Infiltration by Sean Rodman

Chapter One
    I don’t recommend breaking and entering on your first date. Wait until you can really trust them. Asha and I waited in the shadows of a closed convenience store. We sized up the building across the street. The cold drizzle was starting to soak us. She squeezed my hand and kissed my cheek.
    â€œBex, this is going to be awesome,” she said.
    It was kind of romantic, I guess. We were looking over at the old Orpheus Theater. It was a tall, narrow building tucked between two ancient store-fronts. A tall neon sign crawled up the front of it, reading ORPHEUS . Smaller signs covered the ticket booth. A couple of big ones were marked Closed and Demolition Order .
    The April rain made me wish I had brought more than my black hoodie. We needed to get moving or we’d get uncomfortable. I checked to make sure the coast was clear. At this time of night, there was barely any traffic. Most people with any sense were tucked into bed. But we were just getting started.
    At my signal, Asha and I ran across the street. We headed straight into a narrow alley next to the Orpheus. We were on our way to meet up with my best friend Jake. We wanted to see what the theater looked like on the inside.
    My friends and I have a hobby. We like to explore old buildings in the city. But not on the official tour. We go where we’re not supposed to. In my opinion, a No Trespassing sign just means you’re on your own. We’re not the only ones. There’s a bunch of people in the city who do this. They call themselves urban explorers. We compare notes and brag about our illegal adventures online. It’s all anonymous, of course. On the urban exploration forums, I’m Urbex604. My real name is Taylor Bexhill. My friends just call me Bex.
    It’s a bit like being a superhero. In real life, I’m under the radar and keep to myself. I’ve never been into team sports. Never been cool enough to be part of the in crowd. As an urban explorer, though, I’m like a rock star. I’ve hacked more buildings in this city than almost anyone else. I look for old tunnels or abandoned buildings that nobody else can get into. Then I post some pictures from the inside. I’ve got a great slideshow of conquests now. The Orpheus Theater was one of the toughest sites in town. It had no easy entrances and some serious security guards. Now it was slated to be destroyed in a couple of weeks. I wanted to claim this one for my own before it went.
    Don’t get me wrong when I talk about breaking and entering. I’m not a criminal. I do this for fun. For bragging rights. I take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints. Asha says that I act like a cross between a Boy Scout and a young offender. I pulled her into urban exploration a little while ago. She totally got into it. Which was a bit of a surprise to me. She’s from a pretty strict family and comes across as really straight. But I’m not complaining.
    Jake was waiting halfway down the alley. He stayed in the shadows as we got closer. He was dressed like us— black hoodie, black jeans, work boots, backpack. Jake could never really pull off the urban ninja look though. With his baby face, he looked a lot younger than seventeen. Especially when he smiled.
    â€œGlad you two made it. I thought you might head to a real movie theater and leave me in the rain,” he said.
    â€œAnd let you to be the first one to crack the Orpheus? Dude. Bex might be my boyfriend, but he’s not worth missing this for,” Asha said. Jake laughed. I pulled a crowbar from my backpack and made a face at her.
    Jake and I looked at the big manhole in the middle of the alley. “You sure this is it?” he asked. I nodded. I was pretty certain that this was our ticket inside. There was a network of old tunnels under-neath these streets that led into the theater. I’d read that when the Orpheus was built back in the 1920s, it was too hot inside during the