BOY FOUND THE SECRET BUNKER OF HIS GRANDFATHER, AFTER HE FELL INTO A DRY WELL

As Ben was sitting on the backseat of his father’s car, he was looking outside, to see if he could recognize the house of his grandfather.
His father said, “You’ll love your new school, champ, you’ll make new friends there in no time.”
Ben said, “It’s not the same, Dad,”
“Back at home, Tommy, Jake, and I…we had this spot where we used to dig. We were looking for treasures. We never finished our excavations, and now I’m leaving them behind.”
His mother said, “I know it’s tough, sweetie, but you’ll be fine,”
His father continued, “I’ve heard that this city has many catacombs and tunnels underneath. How about we go on a tour together?”
Ben nodded his head, but he was thinking that without his friends, he would be bored. After a little while later, they reached at his grandfather’s house.
His mother said, “Well, it needs some fixes, doesn’t it?”
“But let’s look at the bright side: at least we don’t need to pay the rent anymore, and it’s three times bigger than our old home.”
Ben was unhappy, he said, “I don’t like it,”
His father pat Ben’s shoulder, “Give it some time, champ,”
“It’ll feel like home once it’s cleaned.”
As his mother started to carry their belongings, she said, “Why don’t you play in the garden, Ben?”
Then, Ben took his backpack, and started to walk towards the back of the house. Then Ben saw the dark, big forest ahead of him. As he was afraid of the dark forest, he didn’t wanted to explore the area anymore, but he heard a noise which kept him staying.
Then he went into the forest, where the voice was coming from. It was a cry from a puppy. He wanted to save the animal, as he was thinking that the puppy was in pain.
As he passed the set of trees, he found a well. It was a large well made from stones. When he looked inside, he saw a puppy in the well. It was not that deep, but since Ben was a child, it was big for him.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you!” Ben said. As Ben was streching himself downwards, he was only touching to the tip of the puppy. As he was trying to go further, Ben fell down. He was unconscious for a few minutes, and he woke to the tongue attacks of the puppy. It was licking Ben’s face.
As he looked around, the well was too deep for Ben to leave with climbing. But he saw an enterance at the tunnel. As he took his phone out from his backpack, he opened the flashlight on his phone, and entered to the tunnel.
“Don’t worry, Buddy,” he said to the puppy. “I got it.”
Then after 20 meters, Ben found a wooden door. As he tried to pull the door, the stones where the hinges of the door was built, come loose and the wall crumbled down.
Ben took the puppy, Buddy and jumped inside to escape from the crumbling stone walls.
The tunnel was blocked, as Ben had no chance to walk forward since he couldn’t go back.
Ben shouted, “Mom! Dad! Can anyone hear me? Help!” But he heard no responses.
As he thought that he could call them, but there was no signal on his phone. Then he wanted to open the wooden door. As he walked towards it, he heard a bing from his phone, “10% battery remaining.”
He needed to be fast, and find a light source. As he searched the shelves, he found an old gas lamp. He said to Buddy, “At least we have light, Buddy,”
“Don’t worry, Buddy. I’ll share my food with you,” Ben said to Buddy. “I’m sure Mom and Dad will find us.”
As Ben had nothing to do anything else, he decided to explore the bunker he found. As he kept searching inside, he found an old notebook, which was carved the initials of his grandfather, “J.T.”
“I think we’ve found something interesting, Buddy,” Ben said, as he opened the book and started to read.
“May 13th, 1945
The first day they captured me and threw me into that camp felt like a bad dream. Cold steel fences, oppressive watchtowers, and the constant gaze of guards…I despised them. It was the day I managed to slip a spoon during lunch that I felt I could be close to freedom.”
“Every night, when the guards and other men would be asleep, I would be awake, digging under my cot with the spoon. The spoon wasn’t much, but it was all I had, and I had to put it to best use.”
“By day, I would wander the camp’s bleak perimeters, pretending to bask in the scant sunlight but studying every detail of our prison. The guards, their routines, the weak spots in the fences…Winter came, and the earth grew hard. But I didn’t lose hope.”
“As I dug, I would dream about the world outside, trying to recall every cherished memory of home. My hands, already calloused and scarred from the labor the captors forced upon us, bled frequently. But with each inch I carved out, my hope grew tenfold.”
“And one night, the moment I had been waiting for came. The tunnel was ready. Nine months of constant effort were a success now. Some men had joined me. We emerged, gasping in the chilly night air, beyond the camp’s oppressive barriers.”
“But freedom wasn’t easy. The world outside the camp was a vast expanse filled with its own perils. Avoiding enemy patrols, I moved from forest to forest, hiding by day and traveling by night. Food was scarce. Many times, I survived on berries and whatever small animals I could catch.”
“When I finally got home after two long months, my village was not as I remembered it. Enemy soldiers now patrolled the streets, casting shadows of terror wherever they went. The night I sneaked back to my house, I met my wife. She sobbed, thinking she had lost me forever.”
“Near the edge of my property, we dug out a bunker. It was crude, but it was safe. Hidden beneath layers of earth, it was my refuge. Here, in the dim light of candles, I wrote. I wrote about the camp, the tunnel, and the taste of freedom, however fleeting. Always remember: even in the darkest moments, never lose hope.”
Ben was emotional with the courage of his grandfather. As he was tired, he decided to lay down on the makeshift bed of his grandfather.
He felt that the night has arrived, as he prayed before sleeping.
When he was awake, he felt the darkness he was in the lamp was near him, he lit the light. He was hungry. He took an apple and a knife from his backpack, and shared the apple with Buddy.
Then he carved his own name to the wooden planks of the bunker, and tried to describe how he got stuck. The night arrived again, and he went to sleep. When he wake up on the next morning, he understand that he couldn’t wait any longer.
He was exhausted, starving and thirsty. As he packed again, he went forward to find an exit with his new friend, Buddy.
As he went forward in the tunnels, he felt that the tunnel was getting narrowed, after a while later, he was moving on his knees and hands.
He crawled for 10 minutes, found a way exit, but he needed to lift some stones. At that moment, he felt a pain on his back, and everything went black.
Buddy’s licks brought him back. As he was in pain, he saw that a giant rock was sitting on top of his leg. He cried for the first time, since he was stuck under. He saw there was blood under the stone, his blood. He lost himself again, and fell to the ground.
He woke up, but he was incredibly hungry. He saw Buddy, as a food. Like his grandpa. As he held his knife against him, Buddy licked his face. He changed his mind, he couldn’t kill the only friend he has under the earth.
“This is it,” he said, before fell asleep again.
As he woke up again, he was hearing a beeping sound. He heard someone yelling for a doctor, and people rushed into his room.
He saw his mother and father when he opened his eyes. “Oh, honey,” his mother said.
“But how…how did you find me?” Ben asked.
The parents found the well, and his shovel on the bottom of it. They thought that he fell into it and called rescue workers. Then they find Buddy, who led them to Ben.
As two weeks passed, Ben was on his wheelchair, as his leg was broken. He was home, safe and with Buddy, so he was okay.
“Buddy is family now,” his mother said.
“Really? So, can we keep him?” Ben asked.
“Of course, honey!”
His father said, “Seems like you found a new friend,”
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