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THEY CREPT BACK INTO the shop while the Tracker was at the furthest point of its patrol, crouching on either side of the door. The Tracker completed another sentry run, betraying no indication it was aware of their presence. So far, so good.
“Now what?” Aubrey asked, the butterflies in her stomach refusing to settle. She strove to keep her voice neutral. “It’s a safe bet everyone knows Mateo’s shop has been trashed. We can’t stay here indefinitely, pretending we’re shopping.”
“Don’t forget the guy we met when we arrived.” Jane crouched by the door opposite Aubrey, avoiding a direct line-of-sight through the doorway. “He was scared to even mention Mateo’s name, yet he didn’t bother to warn us about this.”
She scowled. “I’d like to go back and ask him why.”
Garr dropped to one knee beside her. “It’s almost dark, but that may not increase our chances. I’ll bet night vision is one of a Tracker’s upgrades.”
Aubrey held her hand out, shushing them as the Tracker make another pass in front of the shop. When she was sure it was no longer close enough to overhear them—what if their hearing’s also enhanced?—she dared to speak. “I never thought I’d miss the sewers, but right now, nothing would make me happier than an underground escape route.”
A thought popped into her mind as she spoke. Her eyes lit up, and she jumped to her feet, facing the door to the tiny office. Something felt out of place, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
She eased the door open, beckoning the others to follow.
Jane balked. “Where are you going? This is the ghetto next to Hoarderville. There’s no secret tunnels here.”
She knocked on the wooden floorboards beside her. The sound was muffled, solid. There was no basement or sub-basement here. No escape route.
Aubrey didn’t let that stop her. She tip-toed into the office, Garr following on her heels. Even Jane crowded in, pausing only to re-light the lantern. The wan light filled the room with flickering shadows.
Aubrey pointed at the corner of the office. “See? This room was trashed just like the rest of the shop, except for this one corner. The floor is clear—no debris, not even a piece of scrap paper.”
Garr stepped past her, kneeling to peer at the slatted wood. He drew his knife, working the point into a crack between two boards. His efforts were thwarted at first, but then he managed to pry up a small section of the floor, revealing a dark hole about a meter across.
Aubrey gasped, crowding forward to look. Garr propped the section of flooring against the office wall, taking care to muffle any betraying noise.
“Well, well,” Jane said, eyebrows raised. “What’s Mateo got buried under his floorboards?”
She handed Garr the lantern, and knelt beside Aubrey. Garr lowered the lantern into the hole, leaning over the edge for a better view.
“Hard to say.” He glanced at Jane. “It goes down about two meters, and then it appears to widen out.”
“You mean it is a tunnel? Where does it go?” Jane craned her neck, looking over Garr’s shoulder. “Look—there’s rungs built into it.”
Garr set the lantern on the floor and swung his legs into the hole.
“Only one way to find out.” He grabbed the top rung and began his descent. He paused after a few rungs, holding out one hand. “The lantern, if you don’t mind.”
Jane lowered the lantern within reach, and Garr continued his descent, awkwardly one-handed. The lantern flared brighter as he reached the bottom, and he took a quick step to his right, disappearing from view.
His voice wafted up. “Come on in, the water’s fine.”
Jane fairly flew down the ladder, and Aubrey followed, descending hand-over-hand down the wooden rungs.
At the bottom of the shaft, Aubrey discovered another opening, leading back underneath Mateo’s shop. The portal was roughly spherical, equal in height to her waist. She crawled through on her hands and knees.
Garr shone the light around the room. It wasn’t large, but they could stand upright. The only furnishings consisted of a wooden table against the earthen wall, and an equally nondescript stool. An assortment of unfamiliar objects were scattered in haphazard fashion on the table.
“Somebody did a thorough job.” Garr held the lantern higher, admiring the compact space. “See the braces supporting the ceiling? This wasn’t built overnight.”
He lowered the lantern to examine the table. The items on its rough-hewn cast strange shadows on the earthen wall. Predominate among them were various pieces of micro-technology and assorted craftsman’s tool. Garr picked up a few, studying them with a practiced eye before replacing them on the table.
“Just bits and pieces,” he said. “There’s no telling what Mateo’s up to. Not unless we question him in person.”
The more we learn about Mateo, the more questions we have. Aubrey’s stomach sank. I guess that shouldn’t be surprising. He is—or was—one of the Soul-less.
“This is a dead end.” Jane ran a finger over one of the tools. She snatched her hand away, rubbing her palm against her thigh. “We still need a way out of here. We’ve been in Mateo’s shop too long already.”
Garr nodded absently, his eyes roving over the items strewn across the table. Aubrey was about to speak when he seized the lantern by the handle and turned his back on the unknown technology.
“There’s nothing more to learn here.” He strode back to the chamber’s circular portal. “Let find a way out of here.”
He ducked out of the small room, plunging the chamber into a murky twilight. Aubrey followed Jane, grateful to find Garr holding the lantern above them to aid their return climb. She scrambled up the ladder in Jane’s wake, and Garr replaced the flooring over the hole.
Jane disappeared into the main room, only to return moments later, her rucksack already buckled on.
“It’s gone.” She gestured to the pathway, edging toward the door in her excitement. “The Tracker—it’s not patrolling anymore. Let’s move before it comes back.”
She led the way into the main room. Aubrey shrugged into her rucksack. Garr’s was in his hand as he eased the door open, peering cautiously outside. Satisfied, he half-turned. “If anyone asks, we’re disillusioned travelers. We came all this way, hoping for work, but nothing’s what we thought it would be. So, we’re taking our broken dreams and moving on.”
Aubrey and Jane nodded. It was a plausible alibi, hopefully enough to satisfy any inquiries they might encounter on their way out of the shantytown.
It’s not far from the truth. Aubrey pulled her hood up, tucking her hair inside. We came for answers about Mateo, but we’re going home empty-handed.