He quickly led the way to the bathroom, where he pried up the base of the shower to reveal sturdy wooden supports covering a drop of about four feet to dry ground below. He pulled the supports out as well and motioned, and starting with his dad and Terry so they could secure the exit his family began dropping down into the hole and inching along it.
Matt handed down Aaron and Paul to his mom, then ushered April into the hole after them, holding Henrietta’s wire cage with a very ruffled chicken inside. Last of all he kissed Sam and held her tight for a moment, then watched her drop down and begin crawling away.
Before following he took a last look around the shelter. If the door held and flames didn’t spread inside then the worst they’d have to deal with when they returned was smoke damage and airing the place out, assuming they managed to get away safely. And even if the thieves got in and stole everything of value at least his family still had their lives.
It was hard to be objective about that when they were starving, though: once he was sure everyone was safely away he was going to come back and see if he couldn’t make these people regret attacking his home, or if nothing else at least delay them long enough for the others to bring help.
He dropped into the hole, noting the plumbing pipes that ran along it a short ways to the septic system before the tunnel continued on to whatever exit Lewis had rigged up. In all his time wandering around the place Matt had seen no sign of any exit, but he was sure his friend had found a way to conceal it and still have it be easy to get out of.
He pulled the supports back into place, then ducked down and pulled the shower base into position over his head.
Just before finishing the task he paused, though, as he heard a hiss coming from the door. It was getting louder and louder as he listened, and he also heard shouts. Urgent shouts, but not angry or violent. Matt paused, then pushed the shower base back off the hole and climbed out, exiting the bathroom to look at the door.
The bits of cloth he’d stuffed into the hole had burned away, but instead of black smoke white steam was pouring through. He also saw a few drips of water trickling inside from the crack at the bottom of the door. Hurrying over, he squinted through the highest bullet hole and saw shovelfuls of snow being flung down the ramp onto the smoldering logs in front of the door.
Matt rushed back to the secret tunnel and poked his head down. “Are you guys still there?” he hissed in a low voice. No answer. He tried yelling louder. Eventually Sam crawled into view, dark hair sprinkled with dirt and a smudge on her nose. In spite of the situation Matt couldn’t help but feel a sudden surge of affection, joining with his growing relief to make him laugh.
Her eyes narrowed, and the look she gave him wasn’t exactly affectionate. “What?”
“If they haven’t uncovered the exit yet stop them,” Matt said. “Someone’s putting out the fire and it would be good to keep that hidden.”
A few minutes later the Larson family was gathered in the bathroom, ready to bolt through the tunnel again if necessary, while Matt stood in front of the door peering out a bullet hole. Even the steam had stopped pouring through the holes, and he didn’t have to wait long before several people appeared picking their way over the smoldering logs. Someone began pounding on the metal outside with what sounded like the handle of a shovel. “Matt?” came a familiar voice muffled through the door. “Is everyone all right?”
Grinning in relief and motioning his family to cover up the secret exit and come out, Matt hurried to the door and threw back the bolts, then unlocked the doorknob and pulled it open. Crammed onto the ramp behind the pile of smoldering logs the Mayor, Chauncey, Ben, and Tam all stood with worried expressions on their faces. “We’re all fine,” he assured them.
Catherine vaulted the extinguished fire and pulled him into a hug. “Oh thank God. When Jane on patrol saw the smoke coming from your shelter we feared the worst. We came as fast as we could, but we were afraid we hadn’t put out the fire in time.” She pushed past him to hug his mom and dad, then the rest of the family.
Matt looked up the ramp to the cleared space between the two hills the shelter occupied. A dozen or so men and women knelt on the ground there surrounded by familiar faces from the town’s defenders holding a mixture of rifles and shotguns, warily watching their every move. Off to one side three bodies were stretched out while beside them two injured men complained loudly and were ignored by everyone except Jane, but only because she was guarding them.
He glanced at Tam, who had a rifle slung over her shoulder and a pistol at her hip. “What happened?” he asked.
She shrugged. “We surrounded them while they were focused on the door and they almost immediately gave up. Only five of them had guns. As for why they attacked you in the first place, I was hoping you could tell us.”
“They wanted food,” Matt said. “They seemed to think the entire shelter was stuffed full of provisions.”
The auburn-haired tomboy gave him an uncomfortable look. “Oh.”
“What do you mean, “Oh?” Matt demanded.
Chauncey answered. “None of us have repeated it, of course, but there’s been a rumor going around about your shelter. People heard how much stuff Ferris found in there when he cleaned the place out, and a lot of people are speculating that your family moved in there because you’d found more.”
Well that wasn’t exactly untrue. “If we did have any it’s almost all gone now,” Matt said. “And we’ve been stretching it tight to make it last. You can see for yourselves right now if you want.”
Tam held up her hands. “Hey, we haven’t been spreading that rumor!”
Matt calmed down a bit. “Sorry. I’m still pretty shaken up by the attack. Although it would be nice to know why nobody told me a rumor like that had been going around. If someone had we might’ve been more prepared for people to attack us.”
“It’s just one of those things that’s been going around for months,” Chauncey answered. “Personally I thought nobody would be stupid enough to try to steal from you since you’ve got that solid door that you keep locked every night. Not to mention you lead the town’s defenses and you’ve got your reputation so you’d be the last one any sane person would want to cross.” He gestured over his shoulder at the subdued attackers. “I never expected anything like this!” Tam and the others within earshot hurriedly agreed, looking a bit shamefaced.
Matt sighed. He could think of plenty of reasons why nobody would tell him the rumor was going around, but he didn’t want to ascribe those sorts of motivations to his friends. More likely they were just afraid the rumors were true and if they mentioned them he’d confirm it. It would be hard not to resent him at that point.
Either way he couldn’t see any benefit from pursuing the matter. Especially not when they’d risked their lives to come help him. “Should we go question the attackers?” he asked.
He jumped slightly when Catherine came up alongside him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Well it’s the biggest crime since Razor’s attack. I for one would like to know more about what happened.”
“I need a doctor!” one of the wounded men shouted as they came up the ramp. He was clutching his side, lips drawn back in a snarl of pain. Beside him the other wounded man had torn off the sleeve of his shirt to bind his calf, with blood already soaking through the thin cloth.
Tam gave them a look of disgust. “You guys know exactly whose house you were attacking. You seriously think the doctor’s going to help you after you tried to suffocate his family?”
Terry made his way up the ramp, rolling up his sleeves. “I couldn’t call myself a doctor if I decided to pick and choose the patients I treat. Besides, I suppose if nothing else I should make sure they live to see justice.”