smaller, more intimate, space.
Jenny had no idea what lay behind those tarps, and she was pretty sure that none of the other visitors knew what lay behind them either. The tour guide had instructed visitors earlier that they were to stay away from the hanging tarps and always use the main entrance and exit area when coming and going from the cavern. She had not explained her instructions, and why would she? They were all only there for a fun evening out to enjoy a dinner theater and a little time with friends and family. There was no real need for them to know every single working detail of the museum and the mines beyond.
One of the security guards shouted at the fleeing man to stop, but the man didn’t even slow his all-out sprint, his legs pumping wildly as he dodge the last obstacle, a table full of bottled water, before he reached the edge of the tarp. In a moment, he was quickly sliding behind the edge of the tarp and out of sight, the sound of his running footsteps following him into the darkness beyond.
Muttering under his breath, one of the guards started after the man, his stride long and angry as he made his way to the edge of the tarp. He glanced back at the remaining three guards, hesitating only slightly, before he too slipped beyond the tarp and disappeared behind it.
All around the room, Jenny could see the other visitors contemplating what had just happened. Tarps hung over unknown spaces in nearly a perfect half circle at the back edge of the cavern, blocking off sections on the south and east sides, and many of the people seated at the tables throughout the cavern were now eyeing these concealing tarps with some interest.
Jenny waited with bated breath. It was only a matter of time.
It happened almost instantly. Another entire tableful of guests, near the back of the cavern and situated very close to a hanging tarp, stood up in unison and bolted like a herd of frightened deer, disappearing one by one as they dodged behind the heavy tarp nearest their table..
The people who had been seated at the adjacent table leapt to their feet and followed. And then two more tables of guests emptied, the men and women all sprinting toward the tarps as if fleeing for their very lives, which, to their minds, they probably were.
The guards shouted at the people to return to their seats, but their shouts had no effect. The visitors were frightened. They wanted at least the illusion of escape. And so they fled, disregarding the shouts behind them.
The doctor was shouting now too, but the fleeing people paid no heed to him either.
Another group of visitors near the middle of the room stood and raced toward the nearest tarp, which was a good twenty feet from where their table was oriented inside the cavern. Jenny watched them flee, her heart pounding in apprehension. The situation was quickly getting out of hand.
“Stop or I’ll shoot!” one of the guards yelled, standing very close to Jenny’s table.
There was a loud clap of sound within the cavern as a gun was fired, and then one of the runners collapsed to the floor.
Stone surged to his feet in an instant, leaping sideways to grab the guard’s still extended arm. He yanked it behind the man’s back and then quickly jerked the gun from the man’s fingers before any more damage could be done.
Jenny could smell the acrid scent of spent gunpowder as it wafted from the gun. Across the room, horrified whispers began as some of the surrounding people rushed to the side of the fallen man.
The remaining two security guards approached Stone now, their guns drawn threateningly.
“Are you people insane? Where did they send you for security training, Disney World? You’ve got no idea what you’re doing!” Stone growled at them, still retaining his tight hold upon the guard. “Shooting these people will not get you anywhere. All you’re going to do is incite a riot!”
“Think, man!” Stone shook the security guard
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