Chapter 54
Kurt and Pru followed Joe along the edge of the crumbling tarmac until they were directly behind the second hangar. Joe crept in front of them as if he were looking for a secret door.
He paused several times to study the building before moving farther down. He finally stopped for good in front of a vertical support brace, which acted as a binder for two flat wall panels.
“This is it,” he said, a look of pride on his face.
“This is what?” Kurt asked from a spot in the brush. “All I see is a rusty wall.”
“Not just rusty,” Joe said. “Corroded through and through. Water and condensation collect on the panel and trickle down the vertical support brace, pooling in tiny gaps and cracks near the bottom, causing rust. Over time the rust eats its way upward. If this is anything like the hangars I had to patch up when I was in the Navy, you’re looking at a sheet of metal that’s more like Swiss cheese on the inside.
You could push your finger right through it. ”
In the light of Joe’s explanation, Kurt studied the rust more closely.
In the dark it was hard to see how extensive the oxidation was, but it had been sitting in the salt air for decades.
Several portions at the bottom had crumbled completely away, leaving gaps that were now filled with dirt and debris.
Weeds were growing up from another spot.
“So we make our own door,” Pru said. “Ingenious.”
Joe beamed at the compliment. Kurt sensed the flirting was about to begin again.
Before he could head it off, Joe interjected, “As an added bonus, this will let us into the back section of the hangar, where people tend to store junk and trash and spare parts that aren’t in high demand.
As the only four-time hide-and-go-seek champion of PS 133 in New Mexico, I can assure you that cluttered areas make the best places to hide. ”
Kurt let Joe have his victory. It was well-earned. “All right,” he said. “Let’s burrow our way in.”
With Kurt standing watch, Joe and Pru crawled forward until they reached the metal wall.
They quickly cleared some of the accumulated dirt and then began picking at the wall from the bottom.
The first sections crumbled in their hands.
They worked their way higher, snapping off large flakes and putting them aside until they’d cleared a half circle of material nearly two feet in diameter.
A faint glow could be seen on the ground as light spilled out of the hangar.
Joe poked his head inside. He could hear voices, the rumble of the tug, and the occasional sound of items being moved or repositioned, but as he expected the back wall was a storage area, and directly in front of him lay nothing but dust-covered equipment and junk.
Pulling back, he worked a few more pieces loose and bent one chunk back and forth until he was able to fold it upward. “That’s as good as it’s going to get.”
It would be a tight fit, but Kurt figured they could squirm through.
“I’ll go first,” Pru said. “I’m the smallest.”
Kurt appreciated her dedication, but he figured Joe should do the honors.
Joe got down on the ground and crawled inside. “Once more into the breach,” he whispered, “…literally.”
Kurt followed, hunching his broad shoulders together and then crawling forward on his elbows until he was able to pull his legs through. Pru squirmed through behind him.
A six-foot stack of crates, buttressed by discarded equipment and other items, acted like a wall, shielding them off from the rest of the hangar. But the sound of a stern male voice echoed from the other side of the wall.
The first words they picked out were ominous: “…of course,” the voice announced in a mournful tone, “…the Americans will end up suffering thousands of dead and wounded.”