“Stay calm, Ajay,” said Will. “He may just be trying to scare us.”
There was a loud crash, metal on metal, as the figure assaulted the door.
“It’s working!” shouted Ajay.
“Pull the whole freakin’ thing off the wall,” said Nick.
“Count of three,” said Will. “One, two, three!”
They each grabbed hold of a locker and pulled as hard as they could. The lockers moved an inch and seemed ready to yield more but hung up on something.
“There’s a bolt and spring latch here at the top,” said Ajay, feeling around the inside of the middle locker. “Definitely a locking device. There’s got to be a hidden mechanism that’ll release it.”
Another smashing blow to the door, then three in succession with increasing speed and power. The inside of the plate around the knob started to warp.
“He’s chopping down the freaking door,” said Nick.
Ajay climbed completely into the locker, grabbed hold of the metal hooks in its ceiling, and twisted them. “Okay, I think I’ve got it,” said Ajay.
“Any time,” said Will as another blow landed, pushing the knob inward.
Ajay jammed one foot against a bulge in the metal on the left side, lifted his right foot, and pressed it against a similar bulge on the right. Then he grabbed and turned the hooks as hard as he could. They heard a snick as a catch gave way.
“Now pull!” shouted Ajay.
Will and Nick grabbed the lockers and yanked. This time they gave and the section fell toward them, with Ajay still inside. Will and Nick jumped out of the way as it crashed to the floor. Directly behind where the lockers had stood, a rough hole in the cinder-block wall led to a dark narrow passage.
“Little help here,” said Ajay, muffled, from inside the locker.
Another furious blow landed on the door; Will glanced back and saw the hatchet punch through next to the knob. A second blow doubled the size of the gash.
“This dude’s serious,” said Nick.
“Nick!” said Will. He grabbed the bottom of the lockers, and Nick took the other side. Lifting with all their strength, they leveraged the lockers to a standing position. Ajay came into view, upside down in the middle one, squashed in a pile.
“That was most unpleasant,” Ajay croaked.
As Ajay tumbled out, Will and Nick shoved the section of lockers toward the door. A hand in a black metallic glove ripped through the hole by the lock plate and felt around for the lock. Ajay jumped in to add his weight as they slammed the lockers against the door. They heard a snarl of pain from outside.
“You like that?” shouted Nick, eyes lit up, hopping back and forth. “Come get some, fool, bring it!”
“Nick, are you insane?” asked Will. “Don’t yell at the guy with the hatchet.”
“Look on the bright side,” said Nick. “At least it’s not a lamia.”
Will wedged a bench between the barricading lockers and the nearest wall, anchoring it in place. The roommates glanced at each other, breathless, then turned to the narrow opening in the wall.
“Who wants to go first?” asked Will, and switched on his flashlight.
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Ajay darted through the hole in the wall, with Nick and Will close behind. Through the first few turns, the walls of the passage were reinforced by concrete, which gave way to a structure of broad timbers. Fifty feet later, they were in a tunnel of solid rock that looked as if it had been dug with chisels.
“Did he get through? Is he coming after us?” asked Nick.
“Not yet,” said Will, glancing back. “Don’t hear anything.”
“Are either of you claustrophobic?” asked Ajay, shining his light ahead.
“I’m not,” said Nick.
“Never have been.”
“Let’s hope you’re right,” said Ajay. “This would be a bad place to find out otherwise.”
The tunnel closed in quickly around them from that point forward, until it was wide enough for one person and only Ajay could move freely without crouching down.
“Who was he? Did you get a good look at him?” asked Will.
“He’s wearing a big helmet,” said Nick. “And a black cape and a belt with an iron buckle and awesome chain mail armor and an iron mask.”
“He’s got to be one of the Peers,” said Will. “But how did he know we were down here?”
“I can feel air moving around us,” said Ajay. “I think that’s good.”
“Where the deuce are we?” asked Nick.
“I’ll be able to tell you when we get back to the pod,” said Ajay, pressing the GPS button on his pager again.
“What good will it do us then?” asked Nick.
“We’re in a secret passage,” said Will. “Emphasis on secret. Keep going.”
“It seems surprisingly clean,” said Ajay, feeling the walls. “Without the overwhelming number of insects and vermin you might expect.”
“That may mean it’s used frequently,” said Will. “By whoever the Peers are.”
“Agreed,” said Ajay.
“I don’t think so,” said Nick.
“Oh? Why’s that?” asked Ajay.
“Dude, it’s not wide enough for them to get through here with those hats on.”
“I’m sorry, my bad,” said Ajay. “I forgot you were an idiot.”
“Whoa, I just had a mind-blowing flash,” said Nick. “You know the statue of the Paladin in front of the field house? That’s who Ax Dude looked like.”
“Honestly, Nick? I don’t find that at all helpful,” said Ajay, creeping ahead.
“I’m serious. He’s wearing armor and a helmet like the statue, and he had the cape thingy and he’s carrying a sword and hatchet like the statue, too—”
“You’re alleging that a statue made of metal came to life and chased us like a homicidal maniac,” said Ajay, coming to a stop.
“I didn’t say the dude was made of metal—”
“He’s saying,” said Will, “it was somebody dressed up to look like the statue.”
“Thank you,” said Nick.
“At least now you’ve moved from the ridiculous to the merely implausible,” said Ajay, going forward again. “Why would any person do such a thing?”
“Maybe the Peers are pissed off we found their playhouse,” said Nick. “And the treasure chest with their Happy Meals hat collection.”
“They wanted to scare the living hell out of us,” said Will.
“Because …?” asked Ajay.
“Because,” said Will, annoyed at his tone, “I saw them earlier today with the Weasel Hole and now we know what they call themselves. Okay?”
“Forgive me,” said Ajay, glancing back at him. “I get grumpy when being chased by an ax murderer.”
“It was a hatchet,” said Nick.
“Otherwise known as a hand ax,” said Ajay.
“But, dude, I gotta give you props,” said Nick. “You’re amazingly chill about it.”
“I seem calm from years of meditation,” said Ajay. “But I assure you it’s taking all my self-control to restrain an irresistible impulse to shout for my mommy.”
Will pointed his flashlight into the darkness behind them, light glinting off the rocks. “Can you see anything up ahead?” he asked.
“The walls are getting wider,” said Ajay. “And we’re moving slightly downward. Can you feel the change in the grade?”
“Yes,” said Will. “Keep going.”
The tunnel gradually widened as they trudged on, until the walls fell out of sight. They stopped and shined their lights into the heavy gloom. The ceiling lofted high above them and the walls were shored up by rows of ancient timbers.
“Damn, who built all this?” asked Nick, looking around in wonder.
“I don’t know,” said Will. “But it’s been here a long time.”
“This would have taken years, if not decades,” said Ajay, examining the timbers. “Controlled blasting, all this shoring up, it’s a massive operation.”