Chapter 61 Section sixtieth

Smithback grabbed the belt and stepped back a few inches toward the crowd.Whatever else, he thought: at least the water level was rising faster.Now there is a torrent every few minutes, and the intensity of the current does not seem to change. The sound of the rumbling water at the end of the tunnel is already deafening.The oldest, weakest, and poorest swimmers followed closely behind Smithback, clutching the long rope made of leather straps;All fell silent; no one had strength left to cry, wail, or even speak.Smithback looked up: two feet to catch the iron ladder. "Sure enough to see the storm out there," D'Agosta said.He was by Smithback's side, supporting an old woman. "How can there be no rain at the reception in the museum?" He smiled feebly.

Smithback just looked up and turned on the flashlight.And eighteen inches. "Smithback, don't switch on and off all the time," D'Agosta said angrily. "I'll tell you when you should take a look." Smithback felt another torrent rush against him against the brick wall of the tunnel.There were several exclamations from the crowd, but no one let go.If the belt line broke, they would all be drowning in thirty seconds.Smithback tried not to think in that direction. The mayor began to tell the story in a trembling but determined voice.Several well-known figures in the city hall appeared in the story.Despite the scoop smell, Smithback was growing drowsy, which he remembered as one of the signs of hypothermia.

"Okay, Smithback, take a look at the iron ladder." D'Agosta's hoarse voice woke him up. He pointed the flashlight upwards and clicked it on.In the last fifteen minutes the water had risen another foot, and was almost touching the bottom of the ladder.Smithback cheered up, and he backed the belt back a bit toward the crowd. "That's what we're going to do next," D'Agosta said. "You go up first. I'll help you underneath, and you go up last. Okay?" "Okay." Smithback shook his head to wake himself up. D'Agosta tightened his belt, grabbed Smithback by the waistband, and pushed him up.Smithback raised his head, and with his free hand grasped the bottom step of the iron ladder.

"Give me the flashlight," D'Agosta said. Smithback handed him the flashlight and reached up to grab the rung.He climbed only a few inches before falling, muscles in his arms and back spasming.He took a deep breath and climbed up again, this time grabbing the second rung of the iron ladder. "You grab the rungs," D'Agosta said to one of the guests.Smithback panted heavily on the iron ladder.He looked up and grabbed the third level, then the fourth.His feet tentatively reached the first level. "Don't step on other people's fingers!" D'Agosta warned below.

He felt a hand guide his feet, and finally his weight settled on the first step of the iron ladder.Down-to-earth feeling as if into heaven.He reached down with a hand and helped the old woman climb up the iron ladder.He turned back, felt his strength return, and climbed up. At the end of the iron ladder is a huge mouth, where the curved vaulted roof and the tunnel wall meet to form a horizontally extending pipeline.He walked cautiously to the mouth of the pipe and crawled into the dark depths. The rancid smell immediately hit the nostrils.The sewers, he thought.He hesitated for a moment unconsciously, then continued to crawl forward.

At the end of the mouth of the pipe, there was a vast darkness outside.Carefully, he stuck out one foot and put it down.A foot or so below the mouth of the pipe, the sole of the shoe met a solid dirt floor.Unbelievable luck: between the basement and the lower basement, there was a room of unknown size.Perhaps it was the result of an architectural change, a by-product of some reconstruction of the museum, long forgotten.He crawled out and moved forward a few inches, then a few more, sweeping his feet across the dark ground as he went.The stench was unbearable, but thankfully: not monster body odor.With a crack, he stepped on something dry—a dry branch?He heard grunting behind him as others crawled down the pipe towards him.D'Agosta was still in the lower basement, and the dim light of the flashlight could not dispel the darkness here.

He turned around, knelt down on one knee at the mouth of the pipe, helped the drenched people out, led them to stand aside, and reminded them not to go into the dark depths. People climbed out of the pipe one by one and spread out along the wall, some tentatively walked around, some collapsed from exhaustion.The only sound in the room was harsh breathing. Finally, Smithback heard D'Agosta's voice coming from the pipe. "God, what stinks?" he murmured to Smithback. "The damn flashlight won't light again. I just threw it in the water. Now, folks," he stood up, raising his voice, "everyone Give the count." The sound of dripping water made Smithback's heart beat faster, and he realized it was D'Agosta wringing out his drenched jacket.

