by John Holt
“What do you think it is?” asked Mueller, as he photographed the object. “It looks like a manhole cover to me.”
“Something to do with the drainage system perhaps?” suggested Karl.
“I don’t know what it is, but it can’t be connected with the drains. Don’t forget we know that there is a building just here, below our feet,” said Fritz. “The cover is solid. There are no holes, or grills, so it’s probably nothing to do with ventilation.” Fritz bent down for a closer inspection. There was no indication as to what it could be.
“I know what it is,” said Karl suddenly. “It’s an escape hatch. You know the type for use in an emergency. Just like the hatches you find on a submarine, for example.” The others looked at Karl.
“You’re right. Look there’s the remains of the opening mechanism,” said Mueller. “And not only can an escape hatch be used to leave a building, but it can also be used to get into a building.”
The release mechanism was badly corroded, and would not budge. They tried to lift the cover, without success.
Mueller looked at the cover. “You know, I think if we had something heavy we could just smash that cover.”
Karl stepped forward, and looked at Mueller. “Do you think a large rock might do the trick?” he asked.
“It’s a definite possibility,” Mueller replied.
“Right,” said Karl, as he looked around. “There,” he said, as he saw what he was looking for. He picked it up. It was a large piece of limestone, with a sharp edge. He walked over to the metal cover. He bent down. He raised the rock above his head, and then brought it down hard hitting the centre of the cover. He then repeated the operation, three or four times.
“It’s cracked,” said Mueller suddenly. “Hit it again Karl.”
Karl hit it once again. “And again,” yelled Mueller.
Once again Karl raised the rock high above his head. Then with all the strength he could muster he brought the rock down smashing into the metal. There was a loud bang as the metal broke into several sections.
With the cover removed they could see a steel stair ladder below them. “You two stay here,” Fritz suggested. “I’ll have a brief preliminary look around, and then we’ll make our plans.” He entered the chamber and started to slowly descend the ladder. The smell was dreadful, almost overpowering. The area has been sealed for several years, and he wondered if the ventilation system was still intact. It was most unlikely.
He looked back up the ladder. “We’ll probably need oxygen down here,” he called out.
“Right,” Karl called back. “Can you see anything?”
“Hang on,” answered Fritz. At a depth of about five metres he stepped onto a metal platform. “I’m standing on a platform,” he called out. He noticed that the chamber had now opened out considerably. The smell was beginning to fade, probably due to the fresh air that was now entering the area. “We’ll need some lighting down here.” Fritz called out.
From the platform there was a second staircase which descended another three or four metres. At the bottom was what appeared to be a plant-room. Fritz stopped at the bottom of the staircase. Although a shaft of light was now illuminating the staircase itself, the chamber was still quite dark. The light from his torch did little to penetrate the gloom.
“Are you all right?” called a voice from above.
Fritz looked back up the stairway. “I’m fine,” he said. “I’m coming back up now.” He looked back into the room, then turned toward the staircase and started to slowly ascend.
* * *
A few minutes later he was back on the surface. “It’s good to breathe the fresh air again,” he said, as he emerged from the shaft. “It’s pretty grim down there.”
After he had described what he had seen, he told the others of the problems that they now faced. “We’ll need oxygen down there,” he explained. He looked at Mueller. “Karl and I are used to carrying tanks around with us”, he continued. “What about you Hans?”
Mueller had to admit that he had never used an oxygen cylinder before.
“The other problem is that it’s so dark,” Fritz continued. “We’ll need to rig up some lighting. Do you think you can do anything about that Karl?”
“I’m sure that we can solve that problem,” Karl replied. “And I also think we might be able to sort out the ventilation system, without the need for oxygen tanks.”
“What do you have in mind?” asked Mueller.
“It’s obvious to me that at one time this complex had an efficient ventilation system, and adequate lighting,” said Karl. “Is that a reasonable assumption?” The others agreed, but did not grasp the significance.
“I assume that the electricity for the complex was provided by means of a generator,” Karl continued. “I also assume that the only reason there is a problem, now, with the ventilation, and lights, is because the generator no longer works.”
The others were beginning to understand the point Karl was making. “Are you suggesting that all we need do is to get the generator working again, and our problems will be solved?” asked Mueller.
“In theory, that is precisely what I am suggesting,” was Karl’s response. “Incidentally, did you say that the ladder leads down into a plant room?”
“That’s correct, why?”
“I would like to have a quick look around to see if I can find the old generator. You never know, it might just work,” said Karl. “Bearing in mind what you said about the air, I’ll take an oxygen tank with me. I won’t be long.” With that Karl strapped on his tank, put his mask over his head, climbed onto the steel ladder, and slowly descended into the chamber.
“Hang on, Karl, I’ll come with you,” shouted Fritz.
Chapter Five
The Test Centre
A few minutes later the two men arrived at the bottom of the steel staircase, and were in the plant room. Fortunately the smell had dissipated considerably, and it now seemed to be easier to breath. “It’s not so bad now,” said Fritz. “Obviously, now that the chamber has been opened up is a great help.”
