Isidoro #2
“You were ready to drive off, but I was right.” He points at me, still grinning and proud. “Maybe that bottle just fell. Or maybe somebody knocked it over, and whoever they are, they have to have gone down there.”
I crinkle my nose. “Hmm, perhaps. Or maybe I was pretending to give up and simply wanted to let you be the one to figure this out.”
His jaw goes a little slack. Then he laughs. “You are so full of shit, dear husband.” His hand wraps around mine, urgent but gentle. “Let’s go see what’s down there.”
Our descent down the rope ladder is rather uncomfortable.
The drop is perhaps a hundred feet or more, but the narrow space doesn’t allow for a jump without risking breaking a bone or two.
That in itself isn’t really a problem, but serious injuries like these take longer to heal, and if there is somebody down there, it would give them enough time to figure out what we are up to.
Julian gets to the bottom first. Foul-smelling water sits there, and unfortunately there isn’t a way to avoid dipping my designer ass in it. Scrunching my nose, I let go of the rung and jump down, damp stone around me.
“Julian,” I say, wading in the icy-cold water. But he’s nowhere to be seen. “Julian?”
Something slithers around my feet. I hiss, my incisors and claws extending, but before I get a chance to strike whatever unfortunate creature has decided to mess with me, Julian’s head pops out of the murky water.
“There’s a tunnel,” he says, his red eyes shining with excitement. “Follow me.”
I don’t even get to protest before he dives in, disappearing somewhere below. A glance up at the bright circle we entered through, and I do the same.
Even with my vampiric vision, it’s very disorienting. The water swallows the light too quickly, its thick, slightly viscous texture so cloudy I can’t even make out my own body. There’s no way to tell how deep this thing goes or where exactly this tunnel Julian was talking about is.
I spin, turn upside down, not sure where the surface is anymore.
My chest constricts. I don’t like claustrophobic places full of water like this.
The ripples my movements create die off before they can hit the walls of the well, leaving me stranded and even more confused.
The air I gulped down starts to run out, and while I will not die from the lack of oxygen, the sensation of drowning is not one I enjoy.
Fear slowly slithers its way inside me, conquering me inch by inch. I… This is silly, I know this. But I was caught off-guard, swallowed by this sluggish water that seems to pull me deeper and deeper with every second that passes.
Frantic, I search for the surface. But no matter in what direction I go, I can’t seem to reach it. It’s like the narrow well has suddenly turned into an infinite abyss of dirty water intent on becoming my tomb.
I shudder, the need to scream ripping me from the inside.
My lungs fill with water as I fail to suppress it, as I keep fighting to find the way out of this trap.
This is ridiculous, I know this logically, I know I won’t die, but the instinctual fear has already captured too much of me, giving me a taste of what a fate worse than death feels like.
A hand finds my wrist amidst the chaos I’m fighting.
It clasps me in a death-grip, then pulls me.
I let it, clinging to it like a lifeline and kicking my feet to keep up.
A minute later, arms wrap around me, pulling me out of the thick water.
I sprawl onto my back on the wooden walkway, my heart trying to rip a hole out of my chest.
“Shit, are you okay? I thought I lost you there,” Julian says, hovering over me as I try to catch my breath and not die of embarrassment.
“Yes, just give me a moment.” I close my eyes and think back to more comforting things, like Mary Elisabeth grazing on fresh grass. It calms me down, that is until Julian’s impish grin flashes inside my mind.
Snapping my eyes open, I sit up. He reacts just in time to avoid our heads colliding.
“We are in some kind of a cavern,” he says, offering me his hand.
I take it, still a little jittery to stand on my own. “You could’ve left me down there. This would’ve been the perfect accident to get rid of your husband,” I say, seeking out his eyes.
They smile before his mouth does. “I thought about it, not gonna lie. But well, I’m not one to go back on my word. We have an agreement and a truce until we figure out my father’s murder, and I intend to honor it.”
I study him, the slight shake in his hands as he can’t seem to figure out what to do with them.
Is that really all there is to it? Or is there more?
Do I want there to be more? I kill that line of thought immediately.
It’s not the time for it, nor the place.
I must not get carried away just because he didn’t abandon me in the well.
“Thank you,” I mutter, anchoring myself to the sensation of solid ground beneath my feet.
