Eden (Complete)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Amy spent the next few minutes connecting the rope ladders that she took from the store. When she was finished, she fastened one end to a thick metal pole that was stretched wide across the opening of the elevator door.

"Here goes nothing," she said as she dropped the rope ladder into the pit. The ladder quickly unraveled into the darkness. Amy waited for it to hit the bottom, but in never did. Based on her calculation, she must have been off by only a few metres. Nevertheless, she braved the unknown.

Laying on her stomach, Amy lowered herself backwards over the edge. She was reminded of when she had to do a similar move in the salt mine. This time, she was doing it alone. With the flashlight in hand and a gun stuffed in the back of her pants, she climbed down the ladder and into the dark cold elevator shaft. Slung over her shoulder was a duffel bag with even more supplies.

Surrounded on all sides by smooth concrete that smelled of damp cement, Amy pressed on. She was not sure what to expect, but remained optimistic that Nick would be down there.

She carefully climbed the equivalent of two stories and still could not see the bottom. Every so often, she would stop and listen. If this was truly a rescue mission, success would be contingent on the element of surprise.

She descended further. Eventually, the beam from the flashlight hit the bottom. She could hear squeaks of rodents and questioned how they got down there. The last rung of the ladder fell short of the bottom by about eight feet. Fortunately, she was able to lower herself down enough so that her feet dangled only a few feet from the top of the elevator. She was reluctant to let go since getting back up would be challenging, if not impossible. The last thing she wanted was to be trapped in some weird underground lair alone and without proper supplies, but she decided she had no choice other than to take a leap of faith.

Despite her reservations, she let go and dropped onto the top of the elevator. Her feet crashed against the hollow frame, making a ruckus.

So much for the element of surprise, she thought.

Amy set the duffel bag down and pulled out the crowbar. Using it on the small hatch on top of the elevator, she applied enough force to pop the hatch open. Placing the crowbar back inside the duffel bag, she dropped the bag into the elevator, and then climbed through the hatch.

Once inside, she again had to pry open the elevator doors. The doors broke apart, but the room that was beyond the doors was pitch black. She shined her flashlight all around the underground shelter. The large room appeared to be a kind of bunker, fully stocked with canned food, fresh water, plumbing, and entertainment. Either this guy is Batman, or he is really paranoid about the end of the world, she thought. Oddly enough, he was right about the world ending.

With gun in hand, Amy cautiously stepped out of the elevator. Inconspicuously creeping around, it became apparent after a while that she was alone. She lowered her weapon and exhaled deeply.

Just then, there was a disturbance behind her. Amy's heart pounded; she feared the worst. She quickly spun, raised her weapon, and shined her flashlight. On the far wall, she saw a rat scurry along the floorboard. It was then when she noticed another small object on the ground. The light hit its reflective surface and created a glimmer. She walked closer to the object, holding the light directly over it the entire time. When she approached, she realized what it was.

"Nick's watch," she said to herself with a furrowed brow. She knelt, picked it up, and studied it. The watch wasn't damaged, not even the pin holding the strap. Nick must have deliberately taken it off and left it behind as a clue. This delighted Amy to no end. It was the first real piece of evidence regarding Nick's disappearance and the first sign that he may still be alive. He had clearly been abducted, and Amy was determined to get him back.

Looking for other clues, the only thing that piqued her interest was the watch's location. Oddly, it was left by a wall. At first glance, there was nothing particularly discernible about the wall. However, when she took a few steps back and shined her flashlight around the area, she noticed there were tire impressions in the dust and a faint hint of exhaust fumes.

There's no way a car could fit down the narrow elevator shaft, she thought. That only led to one other logical conclusion: there was another way in.

Amy started pounding on the wall, but it was solid concrete. She abandoned that approach and inspected the other rooms in the bunker. At the far end of a long corridor was a locked door. She put her weight into the door, but it didn't budge. With little hesitation, she took a few steps back and shot at the lock. The bullet hit the locking mechanism and shattered it. Holding the gun and flashlight, she kicked the door open.

As the door swung wide, she saw a large piece of machinery, which she figured was most likely a power generator. She holstered her weapon and turned the generator on. Instantly, it powered the entire bunker. A loud fan sucked up the exhaust fumes. Amy walked back along the corridor and into the main room. The room was now fully illuminated, and Amy could see that someone had recently been living there.

On one of the walls, there was what appeared to be a touch-screen control panel. As she approached the panel, she saw words in Serbian that she couldn't understand accompanied by corresponding icons, which she did understand. She pressed the icon with the symbol of a car on it. Instantly, the wall that she was trying to move earlier swiveled around and revealed yet another hidden passageway. This time, it was a long tunnel that led to parts unknown.    

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