“That’s good,” Karl said, but he was not really listening. He had moved some way from Fritz and was busily investigating the various pieces of equipment in the room.
The plant room was rectangular in shape, approximately four metres wide, and six metres long. It contained plant to heat the complex; plant for cooling; then there were a series of pumps, obviously necessary in case of flooding. There were alarm systems; and ventilation ducts. All of this equipment totally useless without power. Where was that generator? Then he saw it over in the far corner of the room.
“Fritz, I’ve found it,” he called out, as he walked over to the equipment.
Fritz hurried over to join him. “Well what do you think?” he asked.
“Well give me a chance,” Karl replied with mock indignation. After a brief examination Karl concluded that it didn’t look too bad. “I can’t see any rusting, or serious corrosion. The gauges look okay.” Karl started to look around the room.
“What is it?” Fritz asked.
“Two things,” Karl replied. “Number one, fuel; and number two, the main switch panel.” He continued to look around. Fritz, who was none the wiser, watched in amazement. Suddenly Karl called out in triumph. “Found it. There’s plenty of fuel here. All we need now is the switchboard. See if you can find it anywhere.”
“All right, Karl,” Fritz said. “Exactly what am I looking for?”
Karl explained that it was most probable that there was a main panel to switch on all of the main circuits. “There should be a switch, or a fuse, for the electrical system; the heating system; the ventilation system,” he said. “I don’t know exactly what it would look like, but it would certainly be a series of switches or fuses.”
“Okay, let’s see what we can see,” said Fritz, and commenced searching.
“Incidentally, it’s possible that it might be located inside a cupboard of some kind,” Karl said helpfully.
“Right,” responded Fritz. The two men continued their search.
“It’s got to be here somewhere,” Karl said.
After ten minutes looking around Fritz suddenly called out from across the room. “Karl, I think I might have it.”
Karl quickly went over to him. “That certainly looks like it,” he said. “Let’s just switch everything on, shall we.” He flipped all switches to the “On” position. He then turned and walked back over to the generator.
“All right,” he said, “The moment of truth. I’ve put in the fuel. All we have to do now is switch on.” He took hold of the starter handle, and connected it to the crankshaft on the generator. He started to turn the handle. It moved a half turn, and stopped. He took hold of the handle once again, and turned it. Still there was nothing. Karl hoped that it had not seized up, or rusted internally. He tried several times more. On the fifth attempt, there was a slight splutter, the handle turned one full turn, and again stopped. That cough from the engine was at least promising.
Fritz walked over, and stood beside Karl. “Once more, Karl, it’s going to work this time,” he said encouragingly. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Yes, there is,” said Karl. “We’ve put the main switches on. What we need to do now, is to find the light switch for this room, and put that in the ‘On’ position.”
Fritz went to find the switch. It shouldn’t be too hard to find. Just find a door, and the switch should be close by, that’s what Karl had said. He swung the torch beam around the perimeter of the room. “There’s the door,” he said, walking toward it. And there was the switch. “Contact,” he called out. “The switch is on.”
Karl took hold of the starter handle once more, and gave it a turn. The engine spluttered, and a billow of black smoke could be seen coming from the side. The smoke slowly started to clear. The engine was still slowly turning. There was more spluttering from the engine; and it started to shudder. The engine was turning, under protest, but it was still turning. Then suddenly, it cut out, and stopped.
“What happened?” asked Fritz.
“I don’t know,” Karl angrily replied. He checked the generator once again. As far as he could see there was nothing loose, all cables appeared to be connected. The fuel tank was full. The gauges were all operating. Then he remembered the black smoke. “That’s it,” he said. “It’s the exhaust, it must be blocked.”
The exhaust came apart fairly easily. Inside was a filter unit, which was completely blocked with sooty deposits. He tapped the unit several times. Eventually large sections of soot broke loose and fell away. He then brushed the unit with a piece of cloth, removing more of the soot. It was far from perfect but it certainly looked a lot better.
“We really need a new filter,” he said. “Anyway I’ve cleaned this one the best I can. Now, let’s see what happens this time.”
He took hold of the handle, and turned it once more. The crank turned slowly, gradually increasing speed. Suddenly there was a spark, then another, and another. The lights began to flicker, getting stronger and stronger in intensity. “We now have the lights,” said Karl.
“That’s fantastic, Karl,” said Fritz. Then he heard a slight humming noise. “What was that Karl?”
“That, my friend is the ventilation system starting up. I think we are in business.”
Fritz came over to him, and put his arm around Karl’s shoulder. “You are a genius.”
“I know,” replied Karl.
“Let’s get Hans down here, shall we,” said Fritz. “And then we can start our search.” He walked back to the ladder, and called up to Mueller. “Hans, come on down. Karl has arranged for air and light. We are up and running.”
“Be right with you,” Mueller called back.
Five minutes later he had joined them in the plant room.
“Thanks to Karl, here, we can now get on with our search for that storeroom,” said Fritz. “Do we know anything else about it that might help us find it?”
