Chapter 7
Seven
Bex
Nothing exciting happens the next morning during breakfast. Ruby is bright-eyed and cheery as she sets out a morning feast that is, just as Maureen promised, delicious. I’m still in awe whenever I see her carrying that enormous tray, loaded with food or empty dishes.
Nina hasn’t commented on Ruby’s strength, which doesn’t surprise me.
My sister has been a slender twig for as long as I’ve known her, no matter how much she indulges in food.
And food is her weakness. Nina has always enjoyed a good meal, and with the new varieties Ruby prepares, I imagine my sister’s attention and excitement lie in exploring the edible delights.
And like last night, Nina insists Ruby share all her recipes.
When done, Maureen offers to take us on a tour of the town. Both my sister and I finish our coffee, eager to learn more about what life is like in Gravers Junction.
It’s another beautiful sunny day outside.
There isn’t a cloud in the sky. And to my surprise, there’re folks out and about, working and talking like in any other town.
Yesterday when we arrived, this place could easily have been mistaken for a ghost town.
But not today. People are standing around talking and carrying baskets of food, while across the street, a group of men hammers boards over a broken picture window.
With no form of signage except for the inn, there’s no way to tell what’s inside any of these buildings.
Maureen whistles, grabbing our attention. She proceeds along the boardwalk that connects to the adjacent building. Nina and I follow, our dress boots sounding much louder than Maureen’s worn leather ones.
“There are no children.” Nina leans closer and whispers behind one hand so only I can hear.
“Huh?”
“Where are all the kids?”
We continue to follow Maureen out into the middle of the dirt road that cuts straight through town, and Nina’s right—there isn’t a single child running around or following the skirt of a mother.
Before I can inquire, Maureen stops and says, “You won’t find another town like Gravers Junction anywhere else in the world.
I can guarantee you that.” She turns, facing back toward the inn, but points to the building next to it and then drags her finger through the air, pointing to the other four buildings that follow.
Lush grass occupies the narrow gaps between the structures.
“All those buildings there…well, they aren’t real.”
Her last word catches me off guard. “Real?” I repeat, unsure if I heard her correctly. At the same time, Nina asks, “What do you mean, ‘they aren’t real’? Like you can’t go inside?”
“Oh, you can go inside, but they aren’t trading posts or service buildings. You see,” she says, walking over to the single-story building closest to the inn, “we don’t get many travelers passing through town needing supplies or looking to send a post.”
“I can believe that,” I say as we step into a small front room.
There’s nothing in it but a few chairs and an old leather trunk tucked under the window…
then it hits me that the window inside isn’t the same size as the one on the outside.
I go back out, measure it with my eyes, and return.
There is no doubt that the interior window is much smaller.
“What’s going on here?” I ask, pressing a hand to the front wall that’s covering the picture window. A rectangle cutout sits right where the full window should be. I can see outside through it, but it’s barely wide enough for both Nina and me to look through.
Maureen comes over and lifts a hanging doorway on hinges and then locks it into place, covering up the cutout completely. It’s a lookout. She knocks a curved knuckle on the front wall and adds, “We fortified the walls with hammered-out sheets of iron.”
“What does that even mean?” Nina asks, mimicking Maureen and knocking on the wall.
“It means there’re basically two walls here, and between them are sheets of iron metal.”
I make a guess as to why, and say, “Bullets, right? To keep them from getting inside.”
Maureen nods. “And so far, it’s worked. We got really lucky in finding this smithy guy. His ideas are far beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”
Looking about the room, I ask, “What’s behind the closed door?”
“Come on, I’ll show you.” She’s a hard walker as her boots pound against the floorboards across the room.
She lifts the iron latch, and we make our way into the back room.
There’s another cutout at the back, with a chair next to it.
There’s also a small table with two chairs off to the side.
What throws me is the staircase leading underground.
I walk over and stare down. “I’ve seen underground cellars where people keep food from spoiling, but they’re never inside a home.”
