After a short distance they stopped at the familiar 4 way intersection. Adam felt for the symbols then nodded his head and said, "This is the ring that crosses all of the tunnels. The marker feels like a circle, just like on the map."
They continued down the 1:30 tunnel. In the same way as the others, the tunnel was built to look like it ended after a short distance, but as they walked it just kept going.
"This place drives me crazy," said Mark after a while. "Have we walked more or less distance than we did in the tunnel to the monitoring station?"
As he finished speaking, the tunnel straightened out and another sliding door appeared.
"I'd say less," Jimmy answered Mark, straight-faced. Mark shook his head.
"Any guesses where this door leads?" asked Kevin.
"As long as it isn't under an outhouse, I am happy," said Jimmy.
"The way these tunnels are, it could be anywhere. I tried to think of the houses in the general direction it seemed to start, but I’m lost," said Adam.
"As my dad likes to say, 'There's no time like the present'," said Kevin, motioning Adam to the door.
Adam placed the pin and listened to the almost familiar sound of the mechanism again. That one sounded slower than the others he had opened so far. He pulled the handle expecting the door to slide easily, and it didn't budge. It surprised him a little, so he pulled harder. The door moved a little, but not easily. A puff of air rushed through the crack of the door and quickly made its way to all their noses. It smelled like a beer bottle that had been in a ditch on a hot summer day, mixed with a hint of old cheese.
"McTaggart, if you’re going to do that at least wait until I'm not around!" Jimmy teased.
"That smells more like a Jimmy Jones special," replied Adam with a smile. “Kev, give me a hand.”
Kevin stepped up, and the two pushed the door open even though it moaned in protest. The sound made the hair on Adam’s neck stand up. He hoped it didn’t carry far down the tunnels.
Adam pointed the flashlight back at the base of the door. The track was unmaintained; rusty and needing oil. It seemed strange, since all the other ones were so well cared for.
"Nobody's used this door in a while," said Adam. "I don't think we'll find Ellie here unless she died and your dad talks to ghosts." Adam looked at Mark smiling.
"If he catches me in here, you'll be the ones talking to a ghost," replied Mark looking nervous again.
Adam chuckled and turned to see where the door had led them. He shone the light on a narrow stairway with rickety old slats. It climbed at an angle that made it nearly a ladder instead of stairs.
"Glad you're going first." Jimmy's voice startled Adam he was so close.
"How do I get stuck going first every time?"
"You're the key master, so you've inherited the lead position," Jimmy said, "like a king...or dictator."
Adam shook his head and turned to the stairs. I hope they hold, he thought, looking at their poor condition.
The stairs creaked under each footstep. After the silence of the tunnel, each creak was like the crack of a nearby lightning strike. Thankfully the stairs held until he made it to a small landing. Shining his light around, he saw the small room he had climbed up to had no windows and only an old wooden door that looked to be made of weather-beaten barn wood. The handle had a bolt mechanism that was manually opened from the inside and probably keyed from the outside. It would allow someone to get out from the inside but not in from the outside without a key.
Adam pulled the bolt and opened the door, then understood what EL stood for. Not Ellie. Elevator. The old grain elevator. That explained the smell, even though it had been closed since before he was born.
Mark followed next, then Jimmy, and finally Kevin.
"Elevator. I should have guessed that one!" said Kevin, "But I was more worried about opening a door into my basement family room while my parents were watching TV."
"We are pretty close to your house," said Adam.
"Well, back we go," said Jimmy, turning to the stairs.
"Are we really going back down there?" asked Mark as he looked at Adam.
Adam nodded. "We have to get back to the monitoring station for our bikes before it gets too late. It'll be quicker through the tunnels than on the road, right?"
Mark thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right, but I'm going down first. I don't know if those stairs will hold farmboy again." He walked to the door leading to the stairs.
"If they hold you, they’ll hold me!" Kevin retorted.
Mark was already through the door and starting down the stairs. The others followed close behind. Once down and through the sliding door, Adam tried sliding it shut, but it only moved a few inches making a loud squeal as it slid. He pushed it open and closed a little, trying to free the movement.
Mark cringed at the sound. "You're gonna draw too much attention with that noise!"
"You already did," said a low, gruff voice. A bright spotlight from the tunnel blinded them.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Being from a small town, most of them recognized the sound of a shotgun loading a shell into the chamber.
"Don't move 'cause I don't wanna clean your brains off the walls," said the gruff voice.
Having never been held at gunpoint before, the four boys were completely stunned and silent. Adam almost lost control of his bladder, and somewhere in the back of his mind he was intrigued by that fact because he thought it was only a myth. At that moment it was no myth, and he wondered if anyone else in his group wasn't as lucky as he.
Adam snapped back to reality.
"I said what the hell are you doing here and how the hell did you get in? Hurry up!"
"M..m..mister Casey?" Mark mumbled. "Is that you?" Mark stepped to the front.
"Answer the questions!" The voice yelled back, lower and gruffer.
Adam's brain was racing. He had to come up with something quick, before they got shot. Jimmy spoke before him, though.
"We were just going to Kevin's house and decided to check out the old elevator."
