CHAPTER 5
887 Words
# Chapter 5: Beneath the Chapel
The drive to St. Mercy Orphanage took nearly two hours.
Neither Elena nor Adrian spoke much during the journey. The note they had found at the nursing home kept replaying in their minds.
**Trust no one. Basement.**
As the city disappeared behind them, the road narrowed into a winding path lined with tall pine trees. The air grew colder, and a thick layer of fog settled over the countryside.
Finally, the abandoned orphanage came into view.
Its towering brick walls were cracked with age. Broken windows stared back like empty eyes, and ivy climbed across the faded stone. At the centre of the property stood a small chapel with a weathered wooden cross leaning to one side.
"It looks like no one's been here for years," Elena whispered.
Adrian switched off the engine.
"Places like this never really stay empty."
They stepped through the rusted front gate, which creaked loudly as it swung open.
A flock of crows burst from the roof, startling them both.
---
Inside the orphanage, dust covered every surface.
Old toys lay scattered across the floor, and faded drawings still hung on peeling walls. Children's names had been scribbled in crayon, though most had faded beyond recognition.
Elena ran her fingers across one drawing of a sun above a small house.
A faint memory stirred.
She remembered sitting on the floor with a box of crayons.
Another child beside her laughed.
Then someone shouted.
The crayons scattered across the room.
The memory vanished.
She took a deep breath.
"This place..."
"I know," Adrian said softly.
"It feels familiar."
---
They searched room after room.
The dormitories were empty.
The kitchen was abandoned.
The offices had been stripped of every document.
It was as if someone had removed anything that could reveal the truth.
As they entered the old chapel, sunlight filtered through broken stained-glass windows, painting colourful patterns across the dusty floor.
Rows of wooden pews stood untouched.
At the front rested a cracked stone altar.
Adrian unfolded the note.
"Basement."
He walked around the altar, searching for a staircase.
"There has to be an entrance."
Elena noticed something unusual.
One of the stone floor tiles was scratched far more than the others.
She knelt and brushed away years of dust.
A small iron ring was hidden in the centre.
"Adrian."
Together they pulled.
With a loud grinding sound, the heavy stone lifted, revealing a narrow staircase descending into darkness.
A cold draft rushed upward.
Elena hesitated.
"Ready?"
She nodded, though her hands trembled.
---
Using the torches on their phones, they slowly descended.
The basement smelled damp and stale.
The walls were lined with old shelves filled with empty boxes and rusted filing cabinets.
Near the far wall stood a heavy steel door.
Its lock had already been broken.
"It looks like someone came here before us," Adrian said.
They pushed the door open.
Inside was a hidden archive room.
Stacks of mould-covered files reached almost to the ceiling.
Boxes were labelled with years.
Photographs covered one wall.
Children.
Hundreds of them.
Some smiling.
Some frightened.
Some with names written underneath.
Elena felt tears fill her eyes.
"So many..."
Adrian carefully examined the files.
"These are admission records."
He opened one folder.
Half the pages had been burned.
Others had names crossed out in thick black ink.
Then Elena noticed something tucked inside an old wooden cabinet.
A small red diary.
Its cover was cracked with age.
On the first page was written:
**Property of Margaret Ellis.**
"Miss Maggie," Elena whispered.
She opened the diary.
Most pages described ordinary life at the orphanage—meal times, birthdays, and children's favourite games.
But as the entries continued, the tone changed.
*"The children are afraid."*
*"Several records have disappeared."*
*"I tried to report what I saw, but no one listened."*
*"If anyone finds this diary, the truth is hidden beneath the chapel because I feared they would destroy everything."*
Adrian turned another page.
A folded map slipped onto the floor.
It showed a second underground passage leading away from the archive room.
"There's another tunnel," he said.
"But where does it go?"
Before either of them could investigate, they heard a loud crash from upstairs.
Both froze.
Someone else had entered the orphanage.
The sound of slow footsteps echoed through the chapel.
One pair.
Then another.
Then several more.
Adrian immediately switched off his torch.
"Stay quiet."
The basement disappeared into darkness.
Footsteps approached the hidden staircase.
A man's voice echoed faintly.
"Search every room."
Another replied,
"They couldn't have gone far."
Elena's heartbeat pounded in her ears.
Someone knew they were here.
Adrian leaned close and whispered,
"We can't go back the way we came."
He pointed towards the tunnel marked on the map.
"It may be our only way out."
Holding the diary tightly, Elena nodded.
Together, they slipped into the narrow passage just as a beam of light swept across the basement behind them.
Whoever was searching the orphanage had arrived only moments too late.
But they had left one important clue behind.
On the wall near the hidden archive, someone had carved three words years ago.
**We survived together.**
Neither Elena nor Adrian realised those words had been written by two frightened children trying to give each other hope before they were separated forever.
- Writer
