“ Yes, I’ m here,” Jacob searched through his pockets and found a reading light. He flicked it on and the darkness cleared to reveal a neglected room. The layer of dust approached several centimeters high in some places.
“ There are footsteps going to this doorway,” said Jacob as he shined the light to illuminate a hallway. They walked down it and up a staircase. As they neared the top, Tyler spotted a light coming down the corridor at the top.
“ Someone is coming!” Tyler whispered,“ Get down!” Jacob switched off the light and crouched in the shadows.
“ Let me go!” John was clearly frightened,“ This is against the law!”
“ I don’ t care‘ bout no law,” this was a rougher voice,“ All I care is that Esell pays me what he said he would for puttin’ you away.” Jacob saw that Tyler was shaking with rage.
“ Tyler, this isn’ t the time for rash decisions!” hissed Jacob. Tyler did not hear any of it. He charged out of his hiding place with a shout. The guard turned with a look of surprise on his face. Tyler charged with near blinding speed and landed one light punch on the guard before being slammed against the wall by a vicious retaliation.
“ That is what you get for being stupid,” said the guard, but as he turned around, he realized that he should not have taken his eyes off of John. With strength that belied his stature, he smashed the guard over his head with the bag that he was carrying. The guard stumbled backwards and Jacob scythed his legs out from under him with a kick. He fell, hit a wall, and stayed there.
“ Tyler, are you okay?” Jacob asked frantically. Tyler opened his eyes and gave a dazed smile.
“ I got him, didn’ t I?” he said. Jacob was too tired to argue. After telling John about how they got here, they started to continue their search for the penny.
As they traveled higher, they started to hear the noise of a crowd. Jacob stopped and listened for a couple seconds.
“ Guys, I think the demolition is starting,” Jacob pulled his head back from the wall,“ We have to get out of here!”
Outside Mr. Esell was getting ready for his speech. The guards had not found the meddling children, but no need to worry. If they were still in the building, they wouldn’ t be a problem much longer.