His mouth forms an O. I expect him to throw a joke at me. “You are welcome,” he says instead. Then he hesitates. “What was that? What happened?”
I catch the start of a smile as I nod and brush past him, my cheeks uncharacteristically warm. “It was just an old memory making an entrance. I’m fine now. Let’s see where this leads.”
“But—”
“It’s nothing, Julian.” I suppress a shiver as the memories try to resurface again. “Let’s go. Now really isn’t the time to revisit the past.”
Five minutes later, it’s obvious that we are in some kind of a cave system as Julian said. I wasn’t aware of any natural ones existing in this region, which means that it must’ve been artificially made. By whom? How long ago? For what purpose?
“Is this a door?” Julian pipes up, running ahead. “It is…”
“Well, open it,” I say when I catch up.
He huffs. “Are you going to scold me like last time?”
My left eyebrow shoots up. “Would it matter if I did?”
He considers that, his lips quivering. “Nope. I don’t think so.”
“After you, then.”
He grins and twists the knob, swinging the door open. A dim overhead lamp hisses softly, illuminating the space inside just barely. My hackles rise—something isn’t right in here, I can sense it.
Slowly, I set foot inside the room, Julian right next to me. There are a few desks, old computers, a couch and a wall partition behind which I see a row of beds.
“What is this place?” he whispers, taking in the strangeness of it as I do the same.
A bunker of some sorts? A hideout? Somebody’s side project?
We move further into the room, keeping side by side. None of the computers turn on when I try them, and when I pull out my phone to call in a team, I get no service.
“Isidoro, look,” Julian hollers from what seems to be a kitchen space.
When I join him, he points at the leftovers on the table. Blood bags and bones. I sniff them.
“Recent?” he tosses.
I nod. “Yes. Someone was here not long ago.”
He hugs himself. “Or they might still be.”
“I doubt that. If they were, they heard us rummaging through the old factory and probably ran away. That’s how they knocked the bottle over,” I counter, moving on to examine the sleeping quarters.
“I guess? But where did they go? We saw no one. It’s not exactly like they could’ve hidden somewhere.”
The sheets are dirty and smell of something I can’t place. It’s not the smell of a human, not exactly, but there are hints of something humanlike in it in the same way we or other supernatural beings carry it. However, it’s also unlike anything I’ve encountered before.
The fear from earlier returns, pulsating inside me. I’m suddenly on edge, not surrounded by water, but feeling as if I’m back there in that confined but endless abyss. Whatever this smell is, it was in the water too, and it seems to trigger some primal fight-or-flight response in me.
“Isidoro, what’s wrong?” Julian snarls, his incisors out. He bristles like a cat trying to stave off danger. “Something’s not…”
He can feel it, too. Less than me it seems, probably because the gifts of his bloodline lie in strength more so than enhanced senses.
He marches toward the second bed. I halt him with a hand to his chest, more so out of reflex than consciously, as that foreboding twist in my gut worsens.
It startles him, his heartbeat elevating.
I bare my teeth, hissing in warning. “We are not alone. There’s someone—”
A shadow darts between the two beds furthest from us, knocking over some books from a nightstand. The predator in me awakens fully, charging at it.
Yellow eyes flash at me as I tackle somebody down.
Male, bigger than me. Strong. Definitely not human or vampire.
We roll on the floor, and I ready my claws for a deadly attack, but my target is faster.
Sharp pain surges through me as something cuts into my flank.
I growl in agony, my grip faltering just enough so my attacker can slip out of my hold and book it.
“Julian! Don’t let him get away!” I scream at the top of my lungs, grunting as I press on the wound to quicken the healing.
Julian nods and bolts out of the room. I take a few moments to gather myself, but the bleeding is taking ages to stop. When it eventually slows down, I run after the two. Julian is fast and strong, he’ll catch up to whoever is down here with us. That water tunnel’s a trap. They stand no chance.
My hackles rise for the second time. My instincts scream danger. Something growls and collides with me, sending us both into the metal dining table.
“Isidoro!” Julian screams, bursting into the room as I try to wade off the rampaging attacker.
Gray skin surrounds those haunting yellow eyes. Stained teeth try to bite off my neck. It almost looks like a freakish ghoul half-breed, but it’s not. Ghouls are no match for us vampires, they are lesser beings, weaker, meant to serve. This is a creature I’ve never encountered before.