Chapter Five

The moon was almost directly over the hole in the ground when Scotch suddenly jerked in Biff's arms, his eyes flying open. "I'm awake!" he gasped. "What happened?!"

Biff jumped a mile. "What happened?!" he exclaimed. "We fell through the floor and you've been out cold! I thought you were dead at first!"

Scotch grimaced, bringing a hand to his head. "Ow. . . . Are you badly hurt, Biff?!" he demanded.

"Not that bad," Biff said gruffly. "But I dunno how to get us out of here."

Scotch sighed. "Oh man. . . ." He looked up at the hole high above them and then at the rock they were on. "I'm really sorry, Biff. . . . I messed up big time."

Biff sighed too. "It's my fault too," he said. "I shouldn't have let you chase that thing."

The moon shone down, sparkling on the water and touching on the edges of the shores. Scotch turned to look. "Hey . . . it looks like there's tunnels over there. . . ."

Biff looked too. "Yeah, there are. I was hoping for that. I just don't know how deep the water is to get over there."

Scotch leaned over the edge of the rock and studied it. "I think I see the bottom. . . ." He scooched over and cautiously lowered one foot into the water. "Yeah, I'm touching it. We can get across this easy."

"Good," Biff sighed. He grabbed his phone and Scotch's glove and moved closer too. "You better let me go down first. You might be pretty wobbly when you try to stand."

"I'm okay," Scotch insisted. "Really."

"Yeah, I'm not gonna buy that." Biff slid down into the water on his feet. He swayed a bit himself, but forced himself to straighten. "Come on."

Scotch stepped off the rock and stumbled into Biff's arms. "Whoa."

"See? You're not okay, nimrod," Biff scowled. Abruptly he hugged his friend close. "I didn't even know if you'd ever wake up. . . ."

"Biff . . ." Scotch looked at him in surprise. "I'm sorry. . . ." He returned the hug. "I didn't mean to cause so much trouble, but that doesn't change that I still did. I never wanted you to get hurt. . . ."

"I know." Biff kept a firm arm around Scotch's waist. "Let's not worry about that now. Let's just try to get out of here."

"Okay." Scotch drew his arm around Biff's shoulders for added balance.

It didn't take long to wade through the shallow water and get to the shore. At least half a dozen passageways greeted them. All looked dark and ominous.

Scotch winced. "Yeah, we're not going to get far in any of these before we can't see squat."

"We can use our phones for light," Biff said. "I was savin' the battery on mine for that."

That brought a grin. "Good thinking!" Biff didn't like the supernatural one bit, but he was very thoughtful and resourceful on other matters.

Biff shined his phone down each of the tunnels. "Well, that one just immediately stops several feet in," he noted, "but all the rest look open."

"And they all look pretty much the same," Scotch said. "Let's just try any of them."

They picked the one nearest to where they were standing. For some time it just went straight. But when they were completely enveloped in its blackness except for the little lights of their phones, it abruptly turned left and started to slope uphill.

"I wonder if these tunnels go under the whole town," Scotch said.

"They might," Biff said. "If we keep going this way, we'll probably end up right under the diner."

"What's even the point of them?" Scotch frowned. "I mean, who would build them and why?!"

"Maybe that's somethin' else from the old Crash Town we'll never know," Biff said. "They've probably been here that long."

"Let's hope they built exits into them," Scotch said.

"I sure do," Biff said.

They fell silent for a while as they half-walked, half-limped down the tunnel, feeling for secret passageways and shining their phones in all directions. The path seemed endless.

"Oh for crying out loud," Scotch finally grumped. "Isn't there any way out?" His voice lowered in his dismay. "I need to fix this. . . ."

". . . You can't fix everything, you know," Biff said.

"I can't fix anything," Scotch countered. "I felt so helpless the whole time we were fighting Malcolm, and then that mess ended with Radley dying. . . . I tell myself that if I'd been working as a guard, I wouldn't have left him like Billy, Clint, and Virgil did, but . . . I don't know that. I was scared enough to join Lawton. We all were."

Biff sighed. "Scared people do dumb things."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Scotch retorted. He sighed too. "I want to make everyone laugh, like Radley always can, but I can't comfort people like he does."

"Radley can't fix some things either," Biff said. "I know we all have him on a pedestal, but he's just like us. Human, I mean."

"He's . . . an amazing human," Scotch said softly. "I'm just me."

"Radley would never wanna hear you say that about yourself," Biff frowned. ". . . I don't either."

