Discretion is the better part of valor....

A vision clouds your mind, a vision of a lunatic with a knife, hacking away at a bound victim. It's a flashback, back to a few days ago. The memory is overwhelming, filling you with a combination of horror and panic.
The scream sounds again, sounding more than before. A tear runs softly down your cheek as you back away from the door, down the stairway. You hold the gun unsteadily in front of you, your vision blurring, but unwilling to take another step towards the sound of fear. The sound of the past.

Before you know it, the basement door is at your back, and you fumble at it. It opens easily, and you barrel through it. As it shuts, the distant sounds are abruptly cut off, and silence again permeates the basement.

You return to the small side room where you had been barricaded the past few days. You shut and lock the deadbolts behind yourself, and try to take stock of your current situation. Your hads shake with fear, and you try to blot out the memory of the scream that still echoes about your head, now no longer formless sound, but chanting the word "coward, coward.."

You don't have much left, you note, distractedly taking stock. The cans of food number a paltry seven. Most of them are generic brands of chili and fruit, but they will serve. The problem is that ever since the power went out you've been pretty much in the dark. The light is already fading from the one grilled window, and you don't want to spend another night down here. Especially since you put the last batteries in the one flashlight last night. As far as ammunition goes, you have nine shots left. Yout unload the clip of your handgun and check it again. Nine bullets fill your hand, and mechanically you reload the gun, finding solace in the calming activity.

You settle down on your makeshift bedding, and try to think, even though the sounds of the screams still echo in your head. What should you do now? You could hold up for a few more days, and hope that whatever was going on up above is finished, or you could wait until nightfall and try to sneak out. That way whoever is up there would probably be sleeping.