The Emerald Key - By Christopher Dinsdale Page 0,83

of the finished first lock, Jamie noticed that the canal behind the lock was full of water from the distant Lake Erie. The water was being held back by the set of large wooden doors. They came to a stop at the top of a metal ladder that led down into the bottom of the empty lock.

“Climb down!” he ordered.

“Down there?” Jamie argued. “We’ll be sitting ducks! It will be like shooting fish in a puddle! We won’t have a chance!”

Ryan gripped his brother’s shoulder. “Trust me!”

Jamie took a deep breath and nodded to Beth.

“Go!”

Beth clambered down the ladder with Jamie and Colin close behind. Ryan glanced over to the shed while descending and, just before his head disappeared behind the stone lip of the lock, saw Wilkes running to the shed.

Bursting upon the construction site, Wilkes had scanned the open area for the children and the young men, but they were nowhere to be seen. He knew they hadn’t had time to cross the entire barren area before he’d arrived so they must be somewhere close. The shed was the logical place to hide. He limped quickly over to the door, but it was locked. He glanced in the window, checking every nook and corner of the shed. It was empty. He saw the mess hall in the distance but decided that there was no way the group could have made it all the way across before his arrival. He was just about to curse his bad luck when his ear picked up the echo of a kicked pebble. It came from the direction of the locks. Senses alert, he limped over to the edge of the first lock and looked down. Then saw Ryan, the older brother, bending down into a large round pipe at the bottom of the canal. Wilkes aimed his reloaded gun and fired. A spray of blood splattered the side of the lock as Ryan disappeared into the pipe. He’d been hit. Wilkes reloaded his gun once again. Now there was no need to rush. The whole lot of them were trapped inside the pipe. With his gun pointing at the mouth of the pipe, he walked cautiously toward the steel ladder and lowered himself down into the bottom of the lock.

“Stop here,” ordered Ryan as they huddled in the pipe. Jamie could hear him gasping for breath.

“Are you all right, Ryan?” asked Jamie, unable to see anything in the pitch darkness of the pipe. “I heard a shot.”

“I’ve been shot in the shoulder,” replied Ryan, “but I’m fine,”

“Shot?” Jamie exclaimed. “Let me see!”

“No! Listen! We don’t have much time! Wilkes knows where we are, and I can guarantee he’ll be right on our tail in just a few seconds. Jamie, I can’t move my right arm so you’re going to have to do everything. Now listen carefully. Here’s the plan.” After Ryan had explained his idea, Jamie left the children with his brother, swung open a metal door on the side of the pipe, stepped through the small opening, and entered a second pipe. He then closed the metal door behind him and locked it in place with a metal bolt.

“Ryan, I don’t like the dark.” whispered Colin.

“I know this pipe like the back of my hand,” soothed Ryan. “I know every weld and bolt, and I can walk you through it with my eyes closed.”

“But my eyes are open, and I still can’t see anything!” complained Colin.

“Shhh,” Beth commanded.

“Beth, I’ll hold your hand, and you hold Colin’s. Whatever you do, don’t let go of each other’s hand! Now follow me.”

They took a few more steps along the pipe until Ryan abruptly stopped in the pitch darkness. He sat down on the floor of the pipe. He reached back and pulled Beth down onto his lap. He then had Colin sit on her lap, as if they were ready to zoom down a snow-covered hill on a long toboggan.

“Why are we sitting like this?” she asked.

“Do you like slides?”

“Oh, yes!” said Colin.

“Well, here’s a good one for you. Beth, this has to be a silent ride. Cover his mouth and don’t let go.”

“Okay.”

Ryan put his good hand over Beth’s lips and then without warning, pushed them off the edge. Beth and Colin gave a muffled scream as they all shot straight down the pipe and into the unending darkness.

Jamie had to time his move perfectly. Reaching the base of lock number two, he slowly stuck his head out of the pipe and looked