead it opted for the meaty portion of Pete’s shoulder.
Its right hand wrapped around his mouth and the other around his chest. Pete shook in defiance but the strength of the creature was like a vice grip around his body.
Soon Pete felt dizzy, saw black and went to sleep.
