Miranda – A New Beginning

Chapter 50

Gary and Miranda carry on into another passage. Again, this passage veers steeply downwards. The battery on Miranda's phone dies so they are down to one light; but they have no time to stop and panic; they must keep going.

After another fifteen minutes, Miranda is completely exhausted and the passage finally opens into another chamber. At the end of this chamber there is a door which is bolted on their side.

Apprehensive at what might be behind the door, but knowing that they cannot go back, Gary and Miranda slide the bolt on the door and drag it open.

They go through the door and cross a small room to another bolted door. They unbolt this door and go through. This room is dimly lit by candles and it is not empty. Gary and Miranda are completely stunned to find the room contains four nuns and about twelve teenage school children. The nuns and the children stare at Miranda and Gary fearfully. Then, seeing that they are all as frightened as each other; one of the nuns stands up and addresses Miranda.

Nun – "Who are you?"

Miranda – "You're English! I'm Miranda, this is Gary."

Nun – "And why have you come here?"

Miranda – "We're trying to escape from some men dressed in hooded cloaks; we accidentally got locked in the Sacre Coeur and now they're after us! What are you all doing here?"

Nun – "We've been kidnapped by what sounds like the same men. We are from a small private school in London. We were visiting the Louvre when two men asked us to follow them. We were taken to a room and they locked all the doors, then the two men put on gas masks and then the room filled with smoke. The next thing we knew; we woke up in this room. We've been here for two days. One of the captors, a man named Callum Frost, worked at our school; he's in with the criminals, he's been here a couple of times with food and drink. They're holding us for ransom because one of the children has a very rich father; they've demanded twenty million pounds."

Gary – "Blimey; well, I'm afraid they'll be on their way back here soon, we need to find a way out."

Nun – "We've looked, there's no way out. The children have tried their mobiles; there is no reception down here."

Miranda – "There must be a way out; if you were all moved here while you were unconscious, then they can't have brought you far."

Gary – "That's a very good point."

Miranda – "And you can't have come the way we did because that's a one way journey back to the Sacre Coeur. There must be another exit from this room, everyone spread out and look!"

Spurred into action; the whole party start looking in every corner for a way out.