Maureen comes over next to me. “It doesn’t lead to a cellar.
And it’s the only way we stay safe from the evils out there.
” She gestures with a nod to the front of the building.
“If you want to survive Graveyard Territory, then you’ve got to adapt to the land.
And here, the land doesn’t provide trees, rivers, or mountains—only the earth beneath our feet. ”
Without another word, she disappears down the stairs. I’m about to go down too when I notice Nina staring at the stairwell opening and shaking her head. I hurry over to her and cup her shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
Her trembling gaze drifts from its target to me. “There’s something powerful down there, Bex. Maybe you’re right. Maybe we shouldn’t get mixed up in whatever these people are fighting.”
“Maybe,” I say, giving her some reassurance that I haven’t settled on what I want to do. “You know that this is something we both have to agree on, right? Staying here doesn’t only affect me, but you too. And we’ll make that choice together, when the time comes.”
She gives me a small smile. “Thank you.”
I pull her in for a hug. Then after, I say, “So if you want to leave, then we’ll leave. But I am curious to know exactly what’s going on here. What secrets does this town hide?”
She nods, and we head down the stairs. At the bottom, Maureen holds open a large wooden door reinforced with iron cross plates.
When we reach the bottom, I’m once again taken aback.
There’s a long, wide hallway stretching out in both directions, to our left and right.
The walls and ceiling are tightly lined with the same pine planks as inside the inn.
Thick support beams are embedded in the walls and ceiling every ten or fifteen paces, with lanterns hanging like sconces on the walls.
The warm light brightens this underground passage.
Two metal pipes run the length of the hall, snug against the ceiling on opposite walls. One is copper, the other a slightly larger cast iron pipe.
“What are those?” I ask, pointing to the two metal pipes.
“Observant. Good. And I’ll get to those soon. Right now, come along.” Maureen waves for us to keep up.
Her brisk pace has us moving quickly down the hall, which is unfortunate because I want to explore and see what all’s down here. We pass several closed doors on both sides of the hall. One door is open, and I can’t resist stopping to peek inside.
There’s a small cold wood stove, a table with two chairs, a waist-height bookcase full of books, and a full-size cabinet.
The lantern hanging on a hook over the table is dark, so I push the door open more, letting more light from the hall inside.
From out of the shadows, at the back of the room, a door frame reveals itself.
Through it, is the faint outline of a bed.
“This is where you all live? Underground?” I ask, shouting loud enough for Maureen to hear me.
She and Nina have gotten away from me, but not out of sight. Maureen waves to me and shouts, “Yes, yes, now hurry and come here!”
I leave the door open and hurry toward them.
Maureen climbs another set of stairs, and Nina’s trailing behind.
I gather my skirt in my hands and follow.
When we reach the top, Maureen’s standing in a storage room filled with crates, barrels, potato sacks, brooms, and even a few weapons.
She opens the door and gestures for us to look.
Nina steps out first, and I follow to see we’re now standing in the back hall of the inn.
The kitchen is straight across from us, where Ruby is washing the dishes from breakfast.
“Do all the buildings connect?” I ask, glancing back at the stairs.
“Aye, they do,” Maureen says with a proud smile. “And not just this side of town. You can get to the other buildings too.”
“That must’ve taken years to dig out.” I move over to the stairs, ready to go back down and explore more of what they’ve built underground.
“Hold on there,” Maureen says, shaking a hand to me. “There’s plenty of time to explore down there. What I want to show you next is outside.” She turns and walks out into the parlor room, and Nina shrugs before turning on her heels to see what Maureen wants us to see next.
Ruby steps out of the kitchen, drying off her hands on a dishrag, and says, “Oh, I think I’ll come with ya. She’s going to show you my favorite part of town.”
We follow Maureen and my sister, who are now standing outside. The townsfolk are bustling about, and yet still no children. I spot the two men from yesterday, the father-son duo, and they’re talking with Garrett.