by Chris Coppel
“I haven’t the foggiest idea,” he stated flatly.
“What about that over there?” Rex asked, gesturing to a large yellow placard fastened to one wall.
Lester moved over to it and began reading it as best he could.
“P . . . Pa . . . Park . . . ”
“There’s a park down there?” Angel interrupted.
“Park . . . parking! Not a park. Parking!” Lester announced.
“Great. So, what does that mean exactly?” Rex asked.
“I haven’t a clue,” Lester replied. “I know how to find out though.”
“Why should we care what’s down there?” Lucy pointed out. “I thought we agreed to stay above ground from now on.”
“We did, Goldie,” Angel said excitedly. “But stand over here and take a deep breath.”
Lucy gave the Spaniel a look of mild scepticism then moved closer to the entrance as requested. She closed her eyes, raised her muzzle then took a long, deep breath.
“Chicken?” Lucy mumbled incredulously. “Roasted chicken?”
“That’s what we smelled too,” Angel announced. “Now do you see why we should go down and investigate.”
“I don’t know,” Lucy replied with concern in her voice. “We’re talking about being underground again.”
“No!” Angel insisted. “We’re talking about roast chicken!”
The five dogs all took a deep breath and reconfirmed their earlier analysis of the scent. All five again got a positive reading. Roast chicken it was!
“Well then,” Rex said. “I think I should lead the way, don’t you?”
The others all nodded emphatically. Rex smiled back at them then turned and, after a quick stretch to prepare his body, he stepped onto the sloping drive and led the group down into the dark and unknown territory below.
CHAPTER 26
The dog’s nerves were on high alert, causing each animal to jump or yelp at the slightest sound or movement. It was a very odd place. The road-like surface descended for a while then flattened out for no purpose than any of them could see, except to allow biped vehicles to be stationed in neat diagonal rows. There had to be more to it than that, but the dogs couldn’t seem to work out its true purpose.
They descended two more levels before they realised that the chicken odour was no longer present.
“Hans, Lester,” Rex spoke with true leadership quality to his voice. “You two retrace our steps back up towards the entrance and see if you can find where we lost that scent. We’ll continue on down and see if we can find out what this place really is.”
The two nodded their understanding of the order and trotted back up the drive, sending the sounds of their nails on the road surface echoing off the heavy concrete walls.
Rex led the others further down into the depths of the place as the three searched eagerly for any clue as to its purpose. Every level appeared identical except that, as they went deeper, the biped vehicles became far scarcer and those that were to be found, seemed to somehow have an almost abandoned look.
Finally, they rounded one last corner and came to a dead end. There were only six vehicles on that level. On the higher levels, the walls had all been painted and posted with arrows and signs, but these walls were sorely neglected. Lucy approached one and noticed that it was covered with a fine sheen of greenish-grey moss. She smelled damp and decay and it made her extremely uncomfortable. It wasn’t that the odours were foreign to her, after all, she had smelled them before on her walks with her human. In those instances, the odours had been outdoors and were coming from rocks and trees and were natural and appropriate. Down here, the odours had an almost evil quality to them as they clung to the abandoned and surfaces that bipeds had created, then forgot.
Lucy allowed a shiver to pass through her, then turned and saw that both Rex and Angel seemed to be having the same reaction. Without a word, the three turned from the dead end and began walking back up the sloping drive.
They had taken only a couple of steps when they heard Hans and Lester barking furiously from somewhere far up inside the structure. The three broke into a fast run as they sensed the urgency in their friend’s voices. As they charged up the inclining drive another sound reached the three pairs of ears. It was a clanking, metallic sound, which for a split-second reminded Lucy of the terror she had felt in the rat tunnel earlier that day. This sound, however, did not have the weight or power of the tunnel beast. This was far lighter in tone. It was like the noise that chains rattling together would make added to the sound that Cook’s metal mixing bowls made when they fell to the stone floor of the kitchen.
The two scout dogs sounded even more frantic as the three continued to climb closer to them. They seemed to be yelling something for the benefit of a biped, but Lucy couldn’t quite make out the words because of the distance and the echo quality of the structure.
“We’re almost there!” Rex yelled breathlessly as they rounded one last bend.
The three came to a sudden, frantic halt as they saw before them the reason for Han’s and Lester’s outburst.
The entrance, through which they’d so recently passed, was now entirely blocked by means of a very secure looking metal gate. It wasn’t solid. It was made of metal links all joined together forming a tight fitting and impenetrable portal that covered every inch of the entrance. Because it was constructed from linked metal, the three could see beyond the barrier where the frantic figures of Hans and Lester were stationed as they howled forlornly into the night.
They were shut out.
Rex approached the barrier with great caution, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on it in case it decided to move again.
“What happened?” he asked through the links to the others.
“We were trying to find the chicken scent when this biped suddenly appeared out of nowhere and chased us out onto the street,” Hans glanced quickly over his shoulder before continuing. “We didn’t want to make a fuss so we let him have his way knowing we could sneak back in when he was gone.”
