What's in Your basement?

Chapter one: Goodbye normal, hello neighbor


It was a Normal and warm summer day. Rhoda and her parents just finished unloading the big to small boxes out of the moving van into their small but perfect new home. The exterior was painted blue while the interior had aslightly darker blue color painted on the walls with a horizontal leaf pattern. The floors were made up of wooden planks.

It appeared that they had moved to a quiet neighborhood, with not many people to be seen either.

The only thing within miles that was out of place was the house next door. Seriously it was the biggest house on the block; it was four stories high.

Soon Rhoda Gustus finished unpacking all her belongings into her new room upstairs. She was beat from helping out so she wanted to rest on her bed which needed to be made. before she could even close her eyes her mother came in the room.

"Sweetie, get out out of bed." she said in a sweet tone "And go make some friends with the other kids." She walked over to Rhoda's bed and shook her until she finally got up.

"Alright, I'm up. happy now." She exclaimed in an annoyed way.

Sure enough her mother smiled with content. she quickly handed her a brown bag. The bag had a wonderful smell. Rhoda checked its contents and was surprised and excited to find a sandwich but not just any sandwich; it was her mom's special recipe made using her homemade secret sauce. Rhoda still hasn't figured out how she makes it.

Rhoda gave her mother a big hug which she returned back. Soon the hug ended and Rhoda left her room to go make some friends. Her mother giggled and sighed with content "I hope she makes some wonderful friends again."

-ooooo-

The outside was a bit dark with night coming soon but Rhoda was determined to at least meet some of her neighbors. As she walked she heard the sound of cheering. She followed the noise to a nearby empty lot with five teens playing baseball.

she was a teenager herself; she was fourteen years old. They looked between the ages fourteen and sixteen. she walked over to them and asked "Can I join in?" They stopped all they were doing for a moment and saw Rhoda who was wearing grey pants with a yellow hooded jacket with the words "rainbows and clouds" on the front.

A tall boy with dark brown hair, a black jacket, and blue pants who was holding the baseball bat said in a cool voice "I don't know can you?" Rhoda felt as if she had just done something stupid. She was worried that she just ruined her chance to make a friend. He smiled "I'm just joking, sure you join." He told her as he handed the bat to her "No hard feelings, right? Also my name is Toby Chaple. What's yours?"

She was relieved to hear that it was just a joke. A bad one but also pretty funny. Soon she and the other were laughing about it. Once her fit of laughter ended she said "Rhoda. I'm Rhoda Gustus."

Afterwards they restarted the game. Rhoda was assigned as the batter. She walks up to and stands on the home plate. Once there she gets ready to swing.

The girl younger than her spits to her left side and announces "Are you ready noob?" she said this with an intimidating glare.

Rhoda was slightly terrified but nether the less she showed no fear. To show this she returned her glare with her own. with that Clara who is the pitcher threw the ball and Rhoda missed. She almost screamed but contained her cry.

The pitcher smiled at her miss and asked "Are you ready now or do you give up?"

She was more determined to hit that ball. So she got ready to swing again. With one fast movement Clara throws the ball once more. When it was close enough Rhoda swings and makes the hit.

Everyone was excited and surprised.

A blond haired boy with a bow tie yelled "That has got to be a home run."

Another one had screamed out while keeping his pointer finger locked on the ball "OH NO! Look where it's going!"

Everyone's eyes followed the baseball's direction and saw that it was heading for their neighbor's second story window. Before they knew it a loud shattering noise came from the house.

The pitcher turned to Rhoda and yelled "way to go, you lost our ball!"

Rhoda exclaimed in defense "I'm sorry, it's not like I could predict and stop that from happening!"

"Calm down Clara." Toby said "You know she's got a point. we can't exactly predict that something like that would happen."

"I know that Toby but that's not why I'm mad. I'm mad because of where it went. After all we used my dad's favorite baseball, the one signed by his favorite batter! The one who passed away therefore he can't replace it!"

Rhoda was a bit confused and asked "what's wrong with where it went?"

They all gave her a strange look. She was worried again that she said something wrong. They then started to give each other similar glances and came to a silent agreement.

The older girl with glasses began to tell her "That house belongs to the Neighbor."

