“We must split up into groups of about 3-4 people each,” he said. Just enough people per group to be helpful to one another, without the risk of someone getting separated from their group members. Or taken…
The crowd of people did as Daniel asked in record time. When the groups were formed, the only people who remained were Daniel, Rose and Tarrance. Daniel looked to count the number of groups they had. He counted 12 groups, excluding himself and Rose and James’s father.
“We can cover more ground if two groups go to each area of the theater, including the veranda, the basement, the upper and lower balconies, the theater lobby, and even the alleys surrounding the building. Please, make your choices quickly and head to your designated areas. And make sure you check every corner, and under every seat. We cannot miss a single clue, however small or seemingly insignificant.”
Once more, the people in the theater followed Daniel’s request with no questions or issues. As they set off for their respective search missions, Daniel and Rose approached Tarrance, who was looking more exhausted and ill with each passing moment.
“Mr. Bolds,” Daniel asked quietly. “You once worked here, did you not?”
“Aye,” the man said, his breathing labored, and his eyes bruised and heavy. “I worked here for many years, since before James was born.”
“Is there anywhere else you can think of where we might be able to look for James?” he asked. He felt that the chances were small, but he had to be sure that they searched every possible place. He had no idea if whomever was doing this would actually do the young boy harm, but if the previous events in the theater were any indication, he knew he could not take that risk.
“Well, I assume that the old underground tunnels are still running under this place,” Tarrance said.
Rose’s mouth fell open, and Daniel looked up sharply at the elderly man.
“Underground tunnels?” he and Rose asked in unison.
“Yes,” he said. “They used to be used for all sorts of things but became essentially abandoned as the theater was remodeled and updated.”
“Are those tunnels still accessible?” Daniel asked, feeling his heart constrict in his chest.
“I believe so,” he said. “There is a trap door that once used to lead to a small storage space. When I was last here, the door had been covered with empty crates, so that no hapless actor tripped and fell down into it before they sealed off the room. If the two of you do not know about it, however, that likely means that it was never sealed.”
“Can you guide us to the trap door?” Daniel asked.
Tarrance shook his head apologetically.
“I fear that I would only cost you valuable time,” he said.
“Could you draw us a map on the back of this letter?” Rose asked, the desperation apparent in her voice.
“I believe so,” Tarrance said with a nod.
Daniel nodded quickly to Rose, who rushed off to find a pen and ink well. She returned within moments, and Tarrance drew them a crude, but legible, map. Daniel held it in his hand, taking care to not smudge the ink or wrinkle any of the lines.
“Do you know who else might know about that door?” Rose asked, her voice close to panic.
The older man shrugged.
“Anyone who has worked here long enough or was working here before the trap door was covered up could know,” he said. “And any one of those people could have told others.”
Daniel nodded. Tarrance had said exactly what he had feared he would say. He struggled to think quickly. He was no more relieved, despite having a solid lead on James’s possible location. He started to gently take Rose’s arm and lead her to the trap door, but he stopped and turned back to James’s father.
“Is there anything else we should know about the area down there?” Daniel asked.
“Nothing for sure,” the man said. “That is, not something I ever saw for myself. However, rumors once circulated that there is a lake down there, uncovered by the builders of the theater, that was converted into a water reservoir when they realized that they could not drain it.”
Daniel felt his heart stop once more. If what Tarrance said was true, the situation was even more dire than any of them had realized.
“Thank you, Mr. Bolds,” Daniel said. He reached once more for Rose’s arm, but she was already rushing ahead of him, in the direction of the section of the theater that would take them closest to the trap door.
They ran in silence, with only their heavy breathing filling the air. Daniel struggled to keep up with Rose, though she seemed to know where she was going well enough. Only once the torch lighting was too sparse to keep carelessly rushing ahead did she slow her pace and let Daniel catch up to her. Daniel prayed that there would be some source of light once they reached the tunnels.
“Who could possibly remember to keep these lit?” Rose breathed, her thoughts similar to Daniels.
“Someone who might come down here for precisely this reason,” Daniel said gravely. The pair remained silent, until they reached the spot on the map that marked the trap door. To their horror, they saw that there were no whole crates atop it any longer, but wooden splinters and broken planks. Someone had, indeed, recently used the trap door, and had somehow broken the crates that covered it. The dread Daniel was feeling multiplied, and he hurried down the rusted metal ladder that led down into the tunnels. Once he was firmly on the ground below, he reached up to help Rose safely down.
Daniel noticed that there were, in fact, dim torches burning every few feet throughout the tunnels, at least, as far as they could see. However, Daniel was no longer certain whether this was a good sign. Fortunately, the map, although drawn in haste, was detailed enough to guide them and prevent the two of them from getting lost. Daniel hoped fiercely that they would stumble upon the bastard responsible for this as they traversed the tunnels. But the young boy’s life and well-being took precedence, and Daniel prayed with all his heart that they would find James down there, alive and unharmed. The culprit could be dealt with soon enough, so long as James was alright.
After weaving through the tunnels for what felt like hours, Rose and Daniel came to a wide opening that led into a more brightly lit cavern. Daniel checked the map but, to his dismay, the map showed little detail that might indicate what the cavern was supposed to be. They moved slowly in a straight line away from the mouth of the tunnel. They did not wish to stray too far from their guaranteed way back into the theater’s basement. As they moved forward, they saw that the ground began to dip steeply. Moving at a painstakingly slow pace, they peered down to see if they could see what was below where they were standing. As soon as they got a look at it, Rose gasped.
“It looks as if we found the reservoir,” Daniel whispered to himself.