Chapter 2: Three Knocks
“Why is this locked?””
Claire's voice cut through the living room.
Daniel positioned himself between her and the basement door, his arms slightly extended as if he could physically prevent the entire situation from becoming real.
“It's just the pipes,” he said.
Claire looked at him.
Then at the padlock.
Then back at him.
“Move.””
“Claire, listen to me.””
“No. You listen to me. There is a locked door in our house, something is banging underneath our feet, and our daughter is crying on the stairs. Move.””
Daniel lowered his voice.
“I'm asking you to trust me.””
She let out a disbelieving breath.
“You want my trust? Give me a reason.””
A violent BANG shook the basement door.
The metal latch vibrated against the frame.
Lily shrieked.
Daniel spun around so fast that his shoulder struck the wall.
“STOP IT!”” he shouted at the door.
Silence followed.
Claire stared at him.
He hadn't shouted at the pipes.
He had shouted at whatever was behind the door.
“Daniel,” she said carefully, “who is down there?””
“There's nobody down there.””
“Then open it.””
“I can't.””
The answer escaped his mouth before he could stop it.
Claire's face changed.
“You can't?””
Daniel blinked rapidly.
“I mean, I don't have the key.””
Claire glanced at his hands.
His wedding ring caught the light as his fingers curled inward.
“You just said you couldn't open it.””
“Because I don't have the key!””
“Then who locked it?””
“Claire, please.””
“WHO LOCKED IT?””
Lily began crying in earnest.
“Mommy, I want to go to Grandma's.””
Claire's heart twisted.
She turned toward her daughter, forcing her voice to soften.
“Baby, come stand behind me.””
Lily hurried across the floor and pressed herself against Claire's back, wrapping both arms around her waist.
Daniel watched them.
For a moment, his expression seemed almost pleading.
“Claire,” he said, “take Lily upstairs. Please. Just take her upstairs and let me handle this.””
“Handle what?””
“Everything.””
“What does that even mean?””
He looked toward the front door.
It was a tiny movement, but Claire caught it.
He was considering running.
The realization landed harder than the banging.
Her husband, who had once driven forty minutes through a snowstorm because she had forgotten her medication at work, was standing in their living room looking for an escape route.
Claire slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone again.
Daniel's eyes fixed on it.
“Don't call anyone.””
“Give me one good reason.””
He rubbed his face with both hands.
“Because you don't understand what's happening.””
“Then explain it.””
“I can't.””
“Can't, or won't?””
Daniel stared at her.
Before he could answer, three knocks sounded from beneath the floor.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
This time, Claire noticed something else.
The first knock was loud.
The second was weaker.
The third was so faint that she almost mistook it for a vibration traveling through the wood.
Someone wasn't trying to frighten them.
Someone was running out of strength.
Claire crouched beside the basement door.
“Hello?”” she called.
“Can you hear me?””
Daniel seized her shoulder.
“Get away from it!””
She twisted free.
“Stop touching me!””
“Claire, you have no idea what you're doing!””
“Then tell me!””
He opened his mouth, but the words died before they reached his lips.
A strange, muffled sound rose from below.
Not knocking.
Not scraping.
Breathing.
Someone was breathing on the other side of the door.
Claire pressed her palm against the painted wood.
“I'm Claire,” she said, keeping her voice steady.
“If someone is down there, knock once.””
Daniel backed away.
“Don't do this.””
Claire ignored him.
“Please. Just knock once.””
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then came a single, soft tap.
Claire jerked her hand away.
Lily buried her face in her mother's blouse.
“Mommy, make it stop.””
Claire reached backward and squeezed her daughter's hand.
“It's okay, baby. I'm here.””
But the words sounded hollow even to her.
She stood and faced Daniel.
“Someone is locked inside our basement.””
“No.””
“I heard them.””
“You heard something.””
“I spoke to them!””
Daniel shook his head so hard that his messy hair fell across his forehead.
“You need to calm down.””
Claire almost laughed.
“Calm down? A person is trapped beneath our house!””
“Keep your voice down!””
The command was so sharp that Lily started sobbing again.
Claire stepped toward him.
“Why? Who are you afraid will hear us?””
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
Then toward the hallway.
Then at the locked door.
His face had gone pale.
“Please,” he whispered.
“You have to stop.””
Claire's phone vibrated in her hand.
She glanced down.
A notification appeared on the screen from an unfamiliar number.
No contact name.
No profile picture.
Just a message.
*DON'T LET HIM TAKE YOU UPSTAIRS.*
Claire stopped breathing.
She read it again.
Then she looked at Daniel.
He was watching her phone.
“How did you know someone texted me?”” she asked.
Daniel's gaze snapped to hers.
“I didn't.””
“You were staring at my screen.””
“I wasn't.””
Claire held the phone closer to her chest.
Another message arrived.
*THE KEY IS IN HIS POCKET.*
Her eyes dropped to Daniel's trousers.
He immediately shoved his right hand into his pocket.
The movement was instinctive.
Too quick.
Too guilty.
Claire took a step backward.
“What are you hiding?””
“Nothing.””
“Take your hand out.””
“Claire—”
“TAKE YOUR HAND OUT!””
Daniel slowly withdrew his empty hand.
But Claire had already seen the outline of something metallic beneath the fabric.
She moved toward him.
He backed into the coffee table, knocking the red high heel onto its side.
“Give me whatever is in your pocket.””
“I don't know what you're talking about.””
“Daniel, I am done listening to you lie.””
He looked at Lily.
Then at Claire.
Then toward the front door again.
A new sound came from the basement.
A faint, desperate thump.
Claire turned toward it.
And a woman's voice, barely audible through the wood, whispered a single word.
“Please.””
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
She looked back at her husband, whose hand was still pressed tightly against his pocket.
“Daniel,” she said, “if there's a woman down there, I swear to God, you have one chance to tell me the truth.””
He shook his head.
“You don't understand.””
“Then help me understand.””
For the first time, tears gathered in his eyes.
“I was trying to protect you.””
Claire stared at him.
“Protect me from whom?””
Daniel's lips parted.
The woman below suddenly struck the door with both hands.
“HELP ME!””
Lily screamed and clung to Claire's waist.
Daniel recoiled.
And in the instant before the house fell silent again, Claire understood something that made her blood run cold.
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Her husband wasn't afraid that someone would discover what was hidden in their basement.
He was afraid of what would happen when the person inside finally came out.
