Chapter 17
Violet
The Chapel of Saints was darker than I'd ever seen it.
No candles flickered at the altar. No moonlight filtered through the stained glass. Just shadows upon shadows, broken only by the faint glow of our phones as we made our way down the aisle toward the door that led to the ossuary below.
“How freaked out are you on a scale of one to ten right now?” Cherry whispered, the black cloak she wore billowing slightly as she moved.
“About an eleven,” I murmured as I adjusted the hood of my own cloak; cheap theatrical fabric that Cherry had procured from the costume closet at the theater.
Underneath, I wore a nice black top, jeans, and flat black boots, and my hair was curled and pinned, makeup done in dramatic smoky eyes and pink lips.
Party-ready, just in case we needed to use our cover story.
Cherry had thought of everything. If we were caught in the ossuary tunnel, we'd play dumb and say we were doing a spooky season scavenger hunt that was followed by a party.
She'd even organized a fake event at the theater—a witch-themed gathering scheduled for ten, complete with a Facebook event page and a handful of theater students who'd agreed to show up and corroborate our story if needed.
The scavenger hunt was supposedly leading us to various ‘spooky’ locations around campus that contained hidden treasures. That way, we could say we'd simply stumbled upon the tunnel entrance while searching the chapel and ossuary, and then we’d decided to check it out like any curious group would.
“Almost ready?” Jeremiah asked, pushing open the door that led down to the ossuary. In his hands, he held something that looked like a tiny helicopter. “I'm going to send the drone ahead first. Just to make sure we're clear.”
I nodded, watching as he powered on the device. A tiny red light blinked to life on the GoPro camera mounted to its underside. The drone lifted smoothly from his hands with a quiet whir, hovering in the stairwell before descending into the darkness below.
Jeremiah pulled out his phone, the screen showing the live feed from the camera. “Okay, stairs are clear. Let's go.”
We descended single file, and the air grew colder with each step, that familiar musty scent of old stone and even older bones filling my lungs.
“Jesus,” Cherry muttered, glancing around the ossuary as Jeremiah pushed open the tunnel door. “It's even creepier down here at night.”
“Yeah, it’s like a horror movie,” I murmured, pulling out my phone and turning on the flashlight app. The small beam cut through the yawning darkness in the tunnel beyond the entrance, and as we made our way forward, the door automatically clicked shut behind us.
Jeremiah sent the drone forward, watching the feed carefully. “Tunnel looks clear for at least fifty feet. Let’s get moving.”
We started walking, footsteps echoing off the stone walls. The passage was wider than I expected, with a high ceiling and a path smooth from centuries of use. Every few yards, small alcoves were carved into the walls; recesses barely deep enough for a person to squeeze into.
The drone buzzed ahead of us again, its red light disappearing around a curve. The night vision camera feed on Jeremiah’s phone showed nothing but empty tunnel stretching ahead.
“How far do you think it is?” Cherry asked, her voice hushed even though we were alone.
“Jennifer said about fifteen minutes at a normal pace,” I replied. "But we're going slower because we keep checking ahead with the drone, so maybe twenty?”
A few minutes later, Jeremiah froze.
“Shit,” he hissed, pulling the drone back. “I think I hear someone behind us.”
“What?” Cherry spun around, her eyes wide with panic.
Before he could respond, I heard distinctly male voices echoing off the walls behind us. Someone was definitely heading toward us, from the ossuary end of the tunnel.
Jeremiah was already moving, grabbing Cherry's arm and pulling her toward the nearest alcove. “Get in. Now.”
I killed my flashlight app and pressed myself into the alcove across from them, the cold stone digging into my back. I held my breath and went completely still as the voices grew louder, and soon I could see the pale glow of a phone light moving across the ground.
“—telling you, Liam is going to lose his shit when he finds out,” one voice said, getting closer.
“He'll get over it. He always does,” another replied with a laugh.
“True. Hey, do you think they’ll have Jolie’s girls there tonight?”