“No, I’m afraid not,” said Mueller. “A storeroom is a storeroom. Once you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. All I know is that it was storeroom C.”
“All right, we will just have to see what we can see,” said Karl. “Won’t we?”
The three men left the room, and entered into a main corridor. The Plant Room was located at one end of the corridor. The corridor was approximately thirty metres long, with rooms leading off on either side. They started to make their way along the corridor. A short distance along they stopped at the first room they came to on the left hand side. On the door was a sign, which read Test Bay 1. They turned the door handle, and entered the room. To one side of the room was a steel gantry, which extended down from the ceiling. Parallel to the gantry was a system of chains, and pulley wheels. Underneath was a steel channel. At the end of which was a circular steel plate attached to the wall.
“Look at that, Fritz. There’s the hatch covers,” said Karl. “The internal covers which correspond with the outer ones that we saw.”
“That’s right,” said Fritz. He turned to Mueller. “This is one of the torpedo test areas that we mentioned. As far as we know there are three rooms like this.”
They glanced around the room once more, and then returned to the corridor. The next room they came to was marked Test Bay 2. They opened the door, and peered inside. It was identical to the first room. Opposite this room was a door marked Stores. They opened the door, and went inside. Apart from floor to ceiling steel racking all around the room, it was quite empty.
“Well this is, or was, obviously a storeroom of some kind,” said Mueller. “I suppose that it could have been the room we are looking for, and whatever it had originally contained has now been removed.”
“Come on,” said Karl. “We don’t know that for sure.”
“That’s right,” said Fritz. “Besides it was only marked Stores, not Storeroom C. If Storeroom C actually existed, and according to your father, it did, we haven’t found it yet,” he said.
“We’ve only just started anyway,” said Karl. “We’ve a long way to go yet.”
* * *
The next room was a short distance on the right. The door was locked. “Could this be the room we’re looking for?” Fritz asked.
Karl stepped forward and looked at the door. “Just a second,” he said. “Stay there, I won’t be long.” He went back into the previous room, and returned shortly afterwards carrying a length of metal tubing. He rammed it hard against the door. Then he rammed it a second time, and a third. On the fourth there was the sound of timber splitting, as one of the hinges gave way. The door remained at an odd angle for a few moments, and then tore away from the bottom hinge, and crashed to the floor.
Inside there were timber benches around the perimeter walls. On the bench tops were a number of dials, gauges, and other monitoring devices.
“This must have been where they monitored the various tests that were carried out,” said Mueller as he entered the room.
“What’s that over here?” asked Karl, pointing to another door leading to a much smaller inner room.
Inside, lying on a large timber worktop were projectors, rolls of film, and a number of cine cameras. On the back wall of the area there was a small aperture. Next to this room was a small cinema area.
“Whatever it is, it’s clearly not the room we are looking for,” said Fritz, who was still standing at the doorway. “Let’s press on shall we.”
“I suppose so,” Mueller replied, sounding anything but enthusiastic.
Diagonally opposite was the third Test Bay. Beyond were the remains of the main staircase which led to the upper section of the building. Now the staircase was sealed off with rubble, which littered the stairwell, and the adjacent corridor area. At the far end of the corridor, they discovered a laboratory area. It was quite a large room, with timber workbenches all the way around the sidewalls. Smashed equipment was scattered all around the floor, and on the workbenches. Test tubes, glass jars,
glass vessels of all shapes and sizes. The floor was stained with who knew what chemicals.
“Well, that’s that then, there are no more rooms, and there’s no sign of room C,” said Mueller, trying to hide his disappointment. “My father must have been mistaken. It couldn’t have existed. It was just a rumour after all.”
“But your father was absolutely clear about it, wasn’t he,” said Fritz, trying to calm Mueller down. “His letters were so detailed.”
“Well, we must have missed it then, back there,” Mueller said as he pointed back down the corridor. “Or it was located in the above ground section.”
“No, the above ground section would most likely be offices, living accommodation, kitchen, that sort of thing,” said Fritz. “A storeroom would not need windows, and natural ventilation. It makes sense that it would have been located in the underground area. Don’t forget we did find two large storage areas. I know they were empty, but it proves the point. What do you think Karl?” Karl wasn’t there. He was some distance away walking back along the corridor.
“Karl,” Fritz called out, “What is it? Have you found something?”
Karl walked to the doorway of the cinema and peered around the door. He then moved back along the corridor, and started to pace. “One, two, three, four.” He stopped, and marked something on to the corridor wall.
The others came over to him. “Karl, what are you doing?” asked Mueller. Fritz said nothing, but merely looked at the mark on the wall, and then back at his friend. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew that whatever it was, it was important.
“There’s something strange going on that I don’t quite understand,” Karl replied. “Look, at that mark.” He walked over to the wall, pointing to the scratch that he had made. “That is roughly where the cinema room finishes,” he explained. “Do you agree?” he asked.
Fritz looked at the mark, puzzled. What was Karl up to? “Yes, I agree, so what?”