Chapter 4 – The Second Key
The tunnel smelled of damp stone.
Old pipes lined the ceiling.
Dust covered everything.
Grace swept her flashlight across the narrow passage.
Fresh footprints led deeper underground.
Charles walked beside her.
Four security officers followed several steps behind.
Nobody spoke.
The only sound came from dripping water somewhere ahead.
Grace suddenly stopped.
"There."
A child's sneaker lay beside the wall.
Small.
Blue.
Covered in dust.
Charles picked it up carefully.
His hands trembled.
"It hasn't been here long."
Grace noticed scrape marks across the floor.
"As if something heavy was dragged."
The tunnel split into two directions.
One path ended at a rusted steel door.
The other disappeared into darkness.
Charles inserted the B-17 key.
It wouldn't turn.
"What?"
He tried again.
Nothing.
Grace examined the lock.
"There are fresh scratches."
"Someone changed it."
Before anyone could react...
A loud metallic slam echoed behind them.
The tunnel lights went dark.
Someone had closed the security gate.
One of the guards shouted.
"We're locked in!"
Charles pulled his phone from his pocket.
No signal.
Grace lifted her flashlight toward the darkness ahead.
A figure stood there.
Perfectly still.
Watching them.
Then the figure smiled...
May you like
...and held up a second bronze key before disappearing into the shadows.
End of Chapter 4
