31. Turning the Wheels

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The Engineers have knowledge.

Humans have creed.

The Manuals of the Bunker, Vol. 3, Verse 38

 3, Verse 38

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Our feet clapped on the tunnel's flat, gray floor as we ran. It didn't matter—Wolfe knew we were here.

The passage widened at an intersection. We stopped, and I looked back. There was no sight of our pursuer yet, but the sound of his footsteps was unmistakable.

One tunnel branched off to the left, and another one went straight on. Both were dark and much larger than ours.

A small box with three buttons hung on the wall next to us. I pushed one at will. It switched on the lights in one of the tunnels before us. The next button extinguished those in the corridor we had come from.

"Wolfe will run through the dark now," Amy said, grinning.

I pushed the last button, and the tunnel to the left lit up.

"What do you think?" I said. Both tunnels before us were wide enough for six or more people waling side by side without them touching the walls of raw rock. Both curved away, their ends out of sight.

Amy clicked her tongue. "This one!" She pointed to the one ahead.

We ran.

The tunnel took a left turn, and we ended up in a square hall where we came to a halt.

The only sound came from our panting.

Amy looked back. "Maybe he gave up when we switched off the light. Ye cavern dwellers fear the dark."

"I don't think Wolfe gives up that easily," I said. "He's as stubborn as you are. But maybe he went into the other tunnel."

The hall was bare except for a bench along the wall opposite, a row of rusty cabinets to the left, and two doors to the right. The smell of wet metal and corrosion was in the air.

Amy strode to the cabinets and opened one. Its hinges screeched, and it was empty.

"Let's check out the doors," I said. We didn't have time to pilfer the place. We had to get out of here before Wolfe arrived.

I studied the larger one of the two doors. It was wider than the entrance to the temple. The other had a more regular size. A small window, not larger than my hand, sat in its upper half. A metal wheel was mounted below it. Curious, I peered through the grimy glass. The room beyond was cast into a weak, green-gray light, not strong enough to reveal any details.

Pushing me aside, Amy peeked through the window, too. "Let's try this." She grabbed the wheel and turned it. Then she pulled.

Stale air hit my nostrils as the door swung open.

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