Gemotions

He ran his hand along the aged wood paneling in the basement, tracing the contours of the cold, damp surface. A section of it felt loose. He pushed against it, and with a soft click, it swung inward. A space, previously invisible, presented itself. His breath caught in his throat.

Fear, cold and sharp, pierced him. He'd lived in this house for years, and he’d never seen this before. He glanced back at the laundry room door, half expecting to see someone standing there. Silence. Absolute, heavy silence.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. The air in the hidden room was thick, almost suffocating. A single, cobweb-draped chair sat in the center of the gloom. He wanted to run, to get as far away from this place as possible. But curiosity, a morbid curiosity, held him rooted to the spot.