No one follows me into the tunnel―thank God. But then again, being alone in here isn't my ideal way of spending my Friday night.
I feel as if I've been walking for hours. The cold emanates from the cement, seeping through my slippers and making my toes numb as my body shivers violently. I groan when I find myself at a crossroads; one tunnel leading right and the other left. Both look dank, dark, and uninviting.
"Too bad I don't have a coin to flip," I mutter as I rub at my cold arms.
After a moment I shrug, not caring about where I'll end up at this point. I take a step to my right, only to stop when the locket lifts off of my chest and points to the opposite tunnel. Raising an eyebrow, I grab the locket in my hand and examine it.
It's made of silver, matching the chain and having small designs etched into its surface. The only redeeming feature it has is the clear crystal in the center, cut into the shape of an oval that matches that of the locket. The crystal seems to be where the source of the white glow is coming from, but when I attempt to open the locket, it refuses to comply. There isn't a button, a key hole, or anything that I can push or pull to get this thing open.
I flip the locket over.
What is going on?
My thumb glides over a symbol engraved in the silver. It's shaped like a curve lined X with a small circle above and below it. A long thin line runs through the circles and X. It glows whenever I touch it, the color matching the ligh of the gem, only softer. I run my thumb over it again only to drop the locket when a shock courses through my body, causing me to wince.
I shake out my hand as the locket lifts off of my chest again, pointing to the left once more. I sigh and let my hand fall to my side as I step into the left tunnel.
The tunnel seems to flatten out the farther I go in, being led through twists and turns by the locket. It feels like I have been walking for an eternity, my feet sore and legs feeling like they are about to fall off when I see a stone staircase a ways in front of me. It leads upward at a steep angle.
I'm not sure why, but something is telling me that the exit to this godforsaken place is up there. Relief consumes me at this thought, giving me a new surge of strength to climb the stairs at a much faster pace.
When I get to the top, I am met by another bright white light that nearly blinds me considering the darkness that I have grown accustom to. I shield my eyes with my hand for a moment so they can adjust before I place the locket on the mark etched into the wood.
The panel slides away and I hesitantly peek inside, afraid of where the locket took me when I realize that I'm looking into my room. The wooden chair to my desk blocks my path so I push it back and crawl out, the panel sliding into place behind me.
I push my chair back into the desk and hang my robe on its hook, taking out the key in the process. I climb into my bed, feeling dirty since I am covered in dust and cobwebs but I'm too exhausted to get up and shower. Besides, that'd wake up my parents and after my second near-discovery in the study, I don't want to push it.
My eyelids feel heavy as I rub my fingers along the key, holding it up in the moonlight to exam it. It's not anything fancy, just an old house key with rust covering some places and the top having a simple design.
A yawn escapes me as I slip the key under my pillow and the locket under my nightgown, the silver cool against my chest. I turn on my side, facing the wall as I let my eyes close and drift asleep.
. . .
I'm surprised that neither Mother nor Father mention anything about last night at breakfast, which makes me wonder if they were the ones coming into the study, or somebody else. I don't try to stick around to find out, instead I quickly eat my breakfast and then hop onto my bike, heading towards the town's library. I decide to do something useful with my Saturday and figure that I can do research on my family and this locket. If I'm lucky, the archives will have some information, maybe even a blue print of the house.
The locket bounces against my chest from where I tucked it under my shirt, the key resting in my bag since I don't want Mother or Father finding and confiscating it. I planned on looping it through the chain that the locket is on, but when I went to do so this morning, I found that the chain has nowhere to break off. It's as if it's not supposed to be broken off. So now the key is in the pocket of my purse until I can find a safer place for it.
I wave at the librarian upon my entry, giving the old woman a small smile before striding past her and to the elevator. I press my thumb against the button to the basement as I tap my foot impatiently, waiting for the painfully old and slow elevator to come to a stop. Upbeat music plays in the background.
When the ancient metal doors screech open, they reveal the normally unused town archives. I hike my bag farther up my shoulder as I walk swiftly into the room which consists of a few mismatched tables, bookcases, and filing cabinets filled with documents of all of the buildings, houses, and families in town.
I roll my eyes when I look at the back of the room, finding that the only other occupant is a boy at the far table. He wears his baseball cap low on his head, his chin resting on his chest, fast asleep. There aren't even any documents on the table in front of him; it's as if he made the long trip down here just to catch up on his sleep. I shake my head in disapproval as I make my way deeper into the room. My eyes scan the filing cabinets until I find the G's.
I rummage through the cabinet first, tucking my hair behind my ear as I search through the files until I find my family's name. It's a thick manila folder filled with documents of all shapes and sizes, the writing small enough to give even me a headache.
I pull out the different documents and set them in neat stacks on the round table. I then tug one of the stacks closer to me and begin rifling through them, surprised by how many there are.
When my eyes land on a blueprint, I pull it out, unfolding the large paper and studying the ink drawing. The layout of the house appears to be the same as the actual house, the only difference is that the hidden tunnels aren't marked out.
I scold myself; of course they wouldn't be marked in the public records. My family's too reserved and wouldn't want anyone else to know that there are tunnels under our house. I start folding the blueprint back up in disappointment and stuff the documents back into the file, feeling as if my entire trip here was a waste when a document catches my eye.
I pull the piece of paper out, glancing up when I hear a snort coming from the boy. He rubs his nose, his head tilting forward as long breath escapes him. I roll my eyes and ignore him as I hold up the document, my eyes scanning the page.
This can't be right.
The paper has the names and birthdates of all of the members of my family, but that isn't what brought the page to my attention.
It's the fact that Nina's name is nowhere on this document.