Chapter 9 - The Code of the Snail
The blue ink formed lines of numbers and coordinates
47.1092° N, 122.3121° W - CELL 09
Jax recognized those coordinates immediately.
It was the location of the abandoned state penitentiary ten miles north.
"He's not tied up in a cellar," Jax realized out loud.
"Your mother isn't in a basement, kid!"
The boy looked up from the dark ladder, his eyes wide with fear.
"She told me to tell you that so you'd open the note," the boy admitted quietly.
"She said only the warmth of your hand would reveal the blue ink."
Another heavy blow struck the kitchen door.
The metal frame groaned under the pressure.
"Jax, move your ass!" Martha yelled from below in the tunnel.
Jax took one last look at the swelling door frame.
He swung his legs into the trapdoor opening and pulled the heavy lid shut above him.
He slammed the iron latch into place just as the kitchen door gave way above.
Heavy footsteps echoed directly over their heads.
Dust fell from the rotten wooden ceiling onto Jax's face.
"They know we're down here," Jax whispered in the pitch darkness.
May you like
"They don't care about us," Martha said, her voice echoing in the stone tunnel.
"They only care about what's at Cell 09."
