Underground

Daneen looked up, seeing something out of the corner of her eye scurrying across the bare cement and rock floor that lay beneath where she sat, and quickly held out her hand for her friend to help her up.

Daneen grabbed Lani's hand and pulled her up to her feet. “Lani, we have to find a way out of here,” Daneen said as she brushed the dust and dirt off of her shorts. Both girls were covered in dirt from head to toe. Not knowing how many days it had been since the big explosion their bodies were weakening from not having had anything to eat or drink. They knew if they didn’t make it out soon they were going to die.

“I can’t do it anymore,” Lani said with an exhausted sigh. “Like… I really can’t. What are we supposed to do? Even if we find a way out of this underground bunker or whatever the hell it is, then we have to deal with what is waiting for us on the other side of that door.” Lani’s voice started to get a little shaky.

“We have to keep trying”, Daneen retorted, I refuse to give up. We have families to fight for.

Lani laid her head in between her hands and started to cry. “I know…I know.. l just.. “ She stuttered, not even being able to get the words out.

Daneen took a deep breath and looked over at her friend who looked completely disheveled and like she no longer had any life left. Daneen retorted “Well you know I don’t know about you, but last time I checked we have never given up on anything. I am sure as hell not about to start now. You in this with me or what?”

Lani’s looked over at her friend. “Well, you do have a point there.” Lani’s cleared her throat and stood herself up straight.

Daneen leaned down and felt around on the cement floor and rubble to see if she could find a rock. She found two jagged ones and handed one to Lani.

“Let’s start chipping. A rock will show us if we hit a soft spot.”

Lani nodded her head in agreement and together in unison both started chipping away. The girls kept at it for a couple of hours and then they heard the door handle jiggle. They heard a key go through the keyhole, and both girls looked over at each other, grabbed each other’s hands, and took a deep breath.

The heavy metal door swung open and there before them, stood a very large burly man in a black muscle shirt and black camo-type pants. On his side was a large knife, and a gun. He was definitely armed and ready to take down whoever crossed his path in the wrong way.

He started walking towards them, and the girls moved closer together. They grabbed on tighter to one another and kept their gaze with the stranger that stood before them.

In a deep voice, the man spoke “You young ladies must be wondering what is going on? The stranger stopped and looked down at them, realizing that he had scared them, as they both sat together trembling. “You don’t need to be scared. I am not here to hurt you. I am here to protect you.”

The girls looked over at each other, and then up at him. Daneen cleared her throat as she took a deep breath. “Protect us from what?”

“Yeah, protect us from what?” Lani chimed in behind her friend just to make sure that he knew she wasn’t scared. She was but didn’t want him to know that.

He pointed up above his head and said “From them”. He said very matter of factly.

“From who?” Daneen stated.

Then the man extended both his hands to the women before him, so he could pull them up. “There isn’t much time to explain. We need to move you to a different location before they find you.”

Both girls let him help them up. “A different location? Lani asked. “Why a different location, and why us? Why do they want us?”

“You saw too much and they know, you know their secrets. They won’t stop till they find you.”

The girls looked at one another puzzled. Before they could speak another word, he got behind them and started nudging them towards the door. “My name is Hudson. We are going down a ways, a spot that is better protected. A spot where we will get you something to eat and drink. We will take care of you there. There is someone waiting for you who will give you all the answers you need and help you. But we must move fast. You are in danger, and we must move you both to safety immediately."

The girls didn’t know that they could totally trust this man but they knew that they didn’t have a choice. They both nodded at him, agreeing to do whatever it is he asked of them,

As Hudson motioned the girls through the door, as he looked at Lani and said very firmly. "Whatever you do, don't lose that locket around your neck.”

Daneen quizzically looked over at Lani and grabbed her hand. Lani grabbed onto the heart shaped locket that her grandmother gave her that hung around her neck with her other hand. Lani was more confused than ever. Hudson wasted no time and ushered the girls out into the rock tunnel towards their fate.

As Hudson led the girls down the dark tunnel that was illuminated only by torches that were lit on the sides of the rock walls, they felt like they were in a movie. It didn’t really feel like it was real for either of them.

They walked to seemed what it would have been down many hallways in many directions, walking in complete silence for probably about three hours before the man that was leading them finally stopped at another metal door. He opened the door and stepped inside to let the girls walk in before him.

