Chapter 22 The Escape – Luna
The tunnel entrance is hidden behind a false wall in the basement of the old science building. Jack Hunt removes the panel with practiced ease, revealing darkness that smells of mold and standing water.
“This is insane,” Leyla whispers beside me. Her usual cheerfulness has evaporated, replaced by raw terror. “We’re actually doing this.”
“We don’t have a choice.” Belle’s voice is cold. Final. She’s already moving toward the opening, a flashlight in one hand. “Anyone who wants to stay behind and take their chances with Selena, speak now.”
No one does. The ten of us stand in silence. Me, Belle, Max, Leyla, Jack, Tyler, Ellie, Tucker, Maisy, and Raegan. The core of our little resistance. The students who know too much to be safe.
“Max leads.” Belle looks at each of us in turn. “I’ll take the rear. No talking unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you need to stop, tap the person in front of you twice. If there’s danger, tap three times. Understood?”
They all murmur agreement.
“Luna.” Belle’s blue eyes find mine in the dim light. “You stay close to Max. You start spiraling, you start seeing things that aren’t there, you tell me immediately.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not. But you will be.” She touches my shoulder briefly. “We’re getting off this island. We’re finding Erik. We’re ending this.”
I want to believe her. Want to cling to the certainty in her voice.
But all I can think about is that gunshot. That terrible, final sound. Erik’s hand, unmoving at the edge of the frame.
“Let’s go.” Max drops into the tunnel first, his flashlight beam cutting through the darkness. “Watch your step. The floor is uneven, and there’s standing water in places.”
I follow him down. The ladder is slick with moisture, each rung treacherous. My hands shake as I descend into the earth.
The tunnel is worse than I imagined. A low ceiling that forces us to hunch. Walls that seem to press in from both sides. Water dripping constantly. The sound echoes in the confined space.
Claustrophobia claws at my throat. I force it down, focusing on Max’s back ahead of me. On putting one foot in front of the other. On breathing.
The group moves in tense silence. Our flashlights create weird shadows that dance across the curved stone walls.
Max navigates with confidence, consulting the map he and Erik created during their scouting missions. Left at the first junction. Straight through the section where the ceiling has partially collapsed. Right where the tunnel forks.
Erik was here. Erik mapped this route. Erik planned for this escape.
The thought makes my eyes burn. I blink hard, refusing to cry. Not here. Not now.
We’ve been walking for maybe twenty minutes when the water gets deeper. What was ankle-deep becomes knee-deep. The cold seeps through my jeans, making my teeth chatter.
“How much further?” Tyler asks, his voice echoing.
“Halfway.” Max’s response is clipped. Focused. “Keep moving.”
The tunnel narrows ahead. We have to move single file, turning sideways in places to squeeze through. My shoulder scrapes against rough stone. Someone behind me whimpers. I think it’s Leyla.
A sound ahead makes us all freeze. Footsteps. No. Water dripping. Just water dripping from a crack in the ceiling.
My heart hammers against my ribs. Every sound is a threat. Every shadow could hide danger.
“Keep moving,” Belle says from the back. Her voice is steady. Commanding. “We’re fine. It’s just the tunnel settling.”
We press on. The passage opens up slightly, giving us room to breathe. But the water is deeper here. Thigh-deep now. Moving sluggishly in the direction we’re heading.
“Is this normal?” Jack asks. “The water, I mean. When you and Erik scouted, was it this deep?”
Max hesitates, just for a second, but I catch it. “It’s been raining. The water table is higher than usual. But the exit is above the flood line. We’ll be fine.”
He’s lying. Or at least not telling the whole truth. The water wasn’t this deep when they explored before.
Which means either the tunnels are flooding, or something has changed.
I don’t voice my concern. The others are scared enough already. If I start questioning Max’s confidence, we’ll have a panic on our hands.
Another twenty minutes. The tunnel curves, following the natural contours of the island’s foundation. We pass old maintenance equipment. Rusted pipes. A section where the walls are shored up with rotting wooden beams that look ready to collapse.
“Don’t touch anything,” Max warns. “The structure here is unstable.”
We move carefully, each step deliberate. I watch the beams above us, half-expecting them to give way and bury us alive.
But we make it through. The tunnel straightens out again. The water starts to recede slightly. Relief floods through me.
Then I see it. A shadow ahead that’s different from the others. Human-shaped. Standing in the middle of the passage.
“Max.” My voice comes out strangled. “There’s someone ahead.”
He stops. His flashlight beam swings forward.
Nothing. Just empty tunnel.
“Luna, there’s no one there.”
“I saw someone. I swear I saw—”
“It’s the shadows.” Belle’s hand finds my shoulder from behind. Squeezes hard. “Your mind is playing tricks. Keep moving.”
I force my legs to work. Force myself past the spot where I saw the figure. There’s nothing there. Of course, there’s nothing there.
But for a second, I could have sworn it was Erik.
The tunnel continues. Endless. Suffocating. Time loses meaning in the darkness. We could have been walking for an hour or three. I can’t tell anymore.
“How are we doing?” Tyler asks. His voice sounds thin. Strained.
“Almost there.” Max consults his map again. “Maybe fifteen more minutes.”
