Page 15 of Sixty Meters Under

“Good,” Lennart said, and his thoughts went to his mother again. He hoped she would be okay. He himself tried not to panic.

Moments later Björn entered the garage accompanied by a young woman. When Lennart spotted them, he raised an eyebrow. “Who do we have here?”

The young woman with long dark hair looked at Lennart shyly and introduced herself, “I’m Maya, Björn’s girlfriend.”

Björn looked at Lennart with a smug expression and packed their bags in his own car.

“Nice to meet you,” Lennart said with a small smile, and looked over at his brother who focused on organizing his trunk. He didn’t say anything else, just shook his head, and went into the house to get the groceries. When they had filled their cars with everything they could squeeze in, they set off.

?

The streets were totally jammed as they drove deeper into the town. The roads, the sidewalks, it was as if all the people living in the city had entered the streets all at once and not in a celebratory manner. The atmosphere was not at all Christmas-like, as it was hours ago. Now people walked all over each other,with Christmas lights shining in the background. Many exited the stores carrying full bags of groceries.

Lennart drove slowly and carefully; he was worried that someone would accidentally jump under his car. People hurried in all directions. Unfortunately, there was no other way to their destination; they had to drive through the city to get to their hideout. It crossed Lennart’s mind that maybe they should wait a few hours until the mass exodus calmed down a little.

Lennart sighed while they stood and waited for cars to move and decided to call his mother.

Anna answered after the third ring.

“Yes?”

Lennart felt relieved hearing her voice. “How’s it going?”

“We’re still transferring the patients to the basement. What about you?”

“I’m in the car, trying to get through the city.”

“It’s jammed, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. We’re barely able to move. I hope it’ll get a little better in an hour or two.”

“I feared it would be like this,”Anna said, and added,“Well, we also released some patients home, but there are many left in the hospital. I hope I’ll be able to leave soon and join you.”

“I hope so too.”

“Are Björn and Hugo with you?”

Lennart looked in the rearview mirror and confirmed, “They are.”

“Okay. Be careful.”Lennart could hear a few voices in the background before his mother added,“I have to go now. See you soon.”

Fifteen minutes passed, but they were still moving inch by inch. Lennart knew they had no other choice but to wait to make their way through the jammed streets. It took them more than an hour before they finally got to the point where they could drive smoothly. When they finally arrived, they parked their cars in the garage and moved their things into the bunker through the connected entrance.

?

By the time they unpacked their cars more residents had arrived. The doorbell buzzed in the hallway, and Nils, the guard, went to check the cameras first.

“Who is it?” Lennart asked when Nils returned.

“Mr. Aalberg and his wife.”

A dentist and a teacher. Very professional people. The Landberg family knew them personally and had offered them a place in the bunker at the beginning of the renovation. Lennart wanted to get people of sound character in their bunker. Andeveryone who submitted a questionnaire was thoroughly vetted by him.

“Let them in.”

Lennart knew they had to be careful. Although the bunker was well hidden, many knew of its location. For this reason, they had made identification cards and gave them to every person who bought a room in the bunker and their close family members. Well, Björn’s girlfriend was an exception.

Mr. Aalberg and his wife entered, dragging their suitcases behind them. Nils checked them before letting them further inside.