What's Down There?

"Don't tell anyone," I whispered to my little sister, putting a finger to my lips and tightening my fingers around the ice cold doorknob. 

Layla nodded and made a zipping motion against her lips, and then against her stuffed bunny’s lips that she held tightly in her arms.

"Good. I'll be back later," I patted her head and waited for her to run back upstairs so the possible creaking of the door didn't put her at risk too.

Once out of sight, my smile melted into a look of anxiety. I could feel my heart pumping as I turned the key in the metal knob as slow as I humanly could. Pushing the door open, I closed my eyes in preparation for an ear-piercing creek, but not a sound came from the door. Instead, a slight breeze ran out of the darkness below.

"Is there a window open down there?" I whispered to myself, shakily  placing my feet on one step after the other and closing the door behind me.

As I descended, I thought about the outside of my house. Layla and I have walked around the house multiple times, trying to see if there was another way into the basement. A hidden cellar door, a small window peeking out of the ground, a crawl space under the deck, anything. We even checked the woods for a trapdoor that could lead into a secret tunnel that went into the basement. Or maybe it could have led to the basement itself, if it was somehow that big.

I counted each step as I went down. There weren't many, only 14, but it felt like a lot more. I couldn't see an end to the steps due to the darkness I was being engulfed in. Couldn't use a flashlight or turn on the stairway light because I didn't want any light peeking out from under the door. If my parents walked by the door and saw the light peeking out, I'd be done for.

For my whole life I've wondered what's down here. My fears of it only grew once my sister was born and I saw how observant and strict they were of her newborn curiosity. It was like they constantly had an eye on the door. One time, I overheard them talking about putting up cameras. They did for a little bit, but took them down once my sister got even more curious. They instead put up a piece of paper with some writing in a language I didn't know on the door.

I stumbled on the final step, expecting another one. I ran my hand along the wall, looking for a light switch. As much as I didn't want to risk it, being down here was useless if I couldn't see a thing.  After walking against the wall for a few more steps, I hit a light switch and accidentally flipped it on. The light screamed at my eyes, making it as hard to see now as it was in the dark. When my eyes adjusted, I was shocked by what I saw.

Just an empty, square basement. Except for a few boxes in the corner, a rug laid out on the concrete floor, and a few pipes running along the ceiling. Everything was drenched in dust. There wasn't a single cobweb, though. And just as I thought, there was not a single window. I looked behind me and saw a generator, grayed from dust.

I thought about the many times we've lost power. How my sister couldn't sleep without a nightlight, how I couldn't play games or do homework without any light, how my parents always complained about missing their favorite show due to the TV not working. Seeing how we had a generator this whole time kind of pissed me off.

I tiptoed over to the boxes piled up in the corner and unstacked them one by one. As I unstacked them, I noticed a pile of shredded papers behind them. I found it weird, but continued with the boxes. My heart jumped as I picked up and almost dropped a box that was heavier than I expected. I heard glass clink together in it as I wobbled around and placed it down. I was stuck in that position, listening for any footsteps upstairs. Nothing.

I kneeled down and opened it. Nothing interesting, just a few old decorative bottles. I moved onto another box that was labeled "For Oliver". Inside of it were some old baby toys. I didn't recognize any of them. There were some clothes in another box, some books in another. Still, nothing interesting or worth hiding.

Another box had more unique items. Candles, sage, different colored chalk. There was also a notebook in there. I took it out and opened it, reading through the pages.

I haven't journaled like this in a while, but my therapist has retired and it's not like people in that field are far and wide in this area. So, Oiver's due date is in two months, and while Jason and I feel prepared, something is still giving me a bad feeling. I may just be paranoid, but I want to do a sort of good luck ritual. Something that will bring good fortune and health to Oliver.

I brought it up to Jason and he was all for it. We both don't believe that these kinds of things actually work, but doing something to bring any positivity into life still feels nice. There's a spiritual shop in town, but the owner, Marissa, is kind of an asshole. Unfortunately, there's nowhere else nearby to get this kind of stuff. I could always order online, but shipping always shoots the price up to something higher than I would pay in stores.

