The Tunnels underneath the Radcliffe Asylum
C onstance was about to crawl back when she heard a faint sound behind the wall. She stopped and listened carefully.
“Who’s there?” she demanded.
Someone was knocking on the wall from the other side.
“Who is there?” she demanded again.
She listened to a muffled voice talking back, but she couldn’t make out the words.
“What are you saying? Speak louder.” Her heart was beating fast. Whether this was a friend or a foe, it meant the tunnels ran deeper than she thought. Maybe there was a way out of this dungeon.
“Help,” the voice on the other side said.
Constance felt disappointed for a moment. She’d thought she’d found someone to help her, not the other way around. But she wouldn’t back away from someone who needed help.
“Who are you?” she inquired. “Why are you in the tunnels? Where are you in the tunnels?”
“Help…”
“I know you need help. I don’t know how to reach you. I could if you tell me something useful.”
“Help…”
This time, she thought the word help preceded another word, one she couldn’t hear. What did the person on the other side want to say?
“Help…”
Constance realized this was going to take too long. Suddenly, she had to choose between saving someone stuck behind the wall and saving the Inklings.