Chapter 55
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
EVERLY
T he alarm is sounded just as we get to the massive bust of a stag. The electrical torches that line the hallway flicker out, casting us in total darkness. Maverick’s arms tighten around me as I gasp in fear.
Thankfully, the light returns almost instantly. Rather than the warm orange glow, however, they flash bright white then red. A small siren fills the hallway. I can hear the start of someone shouting down a nearby hallway.
“Braum, hold up! Here!” I call out as he nearly passes the next marker.
Braum skids to a stop as Maverick slows. Rowan slides around Maverick, each footstep slightly unsteady, and approaches the statue.
“Okay, now what?” he asks. Rowan reaches up with both hands and rakes his fingers through his tangled, bloodied blue hair. It’s hard to miss the tremble in them as they rise, though.
He’s in pain and tired. My stomach threatens to turn inside out when he looks at me.
I’m not repulsed by Rowan’s appearance. I’m repulsed by the cruelty that inspired this torture.
It takes everything in me not to tear up every time my eyes land on his face or when our eyes meet and I see the anguish in his. Now isn’t the time to cry.
“There’s going to be a hatch right behind it,” I tell him.
Braum slides around the statue, having to press against the smooth wall to give himself enough space to do so. There’s a pause before he calls out, “Yeah, it’s here!”
Rowan sighs in relief. “Thank fuck.”
“I can’t get it open,” Braum calls out a second later.
“Here,” Rowan turns to me and Maverick. “Give her to me.”
I can feel Maverick’s body stiffen at the request. When I look up into his face, his expression dark and full of hate. His upper lip lifts at the corner to bare his teeth at Rowan. Just when I think he’s going to object, Maverick’s grip on me loosens.
“I can lean up against the wall,” I offer when Maverick begins to pull me away from his chest. “That way you don’t have to?—”
“I can hold you while these two figure this shit out,” Rowan cuts off briskly.
I’m placed on the balls of my feet, the least injured part of them, and I hobble over to Rowan. He makes it easier for me by stepping up and wrapping his arm around my waist before dragging me into his side. He holds me tight, taking most of my weight onto him.
“Thanks,” I whisper up at him.
He nods grimly. His silence is bothersome.
It must be from pain. I can’t imagine how badly it all must hurt.
Without warning, I throw my arms around Rowan’s waist and bury my face into his chest. He grunts in surprise.
It’s followed immediately by both his arms wrapping around me in a tight embrace.
The sound of his heart beating settles something inside of me.
When I lift my head, it’s in time to see Maverick shoot Rowan a glare before squeezing behind the statue to help Braum.
“How are you holding up?” I ask Rowan, keeping my voice down. I know he wouldn’t want Maverick to overhear him admit to any type of weakness.
Rowan doesn’t reply. Instead, his hold on me tightens. His body trembles for a second and I can hear the hard gulp he swallows. Oh Rowan…
The sound of metal being cranked causes me to flinch. Rowan pulls me tighter against him but relaxes when Maverick sticks his head around the statue.
“Come on, you two. We got it open.”
Rowan helps me over to the bust of the stag then hands me off to Maverick, who helps me get around the statue. It’s easier for me than any of the others. When I reach the back of it, there’s a small metal hatch open, with a ladder leading straight down into the darkness.
“That woman wanted us to go in there ?” Braum asks skeptically.
“She said there are motion-sensor lights somewhere down there,” I explain helpfully.
“Or she wants us down here and trapped in the dark forever,” Maverick mutters. “We don’t know her real motive for helping us.”
I agree, it feels uncomfortable receiving help from a stranger deep down in this underground world.
“What other choice do we have?” Rowan asks, stepping up. “I’ll go down first. If there’s anyone down there, I’ll be the first to face it.” His face twitches into an expression I can’t read. “Not that I have much of a face to do so, but I guess you get what I’m trying to say.”
I reach out for him, but he backs away. He moves past Maverick then squats, ready to climb into the dark hole.
“If something happens to me, you guys know it’s not safe to bring her down here. Go in any direction other than down, okay?” Rowan says grimly, looking over at Braum then toward Maverick.
Both guys nod, Braum even reaches out to squeeze Rowan’s shoulder in solidarity, but I shake my head frantically.
“No, Rowan. Don’t talk like that! We’re coming down right after you!”
He looks at me last. “I don’t want the last thing you to see to be my face. I’d rather it be one of theirs, so listen to them and try not to be a brat, alright?”
