Johnny Peered down the vertical passage and immediately felt a wave of vertigo. How long did it go down for? And what exactly was it? He felt anxiety wash over him, he knew there was a pair of eyes on his back, but he was too invested to give up now.
He got a rope and tied it to the rim of the opening, then with every ounce of bravery he had, he descended into the dark dampness that awaited. There was no going back.
He really wanted to renovate, but that meant he had to find the original plans for the house. He had only moved in a few months ago and had big plans to make it his dream home. The house already had most of what he was looking for anyway.
He just wanted to add a few of his own personal touches. So he gave the realtor a call and asked them where he could find the blueprints to the house. Little did he know he was opening a can of worms that would change his life forever.
Johnny Cote lived his whole life in Montreal with his family. He was very proud of his heritage and his country, but when he had to move down to Oregon for work, he was actually excited.
He had never left Canada before, so living in America was going to be a huge change of pace for him. But he had no idea what he would find once he settled down.
The house that Johnny had bought in Oregon was in a good neighborhood and certainly looked good. Still, he was a perfectionist and wanted to make sure the house was exactly what he wanted to live in for the rest of his life.
He’d miss his family back in Canada, but he looked forward to starting a new life and maybe even finding an American girl to settle down with. Life was good until he looked deeper into the history of his house.
When Johnny initially bought the house, the real estate agent told him that the blueprints were kept by the local municipality. He knew he wanted to take a look at them and, hopefully with their permission, expand a little.
So he arranged to borrow the house plans so he could take a look at them. But his blood would run cold after seeing a discrepancy between the plans of his old house and what he had moved into.
After getting his hands on the plans, Johnny drove back to his home and then carefully removed them from their tube container. They were old and very delicate, as the house was at least 60 years old.
He understood that it was a different era when the house was built. The world was on the brink of a potential war as tensions between the U.S. and Russia were high during the 50s and onward.
Thankfully, that wasn’t the case anymore, the world was at peace, and there was no need to live in paranoia. But Johnny had no idea that the original homeowners definitely did, and that led to a radical change to their house.
But that secret had been long forgotten. Until Johnny poked his nose where it didn’t belong, he looked at the fragile blueprint and was startled at what he found.
His eyes went wide as he saw something strange, a structure in his backyard, but it wasn’t there. Had someone demolished it and not corrected the plans? No, that wasn’t the case. Then it clicked in his mind.
He sprinted to his shed and looked through all of his tools until he found it. Shovel in hand, he marched to the center of his lawn and started digging like a madman right until he heard a metallic thud.
His heart started to race as he went into a frenzy, furiously digging until he had unearthed a secret that had been long buried. He had found an old rusted hatch underneath his grass.
He looked over his shoulder like this was something that he shouldn’t be caught doing. Then he put on a pair of gardening gloves and tried prying the hatch open. Little did he know it would have trouble knocking on his door shortly after.
It wouldn’t open. Luckily Johnny had a crowbar in his shed. He sprinted back and strained with all his might until the whole hatch popped off. It made a loud noise that he hoped wouldn’t attract too much attention.
He sat on the lawn panting from the excursion. But little did he know, his find would end up with unwanted guests knocking on his door and asking more questions than he would have liked.
Johnny Peered down the vertical passage and immediately felt a wave of vertigo. How long did it go down for? And what exactly was it? He felt anxiety wash over him, he knew there was a pair of eyes on his back, but he was too invested to give up now.
He got a rope and tied it to the rim of the opening, then with every ounce of bravery he had, he descended into the dark dampness that awaited. There was no going back.
Johnny descendant for a descend while until his feet touched wet concrete. He turned on his flashlight and saw the damp room he was standing in. He felt almost like a spelunker, but he was underneath his own backyard.
The structure had multiple rooms but barely anything in them. He kept walking until he found a sign on one of the walls “fallout shelter.”
Now everything made sense, the age of the house, the blueprints, even the hatch. The original owners of the house must have built a shelter during the Cold War. He didn’t blame them, and tensions were very high at that time.
Johnny was a little taken aback. He didn’t exactly know what to do. It was certainly unique, but who needed a bunker in the modern era?
Johnny climbed back to the surface. On his way back, he noticed that there used to be steps that had rusted away. He would need to fix them if he ever wanted to use the structure. Johnny’s mind was muddled.
But before he could think much more, he heard a ring at his door. He walked through his house and opened it. But he didn’t like who he was face to face with.
There was a police officer standing at the door. His heart sank. Did he find out about the bunker? Was he going to get into trouble? He certainly wasn’t familiar with U.S. laws. The cop smiled and said that his neighbor had reported a loud noise. He just wanted a police officer to check on him and make sure he was fine. Johnny was relieved and thanked the officer.
Maybe it wasn’t so different from Canada after all? Still, he would have to make up his mind about what to do with the bunker, and maybe he’d make it a storage unit? Or maybe a man cave? Only he would know.