"It's true, though," Scotch said, bitter now. "I'm never any use to anyone. I tried talking like a stereotypical gang member to be tough, but nobody liked that, including me. Then I was so quiet and shy during most of the mess with Malcolm. I was just there. I tried being the comic relief so I'd have a purpose, but I just annoy Billy and you and now I got us into this mess. I was always a burden on you ever since we ran away. Why do you put up with me?"

"Because I couldn't live without you," Biff insisted. "I couldn't then and I can't now. You're my best buddy. That was always how we felt about each other. You've never been a burden."

"I know it always stressed you to have to look out for me when I wasn't 18 yet," Scotch said.

"Because I was scared of them taking you away," Biff frowned. "Didn't you know that?"

"I hoped," Scotch said softly. "But when I kept messing things up, I . . ." He looked away. "Nevermind."

Biff frowned. He had thought he knew his friend so well, but Scotch had been hiding so much pain. ". . . Hey . . . before we met, I thought I was a screw-up too," he said. "I thought I'd been used for a punching bag because I was so stupid. Then I met you, a scrappy kid who'd always stood up to the people hurtin' you instead of folding like I always did. They'd finally broke you and that's why you were so quiet. I realized we'd been hurt because we were the good guys and the bad guys didn't like us for that. And I thought . . . maybe I could learn how to be strong by helping you find your strength again. That was what I thought at first. But I got liking you for you and it wasn't about me anymore. Then you actually liked me too and ended up my best buddy. You started acting kind of happy again. And I wasn't gonna let anybody take you away and maybe start tearin' you down. Seein' you happy meant more to me than being strong or smart or anything else."

Scotch finally smiled a bit. "I felt so completely alone. Then you showed me I wasn't. I just wanted to be with you and it seemed like everything would be okay again."

"And it was," Biff said. "We stuck together and met Radley and everyone else." He hesitated. "You just be you, okay? You don't havta be all these other people too."

Scotch gave a weak laugh. "The thing is . . . after playing roles for so long . . . I'm not even sure who I really am anymore."

Biff stared at him. "Scotch . . ."

Scotch shrugged it off and looked away. "Oh hey! What do we have here?" He shined his flashlight on a rusted metal strongbox. "That thing looks like it's been here since the Old West days."

Biff bent and picked it up. "It's locked," he reported.

"And where there's a keyhole is what looks like an imprint of that medallion!" Scotch said. "So this is what it unlocks! We have to find the other half!"

"It could be anywhere," Biff sighed. "Maybe we can just make a new version of the other half by making a wax impression of the design here."

"That's a thought," Scotch said. "We'll have to try that. And . . . hey, do you hear something?"

Biff listened. He did indeed. "There's music up above us."

"Give me a boost," Scotch said. "Maybe there's another boarded-up thing up there and we can get out from here! We've gone uphill enough by now that it just might work!"

It was certainly worth a try, so Biff let Scotch climb up on his shoulders to try to push on the ceiling. When it actually gave way and Scotch shoved the old boards aside, Biff stared in awed amazement.

"I'll climb out and find a ladder or something for you," Scotch said.

He did so, and Biff waited while Scotch searched. It wasn't long before he returned with the bewildered resident of the house and a long ladder. Biff gratefully climbed up, the mysterious metal box under his arm.

"Hey, thanks," he said to Mr. Allen, who just shook his head in disbelief.

"I had no idea this was under the yard," he said. "And you two look a fright! It's a wonder you're not both dead!"

Scotch rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I think we'll be heading home and showering now. Thanks for your help!"

Biff nodded in agreement and walked off after him. "I don't know that we should leave the motorcycles back there," he frowned.

Scotch sighed. "I don't either, but do we really feel like walking all the way back to the hideout to get them?"

They looked at each other.

"Definitely not," they said in unison.

xxxx

The next time Kalin woke up, it was from a peaceful and dreamless sleep. Radley had slumped into a corner of the couch, still embracing him. Although Kalin didn't fully remember doing it, he saw that he had reciprocated. Outside the windows, light was pouring in. It was morning.

He looked back to his friend. If he tried to pull away, he would probably rouse Radley up. Maybe he would just have to doze a bit again while he waited.

Kalin was used to sleeping in weird places and really didn't mind at all. But the odd positions definitely could hurt someone's neck or back. Radley would probably wake up miserable. Maybe despite their initial objections, sleeping on a bed would result in less awkward situations and positions than the couch.

It was strange, how far they had come. When they had first met, Kalin certainly hadn't had any idea that they would end up family or that he would like Radley at all. He had been so wrapped up in self-hatred that he hadn't even been able to see that Radley was a good person. If Radley had stayed dead from being tortured and none of this had ever happened, Kalin would never get over feeling like he had been responsible for getting Radley killed. Billy's continuing anguish was all too understandable.

