Chapter 23 - Beneath Hollow Creek
The convoy departed before sunrise.
Three armored vehicles.
Two forensic vans.
A tactical response unit.
Michael rode beside Detective Bennett in complete silence.
The abandoned town, Hollow Creek, appeared untouched by time.
Weathered wooden buildings lined empty streets.
Broken shop windows reflected the gray morning sky.
Not a single resident could be seen.
Officer Ramirez checked the census records again.
"Population one hundred twelve."
Michael looked outside.
"I don't see anyone."
"You won't."
Helen quietly answered from the back seat.
"They never stay above ground."
The convoy stopped near an old church.
According to the recovered blueprints, the church basement concealed one of the largest tunnel entrances.
The tactical team descended first.
Flashlights illuminated stone stairs covered with decades of dust.
Twenty feet below, the passage widened into an enormous underground corridor.
Fresh footprints covered the floor.
"They're recent," a forensic specialist whispered.
"Less than twelve hours."
Michael noticed something carved into the stone wall.
A raven.
Inside its wings rested a compass.
The same symbol.
Again.
Officer Ramirez aimed his flashlight farther ahead.
The tunnel split into four separate directions.
Each branch carried a different painted number.
One.
Three.
Five.
Seven.
"There should be an even-numbered corridor."
"There isn't."
Detective Bennett frowned.
"They skipped every even number."
Helen suddenly grabbed Michael's arm.
"No."
"They didn't skip them."
"What do you mean?"
She pointed toward the ceiling.
"The even tunnels..."
"...were built above us."
Everyone looked upward.
Only then did they notice another layer of passageways crossing overhead.
Two complete tunnel systems.
One beneath the other.
Someone had intentionally hidden an entire second network.
At that exact moment, a faint metallic clang echoed through the darkness.
Then another.
Footsteps.
Not one pair.
Many.
The tactical team switched off their lights simultaneously.
Silence filled the underground chamber.
Then a child's voice drifted through the darkness.
"Michael..."
Every officer turned.
Only Ethan had ever called him that in such an innocent tone.
But Ethan wasn't there.
The voice came again.
"Michael..."
This time it sounded closer.
Helen whispered,
May you like
"Don't answer."
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