way.
Beneath us a man-sized hole in the earth below was clearly visible. A rope ladder hung from a metal bar at the top. I peered into the hole. The rope ladder vanished into shadows.
‘Do you have a torch?’ I whispered.
‘Funnily enough, what with it being the middle of the day I didn’t think we’d be needing one,’ Jam hissed back. He prodded the side of my jeans. ‘Use your
phone.’
Hands shaking, I shone my phone into the hole. I could just make out the concrete floor of the room below, a couple of metres down.
Jam leaned closer to the hole, peering down into the darkness, then straightened up again.
‘I can’t hear or see anything,’ he said quietly.
‘D’you think this is an old smuggler’s cave, like the one Mom was trying to take us to the other day?’ Shelby whispered.
‘Not with all that concrete,’ Jam said softly. ‘It’s not a natural cave . . . it’s more likely part of an old mine or an air raid shelter.’
I checked the time. ‘Holtwood will be calling soon,’ I whispered. ‘This is a chance to find Madison before she realises we don’t have anything apart from the money to
give her.’
‘But we don’t know for sure if Madison’s down there,’ Shelby protested.
Jam frowned. ‘She’s right, Lauren. Maybe we should—’
‘We have to take a look,’ I insisted. ‘If Mo’s down here we can go back and get help.’
‘No way,’ Shelby said. ‘We should just tell Mom and Rick like we said. They’ll know what to do.’
‘Will they?’ I met Shelby’s gaze. ‘Even if they do there’s no time. We have to look down there before Holtwood rings me again.’
‘Well, I’m not going.’ Shelby backed away. ‘I’m gonna call Mom, tell her what’s going on.’
‘Fine,’ I whispered. I sat down at the edge of the hole and eased my legs through.
‘Wait, Lauren.’ Jam held out the backpack containing the money. ‘Here, Shelbs, you can look after that.’
I found the rope ladder with my feet, letting it take my weight. Jam was just giving Shelby something to do so she didn’t feel bad about being scared. Personally I didn’t much care
about her feelings. Let’s face it . . . when had she ever cared about mine?
I climbed down the rope ladder. Keeping it steady was tricky, but it got easier as I neared the bottom of the hole. I reached the ground and stepped softly onto the concrete floor. Using my
phone as a light, I could see I was standing in an empty room about the same size as the beach hut above. A dug-out tunnel led off on one side.
Shrieks from small children sounded outside, as the carousel music floated towards us.
‘If you go down to the woods today . . .’
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, as Jam slid silently down the rope ladder after me. ‘I thought you said this was a bad idea?’ I hissed.
‘It is.’ Jam landed beside me with a soft thud. ‘But I can’t let you do it on your own.’
‘I’m fine,’ I muttered.
But Jam wasn’t listening. ‘This must have been the room Holtwood called you from,’ he whispered.
I looked round. There were definitely signs that people had been here: burger wrappers and drink cans were scattered across the floor and a length of rope was loosely coiled in one corner. I
tiptoed across the room to the tunnel opposite. It was low-ceilinged with rough, concrete walls and led away from us into pitch black. I stood, listening, at the entrance. Apart from the noises
that filtered through from outside, the whole place was eerily silent.
‘Let’s try through here,’ I whispered.
We walked along a few metres. As we rounded a corner, a dim glow appeared in the distance, casting shadows across the concrete.
There . That had to be Holtwood and Madison. With trembling fingers, I pointed towards the light. Jam nodded to show he’d seen it too.
Silently we crept on.
Another few metres, and my phone vibrated in my pocket.
No . It was Sonia Holtwood calling. Had twenty minutes passed
Beneath us a man-sized hole in the earth below was clearly visible. A rope ladder hung from a metal bar at the top. I peered into the hole. The rope ladder vanished into shadows.
‘Do you have a torch?’ I whispered.
‘Funnily enough, what with it being the middle of the day I didn’t think we’d be needing one,’ Jam hissed back. He prodded the side of my jeans. ‘Use your
phone.’
Hands shaking, I shone my phone into the hole. I could just make out the concrete floor of the room below, a couple of metres down.
Jam leaned closer to the hole, peering down into the darkness, then straightened up again.
‘I can’t hear or see anything,’ he said quietly.
‘D’you think this is an old smuggler’s cave, like the one Mom was trying to take us to the other day?’ Shelby whispered.
‘Not with all that concrete,’ Jam said softly. ‘It’s not a natural cave . . . it’s more likely part of an old mine or an air raid shelter.’
I checked the time. ‘Holtwood will be calling soon,’ I whispered. ‘This is a chance to find Madison before she realises we don’t have anything apart from the money to
give her.’
‘But we don’t know for sure if Madison’s down there,’ Shelby protested.
Jam frowned. ‘She’s right, Lauren. Maybe we should—’
‘We have to take a look,’ I insisted. ‘If Mo’s down here we can go back and get help.’
‘No way,’ Shelby said. ‘We should just tell Mom and Rick like we said. They’ll know what to do.’
‘Will they?’ I met Shelby’s gaze. ‘Even if they do there’s no time. We have to look down there before Holtwood rings me again.’
‘Well, I’m not going.’ Shelby backed away. ‘I’m gonna call Mom, tell her what’s going on.’
‘Fine,’ I whispered. I sat down at the edge of the hole and eased my legs through.
‘Wait, Lauren.’ Jam held out the backpack containing the money. ‘Here, Shelbs, you can look after that.’
I found the rope ladder with my feet, letting it take my weight. Jam was just giving Shelby something to do so she didn’t feel bad about being scared. Personally I didn’t much care
about her feelings. Let’s face it . . . when had she ever cared about mine?
I climbed down the rope ladder. Keeping it steady was tricky, but it got easier as I neared the bottom of the hole. I reached the ground and stepped softly onto the concrete floor. Using my
phone as a light, I could see I was standing in an empty room about the same size as the beach hut above. A dug-out tunnel led off on one side.
Shrieks from small children sounded outside, as the carousel music floated towards us.
‘If you go down to the woods today . . .’
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, as Jam slid silently down the rope ladder after me. ‘I thought you said this was a bad idea?’ I hissed.
‘It is.’ Jam landed beside me with a soft thud. ‘But I can’t let you do it on your own.’
‘I’m fine,’ I muttered.
But Jam wasn’t listening. ‘This must have been the room Holtwood called you from,’ he whispered.
I looked round. There were definitely signs that people had been here: burger wrappers and drink cans were scattered across the floor and a length of rope was loosely coiled in one corner. I
tiptoed across the room to the tunnel opposite. It was low-ceilinged with rough, concrete walls and led away from us into pitch black. I stood, listening, at the entrance. Apart from the noises
that filtered through from outside, the whole place was eerily silent.
‘Let’s try through here,’ I whispered.
We walked along a few metres. As we rounded a corner, a dim glow appeared in the distance, casting shadows across the concrete.
There . That had to be Holtwood and Madison. With trembling fingers, I pointed towards the light. Jam nodded to show he’d seen it too.
Silently we crept on.
Another few metres, and my phone vibrated in my pocket.
No . It was Sonia Holtwood calling. Had twenty minutes passed
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