Read Online The World Beneath (Joe Tesla) by Rebecca Cantrell - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Rebecca Cantrell
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been walled in alive.
As much as he was repulsed by their terrible deaths, the mystery intrigued him. Who had walled them in here? And why had Rebar searched for them and brought them to light?
Rebar’s arm trembled. Shadows formed and broke. Joe withdrew his head.
“I found it,” Rebar whispered. “It will save me, the treasure in there.”
“Treasure?”
Rebar lowered the lantern to the dirt. He fingered the greasy handle of his hammer. “It’s mine, sir.”
Joe’s heart raced. They were alone down here. No one to stop Rebar from doing whatever he wanted. Possibilities clicked through his head, but it came down to fight-or-flight. Rebar was bigger than he was, armed with a hammer, and insane.
He took a careful backward step. “I understand that. It’s yours.”
Rebar cocked his head as if listening.
The tunnel was silent. Joe backed up, eyes on the hammer. He came up hard against the pillar.
“We need to tell them, sir,” Rebar said. “Before the end of the month.”
“Tell them what?” Joe asked. His heart thudded against his ribs. He wasn’t an action hero, he was a nerd. He couldn’t disarm a man with a hammer. Next to him, Edison growled.
“You don’t know?” Rebar asked. “What’s your name? What are you doing here?”
Rebar’s muscles corded in his neck. He lifted the hammer and advanced on Joe.
Joe ran. He focused on the tracks in front of him, the tracks that had carried FDR’s train here all those years ago. If the silver rails tripped him up, he was dead. Rebar was crazy, and he’d use that hammer if he could.
Think, he told himself. Find a safe place. He headed back for the open room. Trains pulled in and out of there, sometimes, at this time of night. A driver might see him, help him.
He wasn’t a brave man. Cowardice was to be ashamed of, he knew. He’d always tried to think his way out of fights, and run if he had to. Standing and fighting was never his favorite option. And Rebar had a hammer.
Joe veered off into an unlit tunnel. He had to make sure that he wasn’t being followed. Edison loped silently next to him, calm as always.
No sound of running footsteps on the tracks. Not even the grumble of a train.
Farther down the tunnel, he and the dog slowed. Joe kept glancing over his shoulder to see if Rebar followed them. No one did.
He took a shuddering breath before continuing. This tunnel connected with another not too far ahead, and he could follow that one back to the door that opened onto his own tunnel and his house. He’d be safe there.
What had Rebar uncovered? How had he known to look there? Joe might not be a brave man, but he was a persistent one. Once something piqued his interest, he wouldn’t give up on it.
He would return to the brick room later to pry out the secrets that Rebar had kept from him. He would go back. He wouldn’t be driven away from the truth.
He entered the code and unlocked the metal door. Gesturing for Edison to go first, he hurried inside and closed the door. The green light told him that the system had armed itself again. He leaned against the inside to catch his breath and wait for his heart to slow. This was real fear, not the product of misfiring brain chemistry.
Another feeling had joined the fear. A feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Exhilaration.
Joe let the feeling wash over him. Ever since he’d become trapped inside, his world had diminished. He’d lost his job, his friends, the sky. He tried not to dwell on it and keep going, but his new life had weighed him down in a thousand ways.
Tonight he’d caught a glimpse of something new, something exciting—a mystery that was to be found only in the world beneath. He had to solve it. He had to figure out who Rebar was, why he was there, and how the train car came to be bricked in. It might be dangerous, but he’d risk a lot to keep feeling this alive.
As he followed Edison toward his front door, he couldn’t stop grinning.
Things were going to
As much as he was repulsed by their terrible deaths, the mystery intrigued him. Who had walled them in here? And why had Rebar searched for them and brought them to light?
Rebar’s arm trembled. Shadows formed and broke. Joe withdrew his head.
“I found it,” Rebar whispered. “It will save me, the treasure in there.”
“Treasure?”
Rebar lowered the lantern to the dirt. He fingered the greasy handle of his hammer. “It’s mine, sir.”
Joe’s heart raced. They were alone down here. No one to stop Rebar from doing whatever he wanted. Possibilities clicked through his head, but it came down to fight-or-flight. Rebar was bigger than he was, armed with a hammer, and insane.
He took a careful backward step. “I understand that. It’s yours.”
Rebar cocked his head as if listening.
The tunnel was silent. Joe backed up, eyes on the hammer. He came up hard against the pillar.
“We need to tell them, sir,” Rebar said. “Before the end of the month.”
“Tell them what?” Joe asked. His heart thudded against his ribs. He wasn’t an action hero, he was a nerd. He couldn’t disarm a man with a hammer. Next to him, Edison growled.
“You don’t know?” Rebar asked. “What’s your name? What are you doing here?”
Rebar’s muscles corded in his neck. He lifted the hammer and advanced on Joe.
Joe ran. He focused on the tracks in front of him, the tracks that had carried FDR’s train here all those years ago. If the silver rails tripped him up, he was dead. Rebar was crazy, and he’d use that hammer if he could.
Think, he told himself. Find a safe place. He headed back for the open room. Trains pulled in and out of there, sometimes, at this time of night. A driver might see him, help him.
He wasn’t a brave man. Cowardice was to be ashamed of, he knew. He’d always tried to think his way out of fights, and run if he had to. Standing and fighting was never his favorite option. And Rebar had a hammer.
Joe veered off into an unlit tunnel. He had to make sure that he wasn’t being followed. Edison loped silently next to him, calm as always.
No sound of running footsteps on the tracks. Not even the grumble of a train.
Farther down the tunnel, he and the dog slowed. Joe kept glancing over his shoulder to see if Rebar followed them. No one did.
He took a shuddering breath before continuing. This tunnel connected with another not too far ahead, and he could follow that one back to the door that opened onto his own tunnel and his house. He’d be safe there.
What had Rebar uncovered? How had he known to look there? Joe might not be a brave man, but he was a persistent one. Once something piqued his interest, he wouldn’t give up on it.
He would return to the brick room later to pry out the secrets that Rebar had kept from him. He would go back. He wouldn’t be driven away from the truth.
He entered the code and unlocked the metal door. Gesturing for Edison to go first, he hurried inside and closed the door. The green light told him that the system had armed itself again. He leaned against the inside to catch his breath and wait for his heart to slow. This was real fear, not the product of misfiring brain chemistry.
Another feeling had joined the fear. A feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Exhilaration.
Joe let the feeling wash over him. Ever since he’d become trapped inside, his world had diminished. He’d lost his job, his friends, the sky. He tried not to dwell on it and keep going, but his new life had weighed him down in a thousand ways.
Tonight he’d caught a glimpse of something new, something exciting—a mystery that was to be found only in the world beneath. He had to solve it. He had to figure out who Rebar was, why he was there, and how the train car came to be bricked in. It might be dangerous, but he’d risk a lot to keep feeling this alive.
As he followed Edison toward his front door, he couldn’t stop grinning.
Things were going to
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