98 A Risky Tour 1

"Oh, finally," one said, "we can now continue the tour. There is so much to see in the doctor's new building."

"That was creepy," another said. "Thankfully, it did not last long."

"Goodness, that almost gave me a heart attack."

For the two Biker Brothers, it was a moment of panic. They searched around them but Mang Tomas and Kiko were not around. They got separated and having not thought of such possibility, they had no concrete alternative plan. Plus the presence of a good number of people scared them even more. They tried to act normally in order not to be caught.

"Hello, everyone," a man said from what seemed to be the center of the crowd, "sorry for that sudden interruption. The circuit breaker simply tripped off so that is why we lost some electrical power. Don't worry, we have handled it really well and turned on the breaker again. For now, let us go back to business."

The boys looked at where the voice was coming from. It was the same voice that almost caught them earlier before they went out of the back of the building and after they entered in.

"It's him, right?" Bogart asked nervously.

Tonton nodded. Without a second thought, he grabbed Bogart's arms and pulled him away from the crowd. They laid their bodies flat on the wall.

"We can't let him see us," Tonton explained. "We will be in big trouble. If he is busy with the crowd, then it means he did not catch Kiko and Mang Tomas."

"Yeah, you couldn't be wrong," Bogart agreed. "And those two won't let themselves get captured. So what do we do now?"

"Let's get away from here and find the way to the basement."

"Yeah, and then we will find Jamie."

Tonton nodded. The two then walked farther away from the noisy crowd, through the hallway that became lonelier and more silent as they went through.

"The last time you were here," Bogart was asking, "where was the way that leads downstairs?"

"It was at the end of this hallway," Tonton answered. "That was before the building was fully renovated. I don't know how much they had changed in the structure so they could have put up more rooms and sealed that area."

"I hope not," Bogart. "I hope they had not changed it."

"That must be the last room over there!"

The two walked faster and soon found themselves face-to-face with an elevator.

"What's this elevator doing here?" Bogart commented. "Will this go down to the basement?"

"Possibly," Tonton answered tentatively.

"Well, we won't know unless we try."

Bogart pressed the open button but the elevator door did not open. He tried again and still nothing happened. Irritably, he pressed random buttons which surprised Tonton. Sadly, the door remained close.

"It's not working," Bogart said in dismay. "It's new I guess."

"Let's find another way then."

They moved forward and saw a closed office. They stood by the doorway, thinking of what they should do.

"Shall we enter?" Tonton asked though it was more of a suggestion than an inquiry. "There must be a way inside that goes to the basement."

Bogart smiled and nodded. He reached out to the doorknob but suddenly stopped upon touching it.

"Why?" Tonton asked in wonder.

"It is not really locked," Bogart whispered and signalled Tonton with a hush. "It's not even closed."

Tonton moved closer and saw that the door was slightly ajar. He looked up and saw the words "DR. SILVERIO ALVARADO" posted atop the upper jamb. He tapped his friend and pointed upwards.

"Oh no," Bogart whispered. "Is this the doctor's office?"

Tonton nodded. Suddenly, they heard a voice from inside the room. They froze and looked at each other.

"The doctor's in," Bogart breathed.

Without another though? , Tonton pulled Bogart away from the door and laid their backs flat on another door, just a few feet from the office.

"That was scary," Bogart said, and then turned around upon feeling a keyhole on his head. "Why is there a door here?"

Tonton looked behind his friend's back. He touched the door knob and was about to turn it around when he heard a voice whispered in his ear. "Inside," it said.

"Was it you?" he asked his friend.

"Huh?" Bogart's turned blank. "What do you mean?"

"Something whispered in my head. It said 'inside'."

"Could this be the way?"

"I don't know, but the voice's word was clear. We might as well give it a try."

Bogart produced the keys from his pocket. One by one, he tried the keys.

"There are just too many keys," Bogart complained. "Will we be able to open it?"

They were about to try another one when the hinge of the office's door suddenly creaked. It was loud against the stark silence of the hallway. The door partially opened, making the boys even more nervous. Violently, Tonton took the keys from Bogart's hands and randomly selected one and inserted it on the keyhole. Voila! To their suprise, it fitted and the door swung wide. They immediately entered and gently closed the door. Instantly, Tonton's hair stood up. It was dark but what made him more scared was the sadness and evil he smelled hanging on the air....