Through the Tunnels Below

Chapter 6

"It looks safe." said Nathan

"Yes, but I bet you it's not."

"Dad! There is the boulder! See the grey flat stone to the left!"

Eli pulled the truck to a stop and hopped out, snatching up his backpack. The boys followed suit.

"I don't want to just start digging in government property" Eli said ,as he walked up to the big stone. "But let's just hope that there won't be any digging." They all searched around the stone but to no avail.

"Looks like we'll have to dig." Eli said, and pitched his shovel into the ground right beside the boulder.

"Wait Dad, look!" Enoch called from the center of the stone. Eli rose. "Look there is a symbol here of two dragons facing each other with the tips of their claws touching and their tails entwined!"

"You're right!" said Eli standing over it. It was the simple two dragons; The same as the ones on the box around it in a three foot radius. There was a circular crack.

"Maybe we should pry up those cracks."

"Well, let's get stared!" Nathan burst out. Eli applied his shovel and the circle inside the cracks shifted. Eli pried with all his might and the "Lid" popped off. Eli shouldered his pack and turned on his headlight.

"Boys, stay here until I come back. I'm just going to go a little bit in the tunnel, just to make sure it's safe. I should be out in just two minutes." Eli disappeared. Enoch and Nathan looked at each other and grinned. They danced on their tippy toes for a minute, but then they hefted down their packs off their backs and sat down. Five minutes later Eli had not appeared. Ten minutes.

Enoch got up. They both were worried. "We've got to go down there!" Enoch said, looking at his watch.

"Yeah, Dad has been gone for more than ten minutes!" They looked at each other, hoisted on their packs, and went down into the tunnels below.

*****

Enoch walked down the long tunnel, the first few feet had been hand dug hundreds of years ago, but the rest was natural cracks in the stone that Herald Trimon had hollowed out a bit wider. Nathan behind him would be grinning if it wasn't for the urgent task before them. Enoch looked up and started getting claustrophobic at the low ceiling and tight walls.

"Look down at your feet En; it looks like there was a scuffle here." Nathan said, pointing to the tossed and stirred up dust.

"You're right, and look at the footsteps here. What shoes were Dad wearing?"

"Um, his Keens." Enoch looked up at him with wide eyes.

"These tracks aren't from Keens." Nathan dropped his mouth open and then slammed it shut and gulped.

"Whoever owns those shoes did something to Dad." Nathan growled, and they both drew their bowie knives, as well as Enoch pulling out his gun.

They went on for more than a mile under the earth, until Nathan hit his foot on something under the dust.

"Ow!" he said, rubbing his toe.

"Nathan look." A piece of tarnished metal poked out from under the dust where Nathan had tripped. Enoch went over and uncovered it. It was the same symbol of two dragons facing each other with the tips of their claws touching and their tails entwined.

"What did you do to open the box again, Nathan?" Enoch asked, handling the cold metal.

"I pushed the tails away from each other." Enoch did this, and the floor in a two foot radius shifted, Enoch placed his fingers in the crack where some of the dust spewed into, and pulled. The "lid" came of easily, and they climbed down into further tunnels beneath the others. The long tunnel opened out into a large natural cavern, with three more tunnels branching off.
"Which one?" asked Nathan.

"Maybe the right one." answered Enoch as they slowly walked through the cavern. They walked into the right tunnel.

"Dead end." said Nathan with disgust. A few minutes of walking the hard rock brought them to an abrupt stop.

"Well, let's go back." said Enoch as they turned around. After going into the middle one, they were surprised at the spacious room at the end of it. Soon they gave up hope of finding anything due to the ten minutes of fruitless search. They went back to the cavern and went to the left. This was a dead end also.

"Sheesh, there is nothing anywhere." said Nathan, a pout forming on his lips.

"We're forgetting our whole purpose here." said Enoch. "We need to find Dad."

"Right." Nathan turned on his heel and marched back the way they had come. Enoch turned also but stopped in his tracks. He peered closer at the wall and his eyes grew wide.

"Nathan!" he called after the shadows, where Nathan had been. "Nathan!" No answer. "Nathan!" Nothing. He pushed the two cold metal dragon tails away from each other (For that was what they were.), and a part of the wall fell to the dusty floor. There, where the piece of wall used to be, was a silver box

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