All in Bad Time

by Yvonne Montgomery

  Brenna broke the spell. "Come on, let's go see what we can find."

  Eve aimed her flashlight toward the end of the room and made her way over the cluttered floor, frequently pointing the beam down at the rubble to avoid tripping over anything. Beside her Brenna filmed their progress.

  Neal was at the base of the ladder, holding it firmly as Andrea climbed down. When she reached the floor, he called up to the figure in the open trapdoor. "Noreen? You're next."

  She waved down at him. "I've changed my mind about coming with you. Aura Lee and I will fix tea for everyone."

  "Sounds like a plan. What about Rose?"

  "I'm staying here, too," Rose called. "Good luck."

  "See you in a while." Neal turned toward Andrea. "That'll make it a little less crowded."

  Andrea fished a flashlight out of her coat pocket and switched it on. "Here's hoping we don't find any snakes." She caught sight of Brenna and Eve, now nearly at the south wall. She headed their way and Kerry and Max fell in behind her.

  Neal followed them, shining the light overhead and down the rough stone of the walls. As they reached the end of the room, he lifted the strap of his tool bag and slid it down his arm. "Look at this stonework. The individual pieces have been cut and fitted. I'm not sure there's any mortar, maybe a little. The workmanship is impressive."

  Brenna ran her fingers over the rough wall. "I'm wondering how long it's been here. The house is at least a hundred years old, but I can't tell about these walls. Huh, look at this." She pointed at a fissure. "It could be a crack." She knelt to examine the junction of wall and floor as Neal moved the beam of his flashlight all the way to the ceiling. She felt the area with her fingertips. "I think it's too straight to be accidental."

  Her fingers rubbed gently against stone. "Interesting. Here's another crack at floor level. I can get my finger tips under this part." She demonstrated, running along the bottom. "Ouch!" She snatched her hand back and glared at the bead of blood on her forefinger. "It's sharp."

  Neal bent to look more closely. "Where?"

  Brenna pointed to a tiny red smear at the base of one stone and stuck her fingertips in her mouth. "It looks man-made to me."

  "Let it bleed a bit," Max said. "It'll expel some of the germs." He migrated along the wall to a section with a shallow depression about a yard across. "I wonder what this is about."

  Kerry leaned in with her flashlight to examine the surface of the bricks. "Creepy. It looks sort of like something pushed it in."

  Neal glanced over his shoulder. "It does. It'd take a strong push to get the area to indent that way. Wait a minute. See that?" He pointed with the pry bar he'd removed from his bag. "Is that a footprint?"

  Kerry dropped to her knees. "It is!" She looked up at Neal. "Where could it have come from?"

  Brenna bent to grab her phone and eased her way nearer to the print. She started snapping pictures, changing her position to get every angle.

  Neal shrugged. "Could be one of us left it." He glanced around the room. Eve was slowly moving across the floor away from a corner hung with cobwebs. Max was making exploratory pushes against the indentation he'd found. Andrea approached Eve, pointing at something overhead. "Maybe not. Let's take a look at the size." He set down the pry bar and his bag and walked carefully to the footprint.

  As his foot came down beside the print, Brenna inhaled sharply. "It's really big, bigger than yours."

  Neal looked down at the print. "Yeah. Thing is, I don't see any more of them. How come there's only one?"

  Kerry was turning about, searching the area around them. "I don't see any more. Hey," she called to the others. "Be careful where you step. We found a big footprint over here. Looking for more."

  Their attention was focused on the floor after that, and they all moved with exaggerated care as they came toward Neal and the others.

  When Eve caught sight of the print, the size of it shook her. "What was down here was probably big enough to have feet that size."

  "What did you see?" Kerry was using her flashlight to search for more prints.

  Eve shivered. "Two glowing eyes is all I actually saw, but I heard footsteps as it came toward me."

  "Wow. No wonder you were so scared when you came up. I thought it was just the snakes that freaked you out."

  Brenna was on her knees next to the wall. "I think I've found another fissure. Look here." As Neal moved nearer, she ran one finger up the stone. "It's parallel to the first one. Check higher, will you?"