“Huh? Who’s Jolie?”
“She owns that club down in the city. They usually hire her dancers as the entertainment at these things. Remember last year?”
“Oh, right, yeah! Those girls were fucking hot.”
The two guys were almost on us now. The beam of their light was brighter, and I could hear the scuff of their shoes as they walked. If they looked to either side, if they shined the light into the alcoves… we were screwed.
The footsteps passed.
The voices continued, growing fainter as they moved away from us, and their words faded into unintelligible murmurs, then silence.
I stayed frozen for another thirty seconds, waiting to make sure they were really gone. Finally, I heard Jeremiah's voice whispering across the tunnel.
“I think we're clear.”
I turned my phone light back on and stepped out of the alcove, legs shaky with relief. Cherry emerged from hers, pressing a hand to her chest.
“Holy shit,” she breathed. “That was way too close.”
Jeremiah sent the drone behind us, checking the feed carefully. “We should wait a few more minutes before we go,” he said. “Make sure there's no one else coming.”
We stood in tense silence, listening to the emptiness of the tunnel. Every second felt like an hour. Finally, Jeremiah nodded.
“Okay. Let's keep moving. But we need to be even more careful now. If there were two guys coming from campus, there might be more.”
“I hope not. Jennifer said they usually don’t use this tunnel much,” I said, anxiously glancing over my shoulder.
We continued forward, moving slower now, pausing every few feet to listen. I was just starting to think we might actually make it to the estate without incident when I heard Cherry stumble behind me.
“Ow, fuck!”
I spun around to see her catching herself against the tunnel wall, her right foot lifted off the ground.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I tripped on something.” She tried to put weight on her foot and hissed in pain. “Shit, I think I twisted my ankle.”
Jeremiah moved closer, shining his phone light at the ground. Sure enough, there was an uneven section of the tunnel floor where two stones had shifted, creating a lip that was easy to miss without a light aimed directly at it.
“Just give it a few minutes,” Jeremiah said. “It might be okay to walk on then.”
With a grimace, Cherry slid down the tunnel wall into a seated position, cradling her sore ankle in her hands. “Oh my god, this fucking sucks,” she muttered.
We waited in fraught silence for a few minutes, and then Jeremiah extended a hand. “Ready to give it a try now?”
She nodded and accepted his hand, letting him pull her back to her feet. Then she tested her weight again and winced. “Fuck. No,” she gritted out. “It’s still really bad.”
“You can’t walk at all?”
“Not properly. I think I might’ve actually fractured something,” she said, shaking her head. “You two should go ahead without me. I’ll limp back to the medical center and get this looked at.”
“Hell no!” I said. “I’m not leaving you alone in this tunnel while you’re injured!”
“Yeah, no way,” Jeremiah said. “What if someone else comes down here and sees you? You won’t even be able to run away from them.”
Cherry winced again. “I’ll just tell them the cover story. I’m down here exploring after finding this place during the scavenger hunt.”
“Nope. No one’s gonna believe you went into a random tunnel at night alone,” Jeremiah said, shaking his head. “We need to go back with you.”
“But tonight is the Dionysus initiation,” she said. “It’s really important!”
“That’s true,” I said, mind whirling. “Okay, how about this? Jeremiah and I will walk you back to campus and take you to the medical center. We’ll drop you back at your dorm afterwards so you can rest your foot, and then the two of us will come back down here.”
Jeremiah glanced at his watch with a grimace. “The problem with that is… we don’t know how long it’ll take to get her checked out,” he said. “The medical center is packed on Friday nights because of all the drunk idiots around. So we could be stuck there for an hour. Maybe even more.”
“Also, getting to the med center in the first place could take ages, because even with you two helping me walk back up this tunnel, it’ll still be really slow,” Cherry added.
“So even if you drop me off at the center and come back here right away, that could still eat up a ton of time that we don’t really have. ”
“Good point,” I muttered, scratching the back of my neck. “All right, how about this instead? Jeremiah, you take Cherry to the medical center while I go on ahead. Then you come back down here and meet me… wherever I end up on the estate, I guess. I’ll keep you posted with texts.”
