“Am I the sacrificial canary?”
Brandon chuckled. “No. I figured since you discovered its existence, you deserve to go down first.”
“I’ll go!” Lara called.
Ed laughed. “I can at least wipe the cobwebs away, La La.”
Tess shivered. Suddenly the cellar wasn’t quite as appealing.
Darcy handed Ed a cobweb duster from the shelf, and Ed stepped on the first stair, testing his weight. The wood creaked but held.
He made his way down, cautiously testing each step. “There’s a lightbulb in the ceiling,” he said. “Must be a switch somewhere.”
Darcy pointed to the light switch next to the door. “Try the bottom switch. It’s never worked for anything.”
Amy flicked the switch, and light shone out of the cellar hole.
“Holy crap,” Ed called. “This is amazing.”
Lara danced from foot to foot as Brandon descended. “Look at all this stuff.”
Tess clutched her hands together and fought not to emulate Lara in her excitement.
“Can we come down?” Darcy called.
“Yeah, there’s plenty of room. Must cover the entire kitchen area.”
Darcy grabbed Lara as she sprang for the hatch. “Slowly, pumpkin. Those steps haven’t been used in years.”
“But Ed and Brandon were fine.”
She had a point, but still Darcy went first, examining each step. At the bottom he announced, “They seem safe.” He gestured to Lara, who trotted down. “Awesome!”
The others surged forward. Matt joined Tess, waiting for her turn. “Georgie’s going to be mad she missed this.”
He was right. “Should you call her?” Tess asked.
He hesitated and then sighed, pulling out his phone. He took a photo of the hatch and then typed a message.
Almost immediately, his phone rang. His eyes lit up, but when he answered, all he said was, “What do you want, Freckles?”
Tess could hear Georgie’s voice from where she stood. “What’s going on?”
“Tess discovered the farmhouse has an old cellar. The others are down there now.”
“Show me.”
He sighed as if he was suffering. “I’ll video call you back.”
His entire body language shifted from excited to bored as he phoned her back and then entered the cellar. Georgie’s cry of surprise was loud.
Ed poked his head above the floorboards. “Are you coming?”
Tess smiled. “I didn’t want to get in the way.”
“You’re the reason we’re all down here. Come on.” He waved her over.
The lightbulb was weak, but it threw enough light to see the walls of the area, all lined with wooden shelves. The floor was paved with stone and a little uneven, and several posts helped to support the floor above. One post had a rope around the base. Had Charlotte tied her children in there? Tess wrapped her arms around herself. It was cold and musty. With the light off and the hatch closed, it would be pitch black and scary. Those poor children.
