Basement Dwellers Read online

  Basement Dwellers

  Holly Copella

  Copyright © 2015 Holly Copella

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 0-9864416-7-8

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9864416-7-7

  To Papa Lou

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Copella Books: First Paperback Edition 2015

  Cover Artist: Shardel

  SelfPubBookCovers.com/Shardel

  Printed by CreateSpace, An Amazon.com Company

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Other books by Holly Copella!

  Chapter One

  The quaint town of Emmerich, with its historic German homes and quiet streets, seemed alive with activity despite the dreary, rainy evening. Main Street was congested with cars driving through partially flooded roadways. Some drove cautiously while others refused to allow a little standing water impede their schedules. A black, stretch limousine drove cautiously through the flooded roadways, not caring about the impatient driver in the sports car behind it. The limousine driver was a neatly dressed man in his mid-forties, Brandon Davenport. He was a refined, clean-shaven man who obviously took pride in his appearance. He sat excessively straight behind the wheel and showed great care while driving the expensive limousine through the flooded roads. A casually dressed woman in her early twenties, Lexx Davenport, slouched in the passenger seat and avoided looking at her Uncle Brandon.

  Beyond her simple, country girl look, she was actually quite attractive, not that she was the least bit concerned with her appearance or how others perceived her. She wore her hair carelessly tossed into a ponytail and didn’t bother with makeup. She obviously didn’t share her uncle’s taste in fine clothing and expensive cologne. Brandon cast a look at her several times, but it was obvious she wasn’t interested in their current conversation.

  “I’m just asking you to consider it,” Brandon suggested in a delicate tone.

  She shifted uncomfortably in her seat but still refused to look at him. “Why is it every time we drive together it’s the same conversation?” Lexx asked.

  “You’re twenty-five years old, Lexx--”

  “Twenty-four.”

  By the look on his face, he was reluctant to believe he’d been wrong. “Close enough,” he muttered and again glanced at her. “You should be dating. I worry about you.”

  She finally looked at him, stared into his green eyes, and grinned deviously. “Are you worried that I might turn out like you, Uncle Brandon?”

  Brandon didn’t hesitate before responding with, “It’s crossed my mind--yes.”

  “I’ll make you a deal,” she announced with enthusiasm and finally looked at him as she straightened in her seat. “I’ll start dating when you do.”

  Brandon glared at her. Her sly grin mocked him, and he didn’t approve.

  “Now you’re just being plain mean,” he replied and appeared uncomfortable at the suggestion.

  Lexx remained playful. She’d finally called him on his own game and now it was her turn to make him squirm. “But you should be dating.” Her look turned serious despite the tiny smile she attempted to hide. “I worry about you.”

  Brandon again glared at her. Lexx smiled and laughed at the look he gave her. She actually couldn’t imagine her uncle dating, although there had been rumors that he was quite the charmer in college. To her knowledge, he hadn’t dated since she was a little girl. She was sure he was terribly out of practice, although, he would make a fine catch for any woman. He was as domesticated as they came and always picked up after himself. She suddenly found herself wondering what was wrong with him that he wasn’t married already.

  “I’m starting to see why your parents moved to Florida,” he remarked. “It’s payback for the way I treated your father when we were kids.”

  “It could be a lot worse.”

  “I don’t see how,” he muttered while watching the road before him.

  “I could be more like Carson.”

  Brandon stared out the rain-covered windshield and appeared deep in thought. Something clicked in his head, and he was instantly concerned.

  “You’re right. That would be worse.” He inhaled deeply and sighed. “I love Carson, but he’s--”

  “A bit of a whore?”

  He suddenly glared a disapproving look at her. “That’s not nice,” Brandon scolded sternly then became unusually silent a moment. “--but accurate.”

  “Look on the bright side; I’ll take care of you when you’re old and senile.”

  Her comment made him chuckle, but he was quick to wipe the smirk from his face so as not to encourage her bad behavior. “Not that I don’t enjoy our weekend movie marathons, but I’m looking forward to dancing with you at your wedding and maybe holding my grandniece.”

  Lexx was horrified by the comment and stared at him with her mouth hanging open. “Oh, God!” she suddenly gasped with alarm. “Now you want me to pop out a few kids while I’m at it? You’re a monster!”

  “You’re my favorite niece,” he announced cheerfully while grinning.

  Her eyes narrowed. “I’m your only niece.”

  The limousine drove through another large puddle on the congested roadway. Despite the heavy traffic, the sports car behind them sped past the limousine. Its engine sounded like a racecar, startling both. Brandon stared out the flooded windshield and shook his head at the passing car.

  “Damned idiot,” he scoffed and refrained from using more colorful language.

  His usage of expletives only encouraged Lexx to use them more often, so he’d been cutting back. Lexx thought he showed excellent restraint considering he was behind the wheel. Her Uncle Brandon was notorious for driving under the influence of expletives. His explosive cursing outbursts were funny when she was five years old, and it was still funny nearly twenty years later.