Kalin slumped down again, allowing himself to doze.

Radley stirred before too long, rousing him up once more. "Is it morning?" he mumbled.

"Yeah." Kalin sat up, running a hand through his hair.

Radley picked up his phone on the end table and sleepily blinked at it. "Oh . . . we needed to go see what Klaus has for us today," he remembered. "I'll tell him we're coming." He stumbled through a brief text, still half-asleep.

Kalin shook his head, regarding his friend in amusement.

After breakfast they headed out to visit Klaus before the morning ride with the Bunch. He was waiting for them on the porch, along with his youngest grandchild Ben.

"I don't think you'll find much that's interesting in here," Klaus said apologetically as they pawed through the old cardboard box. "Mostly old tools from the 1870s."

Kalin reached deeper into the box, having caught sight of something shiny. "What's this?" He pulled out a jagged crescent very similar to the one from the previous night.

"That must be the other half of the pendant!" Radley exclaimed.

"Oh? You found somethin' good?" Klaus asked.

"I think so," Radley said. "At least, it's more interesting than old tools."

"You and your jewelry," Klaus said, shaking his head.

The rest of the box didn't prove to have anything apparently useful in it, but Radley and Kalin were already satisfied. After thanking Klaus and getting a Goodbye hug from Ben, they sped off to the diner to retrieve the first half from the safe.

"Now if we just knew what this thing's purpose is," Radley mused.

"We'll probably find out sooner or later," Kalin said.

As it turned out, it was sooner. They met several of the Bunch on the way to the diner, and Scotch and Biff were particularly excited about something.

"Hey!" Scotch exclaimed. "We found a metal box last night that looks like it'll open with that pendant!"

Radley and Kalin stared.

"You found a metal box?" Radley repeated. "Exactly where did you find it?!"

"Uh . . . it's a long story," Scotch said. "Did you know there's a tunnel system under the whole town?"

". . . No," Radley said. "I didn't." He was still sure Scotch wasn't telling everything, and when they all parked at the diner and Scotch removed his helmet, it was obvious why.

"You're hurt!" Marty exclaimed, staring at a cut on Scotch's left temple that stretched out from under his hair.

Kalin was looking at the bruises and bandages that hadn't been so visible while they were all flying down the street. "What happened?" he demanded with a frown.

"The whole story," Radley added, folding his arms.

Biff sighed. "This orb showed up last night and we started chasing it. It led us out by the kids' hideout and we fell through the floor into some kinda underground cave. The phones wouldn't work, so we wandered around tryin' to get out on our own and we found the tunnels and the box."

"You fell through the floor?!" Radley frowned at them both. "Just how badly did you get hurt?!"

"Just what you see, Radley," Scotch said. "Promise!"

"What I see looks plenty bad enough," Radley countered. "Especially that!" He pointed to the cut on Scotch's temple.

"I'm okay," Scotch insisted.

"I thought you weren't for a while," Biff finally said.

"What?!" Radley exclaimed.

"I was knocked out when we landed," Scotch finally admitted. "I think we both were. I was out longer. . . ."

"A lot longer!" Biff said.

"But I'm really okay!" Scotch insisted again.

Radley ran a hand down his face, looking overwhelmed. "Oh. . . ."

Kalin had to admit to a bit of vague amusement as he watched. Radley really was their big brother.

"Why don't we see what's in the box?" Kalin said at last.

Scotch perked up, grateful for the intervention. "Yes! Let's!" He hopped up the stairs to the diner and unlocked the doors.

Radley shook his head and exclaimed something in Spanish. In English he added, "These guys drive me crazy sometimes!"

Biff grinned. "But you know you love us." Sobering, he added, "And Scotch really appreciates you worryin', you know. It's just kinda awkward and all, bein' cornered on it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Radley sighed. "But you two had really better be okay."

"We are," Biff assured him.

They all headed inside and Scotch took the box out of his messenger bag, setting it on the counter. "So . . . wait a minute," he realized. "How do we open it when we only have half of the thing?"

Kalin set the new piece next to the box. "We have both now."

Radley grinned. "I'll go get the first piece." He went upstairs to the safe and soon came back down, the pendant piece in hand. But unlike moments before, now he was frowning in concern.

"What is it?" Kalin asked.

"Someone was in here last night after we all left," Radley said. "They moved a bunch of things on my desk and tried to get the safe open."

Everyone else stared, stunned.

"Who would do that?!" Scotch exclaimed.

"I have no idea," Radley frowned.

"How do you know they tried to open the safe?" Kalin asked.

