Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-26027963-20150412231534

Under The Floorboards

Note: This Was Written for SnakeTongue237's Title Writing Contest

"Are we there yet?", my brother, James, asked. He was two years younger than me.

"Honey, how many times have they said that same godforsaken sentence?".

"I don't know, but they better shut up!" My mom replied, but hey, he got his answer. I just stared out the window. Quite frankly, I didn't want to be here. I didn't support the idea of going to a tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere, just because we didn't have enough family time, whatever that meant.

You see, my parents were people that take an idea and run with it. So when they found a secluded cabin by a unpopulated little lake, they checked it out, and bought it. They didn't bother getting it inspected, checking the history of the building, or even seeing if it had previous owners. Like I said, they run with it.

I felt the van the van hitting any bumps on the dirt road, and knew that we were getting close. It only made sense that the cabin was on a dirt road. I hate dirt roads, because they're really bumpy, and really dirty. Guess who's chore it is to "wash the car"! Yep, it's mine.

I felt the car gently rumbled to a stop. Then I saw the ugliest cabin ever. An un-painted cabin. The outside wall are a really unattractive dark brown.

"It'll look better when we get inside," My Mom said, as if reading my mind. We got out of the car and started walking up the porch steps, until both Mom and Dad stopped me and and James.

"Ok sweeties, here are-"

"Mom! Don't call me that! You know I hate it," I interrupted her.

"Yes I know, but as I was saying, here are the rules. One, curfew is 9:00. Two, don't go into the woods without an adult. Three, you must tell both of us where your going, if you go somewhere, and four, no going outside without shoes." She turned around and opened the door, but then she looked back at us and said,

"Oh! And no going into the basement." Then she walked inside.

"Welcome to your summer vacation!"I followed after her, then looked around. It was tiny. There was a main room with a pullout couch and a bear-skin covering the center of the room. I saw two doors leading from either side of the room. I assume those are the bedrooms.

I looked right and saw the bathroom, and then the kitchen.

The kitchen was by far the worst looking thing in this house. There was a small table in the center with an ugly yellow-and-white checkered table cloth. There was a single counter that was being shared by the sink, the microwave, and storage! I swear that counter couldn't get any more crowded.

I listened to the floor boards creak as we walked in. I immediately ran to the second bedroom, climbed to the top bunk, and yelled,"Mine!". Then I walked back to the car and grabbed my bag, went back to the bedroom, and started unpacking.

When we were finished unpacking, we sat down and ate burgers. I did my evening routines, and went to sleep. I woke up earlier then expected, so I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, then to the kitchen to eat some Cheerios.

I sat down and started eating when I heard a peculiar noise coming from under the floorboards. It sounded like... footsteps, very faint ones. Like feet on dirt. Probably just some animal outside, no big deal.

Then the rest of my family woke up, and the silence was immediately broken, by the pure chaos of four people. They ate breakfast, then we continued with our day.

We went on a few hikes, me and Dad played catch in the yard, then we ate lunch. For our evening we went shore-fishing at the lake, but I don't think the lake is populated anymore, personally. When I was going to bed, though, I heard the footsteps again,"Stupid animals," I mumbled under my breath. I went to sleep, It had been a long day.

When I woke up the next day, I told Mom about the footsteps, and she didn't believe me,

"There were no footsteps, Jake, you were just hearing things. They wouldn't be outside because there grass outside, and they wouldn't be inside because there's nothing in our basement!"

"How can you be so sure?"

At this point, she grabbed both of my hands and told me,

"I know because someone being able to sustain themselves down there is irrational, do you understand?"

"Sure, but-"

"Butts are for sitting, hon,"

Then she left.

I went on with my way. While Mom was out grocery shopping, we went swimming. We ate lunch, then Mom came back. Afterward, when me and Dad were fishing and Mom and James were cooking dinner, I told Dad about the footsteps, and got the same response.

"Look, no one could live down there because where in the world would they get food?"

Just like Mom's answer, but reworded. My parents are starting to get on my nerves. I'll be honest. I could hear them before I went to sleep, but they were louder, more restless.

The next day my Mom pulled me aside, and asked me,

"Do you still believe in the basement Boogeyman?"

I became enormously angry at my parents, but I answered with what she wanted to hear;

"No,"

"Good, now come and eat."

I spent that whole day looking for the door to the basement. I needed to find out the truth. Huh, that reminds me of that one saying, "You can't handle the truth!" But I knew I could.

I found the door after lunch, when I looked under the bear-skin in the living room. I hatched a plan for that night. I couldn't wait for dinner to be over, I didn't even care that I had to do kitchen duty.

I waited until my family feel into a pretty good sleep, I grabbed my flash light. I moved over the bear-skin to re-reveal the trapdoor. I noticed a... lock I hadn't noticed before. It seemed much newer than the trapdoor.

It wasn't locked though, it was just put through the latch. That way it couldn't be opened from the bottom. It was a little suspicious, but I ignored it. I was going to find something down there and prove my parents wrong!

I removed the lock and placed it gently to the side, and clicked my flashlight on. I pointed it down the hole, and saw a ladder going down. So I put my flashlight in my mouth, like I saw in the movies, and started going down.

I heard the "Crunch," of my bare feet hitting the dirt floor. I took my flashlight out of my mouth, and looked around. It looked like a half-finished basement. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I looked around a little, and nothing happened. It just seemed like a normal, but unfinished, basement. So I decided to go back up.

That's when the footsteps started. I couldn't-wouldn't move! I'm immobilized by fear. I dropped my flashlight. The footsteps appeared to be getting closer. Then a pair of bare, hairy feet entered the small amount of light coming from the trapdoor.

"Welcome to my home, under the floorboards," the deep, gravely voice answered. I knew it must of been around middle age.

"Aww, your so cute. I'm just gonna eat you up!"

He sprinted towards me and pinned me up against the wall. His forearm was over my throat.

"P.S. I wasn't kidding," then I blacked out.

Thanks for reading and please comment 