Rhoda didn't understand what she meant by "the Neighbor" so she asked "Who's the neighbor?"

They once again gave each other the strange glances from before and once again silently agreed to tell her what they knew but before someone could speak the street lights became active and illuminated the darkening street.

They all stared at their watches and the time was 7:29 PM. with that knowledge they packed all their stuff, said goodbye to each other, and left the lot. Rhoda was disappointed that they didn't finish telling her what she asked.

However she refused to let the first day in a new town end with her making an enemy so she decides without a second thought to retrieve the ball from the four story unstable looking house. with that she proceeded to cross the street and head over to the house.

-ooooo-

There she stood just outside the house's gate. It was surrounded by a white picket fence. The yard looked like it hasn't been mowed in months. There was a driveway which led from the opened garage to the road.

She didn't care for her mission now was to retrieve the ball. She cautiously walked through the gate and up the porch steps. once in front of the door she rang the doorbell but no one answer. She tried again but still no one answered. She was starting to get annoyed when she remembered that the garage was empty which only meant one thing.

"Oh my god. No one is home!" She murmured to herself. She would have thought she was stupid if it weren't for her grades saying other wise, mostly B and A's on her report card. This is one of many things that makes her parents proud of her.

She tried the door knob herself but it wouldn't budge.

She now knew that no one was going to open the door. However the garage door was wide open and though it seems like an illegal thing to do but she was going to break in to get the ball back.

She went down the porch steps and entered the garage and started to check around the garage. She was glad she did because in the garage were two doors and at the bottom of the steps attached to one of the doors was an active and dangerous bear trap.

That is really dangerous. Why would anyone have a bear trap in their garage? Heck, why would anyone have one in their house at all?

She wasn't sure if this was apart of the owner's security system or something but she still need to find that ball. So instead of taking the dangerous door she'll take the side door which looked safe enough until she turned the knob. The door wouldn't open even slightly.

She whispered to herself "Darn, Looks like I'm going to have to try the other one."

unfortunately the trap was in the way and she didn't want to find out how painful it was. She had to get passed it somehow. As she looked around the answer had struck her harder than a baseball to the head. Leaning on the side of a metal shelf was a broomstick. She took it and carefully pushed it down on the pressure plate. In one fast movement the broomstick became two. The teeth of the trap snapped and was no longer a threat.

Her plan worked but she destroyed someone else's property so she assumed it was twenty dollars. Afterwards she put the broom back where she found it and placed the money next to it.

Once she did that she hoped that this door was unlocked. She had her fingers crossed on one hand while she used the other to reach for the knob. She then turned the knob. The door had opened up all the way. She was very grateful that this door was opened. She went through the door and into the house.

-ooooo-

Rhoda found herself in a pitch black hallway she looked around for something to turn on the lights. Luckily there was a light switch very close by. With one flick the hall lit up. She got back to the mission at hand. She looked to the left which had a right turn at the end of the hall and then to the left which lead to the living room and a staircase; which at the bottom was the baseball which for some reason was wet.

The outside of of the house was had a unstable look to it but the interior looked quite nice and well furnished too.

She sprinted towards where it was as she did she looked to the right and saw that the second door in the garage was blocked by a brown square back chair. She picked the wet baseball up. She examined it a little to make sure it was the right one. Very quickly she found the autographed part of the ball.

It was mission accomplished from there so the only thing left to do was to leave before she was caught. When something caught her eye. It was the glowing orange light that was coming from the door on the side of the stair case.

she wasn't sure why but she was curious, intrigued as if whatever was inside was calling out for her to check inside.

She took a step closer and then another and another. Finally she was close enough to grab the knob and open the red color door. She was about to do that very thing, open the door and look. She began to reach her left arm towards the knob.

Suddenly she heard footsteps but before she could turn toward the origin of the noise a hand weariness black rubber glove swiftly came out of no where and grabbed her left wrist.

She looked to who it belonged to and it was a man with a bushy mustache. He also wore yellow longed sleeved shirt with a blue sweater that had a diamond pattern on top, orange slack pants, and on his face was an expression of pure intimidation.

