Chapter 97

Shawna POV

I pushed against the door and turned the handle. It didn't budge. "I think it's stuck," I said after the third attempt.

"No doubt all the dampness down here would lead to rust rather quickly if it's not being tended to. It has been a year since anyone was down here," Ashlynn offered.

"Maybe I just need to push harder," I said. "Stand back." I put my hand up towards Ashlynn and Natalie, indicating for them to stand back. I gave the door a hard shove with my shoulder and it squeaked back about a half an inch, sticking on the frame. "Good grief," I said as I rubbed my shoulder. "If I didn't know better, I'd think someone was pushing against it from the other side." Ashlynn and Natalie exchanged concerned looks.

"Maybe it got sealed somehow from the blast. They did use a lot of dynamite," Ashlynn said. "Maybe we can push together."

I nodded and she came to stand next to me. "Not to hard, Ash, I don't want you hurting your baby," I told her.

Ashlynn rolled her eyes, "I'm not using my stomach to open the door, plus the baby is like the size of a pea or something."

"Okay," I held up my hands in surrender. "But let Natalie try first and then, if that doesn't work, we will all three push." Ashlynn looked at me and then at Natalie, sighed and took a step back.

"Fine, go ahead," Ashlynn said in exasperation. "Everyone is acting like I’m some delicate flower, when just two days ago I was wrestling a calf to the ground to help give him vaccines."

Natalie chuckled and then motioned to the door, "Let's do this." I nodded and on the count of three, we both threw our shoulders into the door. It cracked open just a little bit more, but still didn't open fully.

"Looks like you need my help after all," Ashlynn said. With a quick stride, she brushed past us both and stood in front of the door. "How about we try this," she turned back to face us and then, in a movement so fast I almost missed it, she bent forward and kicked backwards like a donkey. The door creaked open about a foot. The undeniable stench of death wafted into the tunnel.

"Oh god," Ashlynn covered her nose and ran a few feet back down the tunnel. The sounds of her gagging had me nearly gagging with her. I pulled out the handkerchief that I had in my pocket, folded it and tied it so it covered my nose. I knew it was likely to smell and had made sure we all brought something to cover our noses and mouths.

"Cover your nose and mouth," I hollered back to Ashlynn as I took a tentative step towards the door.

"No shit," she choked out. Natalie was right behind me as I shown the light into the darkness. This was not the dungeon I had been in, but it was something. Something horrible. I pushed harder on the door and using my body weight, I leaned into it and opened it the rest of the way. Natalie pulled herself up short next to me with a gasp.

"What the hell is this?" she whispered. We swung our flashlights around, the light glinting off metal. From the corner of my eye, I saw a light switch right next to the door frame and flipped the switch. I didn't think there would be any power to it, but to my surprise, the entire room lit up with bright florescent lighting. "Oh my goddess," Natalie stated. "This is horrible."

"What's going on?" Ashlynn asked us from the hallway. "I'm coming in."

I turned quickly and stood in the doorway. "I'm not sure if you want to see this Ashlynn. This is going to make you very angry, of that I'm sure."

"All the more reason I should see it then." She walked down the hallway towards me, her nose and mouth now covered by a black handkerchief.

I turned and stepped back inside, my insides turning with the site before me. It was nothing I had ever seen, though I'm sure Ashlynn may have had some experience with the horrors that were in this room, considering her education. One entire wall was metal cabinets with glass in the doors, displaying different things that floated inside some sort of clear fluid. When Ashlynn broke the threshold, she gasped. "Is that?"......"No." She stepped in further and did a complete circle in the center of the room. She took it all in with astonished eyes. "I can't believe what I'm seeing." She walked over to one of the cabinets and leaned close to look inside one particular jar.

"What is it?" I asked quietly.

"It's a pup, preserved in formaldehyde." She grew quiet while she inspected the jars. Standing up and turning to the corner of the room, she turned white. Chained to the wall was what was left of a corpse. It was nothing but bones now, a little bit of hair remained, and some dust sat on the ground under it. "How did they not see this before?" she asked.

"We should go get someone," Natalie said.

"No. Not yet. It can wait. I'm going the other way. I want to find that dungeon and our time is halfway over." I turned and ran from the room, heading for the direction that we had not previously gone. I could hear Natalie calling for me to wait, but if I could stand to look in that room and smell that awful stench, then I could manage the dungeon that had nearly taken my life too.