Teefr - A New Adventure by Edward Summer, Chapter Ten

Teefr
a new classic
by
Edward Summer

Chapter Ten
The Crack

cared? Of the dark? thought Teddy. Hmmph! It's so dark down here I can't even see my nose at all! So what's to be scared of?

The light of the back hall was receding behind them. Soon Fred and Teddy were on the floor of the basement, enveloped in darkness.

Fred swept the flashlight beam around him. The light picked out shadowy shapes of crates and boxes piled here and there on the floor. Fred took half a dozen tiny steps away from the stairs. Teddy hung limply from Fred's arm.

A huge form loomed over them. Fred froze. He managed to tilt the flashlight upwards. It revealed a dress-making dummy. Fred felt foolish, but relieved.

Someone giggled.

"We know you're there!" Fred spoke for himself and Teddy. He swung the light back and forth, trying to find where the giggle came from. He walked nervously in the direction of the sound.

Someone moved. There was a swish of air. Then the tickling sound of cloth against the back of a box. A bump came next, followed by a creak and the sudden rush of falling boxes. Fred backed away as the movements ended with a loud thump.

"Cut it out!" Fred waved the flashlight, trying to calm his fear. He stepped backward until something poked him in the back. "Don't!"

Fred turned around and found himself staring directly into two bright, burning, beady eyes. Teddy cringed with sudden recognition. Fred found himself staring directly into Sniffler's red, flaming eyes!

Shining with a wet sparkle of drool, the Sniffler's mouth snapped shut with a clack! The creature jumped down from a box and faded back into black nothingness.

Fred's mouth opened and made a dry shriek that sounded like the last bit of air escaping from an empty balloon. He dropped the flashlight to the floor with a clatter. The bulb went out.

"Help!" Fred managed in a scraping voice. Turning toward the dim light of the staircase, he tried to run. A sharp pinch pulled at Fred's ankle. Try as he might, he couldn't move. Something had hold of his foot and wouldn't let go.

Despite the game, Ginger was suddenly concerned with the fright in her brother's voice. "What'sa matter now, crybaby?"

"It's got my foot!"

"What's got your foot?"

"The monster!"

"What monster?"

"With big red eyes! And gigantic long teeth! It's got my foot!"

"Monster, shmonster." Tony ambled out of his hiding place. Accustomed to the darkness, he could see the flashlight on the floor, picked it up, and snapped it on.

Ginger was at Fred's side. "There's no monster, goosh brain. You just caught your foot in this crack in the cement." Ginger wiggled Fred's sneaker until it came out.

"Ouch!" Fred squirmed.

"What crack?" Tony pointed the beam of light at Fred's foot.

"This big one here." Ginger answered. Tony saw that the crack ran across the entire basement.

"There was never a crack here before." Tony walked over.

"Maybe it's from the earthquake." Ginger tied Fred's shoelace. She even rubbed his sore ankle for a while.

Tony followed the crack with the flashlight. It ran the entire length of the basement floor. In most places it was only a jagged line, but in other places, the floor had shifted several inches. The crack ran behind boxes that covered the floor. Many of the crates had fallen over and hid the full extent of the broken cement.

"Hey, Ginger. Turn on a light." Tony pushed aside a small box with his foot to get a better look at the damage to the floor.

Ginger reached up to pull a hanging string. Light from a single bare bulb popped on. The bulb swung back and forth, moving shadows and shapes across the floor.

Somewhat recovered from the shock, Fred bent down to examine the crack. He crawled along the floor on his knees, holding Teddy out ahead of him. He moved the bear's legs one at a time, helping Teddy to "walk" along the floor. They stopped at a wide spot in the crack.

Here, the hole was nearly ten inches across, just big enough for a bear to fall into. Fred held Teddy over the crack at precisely that spot and tilted him over the hole.

"What do you see, Teddy? Don't fall in!"

Teddy's eyes had widened in terror and his mind reeled dizzily.

"I can't see the bottom at all," Tony called from about five feet away.

Oh, oh. Teddy thought. I can't see the bottom, but I can see something else! A dim red glow lit the jagged, rocky edges of the splintered foundation of the house.

Sniffler glared up at Teddy. Sniffler's lips curled back from his teeth. Teddy was terrified.

"Is everything all right down there? Fred, are you okay?" Tony's father stomped down the basement stairs.

At the sound of Douglas's voice, Sniffler immediately disappeared. Teddy was truly relieved, and sighed to himself.

Douglas's eyes roamed the basement floor. He bent down and pushed at the edges of the broken cement. He stood and followed the crack from one side of the basement to the other, checking the places where it met the wall.

"The quakes must have shifted the floor, but the foundation looks all right. Smells like sulfur down here, though." Douglas sniffed the air.

"The monster scared me, and my foot got caught," Fred said as he held out his dirty sneaker proudly. The shoelace had come untied agin.

"That's too bad, Fred," Douglas said. He bent down and tied Fred's sneaker. "We'll have a contractor come and fix it when I get back from my trip. I think it will be okay until then."

"C'mon," said Ginger, suddenly anxious to leave the basement. "Let's go catch grasshoppers and stuff for the frog." She started up the stairs. Fred followed, but Tony lingered, peering down into the hole with great interest.

"Let's go, Tony," his father said. "Remember, kids, I've told you not to play down here. There are a lot of heavy boxes. You can see that some of them fell over already." Tony reluctantly turned to follow.

"Say, Dad?" Tony meandered toward the stairs. "Does anybody live in that old house over on Travers Street?"

"Not anymore," his father answered as they walked up the stairs. "Before we bought this house, we inquired about that one because it looked so interesting. The real-estate agent said it belonged to a very old woman who had lived there longer than anyone could remember. It was one of the first houses built in the neighborhood. He said that she would sometimes think about selling, but never followed through on it. She disappeared for long periods of time, though. Or at least no one saw her for years. The man's father remembered meeting her, but no one living here now ever did. Interesting story. It probably was just a way to keep the house off the market until the prices go up. Why do you ask?" Douglas was in the kitchen walking toward the refrigerator.

"Oh," Tony said, pausing. "I, ummm, noticed the grass was cut." He stood motionless in the back hall.

"Probably the real-estate agent is cleaning up. Maybe they're finally ready to sell. Was there a 'For Sale' sign?"

"Nope." Tony wondered why he had even asked the question at this moment.

Ginger raced out through the back door almost stepping on Samantha. With a sharp meow, Samantha scooted out of the way. Fred followed more slowly, stopping to let the cat in.

Samantha rubbed against him appreciatively and gave Teddy a lick. Teddy cringed.

Yuck, the cat thought! The bear tastes like sulfur! They must have been in the basement. I don't want to remember that scary stuff.. Eating is much better!.

She walked to the kitchen as Tony raced past almost stepping on her again.

"Wait up!" Tony yelled through the screen door. There was a loud slam, and he disappeared down the path after Ginger and Fred.

Noisy boy, Samantha muttered to herself.. She turned her attention to Douglas and rubbed against his leg, purring until he dropped a slice of baloney from the sandwich he was making.

Samantha closed her eyes. Ahhhhh, she thought. The panther catches her prey! She shook the baloney greedily then gobbled it up. Stealth, cleanliness, and rest all pay off in the end, the cat thought sleepily. Then she lay down in a corner of the kitchen and washed her whiskers carefully. Within moments, she was fast asleep. Samantha dreamt of chasing butterflies, never doubting for a moment that it was exactly the proper thing for panthers to do.