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The Laundry Chute
An old-fashioned laundry chute in a big, rambling farm house proves deadly for a group of young, adventurous boys
Note: This story originally appeared in the anthology Shivers
Warnings: This title contains graphic language, sex, and elements of horror.
EXCERPT:
I got an idea. Jesse was staring toward the workroom at the back of the basement. They all waited. Jesse's ideas were always good, although rare. How about dive bombing?”
“What?” Eric and Sam echoed one another.
Nicky grinned. He knew what Jesse was talking about. They had done it one afternoon earlier this summer when no one was home.
Their house was big and old and nestled between the woods and Interstate 75, and it had all sorts of strange nooks and crannies that the newer pre-fab houses like the ones Eric and Sam lived in down the road didn’t sport. One of its odd features was a huge laundry chute that ran from the second floor bathroom all the way to the basement where his father had rigged a kind of wooden pen to catch all their clothes.
Jesse had come up with the idea that they could jump down it—if there were enough clothes gathered in the box to cushion their fall. The chute pointed straight down and spilled out into the makeshift box onto the cement floor below, keeping the laundry from flooding all over the basement when it landed. With five boys in the house, there were usually so many dirty clothes on laundry day that they piled way up into the chute.
They had both done it twice that day before Dennis, one of Nick’s older brothers, had come home from work. Luckily, they hadn’t been caught. When Nicky explained to them what “dive-bombing” was, they were all eager to try.
“You guys aren’t going to turn pussy, are you?” Nicky came out of his father’s work room with a flashlight.
“No way, Davis!” They scoffed, following each other up the two flights of stairs to the bathroom. They crowded in the doorway as Nicky flashed the light down the chute.
“Three-quarters full,” he reported.
“Enough,” Jesse said with the voice of authority.
“So, who wants to go first?” Nicky asked. They were quiet now. Two stories was an awful long way.
“Me!” cried Jeremy. “I want to go!”
“You’re too young,” Nicky said.
“I am not!”
“Come on, Jer. Don’t make me hit you.”
“Why don’t you go, Davis?” Sam asked him.
“Sure.” Nicky shrugged. “Hold this.” He handed the flashlight to Jesse and swung his legs into the opening so that he was sitting on the edge, the door opening downward, almost touching the floor.
He had a flash of memory—one of his older brothers hanging him by his ankles over the banister and the delicious rush of fear that came with it. He used to beg them to do it again and again. This was like that, sitting on the edge of that anticipation, facing the real danger of falling but knowing you were gonna be ok—probably.
The chute itself was about five feet square. There was a pipe that ran across the top. Nicky wasn’t sure what it was for, but it was secure. He grabbed the bar and slid in, dangling there for a moment, his Nikes touching the pile of clothes. They were all peering anxiously into the chute.
“See ya, pansies!” He grinned and let go of the bar…
Note: This story originally appeared in the anthology Shivers
Warnings: This title contains graphic language, sex, and elements of horror.
EXCERPT:
I got an idea. Jesse was staring toward the workroom at the back of the basement. They all waited. Jesse's ideas were always good, although rare. How about dive bombing?”
“What?” Eric and Sam echoed one another.
Nicky grinned. He knew what Jesse was talking about. They had done it one afternoon earlier this summer when no one was home.
Their house was big and old and nestled between the woods and Interstate 75, and it had all sorts of strange nooks and crannies that the newer pre-fab houses like the ones Eric and Sam lived in down the road didn’t sport. One of its odd features was a huge laundry chute that ran from the second floor bathroom all the way to the basement where his father had rigged a kind of wooden pen to catch all their clothes.
Jesse had come up with the idea that they could jump down it—if there were enough clothes gathered in the box to cushion their fall. The chute pointed straight down and spilled out into the makeshift box onto the cement floor below, keeping the laundry from flooding all over the basement when it landed. With five boys in the house, there were usually so many dirty clothes on laundry day that they piled way up into the chute.
