The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 4

The soup was prominent, as was the rather sharp undertone of the Terror who was still watching me from the armchair. The ammonia-like musk originated from the mice in the walls and a few bats in the attic. The faint scent of honey and wax belonged to a bee's nest.

The lingering residue of Nina's odd flowery perfume still partially masked her human scent. Nicky hadn't changed out of the socks she had worn yesterday. A bag of beans in our supplies had gotten damp at some point and had a faint hint of mold.

My instincts flared, and my mind honed in with sudden suspicion. We hadn't packed any beans.

I turned and slowly crossed the kitchen floor while testing the air. The smell got stronger as I walked, then faded. Pausing, I peeked in a nearby cupboard, but as I had expected, there was no food to be found.

It might have just been a bag of beans, but I wanted to know where they were hidden. So many people had passed through here that anything edible should have been found by now, especially if the bag was as big as it smelled.

Daniel noticed something had caught my attention and watched me as I walked across the kitchen to where I had previously been standing. Once again, the smell was more prominent in the middle of the floor.

My hunch grew stronger, and I turned around and scrutinized the floor with suspicion.

The old black and white vinyl tiles were scuffed up and had plenty of dirt ground into the cracks between them. The gaps between several tiles happened to be wider than the rest. I walked over to that part of the floor, and a faint creak beneath my feet told me that my intuition was likely correct.

If I was right, this wasn't just a squeaky board, but rather, a well-hidden trapdoor. My eyes scanned the dirt-filled gap, searching for some sort of handle to open it. This house wasn't fancy or expensive, so it likely relied on a physical latch and not something requiring electronics or technology. I just needed to figure out which end lifted up and how to do so.

A glint of metal caught my attention, and I crouched down to get a better look at it. The motion caught the attention of both Nicky and Nina, who watched me in confusion. I probably looked like an idiot the way I was staring at a floor tile.

Ignoring the self-conscious feeling, I blew some of the dirt away, revealing a paperclip wedged into the gap. Had it not been folded in half, I might have dismissed it as just garbage. But not here, and not now.

Using the tip of my fingernail, I lifted it halfway out before encountering resistance. A firm pull yielded a click as the floor in front of me lifted slightly, revealing a thin cord attached to the paper clip.

With the latch no longer holding the trapdoor down, the outline of the well-hidden door was now visible. My fingernails easily found purchase on the edge and lifted it up, letting stale air and various scents waft up from below.

Three sets of footsteps quickly approached as the others came to investigate my unexpected find. I opened the trapdoor until it stopped at an upright angle and refused to go further. When I let go, it remained open on its own. 

Daniel eyed up the dark hole in the floor in distaste while Nicky and Nina peered down into the shadowy abyss.

"Any idea what's down there?" Nina asked. "I can't even see the bottom of the ladder."

"There's one way to find out," I said. Ignoring the ladder's eight rungs, I stepped off the edge and dropped down to the wood plank floor below. I quickly spun around as I checked my surroundings.

This was one of the shoddiest basements I'd ever seen. Tree trunks had been used as support beams, and pipes and wires ran in haphazard fashions that would have made a safety inspector cringe. Even as short as I was, I wouldn't be able to walk around without ducking in some spots.