The guard pushed open a heavy wooden door set into what looked like the foundation of the village hall, revealing a dark entrance that led underground.
"Inside. Now."
He practically shoved us through the entrance, then pulled the door shut behind us.
I heard the lock click from the outside.
My eyes narrowed.
This looks bad. Worse than I thought.
We stood at the top of a stone staircase that descended into darkness.
Lamplight flickered from somewhere below, casting dancing shadows on the rough-hewn walls that had been carved directly from the earth and stone.
The shelter opened up at the bottom of the stairs into a large underground chamber.
Stone walls stretched in all directions, the low ceiling supported by thick wooden beams that groaned occasionally under the weight of earth and village hall above.
The air was thick and stale from.
And there were bodies. Lots of them.
People huddled together in clusters throughout the room.
