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Asa

The eerie cals of the escape ladder in Bunny and Paul&039;s bedroos down to her The children followed, both sleepy but excited by the adventure of so new Like every child without a care in the world, they have no idea of the danger they&039;re in And with careful planning theyon the surface for the next few days

I closed up the house and secured the doorways before heading down The wooden floor of the closet was lowered into place and with one last spin, I tightened the hatch leading to the secret exit Locked up tight

They&039;ll be safe

I finish shis of the ladder and land on the concrete floor next to the waiting fao I vividly recall hownew places A smile forms as I try to match my expression to the excitement I see on their faces "Who&039;s ready to see the cool underground bunker rooh-pitched voices screech their enthusiasm, and their small bodies look like they will barely be able to contain themselves another rab their bags and start down the tunnel toward the inn The trio follows h the many twists and turns for about fifteenout of words and phrases froht space

Eager to join in the fun, I call out "Hi ho, hi ho, it&039;s off to e go" The three accompany me, one verse off, until it sounds like a squadron of Disney dwarves fills the dih and they seeround to begin with Good, I&039;d rather not have to field difficult questions like that myself-let their mom deal with it

I round one last bend and stop at a steel door, which lies about fifty yards fro base roo sink and toilet combination this close to the inn

I reach in to flick on the overhead steel-caged bulb The light illuminates the couch and TV that were in my bedrooe andcard table with chairs from a supply room on the h the opening and run squealing with delight around the center of the roo table She looks around in awe, shocked at the clean appearance of the drab concrete roo dusty Ar, not willing to admit the hours it took to clear out all the old lad to do it for them "Sorry-don&039;t want to disappoint you-but cots are in the next room They are newer and have clean mattresses"

The kids race into the smaller room and start to screech in excitement, "Mom! Mom! You have to see what&039;s in here!"

She stops briefly near the coffee table, glancing at the PG movies I borrowed froames "These plus the books and school work they packed should keep them busy"

Bunny walks into the next rooht behind her and stay in the doorway to not crowd the fauest rooms line the walls like closed curtains Gathers of fabric, where I used the , drape to the wall, creating a tent-like feel to the room

Cots line three walls, head and feet alainst the re a few inches past it Beyond the porcelain, sheets hang diagonally across the corner Paul&039;s son races to inspect what lies behind the fabric

"Mommy," the five-year-old boy says onder, "there&039;s a potty in here!"

His older sister ignores hi her backpack on top "I love it, Uncle Asa! It&039;s better than ca No woods or stinky outhouse to pee in!"

Bunny turns to me, a look of astonishment on her face She opens her arms and walks to me with moisture in her eyes On tiptoes, she wraps herself around s me

Unsure what to do, I close ently "Thank you," she rasps through a tear-ravaged voice "You really went above and beyond"

Her grip loosens and she steps back She pushes her dirty blond hair off her face and dries an eye I let go and look away, not sure what to say in the face of her gratitude I shrug, glad to see the three are happy with the results Vivian won&039;t be too pleased with the ruined sheets, but I&039;ll replace those before they get back

"I&039;d offer to cook you aover her shoulder at the squabbling children, "but we both know that won&039;t work And I&039;d offer you your preferred meal, if I didn&039;t think Paul would be pissed" She s , but the sentiment is there

A sharp squeeze around my heart surprises me Absolute horror fillsher Years ofallow my face to rehts "It was no trouble I&039;lad to be of help"

I&039;d never want the physical pain of my bite to hurt soer and then turn back to thea family of my own overwhelms me I hope Paul kno lucky he is to have ill be denied to sothe cole toward the steel door, re the map at the lastindo you think we&039;ll be down here?"

"I&039;m not sure Probably only a few days I&039;ll let you know" I unfold the ra to the north wing Only coency"

She accepts the drawing and examines it "This map isn&039;t complete Where is the rest of it?"

"Vivian won&039;t allow eneral feel of where you were"

She nods "Okay, but staying inside these sht prove difficult after two days or so"

"Yeah, I know But wethe tunnels and it really won&039;t be safe for the kids to be wandering It&039;s very easy to get lost" I smile "Trust me" I point to the hardwired phone on the wall "This still works with local extensions on the property Call us if you need anything"

Bunny rests her small hand on h Paul will be touched when he hears all you&039;ve done for us"

I shrug again, realizing I&039;ht now, and feel really stupid "You&039;re welcome It was my pleasure to do it for the kids It&039;s a difficult situation, and I know Paul would do the same for me"

Bunny looks around the neat improvised room and shakes her head "You obviously don&039;t know Paul as well as I do Manual labor was never his thing" She smiles to lessen the sharp implication of her words "I love hi at her own pun "More like, I love hiuy on the planet"

I start once again for the door "Oh, and your satellite phone won&039;t work down here You&039;ll have to come to the main level and use it near an uncovered "

She sighs and settles onto the couch "Yeah, I figured itoodbye and close the door, hearing her and the kids calling out their thanks and goodnights It&039;s alet theers will be up for the day