Sophomore Freak (Reject High: A Young Adult Science Fiction Series Book 2) by Brian Thompson
Authors: Brian Thompson
Ads: Link
us to walk in without having to duck or crawl, the corridor lit up from its sides. A tunnel? We had to get closer to be sure.
Rhapsody looked at me to make the call.
I took the lead.
The hallway smelled of oil, engine exhaust, and moldy earth. Its sputtering orange lights were bright enough to light our path. Rhapsody and I moved slowly.
She reached for my hand more than once. “Take my hand, dude,” she said with force.
I did it. She squeezed tightly. I was afraid, too. My heart pounded in my throat.
We reached a freight elevator and stepped inside. I pushed the “B” button, thinking it would take us to the basement, if it didn’t explode or drop us thirty floors to our death.
The elevator clanked and rattled into position. The passageway closed in front of us – much more quickly than it had opened. It made me think of an old movie I’d seen once, where two robots went into a dark building in the middle of nowhere. Of course, they didn’t die, because they couldn’t.
“Where are we?” Rhapsody asked.
Two of the levels we passed were submerged in total blackness. The only things visible to us were gigantic, sharp shadows the size of small buildings. From their angles, I thought they might be airplanes or jets. The scent of fuel and oil reinforced that idea, so maybe it wasn’t an off-the-mark crazy hunch, after all. Based on my last one, I’d bet Ray that San Francisco would beat Los Angeles in a baseball game, and when they lost by fifteen runs, I was stuck hand-washing his Cougar.
I’m glad I didn’t say, “Are those planes?” out loud. Rhapsody was a grieving mess, but she’d have jumped all over that one.
A US Air Force logo gleamed on the elevator’s rusted control panel, catching my eye. Underneath it was a faded metal plate with “BAE.A.T.” in red block letters. Wonder what it stands for ?
Unlike regular elevators, this one loudly smacked against the metal housing bolted to the floor.
“Ding,” I joked. “Secret lair. Bottom floor.”
We proceeded into a deserted room with thick metal beams and bolts connected to the ceiling. Rusted orange rectangular marks lined its walls. The gray dust was so thick it looked as if someone had clapped a million chalkboard erasers in here. My nose tingled from it, like I’d sneeze at any second.
Still holding my hand, Rhapsody squeezed it. Ahead of us was a narrow door. Where does it go? Since we’d come this far, I didn’t see any point in turning around.
Wherever it went, we had to continue forward to find out. Turning the knob with my left hand, I made sure not to pull too hard. It opened to a walkway so narrow that Rhapsody couldn’t walk next to me. She trailed behind, her fingers locked in mine. The scent of gasoline was gone, replaced by something just as strong – a chemical that smelled like the world’s largest cough drop. Almost choking on the stuffy air, I sniffed it. “What is that?”
“Cleaner, maybe?” Rhapsody asked from behind me, her voice shaking.
I turned to look at her. Her eyes shifted back and forth. She was thinking something else that the smell was from a substance way more dangerous than cleaner.
The walkway continued through to another passage-way and another, like subway cars. None of them were well-lit. We paced through them all. Any kind of loud noise might have sent me through the roof. But I wouldn’t leave Rhapsody alone to face whatever.
The last pathway let us into what appeared to be the living area of an underground compound. Through that was a kitchen with silver walls and futuristic-looking appliances. I think there was a refrigerator, or a large shiny cabinet of some kind. Was there an apple pie cooking somewhere? The scent of apples and cinnamon made my stomach growl.
“Food,” Rhapsody grunted the word like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. “I recognize that smell. Pit stop?”
“We’ll be back.” I mentally marked the place – if there was anything edible in there, even if it was
Rhapsody looked at me to make the call.
I took the lead.
The hallway smelled of oil, engine exhaust, and moldy earth. Its sputtering orange lights were bright enough to light our path. Rhapsody and I moved slowly.
She reached for my hand more than once. “Take my hand, dude,” she said with force.
I did it. She squeezed tightly. I was afraid, too. My heart pounded in my throat.
We reached a freight elevator and stepped inside. I pushed the “B” button, thinking it would take us to the basement, if it didn’t explode or drop us thirty floors to our death.
The elevator clanked and rattled into position. The passageway closed in front of us – much more quickly than it had opened. It made me think of an old movie I’d seen once, where two robots went into a dark building in the middle of nowhere. Of course, they didn’t die, because they couldn’t.
“Where are we?” Rhapsody asked.
Two of the levels we passed were submerged in total blackness. The only things visible to us were gigantic, sharp shadows the size of small buildings. From their angles, I thought they might be airplanes or jets. The scent of fuel and oil reinforced that idea, so maybe it wasn’t an off-the-mark crazy hunch, after all. Based on my last one, I’d bet Ray that San Francisco would beat Los Angeles in a baseball game, and when they lost by fifteen runs, I was stuck hand-washing his Cougar.
I’m glad I didn’t say, “Are those planes?” out loud. Rhapsody was a grieving mess, but she’d have jumped all over that one.
A US Air Force logo gleamed on the elevator’s rusted control panel, catching my eye. Underneath it was a faded metal plate with “BAE.A.T.” in red block letters. Wonder what it stands for ?
Unlike regular elevators, this one loudly smacked against the metal housing bolted to the floor.
“Ding,” I joked. “Secret lair. Bottom floor.”
We proceeded into a deserted room with thick metal beams and bolts connected to the ceiling. Rusted orange rectangular marks lined its walls. The gray dust was so thick it looked as if someone had clapped a million chalkboard erasers in here. My nose tingled from it, like I’d sneeze at any second.
Still holding my hand, Rhapsody squeezed it. Ahead of us was a narrow door. Where does it go? Since we’d come this far, I didn’t see any point in turning around.
Wherever it went, we had to continue forward to find out. Turning the knob with my left hand, I made sure not to pull too hard. It opened to a walkway so narrow that Rhapsody couldn’t walk next to me. She trailed behind, her fingers locked in mine. The scent of gasoline was gone, replaced by something just as strong – a chemical that smelled like the world’s largest cough drop. Almost choking on the stuffy air, I sniffed it. “What is that?”
“Cleaner, maybe?” Rhapsody asked from behind me, her voice shaking.
I turned to look at her. Her eyes shifted back and forth. She was thinking something else that the smell was from a substance way more dangerous than cleaner.
The walkway continued through to another passage-way and another, like subway cars. None of them were well-lit. We paced through them all. Any kind of loud noise might have sent me through the roof. But I wouldn’t leave Rhapsody alone to face whatever.
The last pathway let us into what appeared to be the living area of an underground compound. Through that was a kitchen with silver walls and futuristic-looking appliances. I think there was a refrigerator, or a large shiny cabinet of some kind. Was there an apple pie cooking somewhere? The scent of apples and cinnamon made my stomach growl.
“Food,” Rhapsody grunted the word like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. “I recognize that smell. Pit stop?”
“We’ll be back.” I mentally marked the place – if there was anything edible in there, even if it was
Similar Books
