The walls of the shaft were concrete. This wasn’t a hastily dug bomb shelter. Someone had taken time and resources to build it.
The Ericksons had the resources, and Amelia had the vision.
The air grew cooler as she descended, and the sounds from above faded, replaced by the echo of her breathing.
At last, Ivy’s feet touched solid ground. With her heart pounding, she stepped off the ladder and swung around, illuminating the small space.
She was standing in a room.
“You’re not going to believe this,” she called out to Poppy above.
This was not a cramped shelter, but an actual underground room about the size of a room in a house. The construction looked old, with a floor and walls made ofconcrete discolored over the years. Her light beam swept across the space, highlighting items long shielded.
Against one wall was a small desk with a chair. On another stood shelves holding what looked like supplies. A stack of books sat on a table with two chairs.
“Ivy?” Poppy’s voice echoed down the shaft. “What do you see?”
“A room. Like a bunker or bomb shelter. It’s okay, come down.”
After a moment, Poppy appeared on the ladder, descending more quickly than Ivy had. She reached the bottom and immediately raised her flashlight, the stronger beam illuminating more.
“Oh, wow, this stuff is old,” Poppy said, pausing her light on several faded magazines. “Have you ever heard ofLifemagazine?”
“That’s an old one. What’s the date on it?”
Poppy peered closer. “This one’s from 1943, and another from 1944.”
“And look at all this equipment.” Ivy swept her beam over the desk.
Binoculars sat next to what looked like a viewing apparatus. The device looked intricate and specialized, though she had no idea what it was. Several old notebooks with stained covers sat to one side.
“This is incredible,” Poppy whispered, moving closer to the desk.
Ivy stood in awe of the dusty treasures. “Remember how Amelia converted the house to care for recuperating service women and men during the war? This must have been a lookout post. The binoculars, the viewing equipment. An attack occurred a little farther north on the coast,so I’ll bet this was used to watch for enemy ships. Or possibly as a shelter.”
Poppy looked around in amazement. “Maybe both.”
Ivy moved to the shelves, finding tins and canned goods with faded labels that were still legible. Other small boxes were wrapped in oilcloth.
Behind them, Shelly’s voice echoed down the shaft. “What’s taking so long? Did you find the treasure?”
“Nothing like that,” Ivy called back. “But something better. A treasure trove of history.”
Poppy touched a pin-up poster of a blond woman in a one-piece bathing suit looking over her shoulder. “This is like a time capsule.”
“Is it safe down there?” Shelly called out.
“Seems to be,” Ivy replied. “The structure is solid. I wish you could see this.”
There was a brief moment of silence.
Then Shelly’s voice echoed through the shaft. “I’m coming down. But if that ladder collapses on me, I’m haunting both of you forever.”
They waited while Shelly descended, complaining about ladders and dark spaces all the way. When she finally reached the bottom, she stood for a moment, breathing hard.
Then she saw the room.
“Oh, my gosh,” Shelly said, turning around with wonder in her eyes. “It’s like we stepped into a time capsule.”
