Us vs. the Apocalypse
Title: Down in the Basement
Word Count: 495
“Any time you want to hurry it up, Mase,” Dixon prodded over the radio. Startled, Mason slipped and nearly tumbled over the slick stairs, saved at the last moment when he opted to drop his flashlight in favor of grabbing the rusted railing.
“Thanks, Dix,” he muttered, watching his flashlight clank loudly down the stairs until it landed with a splash out of sight. Sighing, he trudged after it. “Mind keeping it down? Not exactly looking to…” Five steps from the bottom of the staircase, his boots met a lake - he could see his flashlight beneath him, sitting on the floor under about three feet of debris-filled water. “Fuck.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Basement’s flooded.” There was a long moment of silence on the radio as he pulled his grab-stick from his backpack - he smirked as he made a mental note tell Avery that he’d found yet another use for it - and fished out his flashlight. After smacking it against his leg a few times, he clicked the switched and breathed a sigh of relief when the light obediently flashed against the wall. If he ever found a way to travel back in time, he’d make a point of telling his father that he was wrong about dropping a hundred bucks on a stupid flashlight.
“Is there a way through?” Dixon finally asked. His voice was strained and breathless, full of an urgency that Mason wasn’t comfortable hearing.
“It’s just water, Dix. Not like the fucking roof caved in. Just gonna be a little chilly on the balls, is all.”
“Clearly you missed the safety briefing on the dangers of floodwater.”
“Clearly I have more important things on my fucking mind right now.” Crouching to peer under the low ceiling, Mason skimmed the flashlight across the surface of the water and felt his heart seize when he spotted floating, fabric-wrapped shapes. “Fuck,” he hissed again. “Bodies.” He swung the flashlight left, then right, counting as he went. “Lots of ‘em.”
“Moving?”
“Not that I can see,” he said, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. Not yet, he almost added.
“You need to come back.”
“Like hell I do.”
“We’ll try the pharmacy again, I’m sure there’s a back entrance that’s not secure, or we’ll -“
“No fucking way.”
“Now is not the time to be a fucking hero!” Dixon yelled. “You’re going to get yourself killed down there, don’t -“
“Just following orders, man,” Mason said evenly, shrugging out of his backpack and transferring items from the pockets of his pants to the small bag, checking the water now and then to see if any of the bodies had, indeed, moved.
“Mase,” Dixon said. “Mase, don’t do this, you know she didn’t -“
“Put on some coffee, Doc. I’ll be back soon.”
Word Count: 495
“Any time you want to hurry it up, Mase,” Dixon prodded over the radio. Startled, Mason slipped and nearly tumbled over the slick stairs, saved at the last moment when he opted to drop his flashlight in favor of grabbing the rusted railing.
“Thanks, Dix,” he muttered, watching his flashlight clank loudly down the stairs until it landed with a splash out of sight. Sighing, he trudged after it. “Mind keeping it down? Not exactly looking to…” Five steps from the bottom of the staircase, his boots met a lake - he could see his flashlight beneath him, sitting on the floor under about three feet of debris-filled water. “Fuck.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Basement’s flooded.” There was a long moment of silence on the radio as he pulled his grab-stick from his backpack - he smirked as he made a mental note tell Avery that he’d found yet another use for it - and fished out his flashlight. After smacking it against his leg a few times, he clicked the switched and breathed a sigh of relief when the light obediently flashed against the wall. If he ever found a way to travel back in time, he’d make a point of telling his father that he was wrong about dropping a hundred bucks on a stupid flashlight.
“Is there a way through?” Dixon finally asked. His voice was strained and breathless, full of an urgency that Mason wasn’t comfortable hearing.
“It’s just water, Dix. Not like the fucking roof caved in. Just gonna be a little chilly on the balls, is all.”
“Clearly you missed the safety briefing on the dangers of floodwater.”
“Clearly I have more important things on my fucking mind right now.” Crouching to peer under the low ceiling, Mason skimmed the flashlight across the surface of the water and felt his heart seize when he spotted floating, fabric-wrapped shapes. “Fuck,” he hissed again. “Bodies.” He swung the flashlight left, then right, counting as he went. “Lots of ‘em.”
“Moving?”
“Not that I can see,” he said, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. Not yet, he almost added.
“You need to come back.”
“Like hell I do.”
“We’ll try the pharmacy again, I’m sure there’s a back entrance that’s not secure, or we’ll -“
“No fucking way.”
“Now is not the time to be a fucking hero!” Dixon yelled. “You’re going to get yourself killed down there, don’t -“
“Just following orders, man,” Mason said evenly, shrugging out of his backpack and transferring items from the pockets of his pants to the small bag, checking the water now and then to see if any of the bodies had, indeed, moved.
“Mase,” Dixon said. “Mase, don’t do this, you know she didn’t -“
“Put on some coffee, Doc. I’ll be back soon.”