Chapter 10 - The Underground Railway
Rebecca quietly pushed a bookshelf aside, revealing a narrow stone staircase descending beneath the cottage.
Margaret looked at her in amazement.
"How long have you known about this?"
"Only three months."
"You never mentioned it."
"I wanted proof before frightening everyone."
Arthur shined his flashlight into the darkness.
"This wasn't built by fishermen."
The passage stretched farther than any of them expected.
Old rails crossed the floor.
Rusted mining carts remained where they had been abandoned decades earlier.
Daniel recognized something immediately.
"This is an emergency transport tunnel."
Arthur nodded.
"The Harbor Foundation financed it during the 1970s."
As they walked deeper underground, faded signs appeared along the walls.
Warehouse A.
Records.
Archives.
South Dock.
Margaret suddenly understood.
"The foundation never used only the lighthouse."
Arthur smiled faintly.
"The lighthouse was simply the entrance."
The tunnel eventually widened into a massive underground station carved directly into the rock beneath the cliffs.
Several railway tracks disappeared into darkness.
Most were collapsed.
One remained perfectly clear.
Beside it stood a locomotive covered by heavy canvas.
Rebecca pulled the cover aside.
The engine looked remarkably well maintained.
Someone had serviced it recently.
Daniel climbed into the cab.
"The battery still has power."
Arthur frowned.
"Someone expected this train to be used."
Margaret noticed fresh footprints leading toward another platform.
Unlike theirs, these prints were still wet.
Someone had entered the station only minutes earlier.
Then a distant whistle echoed through the tunnel.
Not from their train.
May you like
From another one approaching in complete darkness.
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