“Thank God,” Leyla mutters. “I can’t take much more of this.”
None of us can. The oppressive darkness, the constant drip of water, the way every sound echoes and distorts. It’s maddening.
Another junction appears ahead. Max pauses, checking his map.
“This is where it gets tricky,” he says. “The exit is through the right passage. But there’s a section that’s partially collapsed. We’ll need to crawl through. Single file. No equipment except one flashlight.”
“How collapsed are we talking?” Jack asks.
“Manageable. Erik and I both fit through when we scouted. But it’s tight. If anyone has serious claustrophobia issues, speak now.”
Silence. We’re all terrified, but no one’s backing out now.
“Okay. I’ll go first. Luna, you’re behind me. Belle comes last to make sure everyone makes it through.” Max looks at each of us. “Stay calm. Keep moving. It’s only about twenty feet of crawling, then the tunnel opens up again.”
He disappears into the right passage. I follow, my pulse racing.
The collapsed section is worse than I expected. The ceiling has caved in, leaving only a narrow gap between fallen stone and the floor. We have to belly-crawl through, flashlight clenched between our teeth.
The weight of the earth above presses down. I can feel it. Tons of rock and soil, held back by luck and crumbling supports. One wrong move. One shift in the foundation. We’d be buried alive.
I focus on Max’s feet ahead of me. On the circle of light from my flashlight. On breathing.
In. Out. In. Out.
Don’t think about Erik. Don’t think about being trapped. Don’t think about dying down here in the dark, where no one will ever find us.
My elbow hits something sharp. Pain lances through my arm. I bite back a cry, tasting blood where I’ve bitten my tongue.
Keep moving. Just keep moving.
After an eternity, the passage widens. I can lift my head. Can get my knees under me. Can finally stand in a crouch.
Max is waiting, helping me up. “You okay?”
I nod, not trusting my voice.
One by one, the others emerge. Jack, then Tyler, Raegan, Ellie, Tucker, Maisy, Leyla. Finally Belle, looking remarkably composed for someone who just crawled through a death trap.
“Everyone accounted for?” she asks.
“Everyone’s here.” Max checks his map one final time. “The exit is near. Maybe five more minutes.”
Those five minutes stretch like hours. But finally, finally, I see it. A ladder leading up. A metal hatch above.
Fresh air. Freedom. Escape.
Max climbs first, testing the hatch. It resists. Rust or weight or both. He puts his shoulder into it, shoving hard.
The hatch gives with a screech of protesting metal. Cool night air rushes down into the tunnel. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever felt.
“Come on.” Max pulls himself up and out. He reaches back down to help me.
I grab his hand. He hauls me up. Suddenly, I’m out of the tunnel. Standing on solid ground. Breathing air that doesn’t taste like mold and desperation.
The others follow quickly. All of us desperate to be out of that claustrophobic nightmare.
We’re on the far side of the island. Rocky shore. Dense trees. The ocean crashes against the rocks nearby, impossibly loud after the muffled silence of the tunnels.
“Where are they?” Leyla asks, looking around frantically. “Where’s David’s team?”
“There.” Max points.
In the distance, maybe a quarter mile down the shore, I see lights. Flashlights. Figures moving. A boat pulled up on the rocks.
Relief hits so hard my knees buckle. Belle catches me before I can fall.
“We made it,” she says. There’s wonder in her voice. Like she didn’t actually believe we’d succeed. “We actually made it off the island.”
“Not yet.” Max is already moving toward the lights. “We’re not safe until we’re on that boat and away from Selena’s reach.”
We follow him along the rocky shore. It’s treacherous in the dark. Wet stones. Uneven footing. But after the tunnels, it feels like walking through paradise.
The lights get closer. I can make out faces now. David Stone stands at the front of the group, his storm-gray eyes scanning us as we approach.
“Thank God.” He moves forward, pulling me into a brief hug. Then he looks at the rest of the group. “Everyone okay? Anyone hurt?”
“We’re fine.” Belle steps forward. “Is everything ready for tomorrow?”
“Federal agents are assembling now. They’ll hit the island at dawn, right when The Harvest is supposed to begin.” David’s expression hardens. “We’ll catch them all. Every network member, every conspirator, everyone attending that sick event.”
“Erik.” My voice comes out broken. “Did you find anything about Erik?”
David’s face falls. “I’m sorry, Luna. We don’t know anything yet. But when we raid tomorrow, finding him is our top priority. I will get my brother back.”
Not good enough. Not nearly good enough. But it’s all I have.
“We need to move.” One of David’s team members approaches. A woman in tactical gear. “The boat is ready. We should get you all to the mainland before someone notices you’re gone.”
We start toward the boat. Ten exhausted students who just crawled through hell to escape a monster’s island.
I look back once. Shark Bay rises in the distance, Gothic and imposing even in darkness. Somewhere in there, Erik is trapped. Hurt. Maybe dying.
“We’re coming back for you,” I whisper into the wind. “I promise. We’re coming back.”
Belle’s hand finds mine. Squeezes once. She doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t need to.
Tomorrow, we burn it all down.
Tomorrow, we end this.
Tomorrow, I get Erik back or die trying.