by Sharon Joss
CHAPTER 31
Dusk had descended by the time we reached the cave entrance. It took me a long time to find the right key to get the grate open in the near-dark. Blix squeaked at me impatiently the whole time. I got the gate open, and lowered myself into the tunnel. The cold hit me, and I regretted not wearing warmer clothes.
I followed Blix straight to the slanted tunnel entrance leading down into the bat cave. I spent more precious time trying to figure out how to tie off the rope. In the end, I used the crowbar as a wedge across the opening, and tied the rope to the middle. Using the crowbar as a brace, I’d be able to lower myself down without breaking my neck. This way, I’d still have a chance of getting back out again. At least, that was the plan. Of course, that left me without a weapon. Oh well.
I stood on top of one of the cat cages and boosted myself up into the tunnel. The stench of bat guano, urine, and anise made breathing difficult. As I cleared the tunnel, my headlamp showed the cavern filled with djinn. ‘You’ flew up to greet me; the other members of my little horde waited on the cavern floor with a few thousand of their friends.
Now came the dicey part. In spite of the cold, I was sweating as I lowered myself face first and began to pull my legs out of the tunnel entrance above me. I’d intended to somersault around and drop feet first, but I hadn’t anticipated that my sweaty hands wouldn’t be able to maintain my grip on the rope. As I twisted my body around to vertical, I lost my grip and fell.
I landed hard. I lay for a few minutes, gasping and clenching everything clenchable, until I could breathe again. Other than a few bruises I was basically uninjured; with a couple of nasty rope burns and the taste of blood in my mouth. The djinn crowded around me, all giving me glassy luminous stares which completely creeped me out.
“Get back.” I slapped my hand across my mouth, but nothing happened. I hadn’t issued the command in the proper form, I guess. Sort of like Jeopardy. I smothered a hysterical giggle. Focus Mattie.
“Blix. Where are you? Find Rhys.”
Immediately, my little demon popped up in front of me, and I straightened my helmet and pulled the flashlight out of my pocket. Without the crowbar, my hands needed something to do. I switched it on, but nothing happened. Great. I shook it and heard the broken bits of bulb rattling around behind the lens. Good thing the helmet lamp still worked. I decided to hang on to the flashlight anyway, and followed Blix. There would be no going back now, we didn’t have any more time to waste.
We crossed the cavern, and with each step my feet sank into several inches of fresh and petrified bat guano. I followed Blix to a doorway carved right into the rock, barred by a plain wooden door, maybe five feet high. I tried the doorknob, and it opened.
Rough steps had been hacked into the bedrock, which led down into pitch darkness. The ceiling and walls were rough, but a few places looked as if they had been smoothed by tools. I smelled fresher air, so I closed the door behind us and followed Blix. The trail ended at a junction with what I imagined was a mineshaft. Without hesitation, Blix turned to the left, and I followed.
This main tunnel appeared larger, with smoother floors and a low ceiling, probably six feet high and about twelve feet wide. A small-gage railroad track ran down the middle, but I saw no other signs of civilization. The smell of licorice had faded behind us, and the only things I smelled now were Blix, Larry, and dirt.
I trotted behind my demon, my sense of urgency rising with every step. Rhys had been taken alive for a reason, otherwise his body would have been left behind. Hold that thought, Mattie.
We made good progress. The speed kept me warm, but I wished I’d remembered to bring water. I had no idea where we were going. I guessed we were headed back toward Shore Haven. The other end of this tunnel must open somewhere near the lake. I’d heard stories of bootleggers using tunnels under Shore Haven to smuggle whiskey across from Canada during Prohibition, but I’d never imagined them to be true.
After an hour, I was panting heavily and had to slow down. Blix peeped at me in irritation. As I ran-walked to keep up, I began to worry we wouldn’t find a way out. With each step, the weight of the unrelenting blackness added to my anxiety, but I forced myself to keep moving forward. I began seeing piles of trash and rags, and old crates stacked along the sides of the tunnel. We passed alcoves stocked with bits of broken machinery and lanterns. I looked for something I could use as a weapon, but didn’t find anything.
The first time I saw a door, I ran to open it. A brand new padlock prevented access. I tried knocking while Blix squeaked at me to catch up. Rhys wasn’t behind that door. We passed more doorways that opened into the tunnel; all with new padlocks installed. Sub-basement doors, I guessed.
The tunnel began to curve to the right. The walls and floors smoothed out. The walls seeped moisture and the humidity increased. I noticed fixtures and pipes running along the ceiling above us. We had to be underneath the Shore by now. Hell, we should have started our search from Mystic Properties. It would have been a lot faster than driving all the way out to Sentinel Hill. I hoped we wouldn’t be too late to help Rhys.
I started running again. Blix kept twenty feet ahead of me, stopping every few feet to stare and urge me on. My headlamp was dimming, but the quality of darkness seemed to be changing. The tunnel curved again to the right, and I smelled the lakeshore ahead of us.
The tunnel widened into a low cavern. Large boulders blocked the view ahead, but a warm breeze beckoned to me. The sandy ground gave way to a well-used path. My spirits rose, as the night air freshened across my face, and through a grated entrance ahead of me, I saw the night sky and the twinkling reflection of the surface of the lake. I sprinted to the opening.
An iron grate spanned across a gap in the boulders clustered along the shoreline. Although the grate appeared to be old and rusted, it was embedded in solid rock, and had been secured with yet another shiny new padlock. I tried every key on Rhys’ key ring. This was not the way out.
Blix’s squeaking caught my attention, and I trotted back to the cavern. This had to be where the rail line ended; or started, I guessed. Nearby, wooden work tables stood covered in layers of dust. Blix bounced up and down like a manic rabbit, as if to tell me to hurry up. The light from my headlamp had grown dimmer with every passing minute, so it wasn’t until I approached the door that I noticed the skeleton.
The bones were arranged in a neat pile, with the skull placed on top so the eye sockets glared directly up at anyone who would dare to turn the doorknob. A not-so-subtle warning. A sick mind.
Blix was now banging himself against the solid door, insisting that Rhys was here, just behind the door, if only I would open it. The handle showed no sign of dirt or dust, and no external padlock barred the entrance. The only way out the tunnels would be through this door.
I took a deep breath and turned off the headlamp. If we were going to be sneaking into someone’s basement, I didn’t want them to see me first. I hushed Blix; and cautiously opened the door.