“Rowan!”
But he’s already started to descend into the darkness.
I stumble, attempting to go after him, but Maverick’s arm wraps around my waist and pulls me away from the edge of the hole.
The three of us hold our breath as Rowan disappears from sight.
Time ticks by. Each second feels like a year.
Afraid for Rowan, my heart won’t settle.
Its frantic beat makes it hard to breathe and even harder to remain still.
Maverick’s arms hold me tighter when I lean over the hole.
When too much time has passed, I open my mouth to call down to Rowan.
Maverick slaps a hand over my mouth just as a set of footsteps hurries past our hiding spot.
I freeze. I hadn’t even heard anyone coming!
I cringe back against Maverick’s chest, praying that whoever it is doesn’t poke around to find us here.
“There’s no sign of them down the Redwood Hall,” a man’s voice says.
There’s a crackling of a radio before someone replies. “Copy that. Head toward Greenbridge and circle back around. They can’t have gotten far. Most doors are locked.”
The voice and footsteps melt away as they put distance between themselves and our hiding spot. Just as it’s silent again, Rowan breaks out.
“There’s a drop off; I don’t know how far it is to the bottom!” he calls up from way down in the dark.
My stomach clenches. Before I can call back to come back up, that we’ll figure something else out, he adds, “I’m letting go.”
“No!” I call out instantly, terrified of what he’ll fall into.
I don’t hear the impact as he hits the bottom, but suddenly a light flares to life down below. The three of us peer down to find Rowan staring back up at us. I can’t gauge the distance between us but he looks tiny all the way down there.
“You’re good! The drop’s only about two feet off the ground,” Rowan calls up.
“You heard him, let’s go,” Braum says. “Vick, you go first and?—”
“No, you go first,” Maverick cuts off sharply. “Everly will go next. I’ll cover our backs.”
Braum doesn’t look inclined to argue. He simply nods then turns his attention to me. “Think you can handle going down these rungs? It’s too narrow for you to climb onto our backs and for us to carry you down.”
“I can handle it,” I promise.
There’s nothing that will stop me from getting out here with them. What’s a little pain?
It's more than a little pain. The rungs of the ladder are rusted and abrasive. They tear up my feet with each step. The pain is secondary to my fear, as I follow after Braum. When it’s Maverick’s turn, he closes the hatch behind him.
The heavy clang of it slamming shut is rattled around in the tight space, causing my insides to vibrate.
Braum swears beneath me then whispers urgently, “Hurry up! They might’ve heard that!”
When I get to the last rung, Braum’s there, waiting to catch me as I fall.
“Oh!” I gasp when he does. My smile of delight vanishes at the sight of blood drops splattered all over his head and shoulders. “Oh, Braum! I’m sorry!”
I reach up to wipe them off, knowing it was my feet that caused the mess, but he leans back, out of reach.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s the least of my concerns right now,” he says. The skin around his eyes is tight with worry but when our eyes meet, that tightness lessens a little. “We’ll tend to your feet as soon as we can.”
He steps back with me still in his arms to give room to Maverick. When Mavie joins us, I finally take a second to look around.
We’re in a strange circular room made of cement.
The walls are smooth and the floor slightly slanted with a large grate in the middle.
The lights that flickered on when Rowan dropped down are LED and built into the walls about five feet over our heads.
Other than our presence, the space completely empty.
All except for a door with a metal latch.
“As much as I want to believe this is going to lead us to freedom,” Rowan drawls as he approaches the door, “we need to go up to get to the surface but we just went way down, further into the earth.”
The rest of us don’t say anything to this but there’s a silent, grim agreement that passes between us.
It’s Rowan that decides to unlatch the door.
When he grabs for the large handle and tugs, the door opens with a wretched, loud, rusted metal squeal.
I cringe, and Braum swears under his breath.
Maverick steps up, putting himself between us and the door, effectively blocking my view of what’s on the other side.
“Oh, fuck,” Rowan says at once.
“What? What is it?” Braum asks.
The stench hits me like a wave and my stomach rolls. Instantly, I know exactly where that door leads.
“I’m pretty sure we’ve just found an access point into the Labyrinth,” Rowan answers.
“Fuck,” Maverick spit. “Now we’re going to get trapped in what essentially is a sewer and drown if the water starts to rise.”
My heart slams in my chest but not with fear this time.
“Braum, put me down,” I order excitedly.