The Abandoned House and the Secret Sewers

And yet, Marcus did not give up, for his goal of finding his father and living an adventure blinded him to what he was doing, but he did not realize that his actions would lead him to the abyss.

Our young friend arrived at that place, that house whose condition was strange. He entered through one of the doors, and to his misfortune he found it open. He went in, and his body began to shiver with intense fear, but this did not stop him from entering, for his curiosity outran his thought.

No sooner had he entered and lit his lantern than the door closed and vanished, and he was trapped inside that house like a bird inside a cage. He could not get out.

Marcus felt his breath catching inside the place, and his heartbeat quickening with intense fear. He composed himself and eased his tension, and began to walk with his lamp around the place like a lost fish. He reached the middle of the room, when he caught sight of a circular disc resembling a drain. He pulled it off with all his strength, and discovered that it was a system of sewers.

He climbed down into them using the ladder, and was astonished by what he saw. He saw secret rooms lit by old, dim lamps. He felt as though he were in the middle of a fantastical story, yet it was real. The smell of the place reeked of various chemical substances. Fortunately for him, he had brought a protective mask with him in case it might help him.

Marcus crossed to the opposite side using a wooden plank, and opened the door of one of the sewers. The room was pitch black, lit by no lamps, so Marcus again made use of his lantern.

He had glimpsed something strange, so he headed toward it, and there he saw a pile of skeletons heaped in the corner of the place. Their corpses had already decomposed.

Marcus did not know what to do, how to act; he was utterly bewildered. Just as he was about to leave the room, he caught sight of a strange book placed on one of the tables in the place. It was a black book, heavy in size, and its pages were yellowed.

Marcus lay down on the floor beside his lantern, and began to open the book and read what was in it:

"the Hidden Underground Depot for illegal human experiments."

He trembled for a moment, and felt his breath growing heavier little by little. He continued reading in a trembling voice, filled with a feeling he had never known before. Most of the page had written on it all the names of those involved in this Organization:

Sulayman al-Qazfi — Koshima village — 3 2 1 — Note: dead

Omar Khouri — Ohio village — 6 8 9 — Note: missing

Pablo Peter — Oshida village — 9 5 6 — Note: dead

Salim Abd al-Rafi'i — Koroya village — 8 8 1 — Note: dead

Marcus was shocked when he read the last name; he had not at all expected what his eyes had seen. The name of his lost father, indeed his dead father, was among the names recorded in that book.