“You can’t promise that,” I hear myself say, surprising everyone in the car.
“You also can’t not promise,” Fynn adds, and I chuckle against all conscious effort not to do so.
I sigh and without thinking, open the door and jump out. The guys immediately do the same. For a moment, we’re in obscure darkness, the lights of the car gone. Fynn takes out a flashlight, and switches it on. It beams a long line of luminous path, like an angelic messenger. He aims it at something in the distance. I try to focus my eyes on it, but it’s too far away. It’s one of those things you see only if you know what you are looking for.
“There,” Fynn points his index finger in the direction of the flashlight. “That’s the house.”
“Technically, it’s not a house anymore,” Anderson corrects.
He walks over to me. I hear his feet grinding the gravel. It feels soothing to know he’s around, to know they’re both around, and I don’t have to go through this alone.
“Two of the outer walls are still standing tall,” Anderson explains. “At least, they were the last time I was there.”
“You went there?” Fynn asks.
“Just passing by,” Anderson quickly replies, not wanting to elaborate more, and Fynn doesn’t push him. “But everything else is grounded. There
’s nothing left.”
“If there’s nothing left, then why are we going there?” I suddenly interfere. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“You see, that house was special,” Fynn explains, as we slowly start to walk over to the subject of our conversation. “It was used in the old days as a safe house for runaway slaves. Of course, that was a long time ago, but anyone who’s ever been inside and knows what the house was used for, knows the outline of it. And, even though the upper, ground level is reduced to cinder, there is still an underground part. I think that’s how Kayne managed to escape. We neglected to cover it, and, you know the rest.”
“So, you think he was keeping my dad somewhere in the basement?” I wonder.
The crickets are loud, much louder than my thoughts, which are swarming inside of me like angry bees. I walk slowly, each step more insecure than the previous one. But, I still follow. There is no other path but this one.
“It’s more of a whole underground level,” Anderson takes over. “There is a big room underground, and tunnels that led away from the house. We thought that the tunnels were closed. There was an implosion of the ground at some point, and the tunnels were off limits. But, we didn’t check it when… you know.”
I can’t see him clearly, but I know what he is doing. He is raking his fingers through his hair, nervously, trying to calm himself down.
“That’s why we need to check the bottom level of the house,” Fynn concludes.
“That sounds hopeful,” I say it out loud, expecting that this will make it more believable.
“It’s our only shot,” Fynn adds.
“It’s our best shot,” Anderson chimes in as well.
I know they’re on my side, and each of them, in his own special way, is trying to convince me to be strong and not to give up, no matter what we find there. Or, what we don’t find.
It takes us a few more steps to the house. It is still as Anderson claimed it. Two walls still stand strong, perched together by a corner. They’re just naked brick, with a single hole in them that once used to be a window. I’m guessing that it probably had a lovely view, one that whoever watched through, enjoyed. But now, all it shows is obscurity.
“Where is the cellar?” I look around, following Fynn’s flashlight. “Will we be able to find it in the dark?”
“We can’t wait until daytime,” Fynn replies. “If he’s here, and if he’s wounded, he might not have hours to go.”
That thought breaks me. But, I try to focus on the good and remain positive.
“There’s too much rubble on the floor,” Fynn snorts. “It’s impossible to find a door that’s kept hidden even in the daytime.”
“Then try!” I hear myself shout, even though that’s not what I intended.
The flashlight flickers for a moment, as if Fynn’s hand trembled upon hearing me raise my voice.
“Sorry, I – “
But, I’m not allowed to finish. I feel Anderson’s hand around my shoulders and his voice in my ear.