He paused for a second, and the voice was all over him. "That does NOT explain how you got in here!"
"Hang on… just a second. We're nervous... and... you have a gun..." Adam spit out the words, giving Jimmy a chance to think. If there was any time he needed Jimmy's talent for creativity it was right then.
Jimmy continued, “We were bored so we came here to look around. I jiggled the handle on the door at the top of the stairs and it opened. We came down the stairs and that sliding door opened a little when we pulled on the handle.”
The story sounded logical to Adam. Most days he didn’t like Jimmy’s ability to come up with a story in an instant and have it sound completely natural. That moment wasn’t like most days, and Adam just hoped the story worked.
“…told them to seal that bloody door…” grumbled the voice. “Nice story kid, but I’m taking you to the boss.”
Adam’s heart missed a beat. He’s taking us to Mr. Gupta. Mark’s in big trouble! he thought.
“Follow me and be quiet…Now!”
The light moved down the tunnel.
Slowly, they followed the light back toward the junction. Adam was first, followed by Mark, then Jimmy and Kevin. When they reached the intersection to the ring tunnel, the light moved right.
Adam followed, the others tight behind him. Mark’s breathing was intense and sounded like it was right in Adam’s ear. Mark was obviously afraid of what was going to happen.
After they passed the first intersection, the light turned right at the second. “Not much further,” said the voice.
Adam thought the tunnel they were in had to be the one that ended up at the hotel. When they reached the intersection where they had gone straight the first time, the light went left.
“Come on…quick now!”
Mark let out an odd noise that was pure fear. It sent a shudder up everyone else’s backs, but they continued following. The intens
ity of the light made it impossible to see anything beyond.
“Stop,” the voice commanded. “Wait.”
Adam heard a familiar mechanism working, followed by the sound of a sliding door.
“Come here and hold this door,” another command came from the captor.
Adam held the door with his foot while squinting in the light that was pointed straight in his face.
“Put these on.” A hand shot into view and handed something to Adam. “Take one, hand the rest back. Put them over your head and pull the string tight around your neck, but not too tight.”
Mark whimpered as he slipped the bag over his head and tightened the string. The others did the same - without the whimper.
“Grab the hand behind you and follow.”
The rough hand of the captor grabbed Adam’s hand, and Adam grabbed Mark’s. They walked forward a few steps and stopped. The sound of creaking metal moving, like a heavy door opening, echoed in the room. The hand holding Adam’s pulled him forward and then let go. Adam felt the captor walk past, back in the direction they had come from.
“Take a few steps forward and stop when you find the wall.”
Adam did as he was told and soon bumped into the wall. Mark wasn’t paying attention and bumped into Adam, causing Jimmy to stumble as well. They heard the metal on metal creaking again, sounding like a door closing.
“You just hold tight here until I get back. You’re locked in a jail cell. If you try and pull the hoods off, the cords will just keep getting tighter until you go unconscious. I won’t tell you what happens after that.”
With that, they heard him walk away. A door opened and then closed. Muffled footsteps sounded on the stairs, getting quieter and quieter until they couldn’t be heard anymore.
“I’m dead I’m dead I’m dead I’m dead,” Mark kept repeating, making himself a nervous wreck.
“Quit that,” snapped Kevin.
“It’s not your dad coming back here to find you in a jail cell with a bag on your head!”
“Who knows, maybe it is my dad,” answered Kevin.
Adam interrupted. “Mark, are you sure it’s Mr. Casey?”
Based on where the tunnel branched, Adam thought it could have led to Ben Casey’s house, or any other house on that block.
“Pretty sure. He never did talk to me much. Did you hear him change his voice after I said his name?”
“I always thought he was the type of guy who would have a jail cell in his basement,” added Jimmy. “Probably collects torture devices too, like these hoods.”
Mark whimpered again. “You don’t think – he wouldn’t – you know –“
“He’ll probably start with you first,” said Jimmy, picking up on Mark’s fear. “I’ll bet he’s still angry at the way you cut his lawn.”
“Y---y—you’re k-k-kidding, right? Just trying to scare me?”
“If I were like him, I would definitely start with you. Easiest nut to crack. He’s probably got old dental equipment he’ll use on you with no freezing.” Jimmy was starting to enjoy teasing Mark.
“Ok Jimmy,” said Adam, stopping Jimmy from continuing. “He’s just teasing you Mark.”
“Not funny - at all,” stated Mark.
“Sorry man, just trying to lighten the mood. Didn’t think you would take me that seriously,” said Jimmy sounding sheepish.
Silence surrounded them again, each boy listening for their captor’s return.
“Can anyone see anything out of these hoods?” asked Kevin, breaking the silence.
“Not me,” replied Adam.
“Nope,” replied Mark.
“I think I can make out something,” said Jimmy.
“What can you see?” Adam asked, excited.
“Umm, well, it looks like a cat.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“What color? What’s it doing?” asked Adam.
“I think it’s a black cat. It’s in a coal mine at night,” said Jimmy, laughing at his own joke.
“We’re stuck in a jail cell, our heads are in hoods that will choke us if we struggle, and you have to come up with that lame joke? I hope it’s your mom that comes here and finds us,” said Mark.