I sent Jason out to pick up the items we need. Sage, incense, crystals, flowers, herbs, etc... When he came back, I asked him how Marissa seemed. "Same old, same old." Well, once a bully always a bully, I guess. He said he wouldn't be surprised if she up-charged him. I wouldn't be either.

We're going to do the ritual tonight since it's a full moon. Apparently that has some sort of extra effect. Since the ritual is for good fortune, health, all that good stuff, maybe it'll make it stronger? I don't know.

Everything I was reading was pretty cut and dry, but I still didn't get it. Why would my parents do this when they never believed in ghosts or the occult? Horror was strictly banned in our house. They denied the existence of anything paranormal or otherworldly. They weren't okay with us looking into religion and discouraged church because it seemed spiritual. That, and the door, were the only things they were deathly strict about. So, why am I finding out that they did a ritual? Even if it was a ritual for good, they would have never done something like it. They didn't even believe in it.

I continued reading.

We did something wrong. Missed a step, used a wrong ingredient, something...Jason said he'd fix it. He told me not to worry about it.

I felt chills run down my spine when I read this part. I started to piece together why we weren't supposed to be down here.

Jason has been in the basement a lot recently. He isn't telling me what he's doing down there because he doesn't want me to stress about it. But him being so secretive is making me even more stressed. Especially since he looks worse and worse every day. He's always had what people would consider a perfect face and a perfect body. Now, he has eyebags that seem to be growing darker by the day. He's become so skinny that when he's changing, I can see his ribs. He's lost a lot of muscle and I’m noticing strange bruises and cuts along his body. Despite this, I've found myself thinking that he was having an affair down there. Foolish thought, I know, but my imagination is running wild. I find the thoughts and assumptions I have becoming darker and darker. I don't even want to write them down.

Oliver was born a few days ago. We're at home now, and Jason has been out of the basement. I should be happy about this, but I keep finding myself being more and more negative. Especially when I find the basement door wide open and Jason slams it shut and locks it, telling me not to go down there. I had no idea he even got a lock installed on that door.

I was able to sneak down to the basement. I screamed and cried at Jason for hiding this from me. He was doing so much to fix the mistake we made. Finding him sitting there, offering himself up to whatever monster he's been holding down there...I wanted so badly to be mad at him for it, but I couldn't. He was trying so desperately to protect Oliver and I. I just wish he had let me be there for him.

He explained to me how we had accidentally summoned much worse than what we thought was bad luck. Whatever it was, Jason was keeping it from harming me and Oliver by letting it beat him down, take his energy, and relish in his self-harm. We agreed to find a way to keep it locked down there. Whatever has been down there should be kept down there too, in case it had any dark energy latched onto it.

Jason's hanging some talisman around the basement to try and suppress it. I used an old rug to cover up the ritual circle. Getting rid of the circle completely would probably be better, but the blood seems to be burnt into the concrete. I'm going to put it in the box with the other stuff we bought for the ritual. I hope this works.

One more entry... I felt this light wind rush past me towards Jason. I turned around in time to see him fall over, red slashes coating his now torn shirt. I ran over to him and grabbed the talisman he dropped and put it on his chest. I felt the wind rush past me again, as if it was disappearing for now. We're locking everything down here now. The door to this man-made hell can't ever be opened again.

Only one thought ran through my head when I finished the last entry

A light wind.

I threw the notebook to the floor and scrambled to my feet. Discarding any attempts at being quiet, I ran, flicked the light off, and hurried up the stairs on all fours. I reached the top and slammed the door and locked it. I stepped back and stared at it for a second, trying to catch my breath. But it got caught in my throat when I noticed that the talisman was no longer on the door, but in pieces next to the door.

Then I felt that light wind again.

Author's Note: I know open ended endings aren't for everyone, which is why there will be a part 2 to this story! (one day) I hope everyone enjoys!