Chapter 26 - The Door That Answered
Richard kept his paw pressed against the cold steel.
For several long seconds, nothing happened.
Then came another knock.
Three slow taps.
Followed by two quick ones.
Margaret inhaled sharply.
"The code..."
Olivia looked at her.
"You recognize it?"
Margaret nodded.
"It wasn't military."
"It wasn't medical."
"It belonged to the children."
Elizabeth stepped forward despite Emily's attempts to stop her.
Her trembling fingers brushed the brass plaque.
"I taught them that pattern."
Richard barked once.
A faint mechanical click echoed somewhere behind the massive door.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
Nothing else moved.
Emily examined the hinges.
"This door hasn't been opened in decades."
Margaret slowly smiled.
"That's exactly why someone is still behind it."
Olivia looked toward her in disbelief.
"You really think someone survived down there?"
"No."
Margaret's expression darkened.
"I think someone has been waiting."
Richard scratched the steel exactly three times.
The knocking stopped.
Instead...
A child's voice echoed faintly through the metal.
"Is Harold finally here?"
Silence swept through the corridor.
Elizabeth's knees nearly gave way.
Margaret caught her before she fell.
Emily stared at the door.
"That can't be a recording."
The voice spoke again.
"He promised he would come back."
Olivia leaned closer.
"Who are you?"
No answer.
Only slow breathing from the other side.
Then...
A key turned.
Not from where they stood.
From inside.
The ancient lock disengaged by itself.
The heavy door moved inward barely an inch before stopping against something large resting behind it.
Richard slipped his nose into the narrow opening and gently pushed.
A wheelchair rolled backward.
Empty.
May you like
Covered in decades of dust.
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