‘I’m not sure that it does,’ Annalie said. ‘I think they’re just trying to lure the others here so they can catch them too and then hold all of us for ransom.’
Cherry looked a little puzzled as he thought through what she’d said. ‘I thought you said your family didn’t have much money. Why would they want to capture more of you?’
Annalie could see him trying to put the pieces together. Too late, she remembered that he had probably been briefed on her family. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said hurriedly. ‘Who knows what they’re really up to?’
‘You said you were travelling with family and friends,’ Cherry said slowly. ‘Who are your friends?’
Annalie decided to simply ignore his question. ‘The problem is they’re coming, even though I tried to warn them to stay away,’ she said. ‘We have to find a way out of here. Tonight.’
Cherry’s eyebrows shot up. ‘There isn’t a way out.’
‘What about that bouncy board in the floor?’
Cherry looked at her askance.
‘It’s already weakened. Maybe if we both worked on it we might find a way to get through.’
‘But we don’t know what’s underneath,’ Cherry said.
‘There’s water underneath.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I listened. You can hear it.’
Cherry’s expression changed. He was actually considering the idea.
‘Let’s at least try,’ Annalie said.
Together, they went to the corner of the room where the floor sagged. The boards were all in place, but when you stood on them, they flexed.
‘Be easier if we had some tools,’ Cherry mused. ‘A blade or a lever—’
‘But we don’t,’ Annalie said. ‘Maybe if I stand on one—or you stand on it, you’re heavier—we might be able to pry one loose. Then it’ll be easier to get the next one up.’
They focused their efforts on the board that moved the most. First they tried prying it up, but that didn’t work. ‘Let’s try this the old-fashioned way,’ Cherry said. He bounced and bounced on the board until it snapped right through. ‘Now we’re getting somewhere,’ he said with a grin.
Once they had one gap in the boards, it was easier to make more. Annalie and Cherry worried away at the gaps, forcing up the old floorboards, using the broken piece as a lever. The damp conditions meant the boards were not in the greatest shape to begin with; it took them some time, but at last they managed to make themselves a hole big enough to wriggle through.
Both of them peered down. It was perfectly dark down there, and an evil smell of rot and old seawater exhaled through the gap.
‘Wish we had a torch,’ Cherry said, looking down into the darkness with trepidation. ‘I wonder how deep it is?’
‘Can you swim?’ Annalie asked.
Cherry nodded. ‘You?’
‘Yes.’
‘All right, then,’ Cherry said. ‘No more mucking around. I’d better go first, eh?’
‘I can—’
But he was already lowering himself down. His feet touched water before his head had even disappeared below the level of the floor. ‘Water level’s high,’ he reported, rather nervously. ‘I’m going to let go now. If this is the last you hear from me, don’t follow.’
He let go. Annalie heard a splash, surprisingly loud. She froze, wondering if the occupants of the house might have heard it too. But there were no sounds from outside; no one came to see what they were up to. ‘Cherry?’ she called softly. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes,’ he replied breathlessly. ‘Water’s quite deep, though. I can’t touch the bottom.’
‘Can you see a way out?’
‘Can’t see a thing.’
Annalie hesitated on the edge, then reminded herself that it was just a room, an ordinary room, even if it was full of water. It must have a door somewhere. If she wanted to escape, this was the only way out. ‘I’m coming down,’ she said.
She eased herself down into the hole. The air felt cold and cave-like; the smell seemed to press in upon her. She dropped into water that was cold and slimy, touched the bottom and pushed back up to the surface, gasping. Cherry found her, and she grabbed his forearm, treading water.
‘We need to find a way out,’ she panted.
They paddled together until they touched a wall. ‘Feel along it,’ Cherry said. ‘We’ll try and find an opening.’
They tried, but the wall was blank and featureless. As they paddled into a corner, Annalie felt something slither across her legs. She screamed, unable to stop herself.
‘What’s wrong?’ said Cherry hoarsely.
‘Something swam over my legs,’ she said.
Cherry froze. ‘What sort of something?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Something sharky?’
‘More—tentacley,’ Annalie said.
‘Like an octopus?’
‘Maybe it was just seaweed.’
‘Yes,’ Cherry said. ‘I hope so.’
They redoubled their efforts, working their way along the second wall, afraid to touch anything, afraid to drift apart, worried now that there might be something in there with them, something hostile, lurking in the dark water.
‘There has to be a door,’ Annalie said, ‘but I can’t feel anything.’
‘What if they blocked it off to try to keep the water out?’ Cherry suggested.
‘Why would they do something that stupid?’ Annalie said anxiously. ‘There must be a door. We just have to find it.’
They kept working their way around the second wall.
‘I feel something!’ Cherry said.
Annalie’s hands found it too: a doorframe. They traced the shape in the darkness.
‘Where’s the handle?’
‘I can feel it with my knee,’ Annalie said.
‘We’re going to have to try and get it open,’ Cherry said.
Annalie could sense his hesitation. ‘Is something the matter?’ she asked.
‘It’s just that I’m not terribly good at putting my head underwater,’ Cherry said awkwardly.
‘I thought you said you could swim!’
‘Well, I passed swimming proficiency in basic training. But before that I hadn’t had much experience in the water.’
Annalie didn’t know whether to be impressed by how game he was, or annoyed at the thought he was much less skilled than she’d imagined.
‘It’s all right,’ she said. ‘I’ll go.’
Cherry started to say something, but Annalie was already ducking under the water. She grabbed the handle firmly; it turned, but the door wouldn’t move. She came to the surface
