‘Oomph!’ Olive fell bottom-first into a little trolley that was suspended by ropes.
Clunk!
Whirr!
The ropes tightened and the trolley shot upwards into the darkness. Up, up, up, through the centre of Groves. Leaving her stomach behind.
‘Oh dear,’ Olive gasped. ‘I do hope I don’t crash through the roof!’
But no sooner had she uttered her fear than the trolley came to a halt.
Donk!
Olive stared into the dark, breathing heavily. ‘I’m stuck,’ she whimpered. ‘Stuck in the middle of . . . of nowhere!’
Suddenly, a headlight began to glow, soft and yellow. An engine started with a chug-chug-chug, and the trolley rattled forward along a wonky tram track – sweeping through spider webs and hanging vines, dodging electrical cables and water pipes – until it thudded to a halt against a solid timber door. The headlight faded away and Olive was left in total darkness once more.
‘Hello?’ she called, her voice high and shaky. ‘Is anybody there?’
No reply came.
Standing, knees knocking, she fumbled around in the dark until her hand grasped something cold and round. Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob, pushed the door open and stepped out of the secret passage into a place both familiar and disturbing.