  Neal felt along the area a couple of feet below the ceiling. "Yeah, there's something here."

  "Given the crack at the bottom," Brenna said, excitement in her voice, "We might just have a door."

  "How would we open it?" Eve asked. "There sure isn't any latch I can see."

  "Grab a hammer out of that bag, will you?" When Eve complied, Neal slipped a chisel from his work-vest pocket and inserted the blade into the crack. He began to tap the handle to push it further in.

  "Why are you doing that?" The sharp metallic clink stabbed at Eve's ears like an ice pick.

  Neal moved the chisel blade down a few inches. "Since there's no latch or knob, I'm wondering if there's something like the trigger on your trapdoor to open this. Figured I might hit it if I pound long enough."

  Eve's head ached, the throbbing keeping time with the pulse at her temples. As Brenna drew closer to film Neal's work with the chisel, Eve turned away and started back to the light coming in around the ladder.

  "Look at this," Andrea said from behind her, and Eve turned in surprise. She had a fistful of cobwebs she'd pulled from a bank of them overhead, holding them out for Eve to examine.

  "Ugh." Eve took a step back. "Keep them away from me."

  Andrea picked through the filaments, pulling them apart and rubbing them between her fingers. "They may be fake."

  "Fake? What d'you mean fake?"

  "As in not real." Andrea headed toward the others, still clustered around the would-be door. "Hey, guys, check this out."

  In moments they were riffling the ersatz spider webs, arguing over what the material could be. "It almost feels like dishwashing thingies made out of recycled plastic bottles."

  Kerry shook her head in disagreement. "It's more like those really thin strands you get on weird Halloween lights, except softer. But I don't think it's plastic."

  Andrea took back the mass she'd pulled down and stuffed it in her jacket pocket. "Whatever it is, I don't think it's made by spiders. To me that raises a question: if somebody with mad magic skills put this stuff on the ceiling, why is it fake?"

  Neal was on his knees, slowly making his way to the floor with the chisel. When he'd gone across the crack at the floor, continuing part-way up the other vertical opening, he pushed himself to his feet and put his hands on his lower back, leaning back to stretch out his muscles. "Good question."

  He slid the chisel into the crack and knocked it upward with hard strikes on the bottom of the handle. When nothing happened, he shot a glance up the remaining part of the fissure. "Let's try prying this thing open." He'd jammed the beveled end of the pry bar into the crack about a yard above the floor. "Come here, babe," he said to Andrea and she moved over beside the bar. "If you'll pull while I push, something might give."

  Andrea put her foot against the wall and bent her knees. Neal took hold of the center of the bar, leaving room for Andrea's hands at the end of it.

  Wiggling back and forth to set her feet, Andrea waited for Neal's signal. "Okay," he said, but before she could pull, before he could push, the panel of bricks popped out as if kicked open from the other side.

  Neal fell on his behind and Andrea lurched backward, knocking into Max. His arms came around her, holding her upright.

  "Wow." Kerry stared at the gaping door and aimed the flashlight beam into the cavern it revealed. "Another room."

  Eve's head pounded. She closed her eyes and light flashed behind the lids. She opened them and walked to the open door.

  "Wai
t a minute," she heard Andrea say, but she didn't stop. The further she walked, the louder the hissing in her ear. Soonyousee. Soonyousee.

  "Eve, what are you doing?"

  She heard the question from a distance and didn't try to answer it. She had to move, had to find the source of the pain. Step by step she entered the hollow space. Her hands groped over the wall they found, fumbling across the rough surface of crudely cut stone. Like a blind person she felt across the rock until she found the hole she knew was there.

  Her forefinger slipped into the gap and she touched the smooth, cold ring inside it. As she pulled it toward her, a crumbling sound came from nearby, and a narrow panel swung inward, revealing another recess. The pain in her head ended suddenly and she fell sideways against the edge of the opening.

  "Hey, now."

  Eve felt a hand under her elbow stabilizing her.

  "What was that all about?"

  Eve opened her eyes. Brenna's face came into focus. "The pain stopped."

  Neal, shining light into the cavity she'd exposed, turned at that. "Dammit, you walked all over the footprints." He stopped, attending to what she'd said. "What pain?"

