The Secret Dungeon by Emily

There’s a crash from downstairs and Leo jumps in fright. Then he realised that he's on the lowest floor and they don’t have a basement.

“Crash!”

Leo is home alone and very frightened. He runs up the stairs and calls his best friend on his walkie talkie. Chloe, his best friend, arrives at the mansion, she loves it at the mansion. She looks up at the high ceiling and the giant glorious chandelier that glistens in the sunlight which is seeping in through the five sky lights and three huge windows. The double staircase has red carpet rolled down its steps rimmed with golden lace.

“Crash!”

Chloe and Leo freeze, Leo’s pale green eyes staring into Chloe's bright blue ones.

Leo had lived in this mansion his whole life and Chloe lived just down the street. Chloe loved to investigate strange things so when Leo called she almost spilled her breakfast and got ready to go then burst out of her ruby red front door and sprinted off down the street towards the mansion with a camera swaying around her neck. Leo never liked strange or scary things, and is never one to go looking for trouble. Leo has short ginger hair and Chloe has blonde hair only just reaching her shoulders.

Another crash sounded and they were getting very worried. The chandelier rattled and the floor shook, Chloe and Leo trembled when another crash happened. “We should try to find where it’s coming from.” Chloe’s voice quivered but she continued on towards the library and Leo followed in her wake. The library was big and a fireplace smoked on the back wall with two velvet chairs surrounding it. Bookshelves wrapped around the whole room that all sorts of books sat on. The ceiling had a large round sky light that let in tons of natural light. The bookshelves shook as another crash sounded, this one was very close.

Chloe and Leo looked around for a little bit and kept reassuring each other that it’s probably just mice.

“Even if it is mice then where’s it coming from?” Leo responded to Chloe

“Hmm… mumbled Chloe.

“Crash!” It happened again and Leo jumped but Chloe barely took notice of it.

“This book looks really old,” said Chloe “Dates back centuries… hmm ancient war,” She says more to herself than to Leo. Chloe takes the book off the shelf then there’s a crumbling sound, a bookshelf to her left was moving inwards and revealing a secret dungeon..

“Ahh!” screamed Chloe jumping back.

“The book being taken off must have opened it,” Leo explained, standing on his tippy toes to look past Chloe and into a deep dark passageway with steps leading downwards. Chloe walked into the dungeon, she was trembling but still she walked on. Leo hesitated for a moment then walked into the dungeon after her. Cobwebs were everywhere they walked into so many feeling all tingly as if a spider was on them when they did. The dungeon had solid cream clay as walls. Steps made of rusty old timber stretched downwards into a huge room with swords, shields and bow and arrows on the walls, but they didn’t have time to admire the gleamingly beautiful weaponry for a loud crash had sounded through the door on their right.

Chloe whispered to Leo in the lowest voice she can “come on we better check it out.” But she knew just as she had stepped that she took one step too many because the rusty floorboard creaked and the sound echoed through the whole dungeon and a cold voice spoke from inside the door on the right “There you are.” A man came screaming round the corner and hurtling towards them

“RUN!” screamed Leo.

They rushed up the stairs and back into the library where Chloe quickly slammed the book on ancient war that she was holding on the bookshelf and the shelf swept shut. “Wait!” the voice cried from the other side of the shelf.

“It's me!” the voice shouted.

“Who?” Leo replied looking stunned

“Your neighbour, Bill,” Said Bill

Chloe slowly took the book back off the shelf and the shelf to her left creaked open and revealed Leo’s neighbour, Bill. Leo and Chloe’s mouths fell open in shock.

“Why were you down there?” Chloe asked.

“Possums got down there. I was scaring them out of my house and they got down there through a little hole and I followed them to try to scare them out again,” Bill explained.

“So why did you chase us?” asked Leo.

“I heard the floorboard creak and thought you were a possum then I heard you scream and I tried to tell you it was me but you just ran,” Bill replied.

“Why is there a dungeon under my house that I didn’t even know about?” muttered Leo.

“I’m guessing it might be an escape room for the soldiers that lived here,” answered Bill.

“Soldiers?” Chloe and Leo repeated.

“Yeah,” said Bill but in seeing Chloe and Leo’s confused look he went on to say ”They used to house soldiers here when people invaded, I’m surprised you don’t know Leo, it is your house after all,”

“I’m as surprised as you are,” Leo replied

“Whelp, I was going to write a story on this but there’s no ghoul under my house,” Chloe sighed.

“You’re disappointed?” Leo asked, looking shocked.

“Hmmm, Well you could always write about the soldiers and the dungeon,” Bill suggested

“Yeah, I can already see the headlines. ‘The secret Dungeon’ ”said Chloe. Bill and Leo laughed then Chloe joined in.

Book Week

Book Week Parade