They had both done it twice that day before Dennis, one of Nick’s older brothers, had come home from work. Luckily, they hadn’t been caught. When Nicky explained to them what “dive-bombing” was, they were all eager to try.
“You guys aren’t going to turn pussy, are you?” Nicky came out of his father’s work room with a flashlight.
“No way, Davis!” They scoffed, following each other up the two flights of stairs to the bathroom. They crowded in the doorway as Nicky flashed the light down the chute.
“Three-quarters full,” he reported.
“Enough,” Jesse said with the voice of authority.
“So, who wants to go first?” Nicky asked. They were quiet now. Two stories was an awful long way.
“Me!” cried Jeremy. “I want to go!”
“You’re too young,” Nicky said.
“I am not!”
“Come on, Jer. Don’t make me hit you.”
“Why don’t you go, Davis?” Sam asked him.
“Sure.” Nicky shrugged. “Hold this.” He handed the flashlight to Jesse and swung his legs into the opening so that he was sitting on the edge, the door opening downward, almost touching the floor.
He had a flash of memory—one of his older brothers hanging him by his ankles over the banister and the delicious rush of fear that came with it. He used to beg them to do it again and again. This was like that, sitting on the edge of that anticipation, facing the real danger of falling but knowing you were gonna be ok—probably.
The chute itself was about five feet square. There was a pipe that ran across the top. Nicky wasn’t sure what it was for, but it was secure. He grabbed the bar and slid in, dangling there for a moment, his Nikes touching the pile of clothes. They were all peering anxiously into the chute.
“See ya, pansies!” He grinned and let go of the bar…
55 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 7, 2010
1 person is currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Selena Kitt
415 books2,636 followersSelena Kitt is a NEW YORK TIMES bestselling and award-winning author of erotic and romance fiction. She is one of the highest selling erotic writers in the business with over two million books sold!
Her writing embodies everything from the spicy to the scandalous, but watch out-this kitty also has sharp claws and her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.
When she’s not pawing away at her keyboard, Selena runs an innovative publishing company (www.excessica.com) and bookstore (www.excitica.com), as well as two erotica and erotic romance promotion companies (www.excitesteam.com and www.excitespice.com) and is now head of the Erotica Readers and Writers Association (www.erotica-readers.com).
Her books EcoErotica (2009), The Real Mother Goose (2010) and Heidi and the Kaiser (2011) were all Epic Award Finalists. Her only gay male romance, Second Chance, won the Epic Award in Erotica in 2011. Her story, Connections, was one of the runners-up for the 2006 Rauxa Prize, given annually to an erotic short story of “exceptional literary quality.”
She can be reached on her website at www.selenakitt.com
Her writing embodies everything from the spicy to the scandalous, but watch out-this kitty also has sharp claws and her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.
When she’s not pawing away at her keyboard, Selena runs an innovative publishing company (www.excessica.com) and bookstore (www.excitica.com), as well as two erotica and erotic romance promotion companies (www.excitesteam.com and www.excitespice.com) and is now head of the Erotica Readers and Writers Association (www.erotica-readers.com).
Her books EcoErotica (2009), The Real Mother Goose (2010) and Heidi and the Kaiser (2011) were all Epic Award Finalists. Her only gay male romance, Second Chance, won the Epic Award in Erotica in 2011. Her story, Connections, was one of the runners-up for the 2006 Rauxa Prize, given annually to an erotic short story of “exceptional literary quality.”
She can be reached on her website at www.selenakitt.com
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 5, 2018
This creepy short story, I felt there is something missing? or should be done I DK I sort of feel like I also fell into the laundry chute. ;(
November 29, 2012
I saw it coming. I didn't want it to happen, but I saw it coming. That was a bad babysitter, lol, but she couldn't have prevented it... if she'd been downstairs, she wouldn't have heard it at all.
October 25, 2012
Creepy but the ending was kind of abrupt.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews