Chapter Text
Within the halls of an ancient archive, in the bowels of the Inquisitorial Department Headquarters, there is a certain document.
It reads:
Date of Inquiry Received: September 15, 30██
Date Report Filed: October 17, 30██
Inquiry Requested By: Sheriff █████ ████████ serving as representative for remaining citizens of the village.
Subject of Inquiry: The disappearance and subsequent emergence of several townsfolk in the Province of ███████ in the village of ████████
Supervising Agent(s): Brother █████ █████████ and his apprentice Brother ███████ ████████ were sent to investigate these disappearances on 01/20/██
Notes Regarding Incident: Beginning on the evening of September 3rd, several citizens vanished from the town of ████████. The final disappearance occurred on September 8th and the group remained missing for 30 days. In this span of time, local law enforcement contacted the DOI, operating off the belief that vampires were involved, thus making it a matter of breached border security. On the morning of October 15 however, all missing persons were located in a small commune near the ██████ █████ ████████. No visible signs of forced captivity, but victims were reluctant to leave the immediate area; medical examinations were conducted on site. Those tested appeared healthy and eager to share their experiences over the past month. Claimed an individual dubbed ██████, offered them food and shelter for 30 days before telling them to” ██████ ███ ████.” While villagers show noted ████████████████ ██████████, no malicious entities were detected in the surrounding areas.
Persons of Interest: Potential suspect has been repeatedly referred to as ██████, though none of the returned villagers provided a consistent description.
Following Action: No additional action will be taken. Incident has been labelled instance of mass hysteria triggered by drought and failing crops which drove citizens to abandon their homes, enticed by resources provided by benefactor. Theorized that their hysteria abated over time. Inquisition agents will remain on sight for final observations, then return to Vatican City.
Department Head Signature of Approval: ███████ ████████ ████ ███
The sharp wind that followed the night did nothing to sooth the stifling humidity the day had left behind. So when Angelique Meyers, with an aching hip and a crying child clinging to that hip, ventured outside to find the clothesline still damp, she had no one to blame but the sky.
“Oh, damn it all” she muttered under her breath. The damn coat had been out here all day and not only was it still damp, it smelled. That earthy sweet scent of mildew that never seemed to fade. It would just have to go, never mind that it was Martin’s favorite.
As she stood there, trying to decide if her husband would believe their old bloodhound had shredded the even older coat, her other children- a young girl barely ten and a boy half as young- bust out of their little cottage, dashing towards the clothesline before cutting right into the woods, all before the door had finished swinging on its abused hinges.
“I can see them! C’mon Tom! They’re so pretty!”
“Em, wait for me!” Tom, struggling to catch up, called after his sister, who was jumping and shrieking about little lights that she’d seen flickering beyond the tree line. He couldn’t see them, but his big sister never lied.
Angelique watched from afar, worried but aware that chasing after nothing was one of the few joys of childhood, the long and sweltering days forgotten for just a few moments as they imagined something more pleasant. But that worry only heightened as her children ventured deeper into the forest. Childhood is all well and good, but I do wish it came with a bit more sense, She thought, hefting her littlest one up and marching towards the others.
“Emilia Julie Meyers! You get back to the clearing right now young lady!” Angelique called after her daughter, passing by her son and nudging him back towards the cottage. “I won’t have you cracking your head open while you’re still in your Sunday best!”
But Emilia paid her mother no mind, nor her brother forlornly gazing at the two from their porch, nor the baby crying, nor the old bloodhound who had started to bark and howl from inside the cottage. “It’s fine mama! I think I caught one!” Small hands clasped together over something, Emilia hopped down from the roots she’d climbed and turned back, hoping to win her mother over with a smile and a mostly-sincere apology.
But when she turned, her hands were empty and her mother was not there to receive her.
She was not anywhere.
The nobleman would have looked refined dressed in his black and gold livery if he’d simply hold still for a moment and allow others to observe him closely. As it was though, he continued to pace across the room in long frantic strides, the hands behind his back so fiercely clenched that his knuckles seemed paper white, which clashed very much with the sickly green of his face. His lips set in a thin line and his eyes downcast, he paid no mind to the elderly handmaiden who’d quietly slipped into his study.
She took a moment to smooth out her skirt and bow low before addressing him, “Master Johannes, you’re-” she stopped when she saw him still pacing, muttering quietly to himself. Taking a steadying breath, she announced herself louder “Sir” and the echo that bounced back from the high ceiling seemed to startle Johannes out his daze. He almost fell over himself with how quickly he came to a stop but, when he straightened up he turned tired, red rimmed eyes towards the older woman.
With a shaky sigh that held traces of a sob, he addressed her “ Wha-what happened? Has something happened? Is there news?” and the rigid way he stood could not hide the slight tremble of his shoulders.
“No sir, nothing new to report. I’ve just come to tell you that your guests” and she delivered the word in a manner quite similar to one presenting a dead animal for identification “have arrived and are waiting in the parlor room. I can bring them here if you wis-” But at the mention of his company, Johannes’ crestfallen face tightened up into a fierce scowl and he rushed past her down the hall.
“Of all the inconsiderate…”
“Sir..”
“Negligent, irresponsible...
“Sir, please.”
“Impolite, insensitive...”
“Master Johannes, remember your blood pressure!”
But Johannes was already standing before the double doors that led into his homes largest parlor, the one he would’ve used to great diplomats, receive missives, and entertain guests. My son should be playing in there he mused to himself, the anger almost entirely bleeding away into melancholy.
Almost.
But instead I have to deal with two fools who’ve wasted my time! Palms flat against the door he violently pushed forward—the wooden frame gave a resounding CRACK against the wall—Before calling out into the cavernous room “Just where in God’s name have you been!”
The immediate response was a high-pitched yelp, followed closely by an undignified squawk of pain, and punctuated nicely by the shattering of glass. None of which answered his question. Striding forward with a glare that could rival a bull, he hovered over the back of the couch where two heads poked out. One topped by a splatter of red, the other a trail of silver.
“Oh, Father Nightroad... now look what you’ve done.” The young woman with the red hair, her tone laced with disappointed, pulled a handkerchief from her suitcase and began to dab at the whimpering man’s sleeve, which was soaked through with what Johannes assumed to tea, if the priceless porcelain teacup lying in pieces on the floor was any indication.
Still hovering over the two he addressed them more quietly, but that did nothing to ease the venom in his voice, “You were supposed to be here. Two. Days. Ago.” At his statement the woman pulled a sharp grimace, seemingly remembering something rather unpleasant.
The man with the silver hair finally spoke up, lifting his head up so quickly that the loose, uneven strands of his long hair flicked the already annoyed woman in the face. As she crossed her arms and huffed, he stammered out, “Oh I’m terribly sorry sir! You see it’s the most dreadful thing! Our train’s engine exploded! We were stranded in the middle of nowhere!” Now he was gesturing wildly, bringing his hands together and spreading them out to mimic some enormous blaze.
The woman gave another huff, “It didn’t explode Father Nightroad, the engine just broke down. And we were already at the waystation.” Johannes had rounded around the couch to face them directly, but just as he moved to speak the priest started up again.
“Miss Esther, a rinky-dink station in the middle of nowhere is still nowhere. Have some standards. Now where was I? Oh yes! With no train we ended up having to hike those last ten miles, but it was so late we had to camp and I’m certain I saw a bear and then!—” but before he could continue, the woman --Esther--seeing the rising flush on their host’s face, elbowed him sharply in the ribs.
Rising up from her seat and standing tall, she set her shoulders tight in a straight line then bowed low. Even with her head down, her voice was clear and firm as she spoke “Lord Johannes Acker of Naples, I am Sister Esther Blanchett and this is my partner, Father Abel Nightroad. Due to circumstances out of our control, we’ve arrived inexcusably late and for this I am sorry.” Rising back up she locked eyes with him, and he was momentarily stunned by how intense her deep blue gaze was; she seemed less like a young nun and more like a stalwart general, come to win an entire war by diplomacy alone.
She continued on, never wavering. “However, we are here now and are ready to begin the investigation. If the situation is even half as dire as your message made it seem, we had better get started right away.” She finally broke her stare to shoot a glance towards her partner, who was still nursing his ribs with a pout.
After nudging him with her foot, he seemed to snap out of his sour mood. Throwing on a wide smile, he rummaged around in his own suitcase, a dusty and dented looking thing that was probably an antique before Armageddon, and pulled out a tattered notepad and chewed up pencil as Esther returned to her seat beside him.
“Miss Esther is right sir, we haven't a moment to lose.” Father Nightroad leaned forward, looking far more serious than he had since he’d arrived. If the woman’s eyes could command an army, his could freeze one in its tracks. “Now please, tell us what happened”
Almost shaken by the earnest focus both agents directed towards him, Johannes took a seat on the couch facing them. Steadying his breath, his mind, his heart, he began.
“It’s been almost been a week since my son was taken. We’d come home from evening mass and I was putting him to bed. It’s just the two of us here—us and Agatha. My brother died this past winter and left the estate to me, but we only arrived a month ago; my wife hasn’t even finished settling our affairs back in Albion and our servants stayed behind to help her. I put Ivan to bed and he was asleep before I'd even left the room. I thought that was so strange, usually you’d need a tranquilizer to put him down.” he smiled sadly, the upturned corners of his lips straining against his hollow cheeks. But panic creeped into his eyes, and he brought both hands together in his lap, wringing them tightly
“I went back because I heard the window open; but that damned thing is so rusted you don’t even need a lock to keep it close. I didn’t know what was wrong but it didn't feel right. When I opened the door there was this immediate smell—like wet, rotten wood. And then I saw it.
It was hovering over my son, perched on each bedpost and just staring at him. It was wearing clothes like a man but its body was so...emaciated. It was so thin and frail looking I thought even I could snap it in half. So I tried.
I ran towards it; to scare it away or fight, I don’t know I just wanted to help him. But when it looked up at me, I completely froze and...it took him.” Johannes began to harshly smooth his hair away from the face, pulling harder and harder against his scalp. “But it’s face was...there was nothing there! No ears, no nose, no eyes. Just a mouth; a completely smooth mouth that took up most of the face, without a single tooth.”
The scratching of the pencil paused as Father Nightroad slowly glanced up “You know sir, Methuselah usually have...teeth.” he said it as though he were talking to a child, speaking slowly to ease some inevitable tantrum.
It did not work.
“Are you calling me a liar?! A Fool?! You think I don't know how this sounds, how completely ludicrous this entire nightmare seems. I tried to handle this quietly—I tried to get help!” Face red and his eyes beginning to water, Johannes heaved out another heavy sigh and with his breath went his spine. He curled in on himself, dropping his head to rest low in his palms as his breathing became labored and frantic.
Esther and Abel shared nervous glances as the handmaiden, who’d silently kept watch by the parlor door, rushed to her master’s side and tried to steady him, her weathered hands firmly gripping him by both shoulders as she spoke quietly. After a few moments of her hushed words, Johannes seemed steady once again, though he remained bowed over himself.
“But it wasn’t just me.” Johannes spoke again, voice muffled through his hands. “I went to my neighbors the moment it happened, but they paid me no mind. Then I went to the City Police; They took one look and sent me away. Ivan wasn’t the only person taken. Nineteen other people vanished that night. How do twenty people go missing in a single evening, and not a single soul bats an eye!”
Abel watched Johannes closely as he paused once again, this time overcome with frustration, his eyes scrunched tightly closed to ward off tears. After years of working with the Special Operations Department, he was used to the trauma that burned away at families, bleached away their color and left them raw and exposed. His eyes shifted slightly to Agatha, still standing by her master, but her eyes lacked the warmth one would expect from a confidant; It seemed more like she was...taking stock of the situation.
“And how are you handling things Agatha?” It was Esther that spoke, and when Abel glanced down at her, her normally kind eyes had a hard edge to them; seems she’d also noticed the handmaiden’s less than loving demeanor.
Agatha looked up sharply, momentarily shocked at being addressed so directly, but she schooled her face into a neutral mask once more “I’ve lived here for quite some time now--old enough to be a family heirloom—and I'm more than familiar with the risks we face living in this town.” Almost as an afterthought she amended “being so close to the coast an’ all.” Now she shifted her mask towards Abel, and he shrunk back against the couch at the plain disdain in her eyes. Maybe she was mad about the cup. “And You. You think it’s something other than a vampire? Fine. Name me another beast that’s less than a week’s ship ride away!”
‘“Oh! Um...Well I’m sure there’s—I mean I’m not sure per say but we’ve got...ah, a few leads already lined up and…” he looked to Esther for support; she was so much better at defusing people than he was! But she was making a cutting gesture across her throat and frantically shaking her head; Oh right! Classified info. But the damage was done.
“A lead?” Johannes finally looked up, his face full of equal parts hope and confusion as he whispered. “But, how could you possibly have...you just got here!” There was that bullish anger again, but Abel had come to expect it already. The man seemed well-meaning, but he was quite predictable.
In one quick motion Abel rose from his seat, taking his suitcase in one hand and Esther’s in the other, before moving towards the entryway. He called over his shoulder “Yes, well that’s the kind of top notch service you can expect from Vatican Sponsored special agents! Truly, this insight is a gift from God! We mustn’t waste it on prattle!
As her partner tried to open the heavy oak doors with his feet (seeing as his hands were occupied) Esther rose from her seat and moved towards Johannes, leaning down to take his hands in hers and clasping them tightly as she looked him in the eye.
“I promise you, sir. We’ll find your son.” That general’s gaze was back; she spoke with such resolution and confidence. It was so easy to believe her. Johannes could only nod as she took her hands away and headed for the door.
Abel had finally made it through the doorway (leaving more than a few boot prints on the door) as Esther approached and was flashing her a smile of giddy pride, but it fell once he spotted Agatha trailing behind her. Looking a bit like a kicked puppy, Abel slinked out onto the stone stairway. Esther joined him just a few moments later, but she addressed the handmaiden one last time.
“You said you were familiar with the danger of living here. Not living on the coast. Living here. Is there something you’d like to share before we leave” She had her back to him, but Abel could easily picture the steady fire in her eyes. The way her brow furrowed, how her mouth would set in a tight line that bordered on a snarl. An ocean just about to boil over.
The handmaiden stared at them from the slowly closing doorway, and her eyes had a faraway look, moving through them to some unforeseeable point in the past, some point that held answers, but not solutions.
“I already told you. I’ve lived here for a long time. And, no matter what I might think of it, no one’s seen fit to change things in all those years.” There was just a sliver of her now, just her bright grey eyes shining within the darkness of the foyer “I hope you’ll have better luck than the others” and with a final slam of the door she was gone. Several more clicks, clanks, chains, and deadbolts let them know she had no intention of reappearing should they need her.
Esther let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders falling slack as she slouched “Father Nightroad, that was almost a complete disaster.”
Abel wobbled a bit on his feet, still stunned from the reverb of the door, “Yes well...almost a disaster is still not quite a disaster” hefting up their bags, he walked down the steps and headed for the edge of town “Now, let’s get settled at the inn and regroup with Kate. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover”
To call their temporary lodging an “inn” was a bit generous; situated on the farthest outskirts north of town, it’s pristine upkeep didn’t seem to be a major concern for the proprietors. From the outside, the dark wooden walls had a definite slant to them, as though the building itself was embarrassed at the sorry state of affairs and was trying to hide from prying eyes. Upon entering, one might notice just how close the roof seemed to be as it bowed dangerously inwards, weighed down by green and orange tinged rings of water damaged plaster.
The establishments only saving grace was it’s convenient proximity to Naples Strumento Statale per i Criminali e Malato, which was currently the epicenter of over two-hundred reported missing persons cases across the Province of Naples .
Esther and Abel sat at the room’s only table; small, round and rocking dangerously each time one of them shifted, as they meticulously sorted and packaged round of ammunition . Across from them at the back of the room, maps of town, the surrounding forests, and maritime trade routes popped in and out of existence. They were replaced suddenly with aerial photos of a ruined structure and a plot of data points as a woman gestured with a lazy flick of her wrist. As she did so, the bottom edges of her habit flickered out of focus and patches of her pale blonde hair became nearly translucent; While her energy reserves were functionally limitless, multitasking tended to break the illusion of Kate Scott’s physical presence.
Kate mumbled to herself, chin resetting in her right hand and left arm cradling her body as single dot was plotted onto the graph, near the lowest point of the line “Doesn’t take a data analyst to see that it's moving inward. But why? What could anyone possibly want with a flooded…” Kate inhaled deeply before releasing a tired sigh, though whether the sigh truly helped or the tiredness really hindered, was debatable.
Finished with the graph, Kate sent it away and turned to face the seated agents “So there’s good news and bad news. Good news: the Hispanian human trafficking ring that Dandelion was investigating has been inactive for a few months now. So’s the one in Germanicus that Professor followed up with.” She strode forward and brought with her the display of the stone ruins.
“Bad news: things are pretty inactive around here too. I’ve run about a dozen aerial scans of the surrounding terrain and there’s not a single above ground structure that could fit ten people, let alone two hundred.” The image of the ruins began to rapidly change, each flash a new angle; a crumbling archway stained black, the remains of a tower eroding away, a concrete yard littered with melted shrapnel and ash.
Abel’s face scrunched up, like he’d taken a whiff of something foul, and given the state of the walls he just might’ve, “I...don’t like how you said above ground, Kate.”
Have finished packing her spare rounds, Esther stood up to look closer at the display “This is the place isn’t it. The prison?”
When Kate replied, her tone was laced with disgust “Yes it is, my dear. Naples State Facility for the Criminal and Unwell.” She sent the display away with a sharp wave of her hand and in its place was an older photograph of the prison, before time had commandeered it.
“It was at the height of operation around the 3030s. An outbreak of an incredibly contagious strain of the plague had local officials turn a humble prison into a humble prison slash hospital.” The display now showed scenes plucked from old newspapers; construction to expand the facility, two men shaking hands in front of the immaculate--ash free--stone building, and person after person being led inside, some on stretchers, others in chains.
“Even after the outbreak was contained they made use of all the extra space. The ward for the sick evolved into a much more general ward for “health” and it became an all purpose holding facility for every town within a hundred kilometer radius. A convenient pool of free labor for anyone to dip into, and thanks to the place being far over capacity, there were always enough hands.”
Hunched over his own sorted ammunition, Abel spoke up from the table “If so many towns were using it, how’d it end up in such a sorry state?”
Kate tensed, a long line of stress forcing her posture ramrod-straight and her voice was strained when she answered, “There was a...fire. it’s believed to have been negligence on the part of the staff. Visitors to the health ward reported their loved ones acting increasingly agitated in the days leading up to the incident. Apparently they could...smell something. Most of the staff made it out, but none of the residents survived.”
Giving a small shake of her head that released some of the tension from her body, she carried on “Honestly, the whole thing seems completely archaic.” She lowered her head and folded her hands together, offering a prayer--a salve for a hurt long scarred over, “They treated those poor people no better than dogs. The actual dogs probably slept more soundly. ”
Abel waited a moment before speaking, a confused look on his face as he too looked more closely at the slideshow of old photos “But Kate, if the entire place burned down, what exactly are we looking for out there?” Esther had moved away from them both, rummaging through the files spread out on the room’s solitary bed.
“There’s one place we haven’t explored yet” Kate sent away the photos, bringing up instead a large map of the town, and its two immediate neighbors to the North and East. “The epicenter of all these disappearances is the former site of the prison, but there’s more to it then the actual building.” She pointed to the center of the map, a single point in a wide expanse of forest. “Beneath the compound is a complex sewer system that was used to transport goods and high profile inmates. Whatever’s going on, it might be hiding in there. Once we have a better sense of scoop, we’ll send for reinforcements.”
“Found it!” Esther shouted from the bedside, triumphantly lifting a small folded square from the--now much larger--pile of papers on the bed. Seeing the momentary shock of her fellow agents faces, she hid it behind her back and gave a sheepish smile, then moved to rejoin them, stopping around the table to holster her shotgun in the sling on her back.
Kate, recovered from her shock, gave them a sweet smile, “Just get in, see if there’s signs of activity, get out. Should be smooth sailing. Even for you two!”
Her matronly smile didn’t quite soften the insult.
There was a clear line where the cultivated path ended, and the forest began. For miles in a straight line, narrow cypresses had taken root. The late afternoon sun was already hanging low and lethargic in the sky, casting a hazy diffused light across the sky, harshly defining the sharp tips of the cypress. Their looming, dense foliage spoke louder than any sign, more menacing than any guard. Do not cross. Stay away. Turn back. Esther wondered if some warden had planted them purposefully; One final wall to separate the inmates from the rest of the world, from the sights and sounds of the villages that had simply forgotten them.
Between the road and the wall of trees, however, was a wide field. And resting defiantly in its center was a small cottage. A middle aged man sagged heavily in a rocking chair, hunting rifle across his lap and snoring bloodhound beside his feet. He watched them warily as they marched through the field to the barrier of trees.
Beside her, Esther saw Abel hunch down low. He always did that when he was trying to look harmless. “Good Afternoon Sir! I hope it’s alright for us to pass through here. We just need to go--” but the man interrupted him with a snort, his voice such a rough and low bark that Esther had thought the dog was chiming in.
“I know where you’re going. It’s the only thing in there. But, that place is all wrong...and the folk that wander in end up wrong too” If at all possible, the man sunk even lower in his chair, his body seeming to reject even the thought of moving beyond the trees.
In spite of the man’s visibly mounting anxiety, Esther took a few tentative steps towards him, keeping an eye on the gun resting in his lap “What do you mean ‘wrong’? What happens to them?” Even though she spoke softly, the man tightened his grip on the rifle, eyes darting between her and Abel.
“They see things. Stuff they want real bad. We’ve had to drag people out kicking and screaming. And the longer you stay, the worse it gets” the man’s hands were shaking now, his white-knuckled grip emphasizing the blue veins of his pale, gnarled hands.
“What?! How long has this been going on?” Esther took a few more steps forward, quickly now, voice raised in shock at the man’s cryptic warning. This is more than just kidnappings. All these people know something and they’re just letting it happen! “Please, Sir, is there anything else--"
But the man had sprung out of his rocking chain, the old wood and his older bones giving off several loud creaking pops in protest, none of which stopped him from cocking the rifle. Even the bloodhound snapped to attention, though Esther could think of few things less threatening than its droopy, cock-eyed snarl.
“We don't need more problems.” he spat out at her, staring down from his raised porch. Esther stood her ground, prepared to show him just how much of a problem she could be, when a hand wrapped around her upper bicep, tugging her out of the man’s line of sight.
Abel held her tucked into his side as he spoke up at the man, his voice low and strained. Pressed so close against him, she could almost feel the heavy vibrations of his growl. “And we’ll be sure not to give you any. Thank you for your concern.” And with that he silently led them away, eyes forward as one hand stayed on Esther and the other lingered on the holster of his revolver.
As they passed under the heavy shade of the cypress, he spoke up again, voice soft as he released her arm, “I know this is frustrating, but there’s enough on our plate as is. Besides, he seemed...unwell”
Esther’s eyes were downcast, hand smoothing down the fabric of her sleeve, “It’s not just him, Father Nightroad; This entire town is turning a blind eye to...something!” Slashing her hand back down with a snarl, she marched further into the woods but she spared one last look behind them. At the border of trees a young girl curled around a narrow trunk to watch them depart, her wide eyes red and heavy with overspent tears. But as they locked eyes, she ducked behind the tree and was gone.
They continued forward through uneasy terrain, the scattered patches of hulking trees upending the soil before smoothing out into fields of tall grass. Occasionally, Esther could make out stone and debris with sharper corners than the average wayward boulder; remains of some ancient town, lost to Armageddon but repurposed by Nature. But, save for the dig and drag of their footsteps, the forest was silent; no animals darted through their path and even the sky above was empty, with not a single cloud or bird to blemish the endless blue.
They didn't so much as find the facility as they did slowly meander into it. One moment, they were being shaded by the sparse branches of wild olive trees, and the next they were stepping out onto fractured concrete. And there it was, all around them with a presence that tried to smother.
The facility had, at one point, been a large central stone building with a rectangular design that boxed in a central outdoor space. In that meager courtyard, four guard towers had loomed overhead. Each stone wing had been topped by sloping wooden roofs and supported by heavy beams of metal and oak. But, when the fire came, it all meant nothing. Stone, wood, metal, and flesh; it all burned away.
Left behind was the crumbled stone, which had toppled over when the supports were gone. These rows of rubble framed the ashes that littered the grounds, the charred black earth never relenting to any new growth. Jagged metal, twisted from the heat, had crashed into the ground below, and had remained embedded upright for decades.
According to the blueprints that Kate had given them, they were standing in front of the remains of the Main Reception Hall, where prisoners and patients were received and divided amongst the wings. And it was here they split up to search, Abel poking around a twisted structure that might have been stairs, and Esther moving beyond the center of the ruined room.
Esther pulled out her own copy of the sewer blueprints. While they also had a copy of the main building layout, no underground entrance had ever been marked down. The sewer spread outward in a radial pattern, like spokes on a wheel. It reached nearly five kilometers to the North and East, connecting to the neighboring towns, while West and South reached for the coastal cliffs, to dump out into the sea.
Now, Esther asked herself as she walked around a semicircle of shattered glass, If I were an uncaring hospital staff member, where would I hide a secret tunnel? She thought about the Receptions Hall’s purpose; to divide and organize. They would have known right away whether someone was to be put away for life, or if they’d have visitors next week. So, why not place them aside early? Send away everyone who’d be missed to their respective wards and set aside the workers for later.
Beyond the crushed glass--the receptionist’s office?--was the remains of a metal doorframe, held in place by the fractured concrete wall on either side. Esther tried to open the door, bracing her shoulder against it and pushing, but the fire had welded the frame shut. She settled for climbing over the broken wall, careful to not get the heel of her leather boot caught in the porous stone.
And there it was. They hadn’t even bothered to hide it.
“Father Nightroad!” she called out to her partner, still visible behind the low wall she’d scaled, “I found the tunnel.” Inlaid in the concert courtyard was a neat rectangle, set nearly six feet deep into the ground. Closest to where Esther stood, steep stone steps led down into the hole. At their base; an iron door, slightly ajar.
Had they kept it here as a silent threat? Or just for convenience?
While staring down at the passageway, Esther heard crunching glass and a muffled thud as Abel arrive noisily behind her. Without turning, she parroted the order Kate had relayed just a few hours before, “Get in, see if there’s signs of activity, get out.” She craned her neck to look directly above at her hovering partner, meeting his eyes, “Shouldn’t be too bad, right?”
He gave a nervous smile, brows furrowing slightly before giving a quick nod. He stepped around to face her and loudly cleared his throat. Then, he bowed low before her, so low that the stole across his neck dragged in the dirt, and his messy ponytail was making a valiant effort to follow “After you, my dear!”
Esther couldn't help but giggle at his theatrics. It helped to lighten the oppressive atmosphere of the ruins the towered above, as though nothing truly evil could creep up on them when Abel was being so...silly.
She responded with a curtsy of her own, pulling the edges of her skirt so high they almost met her shoulders “Oh no, Father. Age before beauty, I insist!”
It was a silent standoff as they held their poses, the shadow of the tower washing out their colors, leaving them the same shade as the dull grey stone around them. Just two statues eternally greeting one another, never taking another step. For an absurd moment, Esther wondered if they could simply...stay that way; never venturing into the dark below, never leaving the tranquil forest, never having to fight terrorists or monsters or men again. Two statues who could only be moved by the rain and wind that eroded them down, until the damage cast the illusion that they’d finally lowered their hands.
Abel broke the spell first, standing upright to pat himself clean and march past her to reach the sunken stairway. After a few steps he was level with her, and she could see an embarrassed flush that spread from beneath his collar to tinge the tips of his ears. I suppose no one likes to be reminded of their age. And with that benign thought she followed him down into the tunnel.
Down into the earth.