Behind the bricks.

I took several bricks out of the back of the alcove today. Once I'd cleared enough mortar around the first one, I could work it loose. The others were easier, though I had to keep stopping to carry the rubble out of the way. By the afternoon I'd made an opening big enough to crawl through.

There's a space behind the wall. I still can't tell you how big it is.

I knelt in the alcove and shone the flashlight through. I could see a floor, almost level with the bottom of the opening. It's dark and completely smooth. No visible joints, no rough patches. I thought it might be concrete at first, but it doesn't look like the basement floor.

Beyond that, I couldn't make anything out. I moved the light from side to side, then pointed it upward. No wall. No ceiling. Just black. I leaned further into the opening so the edges of the bricks wouldn't block the beam, but it made no difference.

The flashlight works. I turned it back toward the basement and could see the stairs clearly. Pointed it through the hole again and got the same small patch of floor.

I picked up one of the bricks I'd removed and threw it through. I heard it hit somewhere ahead, a short, dull sound. There wasn't any echo. I kept listening, expecting to hear it skid or roll, but that was all.

I can't work out what I'm looking at. If it's another room, I ought to be able to find the far wall with the light. If it's large enough that I can't, I'd expect a brick hitting the floor to make more noise than that.

I stayed crouched there for a while, trying different angles. My knees were sore by the time I got up. I haven't gone through. I want a better light before I do that, and I'd like to see where the floor goes.

The bricks are stacked along the basement wall. I left the opening clear.