Underground

Emma Morrison's POV

Emma Morrison plunged into the rushing water before her daddy could stop her.

The freezing current grabbed her and pulled her down, but Emma had spent summers swimming in Millbrook's river. She knew how to fight against moving water.

"Emma!" Jake's words echoed behind her as she surfaced and grabbed onto a rusty pipe sticking out of the tunnel wall.

"I'm okay, Daddy!" Emma called back, spitting out dirty water. "The current's not as bad as it looks!"

She pulled herself along the pipe until she found a narrow ledge where the water was only knee-deep. The tunnel bent ahead, and Emma could see faint light coming from somewhere further down.

"Follow me!" she yelled. "But stay against the wall!"

Jake jumped in after her, gasping as the cold water hit his body. Emma grabbed his hand and helped him reach the ledge.

"How did you know about these tunnels?" Jake asked, breathing hard.

"Grandpa Thomas told me stories about them," Emma explained as they carefully moved forward. "He said they were built during the Civil War so people could leave if the town was attacked. I used to sneak down here and explore when I was little."

They waded through the dark water, using Emma's phone light to see. The tunnel was old and crumbling, with tree roots growing through cracks in the roof.

"Emma, you're amazing," Jake said, pride filling his voice. "I don't know how you stayed so brave tonight."

Emma felt tears mixing with the dirty water on her face. "I was scared the whole time, Daddy. But I kept thinking about what you taught me - sometimes doing the right thing is scary, but we do it anyway."

They followed the tunnel for what felt like forever, sometimes walking on narrow ledges, sometimes swimming through deeper parts. Emma's phone battery was getting low, but she knew these sections better than anyone.

"The tunnel splits up ahead," Emma said, pointing to where the passage divided into three different ways. "The left one goes to the courthouse. The middle one goes to the bank. The right one goes to the old Morrison place."

"The Morrison place?" Jake asked. "You mean Grandpa Thomas's house?"

Emma nodded. "He showed me the door in his basement before he got too sick to walk. He said it was our family's secret escape route."

That's when they heard something that made both of them freeze.

A weak voice calling for help from the right tunnel.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

Emma's eyes went wide. "That sounds like..."

"Grandpa Thomas," Jake finished, his voice filled with shock.

They splashed through the water toward the voice. Around a bend in the tunnel, Emma's dying phone light showed an incredible sight.

Thomas Morrison was sitting on a pile of old wooden boxes, his clothes torn and bloody. He looked terrible, but he was living.

"Grandpa!" Emma cried, running to hug him.

"Emma, sweetheart," Thomas whispered, his voice weak but happy. "I heard your news. You were so brave."

Jake knelt beside his father, studying his injuries. "Dad, what are you doing down here? How long have you been hiding?"

Thomas coughed, and Emma could see blood on his lips. "Webb's men came for me three days ago. They thought I knew too much about their plans. I fled through the tunnel from my basement, but they shot me in the chest."

Emma felt scared seeing how hurt her grandpa was. "We need to get you to a hospital."

"No time for that," Thomas said, pulling a waterproof bag from behind the boxes. "I've been guarding this for twenty years, waiting for the right moment to use it."

He gave the bag to Jake. "Everything you need to destroy Webb's group is in there. Bank records, pictures, recorded phone calls. Proof that goes all the way back to when Webb first came to Millbrook."

Jake opened the bag and saw stacks of papers and several small recording devices. "Dad, this is incredible. How did you get all this?"

Thomas smiled weakly. "I used to work for the city, remember? I had access to a lot of records. When strange things started happening around town, I began keeping copies of everything suspicious."

Emma looked through some of the papers. Even though she was only twelve, she could understand enough to know this proof would send Webb and his friends to prison forever.

"There's something else," Thomas continued, his breathing getting more weak. "Webb isn't just stealing from Millbrook. He's part of something much bigger. A crime organization that takes over small towns all across the country."

Jake stared at his father in shock. "How many towns?"

"Dozens. Maybe hundreds. They call themselves the Serpent Organization, and they've been doing this for thirty years. Millbrook was just their latest target."

Emma felt sick thinking about other towns being hurt the same way theirs had been. "We have to stop them, Daddy."

"We will," Jake promised. "With this evidence, we can bring down the whole network."

That's when Thomas grabbed Jake's arm with surprising power. "Son, there's something I never told you about your real father. The one who died when you were a baby."

Jake leaned closer. "What about him?"

"He didn't die in an accident. Webb killed him because he found out about the Serpent Organization. Your father was an FBI agent, Jake. A real one."

Emma gasped. Her daddy's father had been a hero trying to stop the bad guys.

"Webb has been afraid for twenty years that you might remember something or inherit your father's investigative skills," Thomas stated. "That's why he's been so determined to control our family."

Jake's hands were shaking as he held the evidence bag. "All this time, I thought I was running away from my troubles. But really, I was running toward my fate."

Thomas smiled happily. "Your real father would be so proud of the man you became. And Emma, he'd be amazed by your bravery tonight."

Suddenly, they heard splashing sounds echoing through the tunnels behind them.

"Someone's coming," Emma whispered.

They listened carefully and heard various voices getting closer. Webb's men had found the tunnel opening.

"They're tracking us," Jake said sadly.

Thomas struggled to stand up. "There's another way out through the old Morrison house basement. But you'll have to leave me here. I'm too hurt to move fast enough."

"We're not leaving you, Grandpa," Emma said strongly.

"Yes, you are," Thomas answered. "That proof is more important than one old man's life. You have to get it to the officials."

Jake looked torn between rescuing his father and protecting his daughter. Emma made the choice for him.

"Daddy, Grandpa's right. We have to think about saving the whole town."

Thomas pressed something else into Emma's hand - a small brass key. "This opens a safety deposit box at First National Bank in the state capital. There's even more evidence there, plus money to help rebuild Millbrook after Webb's group falls."

The splashing sounds were getting much closer. Emma could see flashlight beams reflecting off the cave walls.

"Go," Thomas whispered. "Make me proud."

Jake kissed his father's face. "I love you, Dad."

"Love you too, son. Take care of our brave girl."

Emma hugged her grandfather one last time, remembering the feeling of his arms around her. "I'll never forget you."

"And I'll never forget how proud you made me tonight," Thomas responded.

Jake and Emma splashed away through the tunnel, carrying the proof that could save their town. Behind them, they could hear Webb's men discovering Thomas.

"There's an old man here!" one of them yelled.

"Where are Morrison and the girl?" came another voice.

Emma looked back once and saw her grandpa sitting calmly on his crates, facing Webb's men with dignity and courage.

"They went that way," Thomas lied, pointing toward the wrong tube. "About ten minutes ago."

Emma felt tears running down her face as they moved further away. Her grandfather was buying them time with his life.

They reached a rusty ladder leading up to what Emma knew was the Morrison house basement. Jake climbed first, then helped pull Emma up through a tight opening.

They found themselves in Thomas's basement, breathing hard and dripping wet. Through the basement windows, Emma could see police cars and FBI vehicles circling the house.

"The real police are finally here," Jake said with relief.

But as they climbed the basement stairs, Emma heard something that made her blood run cold.

Footsteps on the floor above them. Heavy boots going slowly and quietly through Grandpa Thomas's house.

Someone was already inside, waiting for them.

Jake put his finger to his lips and motioned for Emma to stay quiet. They crept up the stairs, holding the evidence bag that could save or doom them all.

At the top of the stairs, Jake slowly turned the door handle.

The basement door swung open to show Marcus Webb standing in the kitchen, pointing a gun directly at Emma's head.

"Welcome home, Morrison family," Webb said with his coldest smile. "I've been waiting for you."