Extending downwards is the trend these days. Last year was good for us and our pandemic days, locked inside for hours on end, made us realise we needed more space in house. A pool and sauna combo was a lovely idea be we opted for a small gym and a home cinema. Nothing too fancy.
The builders made such a racket during the day. Unsightly bunch but they got on with it and made themselves scarce. They rarely ventured inside but I moved a few more items around in the house into the safe. You never know with this lot.
Sarah couldn’t take the noise so her and Elliot have gone to the house in Cornwall for a few weeks while the major work is completed.
I’m sitting in the home office one day when there is a bang at the door. Right in the middle of a meeting. God I hope they didn’t scuff the carpet when they came up the stairs. Sarah will be livid if the bloody carpet has a fleck of dirt on it.
“What’s the matter? I’m quite busy today can this wait?”
“We have an issue with the basement Mr” explained the older builder with a worried look on his face.
“What issue?”
“There is a hole sir, in the floor”
“Yes that’s what I’m paying you for”
“Sir please come. See.”
I changed out of my shirt and trousers into something more suitable for the dust pit they had created.
He wasn’t wrong. Towards the back left of the corner of the basement there was a large hole, maybe a meter across at the entrance. Thank God we didnt go for the pool down here that would have been bloody expensive to sort out if discovered later.
“What do you mean it wasnt there yesterday? I dont really care why it is there. Just fill the damn thing up”
Honestly they know money isn’t an issue they could have just filled it and sent me the bill later. Last thing I need is a delay. I can’t take Sarah coming back and moaning every day about the damn noise.
“Sir” the older builder said while cracking a yellow glowstick and hovering it over the hole. He dropped it into the hole and I watched it descend into the darkness and out of sight. We never heard it hit the bottom.
This was an issue. A bottomless pit through the foundations of your home isn’t an ideal feature to mention to an insurer.
After some back and forth they agreed to get some concrete in and fill the thing up. A few extra quid chucked in to ensured this didn’t reach the structural engineer. That slimy hustler would salivate at the thought of charging me to redesign the entire renovation.
Days passed while they organised the concrete. God knows what was in that hole but I started to get whiffs of a foul odor when I passed the door to the basement.
The workman came back again to prep the basement for the concrete. Honestly I couldn’t stand having them back in the house. The few days of peace I’d had been refreshing. I was tempted to give them a bollocking for the filthy handprint I’d found on the basement door but thought better of it. Need them to do a top job here otherwise I’ll be shipping Sarah off again for a few more weeks.
About an hour into their visit I’m face to face with a nervous looking workman again. He can’t even look me in the eyes. I know what’s coming. Useless. How are they unable to fill a hole. I should have gone with Andrew’s guys.
“Sir we can’t..”
“Can’t or won’t?!”
“It’s wrong sir. Something is not right. The smell, the noi..”
I cut him short. “If you can’t do it I’ll find someone that will. Get your stuff and get out of my fucking house.”
Useless. I’ll speak to Andrew. Get his lot to sort this mess out for me.
I must have really shaken the bloke as they left very quietly. Didn’t even hear them close the front door. Good. Pretty sure they got the message they would not be paid a penny more.
Days passed. Fucking Andrew. His lot couldn’t start for another week. Sarah is going to blow her top when she finds out. Can’t have her coming back to this mess. Realised one of the fuckers must have walked around barefoot at some point as there were dusty footprints coming up the stairs towards out bedroom. Bet they tried to get into the safe while I was out one day. Knew it.
God the smell. Unbearable. It’s encroaching on the rest of the house now. I need this hole sorted yesterday. It’s wreaking havoc on the foundations. At night I hear creaking sounds throughout the house. God subsidence would be a ball ache on the buildings insurance.
3am the creaking starts again. Louder than normal. God I’m never going to get to sleep with this stench ringing in my nostrils. I need to tape up that damn door and open some windows. If this smell sticks and I’m buying a load of new furniture we can say goodbye to the Maldives next summer.
Moonlight guides me downstairs. Honestly the big windows we had installed really do open up the space. I swear the carpet on the landing looks dirtier than before but it’s probably the darkness. I’ll get someone over to sort that tomorrow.
I head towards the garage to grab the tape. No wonder the place stinks the damn door is wide open. Did I open it earlier? I bet those useless idiots snuck in again to grab something they left behind during the day. Probably avoided me like the plague after the drubbing I gave them. Shit I need to get the keys I have them back.
Tape in hand I go back towards the basement door. As I approach it something is wrong. There is a slight glow coming from the basement. I edge towards it.
“Hello?”
No sound. I edge closer. The only sound is my racing heart and my bare feet travelling through the thick dust that had formed at the entrance.
“Hello?” My throat trembled.
At the top of the stairs I look down and see a light coming from the basement. Unbelievable. They’ve come back and only gone and left a torch on down there.
Enough. I march down the stairs and toward the light. The basement smells so bad I almost wretch. I see the light source in the middle of the basement. It shine a light on all but the furthest corners. I pick up the source of the light off the ground and, bewildered, hold the yellow glowstick in my hand. It couldn’t be.
As it begins to fade in my hand my head and body spins as I hear the basement door slam shut up the stairs. The loud bang and the beating drum of my heart are enough to cover the sound of the feet racing towards me from the far left corner of the basement.