Without hesitation, the big-muscled man that stood before them swung the door open. Lani took a step backward almost falling back into the wall behind her. She grabbed onto Daneen and pulled herself forward. To both the girls’ surprise, it was nothing like the room they had been put in.

The walls had been drywalled and pictures had been hung. The room was adorned with an antique couch and a queen-size four-poster bed in the corner. On the other side of the well-decorated massive room was one of those old antique desks with the glass tops, and a new-looking leather office chair. The room was lit up by lanterns. Behind the office chair was a huge bookshelf that was about 15 feet wide. The girls were nudged to sit in 2 chairs that were sitting in front of the desk with the large bookshelf.

Daneen looked behind her to Hudson and whispered. “But there is no one here.”

No sooner did Daneen say that, than Hudson walked over to where there was a pedestal beside the bookshelf, and with ease pulled it backward about 2 feet. The bookshelf swung open to reveal a hidden area. Hudson stepped one foot into the dark corridor and yelled “I have the girls here boss”.

Just as quickly as he stepped in, he stepped out and moved behind the girls as if to say to them that everything would be okay because he was guarding them.

The girls looked up for just a brief moment behind them where their new friend stood, and no sooner did they look up than they heard footsteps coming. Daneen’s heart raced and she clutched onto the chair, and Lani sunk deeper into her seat. Both girls' afraid of who, or what would reveal themselves.

She emerged. Long red flowing hair, with a black t-shirt and camo shorts much like Hudson was wearing, and she had makeup on to boot. She was not at all what they expected. The girls looked at each other briefly and then stared at the woman who was before him.

Then she spoke. “Well, I am glad to see that your journey found you safely here.”

Lani cleared her throat “What..“ Daneen kicked her friend in the foot to silence her. She didn’t know if the woman would shoot her for speaking.

The woman laughed. “It’s okay girls, there is nothing to be afraid of. My name is Caroline. It’s a pleasure to meet the two of you finally. We have got you here safely now. I know there are a lot of questions, and you girls must be so scared and hungry. I am sure that by now you two must realize how special you are. You serve a purpose, a purpose we must protect.“

The girls stayed silent waiting for the woman to speak again.

“The answers to all your questions are coming, and then some. But what we must do is prepare you.”

Daneen finally decided to speak up. “Prepare us for what?” She looked at Caroline very matter of factly awaiting an answer.

“Well… As I am sure Hudson here has made you aware, you ladies were in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you really think back you will know what that was. But there is so much more than that.” She motioned the girls to get up and started to move around to the other side of the desk where the looming hallway began down the corridor of the secret area.

“You are the chosen two. The two chosen to fight in the war above. There is a reason you saw what you saw and no one else did.”

Lani finally chimed in. “I am so confused”, she said shaking her head back and forth. “None of this makes any sense”. She stepped back trying to resist the urge to move forward as the woman before they stepped into the secret area’s corridor.

“Darlings, I understand your fear. But I am here to prepare and protect you. I will be damned if those fucking evil bastards are going to win. We have almost everything we need now.”

The girls were more puzzled than ever. Caroline cleared her throat and motioned the girls to walk through with her. Lani looked behind her, and Hudson was right behind both of them. Both Daneen and Lani could feel that he was a good soul. He was honestly there to protect them. Though still hesitantly they both moved forward together side by side.

“You girls must be absolutely starving. We need to get you out of those clothes and get you washed up. Once you have eaten and slept things will become clearer, I am sure of it.” Caroline assured the girls as she urged them forward.

A sense of calm came over the girls as they started to move forward down the corridor. They felt like they were safe and taken care of, even though they had no idea what was going on with their families and friends up above, or if they were even still alive. Their own survival instinct had kicked in and they knew that the only way out of this was going to be to put the trust in the only two people that were right in front of them, and that was Hudson and Caroline.

The girls looked at each other and half-smiled silent assuring the other. Daneen grabbed Lani’s hand as she had before, Lani whispered to Daneen 'I wonder what Grandma's locket has to do with all this?"

Daneen whispered back. "I think we are going to find out very very soon", as she continued to hold her friend's hand as they proceeded to head down the corridor with Caroline ahead of them, and Hudson behind them,. Both girls knew that as long as they both stayed together, they were going to be okay.