The Thing in the Basement

"Don't go to the basement." That's what my parents told me from the time I was little. Because there was a *thing* locked up down there. But the thing told me… *he* was my real father! And the two people upstairs… were murderers! "Hiss… hiss…" A strange sound drifted up from the basement. Mom looked up at the clock. It was exactly 10:00 PM. She murmured, "Time for his medicine." Then, she walked away with a white pill bottle. Hearing the commotion in the living room, I opened my bedroom door and quietly followed Mom. I slipped into the basement behind her. "Hiss… hiss…" The grotesque, pained gasps grew louder with every step, as if right next to my ear. A draft of cold air stirred Mom's white nightgown, and through the gap at the back, I saw the thing. He was chained up, trapped i