Retrieving his Maglite from where it had rolled across the concrete, Richard flicked it back on and directed the beam toward the smooth wall through which Joy had vanished. Relief surged briefly at having the light again, but panic settled in right after—Joy was gone, and nothing else mattered until he found her. His heart thudded as he took a few careful steps forward, the flashlight’s glow steady on that suspiciously even wall patch.

  Reaching out, he hesitated an inch from the surface, uncertain what to expect. Before his fingertips grazed it, the wall itself trembled. Startled, he yanked his hand back. Something rustled at the base of that section, and before he had time to react, a small, furry shape burst out from underneath. It rammed into his legs, nearly knocking him off balance.

  Richard inhaled sharply, expecting a new horror. Instead, it was Joy, her tail a blur of excited wagging, circling him with little growls and chuffing noises. Relief mixed with confusion. He sank into a crouch, intent on scooping her up and fleeing this subterranean chamber. Enough was enough.

  But the instant he reached out, Joy skittered away with a playful twist of her body. She darted forward and—impossibly—slipped right back through the wall. Richard blinked, open-mouthed. Without thinking, he lunged after her, expecting to collide face-first with solid concrete. Instead, his torso passed through something thick and pliant—like heavy fabric—and he just managed to catch himself with his free hand before sprawling onto the floor on the other side.

  The flashlight beam flared across a narrow, hidden hallway. Turning back, he realized he had pushed through a curtain stretched taut to resemble a concrete wall. Whoever had placed it here had done a remarkable job blending it in. The cloth’s surface had been painted or textured to match the rough walls. From the main chamber’s perspective, it would look seamless. Still on his knees, Richard shook his head in disbelief.

  He stood up, brushing dust from his clothes. Ahead, beyond the curtain, this new corridor was slightly wider than the one he’d descended into from the ladder. Like ozone, the air carried an odd tang, prickling at his nostrils. He leveled the Maglite forward and saw a steel podium about ten feet away, its metal surface reflecting his light in dull highlights.

  Approaching cautiously, Richard noted the podium’s height—around four feet—and inspected it. Its top bore a round opening, about two inches across. Angling the flashlight, he caught the glimmer of glass within. Probing around the edges, his fingertips found small hinges and a latch. With a quiet click, he released them and gently lifted what proved to be a lid. Inside was a projector of some sort, its lens aimed back toward the chamber’s hidden entrance.

  Stepping back toward the curtain, Richard swept his flashlight across its surface. With the beam hitting it from behind, the fabric glowed faintly. It wasn’t just a curtain—a screen designed for rear projection, expertly arranged to make illusions appear in the room's dimness. His mind raced, piecing it together: the towering creature, the rumbling voice, the eerie lights—nothing supernatural, just a carefully staged illusion.

  But why go to such lengths? Who had engineered this bizarre setup in a secret sublevel beneath the barn? And what was their purpose in conjuring such a terrifying apparition?

  These questions churned in Richard’s gut. Joy had reappeared beyond the curtain, and he needed to ensure she was safe. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that each new clue deepened the mystery. All this effort—machinery, hidden rooms, trick screens—suggested someone with resources, skill, and a secret worth guarding.

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  Drawing a steadying breath, he prepared to move forward, determined to unravel the truth behind the strange charade lurking beneath the Thompson farm.

  Beyond the concealed projection room, Richard followed Joy into a new corridor. The air here felt even closer as if something massive pressed in from all sides. The hallway opened into another chamber—this one longer than it was wide, roughly thirty feet deep and half that in width. The beam of Richard’s flashlight swept over rough, dusty concrete until it settled on something unmistakably out of place at the far end: a large, circular door carved directly into the stone wall.

  As he moved closer, the door’s complexity revealed itself. Nearly a dozen concentric rings nested one inside the other, their surfaces etched with the same cryptic symbols he’d seen on the hatch and in the old man’s notebook. Each ring held a pattern of geometric forms and markings—puzzles within puzzles. Richard’s pulse quickened. He counted the rings: precisely ten, the same number of symbols adorned the hatch outside. Was this some sort of master lock, a vault door sealing off something even more secret?

  Richard recalled the arrangement of symbols he’d carefully recorded in his notebook. He might open whatever lay beyond if he could align those symbols down the center of these rings. Nerves tightening his grip, he reached for the topmost ring and tried to twist it into position. Nothing budged. He tried another ring, then another, testing each one in turn. Every attempt ended in frustration. The rings appeared to be carved solidly into the stone. They were decorative—inscribed with meaning, perhaps—but never meant to move.

  He lowered the flashlight, disappointment gnawing at him. So much effort for a dead end? He pulled out the old man’s notebook again, flipping through pages of intricate sketches, jotted formulas, and half-finished diagrams. Maybe there was another clue hidden within these margins and scribbles.

  A low, soft “gruff” sounded behind him. Richard paused, lifting his gaze from the pages to find Joy. The pup had positioned herself along the side of the chamber, ears perked and eyes fixed on him. When they made eye contact, she let out another quiet huff and began licking her paws casually as if they were lounging at home instead of trapped underground in a secret labyrinth.

  It was then Richard realized Joy wasn’t lying against a concrete wall at all. Clearing the debris with the side of his shoe, he saw a panel of smooth metal hidden beneath dust and cobwebs. He stepped back, shining the flashlight more carefully. Half-obscured by dirt and grime, a door was set flush into the chamber’s side. This time, there are no ornate carvings—just sleek metal catching the pale light.

  Richard approached, heart, thumping with renewed hope. Next to this hidden door protruded a small rectangular box. He scraped away a layer of grime to reveal something astonishingly ordinary: a numbered keypad. The keypad lit up softly at his touch, dispelling some of the chamber’s gloom. Whoever built this place had combined ancient-seeming symbols with modern technology.

  He tried pressing a few random combinations, relying on instinct, but after half an hour of fruitless attempts, frustration weighed on him again. He needed something more systematic. He remembered a page in the old man’s notebook—numbers arranged in neat rows, much like a phone keypad. Digging through the pages, he found 1 through 9, arranged in three rows, with zero beneath the 8. The mysterious symbols on a facing page were laid out in similar rows. That had to be the cipher—each symbol represented a digit.

  Richard worked quickly, matching the symbols from the hatch pattern in his notebook to digits, then keyed them into the pad. His heart hammered as silence followed his last press. Then, a loud click reverberated through the chamber, followed by metallic clanks echoing behind the door. The sound built tension until, with a final heavy thud, the door eased open a crack.

  Prying his fingers into the small gap, Richard opened the door. It moved surprisingly smoothly for something that appeared thick and solid. The hinges yielded without protest, revealing a new darkness beyond. He stepped back, shining his flashlight into this newly accessible space. Whatever awaited them on the other side, he was one step closer to understanding the truth behind this strange underground world.

  Joy let out a soft, expectant whine at his feet, and Richard knew they had no choice but to move forward.