“But he went to the wall over there,” Lester said, taking over the story telling. “and pushed a button. Before we knew what was happening, this gate thing began coming down out of nowhere.”
Hans carried on. “The biped stepped under it as it dropped and kept us away from it. The thing was fast. Before we could get around the human, it reached the ground and stopped. We’ve given it a good going over, and I’ve got to be honest, we can’t make it budge.”
Angel began to cry. At first gently and to herself, but then it grew with alarming speed to a full-on wailing, that was almost deafening within the confines of the concrete structure.
“Angel, what’s the matter?” Lucy asked soothingly.
“What do you mean, what’s the matter,” she howled. “We’re trapped. We’re never going to get out. We’re going to be here forever, and I’m scared and I’m cold and . . . and . . .”
“And what . . .? Come on tell us! We’re your friends,” Lucy coaxed.
And . . . and . . . we never found the roast chicken!” her pathetic voice cried out.
Rex and Lucy turned to each other both trying their hardest to not laugh at the poor Spaniel’s outbreak.
“Oh, we found the chicken,” Hans announced with peeve.
“Well, where is it, we’re all famished?” Angel asked, her tears suddenly vanishing.
Hans and Lester both tilted their heads to the left of the gated entrance. Rex moved close to the barrier and looked to where they were gesturing.
“Oh, dear,” he murmured.
Right next door was a small restaurant displaying the image of a white bearded human on a sign above white lettering. Rex couldn’t read but knew the sign very well. Various night assignments had coupled him with bipeds that would dine from large cardboard buckets of chicken that held the same image. He had in fact, often wondered w
hy an establishment that specialised in something as tasty as chicken would wish to display the image of an aged and bearded biped instead of a fine portrait of the culinary fare that they were offering.
“It’s closed!” Angel announced as she tried to crane her neck against the barred entryway.
“It closed just as we got up here,” Hans explained.
“But the scent came from in here,” Lucy stated clearly, somewhat confused.
“It did seem to,” Rex agreed. “It must have been carried in here by a draft or something.”
“So, we got shut in here for nothing?” Angel sulked.
“Well,” Lucy tried to find the right words. “Basically, yes!”
The dogs all stared blankly at one another until Rex suddenly started to laugh. His merry voice was so contagious that before long, the others had joined in. It was a good release for their emotions and as the laughter subsided, they all felt far better than before. They were still hungry but somehow the future didn’t seem quite as dismal.
Just as the five settled down to discuss their next move, a human voice shattered the night air.
“Hey, you lot! Get out of there!”
Rex signalled for Lucy and Angel to back into the shadows afforded by their dark prison. Hans and Lester did not have that luxury and tried to squeeze themselves tightly against the gate hoping to go unseen by the approaching biped.
“Come on then!” the voice boomed.” Get out of there, I said.”
The towering form of the biped stepped directly in front of the gated entrance. Lucy could just make out that the biped was very untidy looking. His clothes were torn and filthy, his hair was matted and uncombed, and his face was covered with the hair that most bipeds preferred to scrape off with the aid of a sharp piece of metal. The human was holding a bottle in one hand and a filthy blanket in the other. In addition to his unkempt state, the biped also seemed to be having a great difficulty in standing up straight. He was constantly swaying from side to side. Lucy found that if she stared at him for too long, following his motion with her eyes, it made her quite queasy.
Hans and Lester tried to press themselves into the corner of the gate and wall hoping that that alone would satisfy the biped. Instead, he began mumbling unintelligibly at them and took a step forward.
Maybe it was because of the incline or maybe it was because he tried to kick at the dogs while still walking, but the biped suddenly cried out in astonishment as he toppled over and fell to the ground. Instead of trying to protect himself during the fall, his hands frantically sought out to protect the bottle. As his body reached the surface of the drive, the bottle slipped through his fingers and landed on the street, shattering into hundreds of bright shards of glass. Amber liquid flowed across the pavement and trickled into the gutter.
The human watched with wide eyes as the last of the fluid vanished from sight. He then lowered his head to his hands and began to cry with loud sobs that seemed to wrack his entire body.
Rex and the others eased themselves out of the shadows feeling that this biped was unlikely to do them any great harm. As they approached the gate they looked over to Hans and Lester who were also clearly now less afraid of the intruder.
“What should we do?” Angel whispered.
“I don’t know,” Rex replied. “Do you think he’s alright? The fall seems to have hurt him.”
“I don’t think it was the fall,” Lucy stated as she watched the sad biped weep uncontrollably. “I think it’s his life that hurts him.”
The others all looked from Lucy to the human then back to Lucy trying to understand her words. She simply smiled gently back at them knowing inside that she had just discovered a new side to her personality. She somehow was able to feel some of the pain that the poor wretch held inside himself. The others didn’t seem to have that ability which, though puzzling to her, made Lucy suddenly feel rather special as if a barrier had been lifted between her and the human species. She somehow knew that from then on, her dealings and handling of bipeds would never be quite the same as before.