  “Someone should tell him it’s raining,” Brandon muttered with annoyance. He almost certainly withheld the colorful name he wanted to call the driver.

  “Don’t worry, Uncle Brandon,” Lexx announced. “He�
��s a twenty-something. They’re invincible.”

  “Yeah?” he remarked and raised a curious brow. “Tell that to our passenger.”

  “Don’t worry,” she replied in a stern tone. “Roger and I are going to have a nice long talk when we get home.”

  Her uncle snorted a laugh and cast a sideways glance at her. “I’m sure it’ll be very one-sided,” Brandon announced while grinning. “If he has anything to say for himself, you’ll be sure to let me know, right?”

  She was humored by the comment and muttered lowly, “You’ll be the first to know.”

  The sports car got stuck behind a brand new Buick just a few cars ahead of the limousine and impatiently rode the car’s rear end, looking for any opportunity to pass. Within the Buick, a couple in their early thirties watched the road ahead with deep puddles of standing water. The man behind the wheel, Eric Martin, suddenly appeared more interested in the car riding his bumper. His wife, Ava Martin, sat in the passenger seat alongside him and alternated watching the road and looking at a pamphlet in her hand.

  “It says here they have a spa,” Ava informed her husband enthusiastically then looked at him and grinned. “A couple’s massage sounds romantic.”

  He chuckled softly while alternating watching the road and the sports car behind him. “I don’t understand a woman’s idea of romantic,” he replied. “What’s romantic about another woman giving your husband a massage?” His teasing grin mocked her. “If you want romantic, you should be the one giving me the massage. Now that sounds like fun.”

  She laughed and deviously raised her brows. “Oh, I see,” Ava replied. “So it’s anything goes this weekend?”

  “Exactly,” he replied. “Anything goes is every man’s idea of romantic.” Eric’s good mood was cut short and his expression turned annoyed as he looked in the rearview mirror. “What the hell is wrong with this asshole?”

  Ava felt compelled to turn in her seat and look behind them to the impatient sports car buzzing to the center looking for an opportunity to bolt past them. The sports car saw a small opening and attempted to pass the Buick despite the oncoming car several yards ahead in the left lane. The sports car suddenly hydroplaned and swerved out of control, slamming into the Buick. The Buick spun radically upon impact. Ava screamed while her husband attempted to control the car’s spin. The sports car was propelled into a roll and struck the approaching car in the opposite lane.

  Not far behind the disastrous scene, within the limousine, Brandon and Lexx were horrified by the chain reaction of cars crashing in front of them. Brandon hit the brakes and attempted to maneuver the limousine from the wreck now directly in front of them. Lexx screamed and clung to her car door. The limousine slid sideways to avoid the spinning Buick in front of it. It nearly cleared the spinning car when it was struck by a truck sliding out of control to avoid the rolling sports car. The limousine was thrown in the opposite direction from the direct hit to its mid-section and sent it rolling across the roadway until it struck a parked car.

  The sports car was torn apart as it continued to roll out of control before crashing roof first into a garbage truck. The car was flattened nearly beyond recognition. Several other cars attempted to avoid the collision now blocking both lanes and became involved as well. The sounds of squealing tires, shattering glass, and twisting metal was deafening despite the sound of the pouring rain. Cars continued to crash into one another from both lanes leaving a massive pile-up. More than twenty vehicles were crushed together crossing the span of both lanes and along the curbs into parked cars in a massive collection of torn metal and shattered fiberglass.

  Chapter Two

  Lexx lie slumped against the seat as blood flowed from a laceration on her right temple. She slowly woke and appeared disoriented. She gingerly touched her bleeding temple and gasped with pain. Reality still hadn’t set in. Lexx glanced around with confusion then looked at her uncle in the driver’s seat and attempted to focus on him. Brandon was slumped against the wheel, despite the deflated airbag and his seatbelt, neither having done their job properly. He bled from his head and had several other visible injuries. As she stared at her uncle, Lexx felt alarm sweep through her, and reality flooded back. She frantically attempted to unbuckle her seatbelt while staring at her motionless uncle behind the wheel. From her position across the seat from where he lie slumped, it was difficult to tell if he was breathing or not.

  “Uncle Brandon? Uncle Brandon!”

  He didn’t respond to her cries. Lexx finally released her seatbelt and slid across the seat to him. She gently touched his shoulder. He fell back against the seat without waking.

  “Uncle Brandon?” she gasped with horror.