  Eve wiped at the sweat on her face. "Headache, a really bad one. It got worse when the door opened. I felt something drawing me to this place. I knew the pain was coming from here."

  "That's awful." Andrea offered her a water bottle.

  "Thanks." Eve took a big swallow and handed it back. "Sharp pains in my temples, hissing in my ears." She met Neal's gaze, registered his scowl. "I'm sorry I walked on the prints."

  Andrea frowned at her. "Why didn't you say something?"

  Eve let out a long breath, giddy at the absence of stabbing pain. "Don't know. Something kept pulling me here—like a signal or tractor beam. I knew it had to do with the pain."

  "Rose is going to love this," Kerry muttered from behind them. "What's in there?"

  Neal put a hand on Eve's shoulder. "Don't worry about the prints. Probably weren't many." He turned back toward Kerry. "I don't see anything. Wanna have a go?"

  Kerry aimed her light, scattering the shadows shrouding the room and walked through the doorway.

  "Slow down," Brenna muttered, following her with the camera.

  After patting over surfaces and peering closely at the walls of the cavity, Kerry pulled her head back and made a face. "Nothing I can see."

  Andrea looked around with a thoughtful expression. "I wonder how many of these doors there are down here."

  "Me, too." Kerry glanced around. "So what is this place? It feels like a closet."

  Neal edged past her into the space, exploring with the flashlight. "Check this out," he muttered. The elongated circle of light spread to another wall about five feet from them.

  "Looks like a corridor." Kerry shone her own flashlight past Neal's and walked further into the recess. Behind her Max was illuminating the walls with his torch.

  "There's a turn here." Kerry took it and was out of view.

  "Wait for me, luv." Max hurried to catch up as Andrea followed behind.

  Neal looked over his shoulder at Eve and Brenna. "You coming?"

  Eve shook her head. "My knee's hurting. I can wait here while the rest of you follow the trail."

  "Don't be silly." Brenna called to Neal, "I'm staying with Eve. You guys go ahead." When he hurried off, she turned to Eve. "I should've asked if that's okay with you."

  "Of course, but you won't be able to take pictures." Eve let out a sigh. "I'm grateful you're here, though. I just want to rest for a bit. There for a while I thought my head was going to fall off. I feel fine now. Weird."

  "What about any of this isn't weird?" Brenna poked around the small space. "Let's sit on these slabs and take it easy."

  "Sounds good." Eve limped further into the recess and sat down cautiously. "It's cold, but it feels good to sit." She rubbed at her left knee above the edge of the boot.

  Brenna leaned against the wall and took a shot of the stone wall. "How long is it supposed to take for it to heal?"

  Eve shrugged. "A few weeks, according to my doc. He wasn't very happy with me for leaving to come out to Boulder." Her lips compressed as she massaged one tender area.

  Brenna wrinkled her nose. "I don't suppose wandering around hidden chambers is helping much. To say nothing of falling down here to begin with."

  "Yeah." Eve extended her leg, pressing the sole of her boot against the stone to try to stretch her hamstring. "God, I'm so tight," she muttered. At the same moment, with a rumbling sound, a portion of the wall they leaned against swung open. Brenna fell backward, catching herself before her head could hit the floor, clutching her phone to her chest. Eve grabbed the edge of the stone and slowed her fall, landing on her left hip. "What the hell!"

  "It's a door." Brenna groped for her camera and then her flashlight, shining it through the opening.

  "Did we trigger that?" Eve whispered.

  "Damned if I know." Brenna pushed herself to her feet and extended her hand to help Eve. "Maybe when you put your foot against the wall."

  They peered into the opening, about six feet high and three feet across. It looked like a hallway.

  Brenna peeked around the edge and then glanced at Eve. "Shall we?"

  Eve pushed her hair off her face and assessed her leg.

  "I admit I'm wondering if it's more dangerous to sit still or to keep moving."

  "We could go a little way, just to see what we find. If it's too hard, we'll come back here. Deal?" Brenna's eyes glittered with excitement.

  "Yeah." Eve dusted off her jeans and stepped to Brenna's side. "Remind me not to touch anything, okay?"

