99 A Risky Tour 2

"Yes, this is the way," Tonton answered. "But this is different from what I can remember."

"But equally creepy, right?"

Tonton smiled. Indeed, it was frightening despite the bright light. It was the eerie silence that got his hairs standing.

They walked down the stairs until they reached the foot. What waited them was a seemingly endless hallway. Rooms were on each side of the hallway, and far ahead, there appeared to be a corner, possibly leading to another stairs or some doors to more rooms. The basement area was painted in immaculate white and the clear glow of the bulbs made the place even more sparkingly drab. Not a sound could be heard except for their little footsteps and tense breathing.

"I feel something bad about this place," Bogart broke the silence.

"This place is really bad," Tonton answered. "Jaime should be here."

They began walking ahead but when Tonton touched a wall with his right hand, a sudden bolt of chilling energy ran through him. He jumped back and fell on the ground. In his vision, the place had turned dark. He could see nothing but pitch darkness.

Tonton ran, hoping to see the way out. Then from a distance, he saw a small figure in white, like a bright dot on a black canvass. He slowly walked ahead and as he was nearing it, the dot began to take shape. It was human, specifically, it was a boy. To his horror, it was Jamie. He was tied to a bed, slumped and lifeless like a piece of worn rug. His heart stopped beating, broken at the miserable sight of his friend. He tried to inch closer but each step was heavier than the previous. And then, the body twitched and Jamie's head moved upwards. His face was pale as twilight sky and his eyes were deathly hollow as he struggled to speak.

"I'm here," Jamie spoke and smiled difficultly.

Tonton felt a violent shake and he immediately woke up and sat up straight. The first thing he saw was Bogart's face which was hazy against the bright background. He was dreaming and he was thankful he had his friend to rouse him.

"What happened?" Bogart asked worriedly. "You suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed."

"I had a vision again. And we are right, Jamie is here."

Just then, a loud bang on a door echoed through the basement area. It was a sign....

Meanwhile, Kiko and Mang Tomas went with the crowd in the tour. They had no better choice but blend with the people. It was bright everywhere and if they tried to slip, some people might notice them. They were particularly wary of the man who chased them. They did not get a glimpse of his face so he could be any man in the crowd.

"Mang Tomas, what do we do now?" Kiko asked while tugging the old man on his shirt's hem.

"How? There's too many people. They might catch us."

Before Mang Tomas could speak, the people gathered around as heavy footsteps went to the center of the crowd. He was asking the people to assemble as he had some announcement to make. Mang Tomas and Kiko took this chance and slowly moved away. The two quickly slipped when the man started addressing the people.

"It was him, right?" Kiko asked as they were studying the rooms in their way. "He was the one who almost caught us. I know it from his voice."

"You are right," Mang Tomas answered. "He is the one so we should be more careful. We cannot let him see us."

"We are far from him right now. He could not see us."

"Maybe not now. What about later?"

Kiko thought and after a sigh, he said, "It does not matter for me. What is more important is that we see Jaime again."

Mang Tomas smiled, amazed at how close their friendship was.

"Over here, there is an elevator," Kiko called out.

Mang Tomas ran up to him and studied the elevator. He tried several buttons but nothing happened. He could not even hear any sound coming from inside the elevator.

"I think this is a private elevator."

"What do you mean?"

"This elevator cannot just be used by anyone. One has to type the password first before it would open and take you to any floor in the buiding."

"So we can't use it to go down?"

"Yes, it is impossible. For now, we need to go ahead and search another way to the basement."

They had just moved a few inches when Mang Tomas noticed the name inscription atop the door jamp of the room. Without second thought, he scooped up Kiko and walked briskly towards another door, the only ones left they had not explored yet.

"What happened, Mang Tomas? You scared me."

The old man hushed Kiko.

"Keep your voice down. The doctor could just be inside that room. It's his office."

Kiko looked up and saw the doctor's name. His jaw dropped, realizing how close they were from being caught again.

"That was dangerous," Kiko commented. "There are no rooms and doors here except for that one."

"Last one to try."

Mang Tomas reached for the door and to his surprise, it was not locked. He pushed it gently and a wide stairway waited for them.

"Let's go down," Mang Tomas said. "Thankfully, there is some light here."

"Could Tonton and Bogart be down there."

"I hope so. They could even be the ones who left this door open."

Slowly, they entered the room and began walking down the concrete stairs. Unknown to them, Morgan had already finished his speech and was already going towards Dr. Alvarado's office. But before he could knock on the door, he observed that the door nearby was slightly ajar. That was the off-limits door. He flinched, knowing that someone or some people had found the secret doorway....