"What are you doing in my house?" He growled. He asked her again bu more demanding "What are you doing in my house?"

Rhoda could only shiver in fright. She had been caught and was worried about what might happen next.

-ooooo-

Down the block earlier a red car was approaching. It was coming in slow enough to obey the speed limit but fast enough to get back home as quick as possible. As it got closer it started to slow down.

The red car pulled into the drive way of the unstable looking house. Soon it came to a complete stop.

The driver's seat door opened up and the owner of the house had emerged from the car. Once out he brought out his keys and opened the trunk where he took out some grocery bags, most of which contained more milk cartons than necessarily needed for one man living by himself.

As soon as he took a glance at his garage he saw that his bear trap was activated and to the side was a broken broom with twenty dollars next to it. He got very furious with what he thought had happened while he was shopping.

"If I find an intruder in my home they'll regret ever even looking at my home." He dropped the two bags of groceries he had in his arms and rushed into the garage. He was making loud taps on the ground with each step.

As soon as he passed through the opened door he looked to the right and saw the intruder. His expression turned to anger as he walked up to her. He increased his speed once he saw that she was reaching for the knob to his basement.

No I can't let this happen again.

I have to stop you before you find out too.

He quickly ran towards her and grabbed her by the wrist. Once he did she had a look of terror all over her face. He then growled the question "What are you doing in my house?" She didn't respond so he asked again but in a more demanding tone "What are you doing in my house?"

She nearly choked trying to get her answer out "I was playing baseball earlier with some of the neighborhood kids and I was batter and well..." The look he was giving her was making her more and more nervous with each word she spoke.

"And what else?" He asked her raising an eyebrow.

She spoke the last couple of words very, very quickly "I...I hit the baseball too hard and it went into your house and I went to ask for it back but you weren't home so I thought I could just find it myself and get out before you notice." She paused for a second to breathe "And I found the ball and was about to leave but got caught so that's what happened." She said while showing him the now dried baseball.

He gave her a smirk and announced "Is that all?"

She nodded her head yes. She figured he understood and would let her leave. And she also hoped he would except the replacement money for the broom she broke.

He then told her in a calm voice "You know. That's how I know you're not telling me everything."

Rhoda's eyes widen in terror.

She was wondering what could he mean.

After all she told him everything.

Did she?

He then looked up at the door and said "You left out the part about you trying to enter my basement."

She realized that she did forget to mention that and she waited for him to say anything else. She was hoping that he would let her go free this time.

He finally said something after one minutes of silence "What did you see?"

She wasn't sure what he was asking but nevertheless she answered unsurely "Nothing, I guess?"

"Let me rephrase that. What did you see in my basement?"

With a better worded question she could now respond better "Nothing, you stopped me before I could even touch the door."

He had an angry but deductive expression on his face now "Are you sure you didn't see anything? Not a single thing? Are you really sure?

"Yes, yes, and yes I'm absolutely sure I saw nothing.

He spoke in a slightly creepy tone "That's wonderful, also the broom only costs one dollar but since you claim to have broken my window I'll keep all of it." He showed her the twenty she left in the garage and tucked it into his left pocket. She was beginning to feel like a fool. He dragged her away from the basement door and towards the front door which he unlocked and pushed her out. "Now that that's settled I will only say this once. Stay. Out. Of. MY! HOUSE!" He topped off his fury by slamming the door on her.

-ooooo-

She was left outside on the porch of his house. It was darker than earlier so she looked at her watch and the current time was 7:52 PM; just eight minutes before she misses curfew. Her parents would allow her to stay out as long as she returned home before eight.

I can make it home if I Run...

But what is up with my neighbor though?

What was in his basement that is so secretive that he is boarding it up right now?

wait...what?

She stared from the sidewalk and she saw correctly. Through the neighbor's window the neighbor was as quickly as he stopped from touching the knob, now boarding up his basement door. For every hit he made with the yellow handled hammer it gave out a loud clank sound.

She stared from the distance, not wanting to miss every moment. She brought her sandwich from earlier and began to eat as she watched unnoticed. As soon as he finished nailing the two boards to the door he threw the hammer to the side and mumbled something to himself. And she saw the most awkward thing ever. He was having an arguement with a mannequin sitting on the couch watching T.V.

