Follow The Arrows

Follow The Arrows: Part 5

At last the sound stopped. We stood still for a moment, our hearts beating hard in our chests. Then, we all ran over to the hatch to investigate. My mind could not comprehend what it saw. The hatch we had come through only moments ago was now blocked by iron bars.

Sam ran up the steps as far as he could and grasped the iron bars, rattling them violently. They wouldn't bulge. There was some sort of motorized contraption attached to the iron bars. It was so dark though, that I could barely make it out. I reached into my pocket for my black light. That was when I realized I had left it upstairs.

Sam stood next to me and held up his cell phone. In the dim light, I could just make out a giant metal box that was mounted on the basement ceiling. If there was a way to access this device, I couldn't see it.

Dave gasped suddenly and ran over to one of the canvas bags on the floor. He dragged in into the light and worked to untie it. When he was done, I saw him look into the bag and make a sound I'd never heard before - something between a scream and a moan. He started hyperventilating.
Jeff and I ran over and looked into the bag.

At first I couldn't tell what I was looking at. Then I saw the hair and the pale flesh. I dropped the bag and vomited violently. I tried to speak, but vomited again.

"Jeff," I gasped, my throat raw. "Your phone.... Call the police.... Call them now!"

I put my hand on Dave's shoulder. He was slowly rocking back and forth, trying to control is breathing and calm himself. I looked around. There were about a dozen similar bags on the floor.

Jeff eventually got through to someone on the phone. He explained where the bar was, and how we had walked several blocks to a parking lot with a fence around it. He told them about the concession stand and the basement with the locked iron bars.

I grabbed the phone.

"Look," I said. "There are dead bodies in bags down here.... dozens of them."

The woman on the other end said, "Just stay calm. I want you to just stay on line with me and give me your names.

We told her who we were and answered her questions. I knew we should conserve the phone batteries, but she was out lifeline out of this crazy situation.

After we'd answered all her questions, she said, "You know, making prank calls to emergency rescue services is a very serious crime."

My blood turned cold. She thought we were joking,

As calmly as I could, I croaked, "Ma'am I swear to you, I have never been more serious in my life. Please send someone down here. If we're lying you can arrest us.... Just send some please."

"Young man," she replied, " don't you have better things to do on a school night?"

I heard a click as she hung up the phone.