Page 7 of Sixty Meters Under
Anna confirmed, “Yes, we would love to see it.”
“Alright,” Mr. Bergman said, and the jingle from his keys echoed through the empty space. The old door released a loud creak. Mr. Bergman pointed his flashlight to shed light on what’s hidden inside. They all took a few steps forward, pausing at the entrance.
“Wow…” Lennart spoke as he peeked in. There were various dusty and probably rusty weapons. “If someone managed to restore at least half of it, it would be good to have it available for defense.”
“Similar situation with the other room,” Mr. Bergman informed.
“Can we have a look?”
Mr. Bergman locked the old armory, and moved on to the other room that looked similar to the first. There were significantly fewer weapons and it was mostly filled with several empty metal cabinets, and one large metal table in the middle that had two sealed crates of ammunition.
When they closed that room as well, Mr. Bergman returned to the center of the hall, and pointed his flashlight to the door in the middle. “That is the elevator door over there, but unfortunately, it is no longer functional. We will use the stairs.”
As they ended on the lower floor, the air was heavier and chilly. There was a hallway with several doors; as they walked full circle, Lennart counted a total of five.
Only their footsteps echoed in the darkness, and Mr. Bergman broke the silence. “This floor, as well as a couple of floors below, have almost empty rooms. Nothing significant in them.”
Curious in nature, Lennart wanted to see more. “Let’s check one of the rooms,” he said, and with his foot pushed the half open door. He pointed his flashlight and illuminated several empty and messy beds. The bedding was gray from dust, cobwebs hung from the ceiling, some of it reaching an emptywooden table that stood in the middle of the room. A few things were scattered around the floor, lost and long forgotten.
Lennart coughed as his lungs filled with the stale air. “Was this bunker inhabited in the past?”
“It seems so. But we don’t have any specific records.”
When they exited the room, they went two more floors below before agreeing that it would be enough. Every floor looked the same anyway. If they indeed decided to buy it, they would need to come and inspect it with more people who understood a thing or two about reconstruction.
On their way up, Mr. Bergman shared details about the price. And once they were outside he showed them the bunker’s documents, and a map, and then they parted. Anna, Lennart and Hugo stood by their car, sharing first impressions.
“This one looks the best so far. What do you think?” Anna started first.
Lennart looked around, and then back at the building. “Yeah, it doesn’t look bad? The location is good, and it’s hidden from view. I like this part mostly about it.”
“Yeah, indeed,” Anna agreed.
“But, I’m not sure,” Lennart added, and remembered other bunkers they saw so far.
All the previous hiding places were considerably smaller than this one.
“What bothers me is that it’s huge.”
He noticed how his mother’s brows furrowed and how she pressed her lips tight, and he burst out laughing.
“Well, personally, I like it,” Anna said, and crossed her arms. “I can already see us owning this place and making reconstructions. But I know, I know. We all have to agree that we want this one.”
Lennart looked at her skeptically for a few moments, then turned to Hugo. “And what do you think of this place?”
The older man cleared his throat. “Honestly, I can agree that this is the best bunker we have had the opportunity to see so far. But we should go and check the other two we planned to see tomorrow then make a final decision.”
Lennart ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, yeah. We can decide then. I mean the place is gigantic. Sixty meters deep. And the walls seem stable, but I’m still not sure if we would need all this space. The reconstruction will certainly take too long, if we’re lucky, over a year or two. And if the war really happens, and we don’t finish it, then what?”
“True…” Anna released a heavy sigh, and crossed her arms.
“Tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll see two more bunkers, and then you’ll decide,” Hugo added, and entered the car.
“Yeah. Tomorrow,” Lennart repeated, and looked at the old abandoned bunker one last time before taking the front passenger seat. Although he refused to share his thoughts, he already imagined what the place might look like after the renovation.
Chapter 3
Tokyo, Japan, 2053
