At first we thought they were spiders.

The basement was cold and dark.

There's almost a week after we moved in, we both ventured down the wooden staircase so

we discovered on our first night in the house.

There was a switch at the top of the stairs, a single bulb lit the concrete bunker that

lay beneath our home.

Now I've shivered or perhaps shuddered and stopped at the door as I took my first steps

downward.

I've seen basements before and this was nothing extraordinary.

Concrete floors, haphazardly constructed shelving, and a feeling of dampness in the air.

The corner of the room caught my eyes as I looked around.

As I said at first we thought they were spiders.

Ranging from tiny specks to alarmingly large, they gave the illusion of a multitude of legs

in.

They huddled in one corner of the basement near the ground.

I had reached the bottom of the staircase.

I took a few concrete steps towards the spiders.

I never felt dread anything like what I felt in that moment.

My skin went cold, the hairs of my arms stood on end and it became an effort to even

remain standing.

Nausea overcame me and I took several steps back until my foot found the wooden staircase.

That led me back to the comfort of my new home.

...