Chapter 24: The Cellar

Chapter 24: The Cellar

(ALRO613, June 9th, 2011)

“It’s very dark, Mandy. We shouldn’t be down here!” 9 year old Chris said to his 11 year old sister. “I don’t like the smell,”

“Don’t be a chicken, Christopher, Uncle Jack will never know!” Mandy admonished, pulling him into the cellar.

It was a huge room, with rows upon rows of shelves; each row housing hundreds of bottles. The air here was sickly-sweet; grapes and strawberries with a hint of rotten plums. The only light came from the entrance door, from the sunlight that fleeted about the basement through a stained glass window.

There was a creak.

“What wassat?” Chris spun about on a heel.

“Nothing, you baby,” Mandy laughed nervously, “Look at this,” she plucked a bottle from one of the shelves.

“Maybe you should leave it alone,”

“It’s French or something,” she blew the dust off with a puff.

“Put it back!” Chris tried to grab the bottle from her, and in the struggle the bottle crashed to the floor. The red contents from the bottle splattered everywhere.

Mandy said, “That’s not wine!”

The door slammed shut.