8-year-old Xavier is bored out of his gourd. Stuck at home with nothing to do, the little lad absentmindedly plays with his rubber ball while his mother is in the kitchen busily cooking the evening meal. He stealthily creeps into the kitchen, intending to surprise Mom, but is instead greeted with a stern look from her and a nod that tells him to go play elsewhere. Sitting out in the hallway, he bounces his ball against the opposite wall when all at once he misses the catch and the red orb goes rolling towards the open basement door, stopping just millimeters short of plunging down the darkened staircase into the depths of the cellar below. The boy heaves a sigh of relief and looks back to check that his mother didn't witness the incident, but as his attention is turned, we see a slimy tentacle slither out into the doorway and nudge the ball just enough so that it goes over the edge, bouncing down the stairs. We see Xavier's red-sock-clad feet slowly creep down the steps into the spooky basement. What he finds there and how he deals with it just may surprise you. . .
—wiseguy-18