Is he arguing with a mannequin?

and losing?

He now placed both his hands on both sides of his head. He looked like he was about to cry when the channel changed by itself. He brought his head up and soon what looked like an argument turned into an apology.

Well this is awkward.

I'm just going to leave now.

Next thing she knew she was looking both ways and ran across the street. Just moments away from the door when she heard beeping from her wrist. It was 8:00PM.

-ooooo-

She was now inside the house. To her surprise it was now furnished with more than half the furniture they brought.

Wow.

They did a great job at decorating.

I wonder why it's so quiet.

"I'm home! Hello!"

She checked the living room and no one was there. Then the giant kitchen. She didn't find her parents but she found a note on the table.

Sorry if we're gone but while we were redecorating your father was bitten by a Black Widow and needed quick emergency care so if you need us here's our location.

189 Cherrywood Lane, GoodCare Clinic.

The note was passed written quickly so the writing was a little messy.

"I guess I'll wait for them to come home?"

She knew that she might be home alone for awhile so she decided to get some rest. Rhoda put the note back on the table where she found it. Next she proceeded to head towards her still not fully decorated room.

-ooooo-

Rhoda walks through the doors to her room and jumps onto the bed. She looks up at the ceiling for a few minutes while humming to herself.

She Looked at the clock. The time was 8:47PM.

They've been gone for awhile now?

I wonder if I should check on them?

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Or should I answer the door first?

Knock! Knock! Knock!

wait what?

She got out of bed and she heard right. Someone was at the door, and they sounded like they desperately wanted in. She hurried out of the bed and into the hall where she proceeded to descend the stairs only for her to face trouble. On one of the steps a shoe was laying there and she tripped on it causing her to tumble down the step. Luckily it was not a long fall but it was painful.

-ooooo-

She was lying there on the bottom of the steps.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Rhoda quickly recovered and rushed for the door. She reaches for the knob and to her fearful surprise it was her next door neighbor.

He had a irritated look on his face almost like he wished he wasn't there at all.

His eye had twitched while he said "uhh umm. Does this belong to you." He showed her a decorated jewel earring.

Rhoda felt her left ear and realized very quickly that she was missing her favorite earring. It was very important to her. It was a gift from her grandma before she...she...Well let's just say in involved a camping trip on a unstable cliff top.

"Ye-yes that's mine."

How could I have nearly lost my grandma's gift?

That thing is more important to me than...than anything.

Sign of tears developed in her eyes. It was obvious that she was upset about losing the earring. The neighbor gave a disgusted look at her.

"Here just take it before you make me gag!"

Once she received the earring he began to stomp away.

WOW! is he always this cranky or is it just me?

She took a very good look at her earring and finally tear broke out preventing her from continuing her examination on the valued object. She got on her knees and continued her crying.

"I'm sorry grandma, I'm sorry for almost loosing you gift. I wish you were here." she said every word honestly and with true sadness.

The somber scene ended quickly when the telephone that hung next to the kitchen door had started to ring.

She sluggishly got up and hurried for the red colored phone. She made it on time to answer it.

She answered in a tone that was nervous but mostly as if she had recently just cried "Umm...hello"

An answer came quickly out "If you live in this house you have better keep your nose in your own business. If you proceed to keep up any pursuit for what lurks under the neighbors home-" He paused for a moment but his tone was threatening. Rhoda's sadness had been replaced with Fear. Once more he continued "-Then. You. Will. Truly. Regret. It"

The caller left before she could say anything.

What is going on!?

This neighborhood was beginning to become strange. For one the neighbor argues with a mannequins, His house has it's own train apparently, Mysterious phone threats, and probably more that she isn't aware of.

If this much excitement can happen in one day.

What's going to happen tomorrow?

And what's in the basement?

She wasn't sure why but her curiosity made her want to know. it was like something from inside was calling for her to come. She walked into the living room and looked out the window at the neighbor's home.

"I have to know? I just have to know...what are you hiding?" She told to herself as if it were the last thing she would do.


Remember this is my first fan fiction writing so if you notice anything wrong let me know but try not to be too harsh and I hope you enjoyed it.