Jimmy chuckled, “Sorry, but I get a little giddy when I’m in trouble.”
“Ok, no more joking around,” said Adam. “We need to be ready for the Boss.”
“You mean my dad,” said Mark.
“Whoever. We need to stick to Jimmy’s story,” Adam responded. “We’ve never been in the tunnels before, right?”
The others agreed.
Soon, they heard faint footsteps on stairs. Their captor wasn’t alone. By the sound of the footsteps there were 2 sets of feet, the captor and the Boss.
The door opened and closed again. Footsteps approached and stopped, followed by silence for a few seconds.
“How did you get into the tunnel?” the captor’s gruff voice asked, startling them.
“We already told you,” replied Kevin.
“I don’t care! Tell me again!” demanded the captor.
Jimmy spoke up, "We were bored. We were going to Kevin's house and decided to check out the old elevator. We were just gonna look around. I saw the door at the top of the stairs and tried the handle. It opened. We came down the stairs and tried the handle on the sliding door. It opened a little when we pulled on it, but it was stuck, so we worked it back and forth for a while.”
He paused and took a breath. “After we got it open wide enough, we stepped inside to check it out. You pointed a gun at us after that.”
The captor and the boss whispered to each other.
“How long did it take you to get the door open?”
Adam listened as Jimmy paused, trying to understand the reason for the question.
“Oh, I don’t know. I guess it was a while. That door was good and stuck.”
Good answer, thought Adam
“Did you see anyone else by that door?” questioned the captor.
“No,” answered Jimmy. It was the truth, but Adam had a feeling in his stomach as if Jimmy were still lying, even though he knew different.
“No strange noises, no strange sounds?”
“Nope. Nothing other than the squeal of the door,” Jimmy answered in a definite tone.
Silence. Adam had heard the term ‘deafening silence’ but only then understood what it meant.
“Get them out of there,” the voice of the other man said. It wasn’t Gurpreet Gupta, but they all recognized it right away.
“Mr. Chen?” Mark asked, surprised. Without thinking, he tried to pull his hood off and it began to choke him. He made an awful gagging sound and bumped hard into Adam.
The captor moved quickly. The door to the cell opened and a moment later Mark was taking in deep breaths, coughing as he exhaled.
“Thanks – cough – Mr. Casey – cough cough,” Mark managed to say.
Soon Adam felt a hand circle his neck with a strange shaking motion. The hood loosened immediately, and Mr. Casey pulled it from his head.
The light in the room hurt his eyes. He hadn’t realized just how well the hoods blocked the light. He had thought they were in a dark or dimly lit room, but the one he was looking at was bright and sterile. His mind had pictured an old steel cage, twisted and battered. In reality, it looked futuristic, with an odd design of round steel bars wrapped tightly together diagonally, painted bright white. The floor was so white and shiny that it was hard to look at for long. He looked up and realized that the ceiling was glowing in the same way as the ones inside the tunnels.
Don Chen stood in front of them, smiling kindly. It seemed odd but genuine to Adam. Ben Casey stood next to Don, distrust showing from every line on his face.
“Why don’t we all grab a seat,” said Don, motioning the boys to sit on a bench attached to the wall near the cell. He grabbed a wooden chair that had been sitting near the desk in the corner of the room, but Ben remained standing, arms crossed.
“…too young…troublemakers…shouldn’t tell them nothin’...” Ben grumbled.
“Thanks for your concern, Ben. Ben here is the head of security. You’d be surprised to hear some of the things he’s done in his lifetime,” said Don.
Probably not too surprised, thought Adam as he sat down.
“Ben shouldn’t have brought you through the tunnels, but it would have been worse to have him march you through town with a shotgun at your backs,” said Don, giving Ben a disapproving look.
Ben shrugged like he didn’t care and Don turned back to the boys.
“I’ll bet you have some questions,” he said.
Some questions? thought Adam, That’s an understatement.
“I can answer some of them, but not all,” Don continued. “We usually don’t tell anyone what exactly goes on here until they are at least 16, sometimes up to 18.”
“Who is ‘we’? And why not before 16, Mr. Chen?” asked Adam
Don paused. “Don. Call me Don. Well, as far as the age is concerned, we feel that we need to wait until people are responsible enough to make informed decisions before they hear the full story, that’s all. The age of 16 seems to be where that has already happened for the majority. That’s why I’m not telling you everything right now. We’ve always had plans in place for this exact situation - where someone underage finds out about us, either accidentally or on purpose, but we’ll get to that part later.”
Ben grunted again, as though he didn’t approve of the plan.
Don continued, “I can tell you that we are members of an organization called the Sentinel League, and, as the name implies, we keep watch on things. In fact, the entire town was built by members of the League.”
“And you’re the head of the Sentinel League?” asked Mark.
“No, not me. I’m Third in command here.”
“Who’s the leader?” asked Mark, curious about his dad.
“I’m not going to tell you that. I will tell you that your dad is second in command, though, because that’s what you’re really asking. I wish he could have been here so he could have told you himself.”
Town Secrets (The Book of Adam 1) Page 11