Hearts of Delmar (Book 1 of 2)

Chapter 21: Face Yourself

Nicole stood in the basement, silently, in the dark. Vinn was asleep, like everyone else. She grabbed her water bottle and stepped closer to the wall, leaning against it as it breathed softly. She followed the sound away from the steps to the corner of the basement where jack had his carpentry tools in a bucket, lined with a leather harness she slowly opened the door behind it, an ordinary closet where the water lines came up from the concrete. She took a flashlight, a small carving knife, and stepped closer to the old concrete blocks that represented the foundation. She listened in silence, remembering or possibly hearing the click again. She wasn't even sure. But she pushed the concrete block and the wall slid slightly. She opened the hidden door and noticed the single latch holding it shut, retracted. It extended again with the same click, as if to tell her this was a one time event. She placed a screwdriver down to prop it open so it would STAY unlocked and open.

She peered around the room and noticed a small black suitcase, the latches on it fully up in the open position. She lifted the lid and removed the handgun, a fairly common but illegal 10mm auto with the serial number missing and the tell tale seams of 3d printing, the kind you get from cheap civilian models. She put the holster on and slid the gun in, waiting for something, there was the second click she remembered, and she pressed the further wall, opening the other side and passing through. She placed another screwdriver down to keep that one open as well. She racked back the slide just like her shooter games, watched the bullet enter the chamber and latch shut.

"Alright...let's do this." She sighed.

Jack sat up suddenly in bed, checking Vicki who was still asleep. He checked her pulse, sigh of relief, and then got up. He walked the house, looking for anything out of place, and the only thing missing seemed to be the girl who was sleeping on top of Vinn. He went to the maintenance closet, opened the door and noticed his gun missing. He also noticed the thinnest razor of orange light coming from the back wall, the screwdriver keeping it open.

"What the hell?" he gasped, pushing the wall open, that he didn't even know opened. The glow of the orange tunnel lights illuminated his face.

"You have got to be shitting me." He said, silently darting to the kitchen to get a few things.

Nicole began down the lengthy stairs descending into hell, ending at the same utility juncture she found the first time. She walked with determination and speed, this time passing the rooms she searched before and ignoring the details to get to whatever was at the end of the seemingly endless tunnel of flickering orange lights and pipes. Her focus on the goal blocked out everything around her until she reached the end of the tunnel, where the red brick divider wall and the stone wall on the right abruptly became dark black, red brick flooring, and an arched top of rusted metal with old black paint chipping off in spots. She could hear water running behind the metal, and the green mildew at the edges where it didn't quite seal.

After a jog and a short series of stairs almost designed to disorient your elevation and direction, the stone lightened a bit and branched off. It looked similar to the last location where Dee had joined, but she could never be sure.

She chose the arched sewer décor, passing several empty rooms and sudden starwells going down into the void, determined this level was the one she wanted, or perhaps needed. She spotted a room that looked less empty, investigating it.

A series of marble countertops and unknown scientific devices covered them, not old and rusted but oddly fresh, some closed containers even still containing transparent liquids or powders. The doorway had a rubber seal around it, and the lighting was far bluer. On the far wall was a cooler, a small lab type fridge with conduit and tubes running from it, the subtle hum of the compressor running, and the flow of air from it's top vent.