The Madrona Heroes Register: Underneath It All

Chapter 36 - The Speakeasy

“I’m sure he won’t be up there too long.” Zach tried to sound reassuring, but Zoe looked unconvinced.

Zach ran upstairs and was back down quickly after listening from behind the secret fireplace entrance, a look of dejection on his face. “He’s ordering seconds.”

“I knew it. We’re trapped!” Zoe looked as if she might cry.

“Maybe there’s another way out.” A small voice said from across the room. Situated between the bar and the edge of the small stage, Gabe had found a door behind a curtain. It was marked “PRIVATE”.

While the main space was underground it had been appointed quite beautifully. But this new room was relatively spare in terms of decoration.

Two large copper tanks sat in the center of the room. The entire right wall was lined with three rows of deep unfinished wooden shelves housing a couple of dozen wooden barrels. A ladder was propped up against the barrels. 

On the opposite side of the room, most of the length of the brick wall was lined by a long workbench filled with various combinations of empty glass bottles as well as crates piled high to the ceiling containing more bottles. But there was one stretch of wall that was all brick. But the bricks’ pattern was somehow different. The way the bricks were laid out made it look like there had once been a doorway there which had been sealed up.

Zach wondered what was beyond the wall that was so important that someone had decided it should be sealed off. Or perhaps, they were already standing in the space that needed to remain hidden. And then it struck Zach, “This must be where they made the illegal alcohol. It’s a distillery!”

“Wow.” Cassie and Penny both said at the same time. 

Zoe’s frustration stayed on simmer when Gabe had found the additional door. She had thought it might lead them out of this place and back to the mission at hand. But now that seemed a false hope. Zoe darted back and forth in the space looking for another exit. But at the far end of the room was only a solid brick wall. Standing with her hands on her hips the stress in Zoe’s voice was apparent to everyone. “There’s no way out. I told you.”

“We’ll find a way out.” Zach tried to calm her down.

“He’s still there.” Binny said quietly. Her pinched face made it clear to everyone that she’d just had a look inside Grater’s mind.

At the news that Grater hadn’t moved, Zoe’s frustration started to pick up steam. “I can’t wait anymore. I don’t want ice cream. I don’t want to tour Madrona’s secret underground. I don’t want to make illegal alcohol. I want to get out of her and find Ollie before, before…” Zoe’s voice trailed off for a moment before she boomed, “We need to leave now!” As Zoe sounded out the last word she shook her fist and stamped her foot for emphasis.

Cassie was the only one who was looking directly at Zoe’s feet. Maybe because she was lower to the ground than most of the others. Later she would recall that she’d seen waves emanate from Zoe’s ankles in what seemed at the time like slow motion.

Zoe’s stomp was followed by loud horrible sounds of cracking brick, grinding stone, and moving dirt. A circular area of floor and whatever lay below it started falling, and Zoe with it.

Zach expected Zoe to stop sinking into the disappearing floor when the surrounding area reached her waist – roughly what had happened in the park. But faster than anyone could react, her body off kilter, Zoe descended into the dark… to whatever lay below. 

Five children stared at where she had stood seconds ago, but Zoe Flowers was simply gone.

§

“I know. I know.” Jay said remorsefully.