Wait For Me: Carter

Chapter 4

Peter followed Michelle down the cobbled street, the collar of his denim jacket turned up against the pouring rain. The sound of Michelle's heels clipping against the stone ricocheted from the walls surrounding them, drowned out only by the occasional, furious claps of thunder.

They were the only people around: unsurprising due to the storm. There was an eery atmosphere, and the air felt heavy, as though the sky was falling in on them.

The route they were taking was a familiar one. One that he and Carla had taken together many times before. The thought of life without her had been unbearable; but now he had the opportunity to get her back.

They stopped in front of the doors of Underworld. Of course the entrance to the Underworld would be through Underworld... Peter thought, somewhat put out by the irony of it. He hadn't even known Michelle still had a key. He quickly followed her in as she pushed open the door, eager to seek refuge from the pouring rain. A bright light flashed through the windows of the factory, followed almost immediately by a long, low rumble.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Michelle shouted, seemingly into the air. Her strong reluctance to return to this place filled Peter with dread. He had no idea what to expect when he got there. If he was able to get there. He just knew that for Carla, anything was worth a try.

Michelle crossed the factory floor swiftly, whilst fumbling through the set of keys in her hands. The clinking sound of metal on metal echoed through the empty building. Walking through the once bustling factory: the place that had been Carla's palace; Peter felt automatically closer to her. This place held so many memories for him, of good times and bad. Without her here, it felt wrong. Like there was a gaping hole that could never be filled.

The sound of a key turning in a lock drew Peter's attention. He hadn't realised he'd been staring through the glass at Carla's desk. The chair she once sat on pushed neatly under the table. Her coffee mug still sat exactly where she'd left it, her lipstick pressed into the rim.

Peter joined Michelle at the door of the store cupboard. She stepped inside and flicked a switch. The single lightbulb above their heads flickered on, illuminating the cobwebs encasing the ceiling. The building had stood empty since the day before the wedding; and with no one to clean it, nature had begun to move in. Michelle closed the door, quickly locking it behind her, as though she were frightened someone would try to follow them. Peter felt a shiver down his spine. There was no going back now.

"Where now?" He heard himself whisper, as Michelle hesitated. She took a deep breath, before approaching the pile of boxes stacked up in the corner.

"Help me shift these." She stated, picking up the box at the top of the stack and laying it to the side. Peter followed her lead, and within minutes the boxes were out of the way.

The two of them stood side by side, staring at the floor where the boxes had previously stood. Peter wasn't really sure what he'd expected. Perhaps for Michelle to laugh and tell him this was all a joke. Perhaps even a set of towering gates, surrounded by fire and stone. He certainly didn't expect the manhole cover he was staring at now.

"It's through there?" He asked, disbelief dripping from his voice. Michelle nodded, tight lipped. She crouched down beside the steel lid, and reached underneath the shelving unit beside her. Peter watched as she fiddled around with the underside of the bottom shelf; his confusion temporarily ceasing as she pulled out a screwdriver attached to a sliver of duct tape.

She carefully unscrewed the bolts at each corner, before carefully securing the tool back in it's hiding place. She slipped her hand underneath a lip in the metal and slowly lifted the cover off. The sound of metal scraping against concrete as she pushed it aside made Peter cringe. She stood, stepping back to allow Peter a look into the newly exposed entryway.