An Advent Tale XIII

Kati continued right up to the Christmas tree. Once they got close she kicked away some strategically placed snow. There was a hatch in the ground right at the foot of the tree. “It wasn’t always there,” Kati said, “who would be stupid enough to make the entrance to secret tunnels right in the middle of the town square? But after they put up the tree it makes for a stylish entrance. We’ll fill it once they move the tree away.”

And with that they opened the hatch and went down into the tunnels.

It was dark and damp down there, and just as cold as above ground. The tunnel was so tight that they had to crouch down and walk in a straight line behind each other. Aiden went last since he practically filled up the entire tunnel. It was dug out of hard earth and it was only because the ground was frozen that it didn’t collapse. Eventually it opened up into a room, higher than it was wide, with several tunnels leading out at different heights. These tunnels were much better reinforced and looked more permanent than the one they had come through. This appeared to be the nexus of the undergrounds. They saw no one else and everything was completely quiet.

Kati was just about to show them the way when they heard a loud shout; “Geronimo!” and something came flying from above. It landed right in the middle of them with a bright flash and a loud bang. Something screamed inside Julian’s head and red danger flashed in front of his eyes. One moment he was standing there, the next he’d ran several steps, and once that far gone he went on running. Someone was running in front of him, but he was vaguely aware of that some others had taken off in another direction. As he disappeared into the tunnels, he heard a disappointed voice calling from behind.

“Hey! Where did everybody go?”