Since it’s close to Halloween, I decided to write a short story. Parts of this story may or may not be true, but what I have seen will be forever in my memory and lives within my dreams. It’s not a scary story, but it’s of a mysterious world local to this area and below us. I will not disclose the names or places. Some of you may have been there too.
My story begins nearly a few decades ago in 1993 on a pleasant autumn day here in Kansas City on a busy street. I was with someone I worked with and we were given an opportunity to remove the remaining retail display cases of a former major local electronics retailer for our project. For a small fee, we were given addresses, master keys, and alarm codes for the former superstores.
The stores still had the large brand name across the storefront for years after they locked the doors, much like we remember Blockbuster did. I don’t remember any “for sale” or lease signs in any of the stores. I assumed they are still privately owned properties of a wealthy family. Why is this important? We had to call them after we failed to disarm one of the alarm systems and faced the loud alarm horn. Apparently, someone in the family changed the alarm codes and walked us through how to disarm us.
They also invited us to check out the long stairs going down below the basement. They told us to grab the flashlights at the door, because there was no electricity beyond the bottom of the stairs. They asked us not to touch anything down there, but welcomed us to look around. And this is where the story begins.
We thought it would only take several minutes, but we were gone for a few hours and it seemed like a lifetime. There was a door at the bottom of the stairs, leading into a dark concrete tunnel that lead into caves and more tunnels. The first mile of the tunnels deep below the Kansas CIty streets lead through caves filled with old WWI supplies that appeared only several years old like we had gone back in time. We did not have cameras on us like we do today, but our experience will be with us forever. This is where the world begins.
But the tunnels never had an end. There were many deep into this underground world where others ages ago built communities and contributed to a rich treasure unlike anything seen on the surface above.
Several years later, I bought a house in southern Kansas CIty several miles away from the site. The house, like most others in Kansas City, had a room in the basement totally enclosed in concrete. The real estate agent explained they may be from the cold war era and serve as a shelter from a nuke. Some of us had converted these rooms into fully furnished entertainment rooms.
What I will never forget and what will always be with me is a section of crumbling wall that lead into the tunnels. This is where the story never ends. The tunnel would always call me and ask me to reach new places. After work many nights, I would travel further. This is where dreams and the real world become mixed. I would meet others and share a permanent bond in these tunnels. I sold the house a few years ago and it might even be on the market today as it’s been through a few owners. I guess the tunnels didn’t invite them as they left so early. But every time I close my eyes, the world below welcomes me again and shares its great treasures.
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