Meow Mayhem by Lisa Lickel

Author:Lisa Lickel [Lickel, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Fiction
Publisher: Pelican Book Group
Published: 2018-12-18T00:00:00+00:00

13

That got Elvis’ attention. “Tunnels? No way! Let’s see!”

“Mrs. Green said the tunnels are blocked up,” Lucy replied.

Sonja stopped her impatient foot-tapping. “What were they for?”

I glanced back at Adam, who eyed us from his place behind the counter. I jerked my head toward the stairs.

He nodded permission for us to go down, his expression puzzled.

I grabbed a flashlight from the shelves of supplies in the janitor closet nearby then led the way down, while Lucy answered Sonja’s question.

“I assumed Mrs. Green would tell me they were some early sewer system, but apparently, when news of World War I spread panic, several communities dug underground storage and hideout places, or tunnels, as they did here in Apple Grove. Sometimes it was just a series of shelters with doors, like humungous storm cellars. I guess what type of storage space depended on how much manpower and resources the city had.”

We creaked our way down the painted wooden staircase. The walls were thickly coated with cement. Here and there fieldstone poked through.

I trained the flashlight along an ancient boiler. A cistern took up one side of the room, and we could see a boarded-up spot street side, which I assumed was the former coal chute. Three wooden doors hung crazily from rusty hinges along an otherwise empty wall. My nose twitched with the musty smell, but I expected that. The floor had been swept. Newly built spider webs drifted along the rafters supporting the staircase but, other than that, the space was surprisingly clear of rubble.

“People could hide food and other kinds of supplies, and of course, themselves, in case of an attack.”

I could hear Lucy’s voice drifting as we wandered around the large room. I was fascinated by the vaulted brick ceiling. I swung the flashlight across it. “Look at the craftsmanship.” I oohed.

The others were standing in front of the three doors, waiting for me.

“Oops, sorry. I bet you wonder what’s behind those doors.”

Ever-practical Sonja said, “Probably not much.”

I held the light on one of the latches and she pushed against it gingerly. The little door creaked and gained momentum as it slammed inward with a cloud of dust. I handed her the light, which illuminated shafts of floating particles.

She peered through the entrance, bending at the waist to thrust her head and shoulders forward. “Right. Not much!” She withdrew. “Just a small empty room. No other entrance or exit,” she reported.

Lucy was next. She took the light from Sonja and poked at the latch of the middle door. Lucy pushed at the door and stumbled on the threshold, which had an unexpected dip. “This must be it!” she exclaimed.

I hugged myself in excitement.

“There’s a trapdoor here, into the wall. I think. Elvis—”

“Coming!” He plunged into the second room. Sonja and I moved closer to each other as we were left in relative darkness.

Lucy’s and Elvis’s voices echoed. “This has to be it! It’s shut.”

Sonja shivered and rubbed her upper arms. “Can we come in?”

“Nah. It’s too small,” Elvis replied.

Sonja didn’t give up.

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