The Attic (Completed)

Chapter 12

Mike glanced up at Lily's shadowy form, willing himself to be calm. She was leaning her shoulder against the stone wall.

"What is it?" she said. "Did you know this was here?"

"I've never seen this before and I have no idea what it is." His voice wavered. "You wait here a minute, Lily, and I'll check to make sure it's safe."

He sat down, wedged the handle of the flashlight between his teeth, and swung his legs into the hole, placing his heels on the top ladder rung. Pleased to find it sturdy, he descended three rungs, testing each one and holding the floor with his forearms for support—and then turned around, gripped the side poles, and lowered the rest of his upper body into the hole.

A good six meters down, continuing to test each rung as he went, he began to wonder just how deep the abyss might be when his boots scuffed against a dirt floor.

Mike removed the flashlight from his mouth and turned around, sweeping the beam through the blackness before him.

He was standing on the edge of what appeared to be a huge room, cylindrical and high tech—his flashlight ray unable to reach the far end of the room. He moved the beam back and forth, up and down; heart drumming in his chest and hands shaking with adrenaline. Conduits ran across the floors and up the walls, disappearing into rows of stainless steel vats. Turning, he searched the cement wall behind him and found an electrical panel mounted next to the ladder.

"Mike?" Lily called down to him from above, her voice bouncing off the walls. "Are you okay? Can I come down now?"

"Just gimme a sec," he said, yanking open the metal box and flicking on an entire row of breakers.

The room came to life, its walls and ceilings completely whitewashed, and industrial lamps hanging from the high ceiling. The vats encircled the entirety of the room and he counted six in total; three on each side. A metal ladder ran up the front of each one. In the center of the room was a coroner's table, at least thrice the size of any he'd ever seen before. The air was indolent of formaldehyde.

Goosebumps tripped up his arms and down his back. What was all this? How could he have lived here for five full years without discovering it? Especially considering how thoroughly he'd searched these tunnels.

"You can come down now," he shouted up to Lily, against his better judgment. "I think it's safe." Ha. How should he know if it was safe? He had no clue what it even was, and by the looks of things, whoever was using this room was a force to be reckoned with. He glanced at the examination table again and shuddered.

While waiting for Lily to descend, he wandered toward the nearest vat on his right and climbed the ladder, hoping to get a look inside. It was tightly sealed, however, with an eight-digit combination pad in the center of the lid. He climbed back down and looked at Lily. She was huddling next to the ladder like a frightened child, arms crossed over her chest.

Deciding to ignore her for the moment, he scaled each ladder and found the same locking mechanism atop each one.

"What is this place?" she said in a squeak of a voice when he came near again.

"I'm not sure . . . " No, that wouldn't do. Better to act like he had at least a small amount of inside information. "It's probably just the equipment necessary to run the aquarium," he said, feigning confidence.

"Then why is it hidden in the depths of the earth?"

"Well, that I don't know." He was agitated now. It would have been better to find this room on his own. Lily might prove to be a liability. At any rate, he would have to swear her to secrecy.