  Brenna nodded and walked through the gap, pointing the camera forward, Eve at her heels.

  * * *

  Andrea followed Neal and his bouncing light beam down the corridor, almost running into Kerry and Max. They were facing another wall made of stone, this one festooned with cobwebs. Max was running the beam of his flashlight over the rough surface.

  "Dead end?" Andrea was aiming her light in another direction.

  "Looks like." Kerry looked past Max at Neal. "What do you think? Another hidden latch?"

  Neal was running his hands over the portion of wall beside him; Andrea began doing the same on the opposite expanse. "Anybody see any cracks?"

  They all pointed their flashlights across the walls, shifting them to examine the uneven stonework. "How about this?" Kerry asked sharply.

  Max followed her pointed finger with his torch, holding it on the small hole in the grout between two stones. "Perhaps. Do you want to try it?"

  Kerry started to put her forefinger into the hole. Then she stopped and turned to Max. "Not this time. Let's use something besides a finger."

  Neal pulled a short Phillips head screwdriver from his shirt pocket and handed it over.

  "Always prepared," Andrea murmured.

  Kerry pushed the screwdriver into the hole. Nothing happened for a moment, and then a scraping came from the floor. As they watched, a row of three stones was pulled into the wall, leaving behind a rectangular gap.

  "Geez." Kerry handed the screwdriver back to Neal. "What next?"

  Neal lifted one hand to press against the wall and, smoothly, a section of it moved inward. "This is crazy," he muttered. "Who could've put all these doors in here?"

  Before they could aim their lights into the dark enclosure, a light appeared inside it, shining from the ceiling.

  Kerry stuck her head inside and the light set her auburn hair aglow. "Oh, wow."

  "What is it?" Max craned his neck to look past her. "What do you see?"

  Kerry pulled her head out. Her eyes were flashing with excitement. "Stairs!" She darted into the room and started climbing.

  "Wait a minute. Kerry, stop!" Neal stepped into the stairwell. "We have to do this slowly. There's no telling how old these are or in what kind of shape."

  Kerry looked down at him from six steps up. "I haven't heard a single creak."

&n
bsp; Neal peered at the steps winding upward in a spiral. "Huh, looks like they're metal." He put his weight on the bottom step and looked up at her. "Okay, just go slowly." He looked out at the others grouped beside the door. "One at a time, okay? I don't want too much weight on these steps, just in case."

  Andrea nodded. "You take it easy, too."

  Kerry climbed up in measured steps, testing for looseness at each level. "There's another wall up here."

  "Great." Neal climbed up the steps to the top and examined the wooden panel in front of them.

  "Do you think it just ends?" Kerry asked in a disappointed voice.

  Neal was brushing his fingertips along the top edge of the wall and over the corners. "Seems like a waste of time to me. Having this tunnel here doesn't mesh with a dead end."

  "Yeah. You're right."

  Andrea stepped up to the landing. "He's always right, or so he says." She peered at the blank wall. "This isn't what I was expecting."

  Neal tried running his forefinger down the corner where the stone met the wood. "Bingo," he said softly.

  "What?" Andrea stepped closer to him and looked up over his shoulder. His forefinger was touching a particular spot about six feet up from the landing. When he didn't respond, she crowded between him and Kerry to get a better look. "You know I hate suspense. What is it?"

  Neal moved his finger. "You can't really see it, and only barely feel it. A tiny pinhole."

  Kerry slumped against the wall. "What good is that?"

  "Who cares about a pinhole?" Andrea chimed in.

  "You'll both care in a minute, as soon as I find something small enough to stick in it." He looked down at his tool belt, swiftly considering and dismissing what he had there.

  "What are we looking at?" Max had brought up the rear and was checking out the small space. "Did you find an invisible lock or something?"

  "A pinhole," Kerry told him. "He's excited about it."

  Neal patted his jeans pockets and then groped in his shirt pocket. "Dammit," he said, looking around as if what he needed would appear suddenly. "A needle or a safety pin, something with a point. Anybody have something like that?"

  Andrea's lips curved in a smug smile.

  "I love your smile." Neal bent to kiss her. "Whatcha got?"