Leave Me Alone, Big Brothers! [BL]-Chapter 146: The Dark Hall

It was Gabriel. Eli felt his heart almost stop. But he felt relieved when he saw the giant boy standing right in front of him.

Eli tried to stand up.

Gabriel grinned, looking down at him. "What happened, Eli?" Gabriel had followed Eli because he wanted to explore too. He had intended to jump out and scare the smaller boy, but now he saw that Eli was truly frightened. Eli’s face was pale.

"Did you hear that?" Eli whispered, his voice shaking.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to listen. A faint, muffled scream echoed through the hallway again. It sounded like it was coming from the bottom of the dusty stairs.

"What is that?" Gabriel asked. His smile disappeared.

Eli shrugged, his eyes wide. "Is there someone down there?"

Gabriel remained silent for a moment. He was clearly scared now too. "Well, it is better if we go back to the room."

"But what if someone needs help?" Eli asked.

"Maybe it is just the wind," Gabriel suggested. "Or maybe someone is watching a movie too loudly in another room."

Eli swallowed hard. He looked at the stairs attached to the stone wall. He walked to the edge of the railing and looked down. Below him was a dark hall. He couldn’t see anything, but the air felt cold.

Gabriel grabbed Eli’s arm. "We’re lost. It’s better if we go back. Nathan might be looking for us."

Eli nodded. He was scared and wanted to leave. But before they could take a step, they heard the sound of crying. It was the sound of a man sobbing.

Eli looked at Gabriel. "Do you think that is a movie sound?"

Gabriel was not sure, but he knew he did not want to find out. He had heard many rumors about the Salazar family and their secrets. He did not want to get involved in anything dangerous.

"Let’s go back," Gabriel urged.

Eli stood frozen. His conscience told him that he should help whoever was down there, but he wasn’t sure if he was hearing a real person or if his mind was playing tricks on him.

Then, the crying stopped. The hallway became silent again.

Eli thought about the man. Was he in danger? Eli began to walk down the dusty stairs.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Gabriel hissed. "Don’t be stupid!"

"Let’s just see," Eli said. "Maybe someone needs help."

Gabriel felt a chill run down his spine. He wasn’t just worried about criminals; he was afraid of ghosts. Looking at the dark, old stairs, it seemed more likely that they were hearing a ghost than a living human.

However, he saw that Eli was already halfway down. Gabriel stood at the top of the stairs, feeling torn. When Eli reached the bottom floor, Gabriel finally moved. He didn’t want to leave Eli alone in the dark, even though he was terrified. He followed Eli down into the shadows.

The air changed as Eli descended. The warm upper mansion was replaced by the sharp, biting smell of damp concrete and dusty air. Each step Eli took was cautious, his sneakers making a soft scuffing sound against the stone that felt loud enough to wake the dead.

Behind him, Gabriel was a nervous wreck. The large boy moved with his shoulders hunched, his eyes darting toward every shadow. He was much bigger than Eli, but in this dark hallway, he felt much smaller.

"Eli, seriously, this is a bad idea," Gabriel whispered. His voice was trembling. "Think about where we are. This is the Salazar mansion. My dad told me never to go poking around in places I’m not invited. Don’t you know? The Salazars are dangerous. What if..." He couldn’t continue his sentence, too afraid.

Eli stopped at the base of the stairs. The area was a wide, dimly lit corridor. The walls weren’t finished like the rest of the house; they were raw stone and looked mossy. Several heavy doors lined the hallway, all closed.

"Did you hear it again?" Eli asked, his voice barely above a breath.

Gabriel stood perfectly still. For a moment, there was only the sound of their own breathing. Then, a low, wet cough echoed from behind a door at the far end of the hall. It was followed by the sound of people talking.

People?

"There," Eli said, pointing. "It came from the last door."

"Eli, no. We need to turn around. Right now," Gabriel pleaded. He grabbed Eli’s arm, his grip tight. "If Nathan finds us here, it’s fine. But if his father finds us here? Or his brothers?"