Everyone reported their names one by one with tired voices. "Very well," D'Agosta said, "now to figure out where we are. We have to look for higher ground in case the water continues to rise." "You'll have to go somewhere higher," said a voice in the darkness. "It stinks horribly." "It's difficult without light," Smithback said. "We have to line up." "I have a lighter," said a voice, "let me see if it works." "Beware," said another, "I say, it smells like a swamp." Flickering yellow flames lit the room, and Smithback squinted.

"My God!" someone exclaimed. The room suddenly returned to darkness, because the hand holding the lighter twitched involuntarily, but Smithback could still clearly see how terrifying the scene before him was. Margo tensed up, and walked forward in the darkness, holding up the flashlight and slowly sweeping across the corridor, trying not to let the light fall on the monster, which squatted at the corner, observing them quietly. "Not yet," Pendergast gritted his teeth and whispered, "we'll have to wait until it reveals its entire body." The monster squatted there for what seemed to be a long time, motionless and soundless, like a stone gargoyle.Margot could see small red eyes staring at her in the dark.Eyes disappear every once in a while, then reappear, and it's the monster blinking.

The monster took another step forward, and stopped all its movements again, as if it was deciding whether to attack or not; its powerful body lay low on the ground, its muscles tensed, and it was ready for everything. It started to move suddenly, running towards the two of them along the corridor, the movement of running in large strides was weird and terrifying. "Turn on the light, now!" Pendergast called. Margo raised her hand and fumbled to turn on the miner's lamp, and the corridor was immediately bathed in strong light.Almost at the same moment, she heard a deafening bang, and Pendergast's powerful pistol exploded beside her.The monster stopped immediately, and Margo could see it squinting and shaking its head against the glare.It bent and sat back, as if it was going to lick the waist and legs scratched by the bullet.Margot felt that consciousness was stripping reality: the monster’s head was close to the ground, its skin was pale, its elongated skull was extremely terrifying, and the bullet left a white mark above its eyes; Long and sharp claws; the back half of the body squats on the ground, the skin is full of folds, and there are five toes at the end of the hind limbs.Hair and dried blood were tangled together, and the scales on the back of the body glistened with blood.

boom!The monster's right front leg jerked backwards, and Margot heard a chilling roar of anger.The monster turned around to face the two of them, and leaped forward, the strings of saliva hanging from its chin swaying wildly. boom!The gunfire rang out again, but this time it failed to hit the target, and the monster continued to rush towards them, picking up its pace leisurely. boom! Like a movie played in slow motion, she saw the monster's left hind leg thrown back, the monster staggered slightly, but immediately regained its balance, and with another loud roar, the thick hairs on its waist and legs stood up, and the monster staggered slightly. Dash at them again. boom!The gunshot rang out, but the monster didn't slow down, at this moment, Margot clearly realized that their plan had failed, there was only enough time left for one last shot, and the monster would not stop charging no matter what. "Pendergast!" she yelled, staggering back, the miners' lamps shining upwards, trying to escape the small red eyes staring at her, the monster's eyes were easy to read: anger, greed, and triumph. Garcia sat on the ground, listening, wondering if the voices he heard were real: if someone out there was also trapped in this nightmare, or if his overheated brain was playing tricks on him. A completely different voice suddenly sounded outside the door, followed by two more in succession. He got up hurriedly.It can't be true.He fumbled to turn on the intercom. "Hear that?" said a voice behind him. The bang came again: once, twice; there was a moment's silence; then again. "My God, someone shot in the hallway!" Garcia yelled. After a frighteningly long silence, Garcia whispered, "Stop it." "Did it? Did they kill it?" Waters wailed. The silence continued.Garcia gripped the shotgun tightly, the pump and trigger ring slick with sweat.Five or six, that's all he heard, and the monster killed an entire well-armed SWAT team. "Kill it?" Waters pressed. Garcia listened carefully, but there was no sound in the corridor.This is the most terrifying situation: suddenly there is hope, but then it takes a sharp turn for the worse.He continued to wait. There was a click on the door. "No," Garcia hissed, "it's back."