The bike was an easy fix for Adam. The chain was loose and kept slipping off the sprocket. It was also in desperate need of oil. He moved the rear wheel to tighten the chain while making sure it stayed in a straight line with the frame. When he was done, Kevin oiled the chain while Adam adjusted the handbrake. By the time they finished, they were able to take it for a few test rides before it started to get dark. A little after nine o’clock, they rolled the bike into the shed, ready to be sold.
“Shall we,” said Kevin, motioning in the direction of Town Hall.
“I just need to get the key. Do we need anything else?” asked Jimmy as he walked toward the house.
“Do you have a flashlight?” asked Adam.
Jimmy opened the back door and stopped. “Yep, I’ll grab one. Just wait out here. I don’t want you to see where the spare keys are hidden.”
Adam and Kevin nodded and stayed put. Jimmy returned a minute later carrying a flashlight.
“Isn’t there an alarm system in the building?” Kevin asked.
“I know the code, so it’s not a problem.”
They walked to the end of the street and turned the corner. Town Hall was straight ahead to the left. The main doors were well lit by a pair of floodlights, while other floodlights illuminated the pillars, making them look bigger than they actually were.
“I forgot how much light is out front,” said Jimmy. “I’m never trying to sneak in; I’ve always had permission. We could try the side door, but I don’t remember if there’s an alarm panel near there. I might not be able to make it to the front door in time to disarm it if we go in that way.”
“What happens if you don’t shut it off in time?” asked Adam.
Jimmy looked at them. “Do you remember a couple of months ago when we were in class and heard that loud siren go off? Someone tripped the alarm in the Fire Hall. Town Hall has the same alarm.”
“Oh yeah! Man, that is one loud siren. The school’s nearly a mile away,” said Kevin.
“So if we don’t get it shut off in time, I’ll be in big trouble.”
Adam had a thought. “Why don’t you go in the front door and open the side door for me and Kev? If anyone sees you going in alone they won’t think anything of it. We’ll stay in the shrubs by the side door.”
“That sounds good. Just stay hidden until you see me crack the door a little, ok?”
They split up and the two boys walked into the park making a wide circle around the building. The door was on the west side of Town Hall near the middle of the building. A row of bushes acted as a border between it and a number of backyards that faced it.
From their hiding spot in the bushes, they could see the dimly-lit side door while they waited for it to open. They waited and waited, but the door wasn’t opening, so they started to panic.
Adam whispered, “Did he get lost in there? Maybe he can’t find the side door.”
“If he had trouble with the alarm, we’d know it by now,” whispered Kevin.
Then, to their relief, the door opened a crack. Adam and Kevin sped to the door and stepped inside.
“What took you so long?” asked Adam, closing the door behind him.
“Sorry, had to use the bathroom. I couldn’t hold it any longer.”
Adam rolled his eyes. Kevin gave Jimmy a light punch on the shoulder.
Jimmy led them down the short hallway, and after a couple of turns they were down the stairs and into the basement. Because there were no windows, the lights weren’t visible from the outside. Adam understood how easy it was to lose track of time down there without any natural light.
Jimmy led them back through the storage room door and fiddled with a switch until the dim lighting started. After stepping over and around many boxes, they were back at the clearing.
Jimmy turned on the flashlight and handed it to Adam. “Go to it, you’ve got about an hour.”
Adam pointed the flashlight at the wooden panel and started a search pattern. He pointed it at the ceiling which was wide open, exposing the floor joists and some really tattered wiring for the lights. He pointed it under the stairwell, deep into the corners and anywhere else he could think of, but still saw nothing unusual. He paused at the symbol, but it looked like a simple impression in the cement.
“If either of you notice anything, you’ll tell me, right?” he said.
“You mean other than the handle back here that says ‘pull me to open secret door’?” said Jimmy, straight-faced.
Adam hesitated for a second before realizing it was a joke, which made Kevin and Jimmy laugh.
“Thanks,” he muttered, pretending to be angry as he returned the light to the panel.
He paused for a moment in thought. “Follow my logic. If the panel opened to the right, there would be wear on the left edge of the door where it hit the wall, but there isn’t any.” He pointed to the left edge. “It couldn’t open to the left, because it would hit the stairwell and make a mark at the top of the boards here.” He pointed to the top right edge.
The other two nodded in agreement.
“If you look at the face of these boards, you can see they’re worn, and the nail heads are shiny.” He pointed to some of the nails. “Normally they would be rusty or dull, unless they came in contact with something - like being opened against a wall, but there isn’t enough room on either side to open it fully.”
The act of speaking it out loud had an instant effect on Adam. He realized how the door would move, but still didn’t know how it was latched.
Jimmy spoke. “If I had a secret society and a secret room with a secret door, I wouldn’t just want to have a handle hidden somewhere to open that door. I’d want a key to give to the members, wouldn’t you?”
Adam thought about it for a moment. “Do you think this pin is a key?” He pulled the pin from his pocket and held between his fingers.
“Sure, why not. Try and stick it in the one on the wall. What’s there to lose?” said Jimmy.