  Lexx placed her fingers to his neck and felt for a pulse. Her expression suddenly shattered. Lexx turned to her door and attempted to open it, but it wouldn’t give. The massive pile-up was staggering to behold as passersby ran from every corner and building to the smashed vehicles in an attempt to assist those injured and stuck within their cars. The limousine door flew open with a thunderous crack, and Lexx tumbled from the vehicle to the pavement. A man approached and attempted to help her to her feet. She pulled away from him and wasted little time leaping across the limousine’s wrinkled hood. She slid across the wet, crumpled hood to the driver’s side. Lexx aggressively pulled the door open and removed Brandon’s seatbelt. Another passerby quickly approached as she pulled his limp body from the seat.

  “No, you shouldn’t move him,” the passerby frantically yelled to her.

  Lexx forcibly dragged Brandon from the limousine and to the pavement. Despite the size difference between them, her strength at that moment was astounding. Ambulance and police sirens were heard approaching from every direction in the near distance. Lexx dropped to her knees alongside her uncle and immediately performed CPR on him. Within seconds, a rugged looking EMT in her late twenties, Monica Burke, approached Lexx and Brandon with her medical bag. Another EMT around the same age, Evan Marshal, appeared directly behind her.

  “Watch out! We’ve got this,” Monica said and brushed Lexx aside.

  Lexx scrambled away from Brandon on her backside as Monica and Evan moved in and checked for a pulse. Lexx remained kneeling near them and just stared at Brandon’s lifeless body as the rain soaked them, washing his blood away in a pink stream. From Lexx’s perspective, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Other ambulances and emergency personnel were now on the scene and helped others in the massive, smoldering wreckage. People were screaming and shouting from every direction for assistance. One car had burst into flames but the rain helped douse them. It was mass chaos as blood covered men and women flagged down emergency personnel. Lexx was oblivious to the chaos and screaming around her. She only heard the sound of her own heart pounding as she watched the EMT’s working on her uncle. Monica finally stopped CPR as people shouted to her and Evan. She looked at Evan and shook her head.

  “He’s gone,” Monica announced.

  Lexx just stared at Brandon’s motionless body as shock tore through her. She felt like she’d been stabbed through the heart. He wasn’t dead. It wasn’t possible! As if some bizarre survival instinct kicked in, Lexx bolted up from the pavement and ran for the limousine. Monica and Evan collected their bags and hurried to the next injured person as Lexx appeared from the limousine with her own black bag. Evan stopped before the crushed sports car molded against the garbage truck. He hurried to the front and looked through the broken windshield. Evan suddenly grimaced. What was left of the young man’s head was unrecognizable, crushed into the glass of the windshield. He turned to Monica as she approached and shook his head in silent comment to her unasked question. His look caused her to grimace.

  Lexx dove to Brandon’s side with her black bag, dug through it, and tossed things haphazard from the bag. She found a pen and pulled it apart. As Monica turned, she saw Lexx feverishly ripping through more items in the bag. Lexx removed a bottle of alcohol and poured it over the pen and Brandon’s neck. Monic
a appeared horrified and hurried back to her.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Monica suddenly demanded while watching her.

  Lexx barely heard the question and didn’t have time for explanations. She ignored Monica and removed a scalpel from the bag. Monica gasped and lunged for Lexx and the scalpel in her hand. Both women struggled for the scalpel as the rain poured down upon them.

  “His windpipe is obstructed!” Lexx cried out.

  “His lung is collapsed!” Monica shouted back.

  Lexx punched Monica in the mouth, sending her backwards and onto her backside. She didn’t have time for this woman! Without hesitation, Lexx punctured Brandon’s windpipe with the scalpel then skillfully inserted the tubing from the pen. Blood erupted from the tubing and around the hole in his windpipe but quickly subsided. Monica watched from where she sat on the pavement with a look of shock. Lexx punched Brandon in the chest with both fists and continued CPR. She covered his nose and mouth and blew into the pen despite the blood on it. Monica continued to stare and appeared almost frozen by her calculated actions and persistence. Lexx resumed chest compressions. A wheezing gurgled through the pen in his throat. Monica looked around for Evan and scrambled to her knees. She felt for a pulse and waved for Lexx to stop with the chest compressions.

  “He’s back,” she announced then looked across the crash scene. “Evan,” Monica cried out.

  Lexx sank back on her feet and held her head in bloodied hands. Evan quickly returned with his bag. He seemed more shocked than Monica was to see the man now alive; or was it the blood-covered pen sticking from his neck that stunned him? Monica removed gauze in order to pack the crude trachea.

  “Get the stretcher,” Monica ordered to her partner. She then looked at Lexx, her eyes wide with amazement. “Who the hell are you?”

  Lexx just trembled and appeared exhausted. Only a few minutes had passed. Lexx watched as the two EMT’s lifted Brandon onto a stretcher, preparing to rush him away. Another motorist knelt alongside a barely dressed, severely injured young man lying face down several feet from the limousine. Evan and Monica rolled the stretcher toward him with Lexx following. Judging by his color, the young man’s condition was in serious doubt.