Infiltration by Sean Rodman Page A

summer. So the theater owners built tunnels to bring in air from the outside. Sometimes they actually put ice in the tunnels to cool down the air. I’d spent a few afternoons looking at blueprints in the city archives. I figured that the tunnels were probably still there but sealed off. Like I said, I’m all about research and planning. It’s my secret power.
    It took us a few minutes, but we got the manhole cover off. We even did it without a lot of noise. Asha was on lookout, but nobody was out in the rain.
    Jake was first into the manhole. He flicked his headlamp on just before he disappeared. Asha was next, then me.
    The tunnel was lined with crumbling old brick. It was drier than I would have expected in this weather. We tried to move quickly but had to duck. The ceiling was just a little too short for us to stand up in. The light from our headlamps bobbed around the tunnel.
    After a few minutes, Asha turned to me. “Are you sure you know where we’re going? It seems like we’ve gone too far,” she whispered.
    â€œIt’s all good. This is totally to plan,” I lied. I was pretty sure we should have found a ladder going up by now. “We better catch up to Jake.”
    A couple of minutes later, Jake pointed his lamp at the ceiling. Sure enough, there was a rusted ladder rising into the darkness.
    â€œBex, you get the honor,” said Jake. “This was your idea.” He bowed a little and gestured up the ladder. I returned the bow and started climbing. The ladder felt a little funny with my weight on it. I hoped it would last long enough for all of us to get up.
    Reaching the top, I hooked one arm through a rung. I pulled the crowbar from my backpack again. The top of the ladder ended against a bunch of wooden planks. It looked like I’d have to pry up some of them to get through. I kept my head turned away as the wood splintered apart. Then the ladder let loose a small metal squeal and I stopped. I looked down. It was a good fifteen-foot drop to where Jake and Asha were. I wouldn’t die, but I might break something. The ladder groaned again. I needed to either get down or get through the planks, fast.
    I decided to go through. I squeezed the crowbar deep in between two planks and shoved it with all my strength. The plank cracked upward just as the ladder popped away from the wall. I scrambled and got both arms through the new hole above me. That left my legs dangling in the air, tangled in the now-useless ladder. Sweat stung my eyes. I could feel my arms start to shake as they held my full weight. Asha called my name from down below. I heard Jake tell her to stay quiet.
    Slowly, I inched up through the hole that I had made. Wiggling my legs, I got away from the ladder. Finally, I gave one big heave and yanked myself out of the tunnel. I rolled onto my back, breathing heavily. My headlamp barely illuminated the ceiling. It looked like it was maybe forty feet up. What I saw up there made me hold my breath. Then I scrambled back to the hole. I called down to Asha and Jake.
    â€œYou’re not going to believe this,” I said. “We get pictures of this online, and we’ll be freaking famous.”

Chapter Two
    I was rushing, but it still took a couple of minutes to drop a climbing rope down to the others, then get them up to the stage. Finally we stood together with our head-lamps sending little slivers of light across the gigantic hall. The wooden floor-boards creaked as Jake started to walk around, exploring. Ranks of red seats rose away from the stage into the darkness. I imagined hundreds of people in the audience, dressed up for a night at the theater.
    But it was the ceiling that kept catching my eye. It was covered with a huge mural, a gigantic painting of ancient gods or something. Jake took some pictures. Even the bright light from his camera flash seemed tiny in the cavernous space. I pulled Asha closer to me and pointed up at the mural.
    â€œThis