The dogs watched the man as he continued to sob into his dirt-streaked hands.
“He smells awful,” Angel whispered to no one in particular.
“I don’t think he means to,” Lucy offered, in another demonstration of the new insight she felt towards humankind.
“Whether he means to or not, he does and it’s foul. I’m going to go down another level,” Angel said, flipping her ears back as she turned and strutted away.
Lucy was about to say something when she noticed Lester moving towards the human. She watched in rapt fascination as the Doberman stepped right up to the biped and positioned himself under his arm. Hans stood observing for a moment, and then, following Lester’s lead, stepped towards the human.
At first, the biped seemed to be absorbed in his sobbing and didn’t notice the two dogs, but then, he slowly raised his head and allowed his hands to descend into the back of each animal. Lucy stood riveted to her spot, fearful that Hans and Lester might be harmed, but instead, the biped’s large and calloused hands began moving down each dog in gentle, petting caresses.
Hans and Lester both turned their heads slightly to offer the others a brief nod which clearly translated to, “We’re fine, don’t worry.”
Lucy was touched deeply by the unselfishness of her friends’ actions. There was quite clearly no great personal gain expected from their act. They had simply seen the need to give a little kindness and sensitivity and had given just that.
She felt her eyes misting slightly and turned away so as not to embarrass the others. As she looked back into the sloping structure her eyes caught those of Rex, who was clearly attempting to keep his emotions in check as well. His large, brown eyes were moist as he too looked away.
Realising that they had both been caught in their emotional reaction, they began smiling sheepishly at each other.
“Why don’t we go down and join Angel?” Lucy suggested. “She’s probably got herself into trouble by now anyway.”
“Do you think they’ll be alright?” Rex asked, glancing back at Hans and Lester as they snuggled close to the human.
“I think they’ll be just fine,” she said, smiling again at the gentleness of the scene.
The two dogs then turned away from the gated entrance and began descending in search of Angel.
They reached the next level down expecting to find her curled up asleep in some corner or other but found the area devoid of sleeping Spaniels.
That’s odd,” Lucy whispered.
“She probably went further down that’s all.”
They descended another level, but still found no trace of their friend.
“Angel?” Rex called out.
There was no response.
“Angel!” he tried again with more force causing his voice to echo back at them with a hollow flatness.
Rex and Lucy gave each other a puzzled look, then began walking down to the next level. They were moving much slower now, feeling that something was wrong.
They covered two more levels with no success. That only left the damp and seemingly abandoned one they had encountered earlier.
“Why would she go down there?” Rex whispered.
“Who knows,” Lucy replied, shaking her head in mild frustration. The two dogs stared at each other for a moment, both preferring to not have to descend to the next level.
“We’re being silly. You know that don’t you?” Rex stated in as casual a manner as he could muster. “We’ve been down there once. It’s just a little damp that’s all. There’s nothing really frightening. We’re just being silly pups!”
“Do you mean that?” Lucy asked with a nervous smile.
Rex gave her a wink, which was enough to calm most of her fears. The two then began the descent to the bottom floor. They’d taken a couple of steps when Rex look
ed over at her and offered a reassuring smile.
Lucy was about to say how silly she felt at having been so scared of going any further, when all the lights in the place suddenly shut off, plummeting them into total darkness.
They stood there for what seemed like an eternity trying to accustom their eyes to the darkness. The problem was that it was simply too dark. Usually there was light of some description, even when one’s surroundings seem devoid of all illumination. That was not the case where they were. Lucy blinked and blinked, hoping after each, to adapt her vision sufficiently to at least be able to see her own paws.
“This is ridiculous. I can’t see a thing,” Rex said.
“What do you think happened?” Lucy asked, trying to keep the fear from sounding in her voice.
“You sound scared, Goldie. There’s no need. The lights were obviously on a timer. I’ve seen that a lot in my job.”
“What’s a timer?”
“That’s when the human’s want something to happen at a particular moment, while they’re actually not even there to make it happen. Just like the lights; they wanted them to switch off by themselves at a certain time when they were nowhere near. It’s quite clever really.”
“I’m sure it is,” Lucy said. “But . . . why would anyone want something to happen like the lights going off, if they weren’t around to see it anyway?”
Rex was about to reply when he realised that he didn’t have a good answer.
“That’s odd, it always seemed to make good sense before, but you know, it does seem rather silly now that you mention it,” he continued. “There was one job I remember at a country house when not only did the lights come on, but music came on as well, and you know what, the bipeds who lived there were away for a week. Every night though, as soon as it got dark, the windows would light up and music would start playing inside.”
“That’s very odd behaviour, even for them,” Lucy said, amused.
“The important thing is that you shouldn’t let this place scare you. The lights went off on purpose and, alright it is a bit dark, but we know where we are.”