Chapter 37 - THE FIGURE IN THE TUNNEL
The beam of light grew brighter with every passing second.
No one spoke.
Daniel switched off his flashlight and motioned for Alex and Bennett to do the same. Darkness swallowed the narrow tunnel, leaving only the approaching white beam drifting slowly through the passage.
Whoever was coming did not appear to be in a hurry.
The footsteps were calm.
Measured.
Almost as though the person already knew exactly who was waiting ahead.
Detective Bennett quietly positioned herself beside the tunnel wall, her hand resting on her holstered weapon.
"If it's Voss..." she whispered.
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
"He never approaches directly."
Alex remained focused on the light.
"There."
A silhouette finally appeared.
Tall.
Thin.
Walking with the assistance of a metal cane.
The figure stopped nearly twenty feet away.
Instead of raising a weapon, the stranger slowly lowered the flashlight toward the ground.
"I was beginning to think Donovan's map had failed."
The voice belonged to an elderly man.
His hair was completely white.
His face carried deep scars that stretched from one temple to his jaw.
But what caught Alex's attention wasn't his appearance.
It was his eyes.
They looked directly at Alex with unmistakable recognition.
"You've grown exactly as he predicted."
Alex frowned.
"You know me?"
The old man smiled sadly.
"No."
"I knew the child."
He reached inside his coat.
Bennett immediately drew her weapon.
"Slowly."
The old man nodded without protest.
He removed a faded photograph.
Two boys.
Around six years old.
Standing beside a small tree.
One of them was unmistakably Alex.
The other boy had his arm around Alex's shoulder, laughing at something outside the frame.
Alex stared silently.
"I've never seen this picture."
"I know," the old man replied.
"Because you weren't allowed to."
He turned the photograph over.
On the back was written:
May you like
Ethan & Noah — Spring Garden, Level D.
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