His eyes widened. “You can’t go alone!”
“It’s only five more minutes down the tunnel,” I said, gesturing into the darkness. “Ten, max. I’ll be fine.”
“But you won’t have either of us to help you if you get caught.”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself. “Honestly, it’s just a risk I’ll have to take,” I said. “At least one of us needs to be there tonight, and soon, because this initiation ceremony is probably one of the Club’s most important annual events. So we really, really don’t want to miss it.”
“Unless we want to wait an entire year for the next one,” Cherry muttered.
Jeremiah sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re really willing to go by yourself?”
“Yes.” I nodded firmly. “Besides, you’ll be coming too. Just a bit later.”
He stared at me for a long moment, conflict written all over his face. Finally, he nodded. “Fine. But be careful. Text me the second you get there, and stay hidden.”
“I will.”
Cherry grabbed my hand, squeezing it tight. “Please don't do anything stupid, Vee.”
“I'll try my best,” I said, managing a weak smile.
I watched as Jeremiah helped Cherry turn around, supporting her weight as they began their slow journey back toward campus. Cherry looked back once, her face pale with worry, before they disappeared around the curve in the tunnel.
Then I was alone.
I sucked in a deep breath. Five minutes. That's all it would take. Five minutes and I'd be at the estate.
I forced myself to start walking again, counting my breaths to keep the panic at bay. A few minutes later, the path ahead began to slope upward slightly, and the air grew less stale.
I was getting close.
The tunnel ended abruptly in a set of stone steps leading up to a heavy wooden door. I climbed carefully and pressed my ear against the door.
Silence.
I tried the handle. It turned smoothly, well-oiled despite its apparent age, and the door swung open with barely a whisper.
Cool night air brushed my face as I finally stepped out, taking in my new surroundings with wide eyes.
The estate grounds stretched before me, vast and manicured.
Perfectly trimmed hedges formed geometric patterns across the lawn, and ornamental trees cast long shadows in the moonlight.
To my left, I could see the dark shapes of outbuildings, and straight ahead, rising against the night like a temple to some forgotten god, stood the Dionysus mansion.
The colossal building was four stories high and sprawled outward in multiple directions, wings extending like open arms. Its pale stone facade was carved with fluted columns and marble statues, and I could see warm light spilling from many of its arched windows.
I pulled out my phone and opened the camera app, zooming in to get a better look.
At the bottom of the sweeping front steps, four black-clad security guards stood like sentinels, heads turning in slow synchronization as they scanned the forecourt and nearby grounds.
Two more guards waited at the top of the steps, discreetly checking the credentials of incoming guests before ushering them through the towering entryway.
I closed the camera and quickly typed a message to the group chat. Made it! Mansion is straight ahead.
Jeremiah texted back right away. Do you see any guards?
Me: At the front of the mansion, yes, but I don’t see any patrolling the outer grounds.
So I’m going to duck behind some hedges and slowly creep forward with them as my cover.
Might be able to get close enough to an unguarded window to see some stuff.
Might even be able to get some pics if I spot anything interesting.
Jeremiah: Okay, but be really careful!
I tucked my phone away and looked over the estate again, trying to get my bearings. Jennifer had said the ossuary tunnel came out on the east side of the estate, and she’d also said she doubted the ceremony would happen in the south wing, as that was where they ‘kept the girls’.
If I was currently on the east side of the property, then the south wing would be on my left. That meant my best bet for spying on the ceremony was to head in any other direction, as long as I stayed well away from the heavily-guarded front area.
I crouched behind the closest hedge and began to creep slowly forward. Before I made it more than twenty feet, a voice cut through the darkness behind me.
“Stop right there.”
I jerked around, heart leaping into my throat.
A man stood ten feet away, dressed in dark clothes with a security badge clipped to his belt. In his hand, pointed directly at me, was a gun.