Jimmy dragged his foot on the steps as he boarded the last bus from the bus-stop towards the city. The driver’s face reminded him of like a ghoul from the movie he watched with Jamie, his girlfriend, the night before. Oh, those were the times to enjoy, he reminisced. The night was bright with the moonlight, but streets were bared of any souls. He cursed his manager under his breath for the return to the office. He must deliver the report, he was told.

“Ah..” Jimmy exhaled an entire breath out of relief. Finally, he had reached his destination, an out-of-place cabin near the edge of the town. Being a backpacker through the Asia’s remote locations meant Jimmy had to find exotic places to stay overnights. The cabin where he would be a sleepover was recommended by a fellow backpacker a few days ago, based on the night market nearby. Immediately, Jimmy could see and smell the remains of the night markets from the night before.

The tunnel went on and on as we walked and after some minutes , we all got depressed again. It seemed that the distance from the island to the mainland wasn’t as short as we initially expected. We should have known better as the boat took more than 30 min to travel the distance and it was speeding pretty fast as well , if I remember correctly.

One of us made a hush sound to sign everyone to keep quiet. It was very faint but surely it was a sound of water dropping from the height. We looked around and soon we found a pool of water in the side of the tunnel. Looking up , we also discovered the source of the pool , there is a leak at the top. It was a small leak and didn’t look as if it would break soon so there was no fear of that but where did the water came from? Everyone stopped at silently stared at the sight of water droplets forming and dropping from the top of the tunnel. Then we saw someone moved. General Lee , as we found out from the lights shining on his face as he squatted down , took a sample of the water to his lip.

Just as we were about to reach the door to the clock , we heard a loud banging sound from the front. Fearing the worst , I rushed towards and found the door completely locked from the outside. A loud gasp bounced around the tunnel followed by the several softer murmurs. For a few short seconds , we stopped but soon we were taking turns to push the door open. Some of their shoulders and a few by kicking it.  It was a while before we took the whole thing in. Someone had not only closed the door but also blocked the grandfather clock with a heavy object so that would not be able to open from inside. The conclusion was the worst possible nightmare for us taking into account that we were not able to reach the other side of the tunnel unlike the one in the dining room.

It seemed that in the midst of all the chaos and fear , we have conveniently forgotten that the door behind the wine cabinet in the dining room is in fact , the second secret door that we have discovered in the resort. The first secret door was found behind the grandfather clock on top of the grand stairs connecting lobby to the master bedrooms on the second floor.

That was what everyone must have in their minds when the note was read aloud. Without knowing why or how , we could feel the danger closing on us one by one. One thing was clear , there was someone else besides us on the island since all of us left the lobby together into the tunnel. In any case , it would have to be pretty dangerous for any of us to sneak away from the crowd , carry the large pot of flowers and write the note. The ink was still fresh so it must have been written now long ago. Perhaps as recently as when we were having dinner in the kitchen.

After exploring the tunnel , we had a quick meal , prepared by tireless Mrs Jamie and her fellow ladies in the kitchen itself. Then we each took a glass of sherry from the wine cabinet and made our way to the lobby for discuss on the tomorrow. Due to the design of the building , it was not a short walk between the kitchen and the lobby. In fact , I noticed the kitchen is nearer to the bedrooms than the main lobby is. In fact , it is directly beneath the bedrooms.