Lost Boys and Golden Girls

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 3

I tapped my claws on the kitchen table, really racking my
brain for an idea.

I had been down in the small cave two or three times trying
to find some kind of secret down there, with less luck each
time.

Taking a drink of some coffee, and started to go over
everything I had found so far. Something Fox had once
refereed to as playing 'What do we Know'.

"Well first," I said, thinking out loud. "I know that over a
year ago someone apparently used the stairs in my bedroom a
lot to get down there. I also know that they spent enough
time down there to clean it."

"I also know that whoever it was didn't use the stairs in
Fox's room, or he didn't know about it." Taping my finger on
the table I though of something else. "I also know who ever
it was used the first level stairs once, maybe they found it
the same why I did."

"Whoever it was used that place a lot if they cleaned it up.
Which seams to say that they found what I'm looking for."

"So how did they find it?" I asked myself. "Did they just
stumble over it..." I trailed off as I said it. The comment
made me think of the large rock, I already went over it
carefully so I knew that wasn't it, but it sparked an idea.

Grabbing the flashlight, I dash back through my room, and
down the stairs. When I finally reached the cave I was
panting hard from the running. Sitting down on the rock I
slowly ran my flashlight over the wall.

Unlike the last time I did this, I wasn't looking for cracks
or holes, but for something I had noticed and forgotten
about. As the light reached a corner, I saw exactly what I
though I saw. One wall of the small chamber was of slightly
different stone then the rest.

Moving over to it, I made a closer inspection of the walls.
Running my paws over the corner. There was a slight texture
change in the wall, as well as a slight colour different.

I shook my head, I already had looked all over all the
walls, and I doubted I would find anything new here. Turning
to go I stumbled a bit on one of the lose stones. Falling
back against the wall the beam of my flash light passed over
something that looked a bit wrong.

Running the beam over the ceiling, I went up and down the
stalactites. After a quick search I found something. On one
stalactite, someone had carved something into the stone. At
first glance it looked like just some random lines, but
after really looking at it for a second it came to me.

The carving was of a crude down arrow.

Bending to the ground I moved under the stalactite. The only
thing under it was dust, and the rough spot where a
stalagmite had been removed.

Running my paw over that spot, I pushed a bit. The area
rocked gently. Suddenly I had an idea of what it was.
Standing back up I placed the tip of my foot on the spot,
and pressed down.

The area swiveled one edge going up, where I pushed going
down. Near instantly a loud grinding noise stated, and the
wall that had been of the wrong stone slowly started to move
to the side.

After the wall had moved a few feet, it came to a grinding
halt, and the peddle under my foot locked. Lifting my foot
off of it, making sure that it wouldn't close on me, I
approached the new doorway.

Shining my flashlight inside I found a matching peddle it
the one outside, once again I had a way out.

The hall that had been reveled moved on for about 30 feet,
ending in a room much the small cave. Though with only the
one entrance.

Swinging my light around I found a single lever next to the
door. "I've gone this far," I said under my breath as I
reached out and pushed it down.

The second I did there was a slight hum, and a steal door
slide across my entry way, locking me in. Just after that
the floor gave a lurch and started to sink.

As it descended the walls started to spread out becoming
more open, and the support beams for the descending floor
where revealed.

After a minute or later the floor of the elevator (what else
could it have been) slowed, and came even with the floor of
a large room.

Shining my light around I saw that it was huge, maybe 200
feet to a side. Bit's and pieces of furniture and exercise
equipment littered the floor. All covered with the same
layer of dust.

What really caught my attention was a small room built in
one corner. I couldn't see inside as it had no windows, just
a single door.

Moving over to it, I knocked on the door. After a few
seconds I tried the handle, and found that it wasn't locked.

The room it's self was a mess. Everything was covered with
dust, the unmade bed, the desk with it's terminal, the
clothing in the floor, the bookshelfs, and the dresser.

On top of the dresser there was a small picture in a silver
frame. Hoping to maybe find out who the person was who lived
down here, I picked it up.

Looking at the picture I let out a slight gasp, and dropped
it. Picking it back up, I looked at it once more, just to
make sure it was who I though it was.

"Oh my." I said, when I knew I had been right.