Eli looked at Gabriel. He saw the genuine terror in the boy’s eyes. He never expected Gabriel to be this scared, even though he was so big.

"You have a big body. You should protect me," Eli whispered.

"I can protect you from bad humans, but not from ghosts!"

"I don’t know if you believe in ghosts," Eli replied, walking slowly toward the only source of light there. And that source of light seemed dim and blocked by a door.

Gabriel groaned, now pressing Eli’s shoulder quite hard without realizing it. The closer they got, the more his courage shrank.

"Eli, let’s go back!" he whispered.

"Seriously, Gab, we’ll just check it out. Then we’ll go back."

"Oh come on! Don’t you know from horror movies that curiosity will kill you? Seriously, Eli! Let’s go back! Let’s go back!" Gabriel whined.

Eli clicked his tongue. Hearing Gabriel’s whining, he couldn’t help but feel scared too.

They ended up standing in the hall for a few minutes. Gabriel pulled Eli’s arm to go back up to Nathan’s room.

Eli finally gave in. Maybe there was nothing there. He no longer heard the screaming. But the faint light at the end really made him curious.

"Okay, okay, let’s go back," said Eli.

But before they could take a step, the door opened, startling them both.

Gabriel reflexively pulled Eli’s small body behind a pillar. Luckily, the hall was dark, so they just had to hold their breath.

Eli’s eyes widened when he saw several men dressed in black coming out. One of them was carrying someone on his shoulder.

Gabriel was also surprised, his eyes widening at the sight of blood dripping onto the floor. The light from the room was brighter now that the door was open.

And the blood was clearly visible.

Eli felt his body shaking violently.

Gabriel was used to seeing blood, but he was not in his father’s territory at the moment. They would be in danger if one of the men saw them.

They held their breath. They saw the last man in the doorway.

Steven saw his cell phone light up. He immediately picked it up.

"What’s up, Leo? Do you need something else?" asked Steven. His voice echoed in the hall. Then he listened to someone on the other end speaking, his expression serious.

Leo, on the other end of the phone, spoke seriously. "There are two boys there. Nathan’s friends. Be careful."

Eli and Gabriel held their breath as Steven’s gaze seemed to be directed at them.

But the man looked away again. "Okay, I understand."

Then he quickly walked out of there.

Eli and Gabriel gulped. They had clearly witnessed a crime. What should they do?

"Should we tell Nathan?"

Meanwhile, in the room, Zane took a short break and stood up to stretch. He smiled when he saw his painting hanging on the wall. Nathan really appreciated the painting, and he was happy about that.

Nathan then came in carrying several bottles, and a girl brought a tray of snacks.

Nathan looked around the room. "Where are Eli and Gabo?"

Zane turned his head. "Well, they followed you, I think. Didn’t you see them?"

Nathan put the bottles on the table, then shook his head. "No. I didn’t see them in the kitchen." He didn’t see them in the hallway either. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Zane shrugged. "Maybe they’re enjoying one of your vases," he said.

Nathan sighed. He thanked the girl before looking at the game screen.

"Let me see if I can find them," Nathan said.

But before he could step outside, Eli and Gabriel burst through the door.

"Nath! Nathan!" Eli cried out, trembling.

Nathan stopped, staring at the two of them, who looked like they were being chased by ghosts. "What happened?"

"I... We saw someone hurt in the hallway!" Eli exclaimed.

Gabriel took a deep breath. "Well, someone was dying down there. What should we do?"

Nathan frowned. "Where?"

It didn’t take them long to reach the dark hall where they had seen a group of men carrying a bleeding man.

But this time, the hall was dark. Very dark. There was no light at all.

They even had to carefully descend the stairs. Zane had to use his cell phone flashlight to help them.

"I saw the man bleeding! From inside that room," said Eli.

They walked carefully, alert.

But there were no signs of blood or anything.

"What blood?" Nathan asked, seeing nothing but a dirty floor.

Eli and Gabriel looked around seriously, as if searching for traces on the floor. But there were no bloodstains or anything.