"Stand back,” said Adam as he walked to the side of the panel. He placed the pin in the depression and immediately heard a click. The door fell open like a drawbridge, but not fast enough that you would get hurt by being in the wrong place. Adam noticed a pair of large springs in the lower corners of the opening that took the weight off the door. They were fastened to the large lower bolts. The upper door bolts were fastened to cables that ran through pulleys at the top of the door frame and disappeared into the wall.
Jimmy’s jaw dropped, and his eyes were wide in amazement. Kevin was smiling and looking at Adam.
“George is looking less crazy by the minute,” he said.
Adam laughed. “At least you didn’t scream when the door opened!” he said, referring to the incident earlier that day.
Kevin shook his fist at Adam with mock anger.
“Well, now we know why the top of the door is smooth here,” said Adam pointing to the top, “You grab it here to close it when you leave, I assume.” He demonstrated in the air.
“I know you like knowing how it works, but we don’t really care. We see a secret room that’s just been opened. Much more interesting, don’t you think?” Jimmy elbowed Kevin as he spoke.
“Ok ok…but I’ll go in first. We don’t want something to scare Kevin.” Adam grinned as he spoke.
Kevin shook his fist at Adam again, smiling.
Adam stepped onto the door and stopped just before the opening. He pointed the flashlight at the latch on the ceiling, then followed a cable from it to a hole in the wall. The hole opened up behind the symbol in the cement and inside looked like a ball of steel at the end of a lever.
The pin must be a magnet! thought Adam. He couldn’t wait to test it on something.
“…remember…secret room behind secret door…” Kevin tapped Adam on the shoulder to get him to keep moving.
Adam pointed the flashlight into the room. It was long and narrow, just like the storage room that led up to the drawbridge door, but lacking the Christmas decorations.
It smelled like damp paper, and was cold. The walls and ceiling seemed to be carved out of rock. Filing cabinets lined the left wall, and a strange door was carved into the rock wall at the far end.
“Do we look through the files or check out the door?” asked Adam
“Let’s think. We could read a bunch of boring old paperwork, OR we could check out another secret door that happens to be in a secret room. Hmm, so difficult to choose,” said Jimmy, full of sarcasm.
Adam shook his head while Kevin laughed.
Adam walked to the end of the room and shone the light on the door. It was made of metal, had a big handle, and seemed larger than the opening it sat in. He shone the flashlight around the frame and stopped on another bowtie symbol. It was in the wall on the right side of the door. He pulled the pin from his pocket and manoeuvred it into position. The sound of mechanisms moving came from the wall. With his other hand he slid the door into the door frame.
“Cool, retro Star Trek door!” said Kevin.
The door slid easily on its track, even though it was very heavy. Adam shone his light down and saw a row of large ball-bearings. They looked as if they had just been greased. The door itself was thick and heavy, but slid easily on the track. The tunnel on the other side looked as if it had been carved out of rock, the same way the file room was carved, although it was only wide enough for two people.
Adam stepped through the doorway and shone the flashlight back toward the door frame. As he suspected, there was another bowtie symbol next to the door on the other side.
Although he wanted to inspect the mechanism, he knew his friends wouldn’t let him stop. He shone his light straight ahead and walked toward what looked like a dead end. When he reached it, he found that it was just a visual trick and the tunnel turned sharply right.
A loud bang from behind startled them all. Adam shone the light back at the sliding door and saw that it had slammed shut behind them.
“I sure hope we aren’t locked in here!” said Kevin. “I really should have used the bathroom too.”
Adam had a nervous chuckle. “Let’s just check ahead a little further and then we’ll go back. Maybe there’s more storage here, or it’ll come out at the Fire Hall.”
Adam led the way down the tunnel. It curved slightly so that in the distance you couldn’t tell if it continued on or ended. After a short walk, Adam stopped when he came to an intersection. The tunnels now led forward, right and left.
“What do we do?” asked Kevin.
“I say we keep going straight,” said Adam.
“Sounds good,” said Jimmy. “Lead on.”
Adam continued through the intersection. The tunnel switched and now curved the opposite way, but they still couldn’t tell if it continued or ended ahead.
A short time later an opening appeared ahead. When they reached the clearing, they stopped and looked around. There were eight tunnels branching off from the clearing including the one they had just exited.
“Jimmy, stay there so we know which tunnel we came from,” said Adam. Jimmy nodded and stayed just inside the tunnel.
Adam shone his flashlight into each of the tunnels, noticing something strange. Each seemed to have the same curve to the right, giving the illusion that they ended in a short distance. There didn’t seem to be any differences between them, so whoever was using them had better know where they led or have had a map to guide them.
Adam looked at the others. “I think this is where we stop for now. I don’t want to get lost.”
“Agreed,” said Jimmy. “Besides, we need to start making our way back home.”
Jimmy led them back the way they came. When they reached the sliding door leading back to the file room, Adam placed the pin in position. He listened to the mechanism working and tried to slide the door. It wouldn’t move. He looked at the other two, concerned, and tried once more. It still didn’t move.
“You just hold that pin in there and let me open the door,” said Kevin, being the strongest of the three.
Adam placed the pin in position and heard the mechanism. Kevin pulled with all his strength. It didn’t even budge.
The boys looked at each other and thought the same thing - We’re trapped!