Chapter 16 - The Bell That Should Never Ring
The third bell echoed through the underground chamber long after the sound itself should have faded.
Everyone remained motionless.
Even Daniel Voss looked upward.
"Impossible..." he whispered.
Margaret stared toward the ceiling with growing disbelief.
"The bell tower was demolished in 1968."
Elizabeth slowly shook her head.
"No."
"They only wanted everyone to believe it was."
Richard's distant bark echoed through the ventilation shaft.
Once.
Twice.
Then silence.
Voss suddenly snapped back to reality.
"Forget the dog!"
He pointed toward the staircase leading upward.
"Seal every exit to the chapel!"
Half of the armed guards rushed away.
The remaining men surrounded Margaret, Olivia, Emily, and Elizabeth.
"You aren't leaving this level."
Olivia quietly glanced toward the old projector.
Its reel continued spinning.
Young Harold reappeared on the cracked wall.
"...if Richard reaches the bell before they do..."
Static swallowed several words.
"...someone outside will finally know."
The recording abruptly ended.
Emily frowned.
"Know what?"
No one answered.
Voss walked directly to the projector.
He tore the film from the reels with both hands.
The fragile strip scattered across the floor.
"There."
His voice was cold.
"That message dies here."
Elizabeth laughed.
Not loudly.
Softly.
Almost with pity.
"You still don't understand Harold."
Voss looked at her.
"He never trusted only one copy."
The administrator's expression hardened.
"Search everything."
The guards spread through the chamber.
They opened cabinets.
Pulled books from shelves.
Smashed wooden crates.
One man kicked over an old filing cabinet.
Thousands of yellowed papers flooded the floor.
Olivia noticed something strange.
None of the papers contained writing.
Every page was blank.
She looked toward Margaret.
"Why would anyone keep empty files?"
Margaret smiled faintly.
"They aren't empty."
She picked up one page and held it toward the overhead light.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
Hidden handwriting appeared.
Dozens of names.
Medical numbers.
Dates.
Emily gasped.
"Invisible ink..."
Elizabeth nodded.
"Harold rewrote every record before hiding them."
Another guard shouted from across the room.
"I found another door!"
Voss hurried toward him.
Behind a collapsed shelf stood a thick steel hatch marked with faded letters.
BELL ACCESS
Voss smiled.
"So..."
He looked back at Elizabeth.
"It was never demolished."
Richard barked again.
May you like
Much closer this time.
---
