He Connected His Cabin To His Barn With A Tunnel – Then Winter Came
Chapter 2
By the following morning, the mountain had disappeared.
Caleb woke to the sound of wind hammering against the cabin walls.
He checked the thermometer.
Minus eleven degrees.
The snow had reached nearly four feet in some places.
He turned on the radio.
“…travel is strongly discouraged across the northern mountain region. Several roads have been closed due to drifting snow and zero visibility…”
Caleb switched frequencies.
The emergency channel was filled with static.
Then a voice broke through.
“…multiple power outages reported…”
Another voice.
“…rescue crews unable to reach several rural properties…”
Caleb looked toward the window.
He had made the right decision.
He pulled on his winter gear.
Rusty followed him to the tunnel entrance.
“Come on, old boy.”
The dog hesitated.
The wind outside howled.
Caleb opened the door to the tunnel.
Warm air moved toward them.
Rusty immediately entered.
Caleb followed.
The tunnel was only about five feet wide.
The ceiling was just high enough for him to walk comfortably.
Every twenty feet, a small LED emergency light illuminated the corridor.
He reached the barn in less than two minutes.
The animals were restless.
The horses kicked nervously.
The goats were huddled together.
Caleb checked every enclosure.
Then he looked at the barn doors.
Snow was already pushing through the gaps.
He reinforced them with wooden braces.
By noon, the storm had become much worse.
The wind reached nearly sixty miles per hour.
Snow slammed against the walls horizontally.
The roof groaned.
Caleb called Tom.
No answer.
He tried again.
Nothing.
He called the county emergency line.
The call didn’t connect.
Then his satellite radio picked up a transmission.
“Attention all mountain residents. This is an emergency advisory.”
Caleb turned up the volume.
“Due to extreme weather conditions, emergency services are currently unable to access several areas. Residents are instructed to remain indoors.”
Caleb looked around.
He had enough supplies for weeks.
Maybe longer.
But something bothered him.
The storm was too violent for November.
And the temperature was dropping faster than predicted.
He checked the weather station.
Minus eighteen.
Wind chill near minus forty.
He stared at the numbers.
Then he noticed something else.
The barn’s exterior temperature sensor had stopped transmitting.
He grabbed his flashlight.
“Stay here.”
Rusty barked.
Caleb entered the tunnel.
When he reached the barn, he found the problem.
The sensor cable had been torn loose.
Not by snow.
It had been cut.
Caleb crouched beside the wall.
The cut was clean.
He stared at it.
Someone had been outside.
Recently.
He looked around the barn.
Nothing appeared disturbed.
He checked the doors.
Locked.
Windows intact.
Then he noticed footprints.
Barely visible beneath the snow that had blown inside.
They came from the back of the barn.
Caleb followed them.
The footprints ended near the old storage room.
His heart began beating faster.
He opened the door.
Nothing.
Just tools.
Old lumber.
Boxes.
Then he heard something.
A faint metallic sound.
From underneath the floor.
Caleb froze.
He moved toward the center of the room.
Knelt.
Tapped the boards.
One section sounded hollow.
He pried it up.
Beneath it was an old metal hatch.
Caleb had never seen it before.
His father had never mentioned it.
He wiped away the dirt.
There was a symbol engraved into the metal.
A circle surrounding a mountain.
Caleb recognized it.
He had seen the same symbol once before.
Years ago.
On an old photograph in his father’s desk.
He had assumed it was a military insignia.
Now he wasn’t so sure.
The hatch had no handle.
Only a keyhole.
Caleb stood slowly.
He suddenly remembered something his father had told him shortly before he died.
“Some things under this mountain should stay buried.”
At the time, Caleb thought he was talking about the old mine shafts.
Now he wondered.
Maybe his father had known about this hatch.
Maybe the tunnel wasn’t the first tunnel beneath the property.
Maybe Caleb had accidentally connected his home to something that had been hidden for decades.
Outside, the storm continued.
Inside the barn, Caleb stared at the sealed hatch.
Then someone knocked on the barn door.
Three slow knocks.
Caleb reached for his rifle.
Nobody should have been able to reach the property in this storm.
Nobody.
