That night, there was an unusually loud slamming of the safety room in the basement. I was already used to the sound of gently opening doors and sudden closing of doors in various places of the house. I was the brave one in the family, but the crashing at the basement suddenly sent my heart pounding. I was alone you see. I took a couple of deep breaths then went straight to the basement carrying only a flashlight and a penknife. As expected no one was there, no cat, no gigantic rats, no human beings, at least in the flesh I thought. There was another banging sound only it is a little softer this time and I was staring at the door but it was not opened in any way that it could make any sound. I stared at it for a while then I knelt to open the hidden door and tried to see what was unusual inside the room. I could not see much so I went down inside the room and turned on the small bulb connected to a car battery. The room had piles of blankets in one corner, tons of food that were expiring in a couple of years, some neatly folded clothes and very thick socks, and tons of medicine inside a small chest. It was the first time I got inside that secret room. My grandfather had It built as a safety room from the second world war. I was aware of it since I was small but I had no idea that since it was built, my family had been keeping it well in order. It was clean, well ventilated with an exhaust fan that had its own channel leading to the roof, good food, and clean clothes. While I was going through the clothes in one of the boxes, trying to recall who owned them, I was startled with the sound of a glass breaking in the living room followed by a man’s voice. “You idiot! You want the neighbors to catch us?” Another man answered him, “Let’s just take what we can and leave! We don’t have much time, they could be back soon.” I was listening through the hole in the double-wall. All around the walls of the house were holes that were used as an intercom by the old bakers in our house. My grandfather had a bakery in that basement and they used to shout through the holes when the bread was cooked.
Another male voice spoke up, “I want to kill the kid, you know, just to shatter them lives. Imma slice her neck open. Hah! That would tear them apart surely!”
I was shocked. I was the youngest in the family. Then I noticed that our dog had stopped barking. I wanted to call someone but my mobile phone had no signal in the basement and all the phones were up stairs. I began to worry for my family. I was not sure what time they would get back home. Then I was startled with a sudden gunfire. I turned out the light and opened the “intercom” door a little bit more so I could hear from upstairs. “Idiot! You really want them to trace us? No, we’re not going to eat that dog, stupid! Leave it here or I’ll be shooting you in the head.” I closed the door. I was more terrified than I thought I would ever be in my entire life. I stayed there long, motionless. Praying that my family would get a flat tire or go somewhere that would take them long before they could get back home. I probably stayed there for another hour, just wishing, hoping the bad guys were gone. Then I heard the front gate open, but I didn’t hear any vehicle sound. I heard the front door swinging openand expected a scream or any voice that would complain about the broken glass. Nothing. Then I heard the sound of the basement’s secret room being opened. I looked up, It was still shut.
That time I knew it was the friendly ghost of our house letting me out so I went outside, but I was still cautious with everything around me. The house was clean, no broken glass, no blood anywhere, and no dog either. Apparently, they took the dog. They thought they had cleaned up everything but they still left an evidence. My grandfather loved hats but this particular hat I remembered he gave this man who worked for our family in the farm. My grandfather was so happy for the gifts that man brought from the farm, he gave this brown colored, round, “Charlie Chaplin” kind of hat. I remembered because I particularly liked that hat. That moment my family came home. I told them everything and in a little while the police were everywhere. Of course we didn’t say anything about the secret room, we wanted to make sure that it remained a safe place for the family. While we all were discussing things with the head of police, all the doors from upstairs started slamming one after another. The police was sure that everyone had gone down and no one was left upstairs, but still he checked and found no one. I was trying hard to figure out what it was our friend was trying to tell us. Then we heard the sound of the front gate being opened and then a knock on the front door and then the door being opened then closed again. But the gate was closed and the front door was wide open. While everyone stood still trying to figure out what had just happened I pushed the door until it was only ajar then we heard the gate being opened once again, this time we all saw a man come through. We waited for him until he got to the front door. He wiped his shoes then knocked, opened the door and went inside. He had a worried look on his face then spoke to my uncle, “I saw the police cars in front so I came to check if you’re alright. Did some idiot break into the house?” It alarmed me. I recognize the voice, and I was sure he was the man my grandfather gave the hat to.
It appears that this story does not have an ending just yet. Or perhaps it already has a perfect ending, I’m not sure. In any case, I would like to know what you think of it. Cheers! 
