[Wordsmiff]

CHAPTER 73


“Zombie!” Kirsty shouted.

“Looks more like David Bowie to me,” Luke mumbled.

Kirsty gave him a look.

“Sorry,” Luke said, “But he does.”

“We’ll have to call him Eunuch from now on,” Tim said.

“A eunuch is someone with their testicles removed,” Amy pointed out. “It’s Chris’ penis that’s missing. He still has his testicles.”

“No thanks to you,” Becky growled sharply.

Amy looked away.

“Yeah,” Mark said to Amy, “I suggest you stay well clear of Chris. Just in case he bears a grudge.”

Amy backed away from the group slightly.

“We’d better go,” Mark decided, “Before that...” He took another look round the chamber as if trying to find a projector or something, “... thing returns.”

Chris climbed down from the slab.

“He’s not coming with us is he?” Liam wanted to know.

“He can’t stay here,” Becky said. “What if Satan returns?”

“It couldn’t have been Satan,” Mark said, “There’s no such thing as Satan.”

“Well it sure looked like him,” Becky said.

Mark made his way through the open door and tried the penlight. No beam. He flicked the switch. Nothing. “Battery’s dead,” he said, “Everyone stick together like glue. It’s dark out here.”

The teenagers moved out of the chamber into the dark tunnel that they’d come down previously and used the wall of the tunnel to guide them.

“We’ll head back to the other room again,” Mark said. “Stay together.”

“What if those killer dolls are still there?” Naomi asked.

“You mean the minions?” Luke said.

“We’ll stay in the bedroom until we get some other form of light and then we’ll explore the other tunnels out here,” Mark explained. “This was one of three. The others may lead us out of here.”

As they walked slowly along the tunnel, they tried to keep each other in touching distance but those at the back of the line had no idea how far ahead those at the front were.

“Mark’s foot stepped onto something which felt lighter and looser than the stone floor. He paused. So did Katie, who was holding Mark’s hand. The next in line, Amy, bumped into Katie. In turn, Luke and Rosie bumped into Amy. The others stopped moving when they realised that those in front had stopped.

“What now?” Tim called from the rear.

“There’s something here,” Mark said, “And it feels loose. Might be a booby trap.” He had his foot on the suspect section of floor and didn’t dare move off it for fear of setting off a landmine or something.

“We came down here earlier and there was nothing,” Tammy revealed.

“I’d rather not take any chances,” Mark said. He slid his foot along the section of floor he was on. “It feels like a...” He crouched down. After a few moments, he called out. “It’s a trap door.”

“Like the one in the shed?” Amy asked.

“Don’t know,” Mark said.

“Doesn’t matter anyway,” Tim called, “We want to go up, not down.”

The tunnel was suddenly lit up by a shaft of light as Mark opened the trap door. “It’s light down there,” he called out so that everyone could hear.

“It’s probably Hades or something,” Kirsty said.

“Isn’t Hades Greek?” Melanie piped up.

“This is no time for a Classics lesson,” Mark said. “There’s a ladder of some sort. I’m going down. Everyone follow me.

Katie followed on...

So did Amy...

Luke...

Rosie...

Liam...

Lucy...

Naomi...

Melanie...

Jon...

Nigel...

Ian...

Tammy...

Kirsty...

Becky...

Tim...

And Chris.

(Hope I haven’t forgotten anybody!)

At the bottom of the ladder, Mark looked around. He was in a wider tunnel, which was illuminated by some form of lighting. Copper water pipes and electrical conduits snaked overhead and along the walls.

Mark looked ahead of him and behind him along the tunnel but could see nothing but light. He took Katie’s hand, as she reached the bottom of the ladder, and helped her down to the tunnel floor.

Katie blinked her eyes a few times to adjust to the light.

Mark glanced at the ladder to see Amy nearing the bottom. She stepped off and, like Katie, she blinked at the light.

“Is this Hell?” Katie asked.

Mark pointed at the electrical cables and water pipes above them. “I doubt if Satan needs a water supply or electricity,” he said. “Where’s the others?” He looked up the ladder again.

“Luke was behind me,” Amy said.

“Well, he’s not now,” Mark said, gesturing up the ladder.

Amy and Katie looked up. There was no-one else in sight.

They waited a few minutes. No-one else appeared down the ladder.


To be continued...