"They tore the place apart looking for it," Radley said. "All the pictures are crooked or on the floor." He smirked a bit. "I don't think they figured out where the safe is, though. I knew hiding it behind a secret panel that looked like the regular wall would be better than the old picture trick. Everybody knows that one."

"Seriously, though!" Scotch exclaimed. "Who even knew we had the pendant?! Just us and the kids!"

"And Klaus and Ishizu," Radley remembered. "What if someone at the museum saw it on Ishizu's phone?"

"And then came out here looking for it?" Billy frowned. "That's messed-up."

"Right now, it's looking like our best possibility," Radley said. "Klaus was home when I messaged him, so no one would've seen it on his phone except Ben."

". . . Maybe Ben told a friend of his and someone else overheard?" Kalin suggested.

"Yeah," Virgil said. "There's still those creeps in town who sided with Malcolm. Maybe one of them is finally making a move!"

"Well . . ." Radley looked to Kalin. "I say that after we open the box, we go upstairs and you start taking fingerprints, if there's any to take. I didn't touch anything that was disturbed, just in case."

Kalin grunted. "I'll do that." Sometimes it was hard to remember that he was technically the law enforcement in this previously lawless town. Everything had been so peaceful that there hadn't been much need for him to serve in that capacity.

Scotch was fitting the two pieces of the pendant together. "Perfect!" he said as they snapped into place. "Who wants to unlock the box?"

"Why don't you and Biff do it, since you found it," Radley said.

Scotch grinned. "Yes!" He handed the pendant to Biff. "I put it together. You can unlock the box!"

Biff looked at the pendant, then placed it in the keyhole so that the engravings would line up. As he turned it, the metal lid clicked and popped up. Scotch gleefully opened it.

"What is it?" Virgil asked.

"It looks like . . . a pack of letters," Scotch said. He handed that to Radley. "And . . . an old skeleton key?" He lifted out a golden skeleton key with an elaborately carved handle and a ruby in the center. "Wow, this looks worth a fortune!"

Kalin frowned at it. "I wonder what it opens."

Radley was opening the letters. He leaned back against the counter, looking over the top one.

"Well? Is it anything good, or just mushy stuff?" Scotch asked, trying to see over his shoulder.

"It's . . . written to Kessler's wife from Johnson's sister," Radley said in surprise. "Apparently they were best friends even as that feud was going down."

"Too bad they couldn't have stopped it," Virgil grunted.

Kalin averted his gaze. It was.

"Miss Johnson is warning Mrs. Kessler that her brother plans to kill his enemy," Radley read on, stunned. "This could help the case that Kessler didn't fire without provocation."

Kalin slowly looked back. "What else?"

"That's mostly what this letter is," Radley said. He started passing out the entire bundle. "Let's each take one. Maybe we can get to the bottom of this mystery. Hopefully one of these letters will talk about the key."

For the next several minutes, those with letters read. It was Billy who finally found something.

"This letter is after the shooting," he said. "Ugh, even in spite of the friendship and the warnings and everything, Miss Johnson is blasting her friend like it's her fault her husband shot the guy!"

Kalin glowered at the letter he had picked up. "And this is from when everyone is leaving Crash Town. It looks like they mended things, but Miss Johnson asks Mrs. Kessler to keep everything safe. Does she mean what's in this box?"

"Or maybe what this key opens?" Radley frowned. "And if Mrs. Kessler had what the key opens, did it stay in the family?"

Kalin shut his eyes tightly. If it did, that would mean it was somewhere back in the Satellite with his father . . . if the man was still alive, and if he hadn't pawned it off somewhere.

Radley looked at him in concern as the same realization dawned on him. "Kalin. . . . We don't have to look for whatever it is," he said. "It might not have a direct bearing on our problems here anyway."

"But maybe it does," Kalin said. "I took an oath to protect this town, and letting that mysterious force stay hanging over it isn't protecting it at all."

Radley frowned. He couldn't deny that was a grave problem. What had happened to Scotch and Biff last night was a tremendous concern. They could have both been killed. If the ghosts were that malevolent, what else might they try?

"And what about the break-in?!" Kalin persisted. "Now someone living is involved in this too." He slammed the letter on the counter. "I'm going upstairs to dust for fingerprints." He started up the stairs.

Scotch moved closer to Radley. "Are we just going to let him go?"

"If he decides to go to the Satellite and find his father, what do you think?" Radley retorted. The memory of what Kalin had told him just last night stabbed him in the heart. To think of having to be faced with seeking out a monster like that . . . !

"We're all going," Scotch said.

The others echoed agreement.

Radley finally smiled a bit. "Of course we are."