CHAPTER EIGHT

The underground tunnels connect the islands and are the only way to access them without detection, from the outside. Till a few weeks ago, I was under the impression that the connection to the mainland was broken off or something. However, when two ex-counselors, Annabelle and Regan, managed to sneak some people into the tunnels, I realized that it might not have been the case then. Now, I know for sure that the entrance from the mainland has been blocked off.

Not that it matters.

Any desire that I had to explore the tunnels is long gone.

Unfortunately, other students don’t share the same sentiment which is why every student is assigned guard duty twice a month to check the tunnels under their respective island. Since the Level Zero and Level One islands are quite close, I’ve explored both their tunnels to an extent.

I follow Veronica down the chute into the tunnels.

I bump into her just as I’m about to jump down and both our flashlights slip from our hands, rolling onto the ground.

“Watch where you’re going, freak!” Veronica snarls, leaning down to pick hers back up.

“You know you keep calling me a freak,” I pick up the other flashlight, “but I’m not the one with a scar on my head and a bald spot. If we’re name calling, let’s at least be accurate.”

“That was your fault!” she hisses at me and I smirk.

“Yes, it was. And you’d best remember that.”

During my first night on the island, Veronica and a couple of her Level Three friends had broken into our barracks to harass us. It didn’t end well for them when they took that harassment to assault as Veronica decided to cut Beth’s face. My reaction was explosive, to put it demurely.

“Whatever,” Veronica gives me a disdainful look. “I don’t want to spend more time here than I have to, so you take the front end and I’ll take the back end.

I’m not exactly a fan of her making the decisions for us but, at this point, I don’t want to spend time in her presence either.

I watch her leave and I flash my light behind me at the long stretch of darkness and I shiver. My first time doing guard duty, I was under the impression that the tunnels were simply split into a main tunnel and then side tunnels. Boy, was I proven wrong.

This whole place is a twisted maze.

Sighing, I begin walking, keeping my ears trained for any sound. What was Rachel’s purpose in this? Doesn’t she know that Veronica has the hots for Jesse as well? Or did she think that pairing the two of us would result in some fight?

It’s clear she’s out to get me but I also can’t avoid her because she’s an assistant counselor. She is more than capable of making my life difficult here.

But that doesn’t mean she gets a free pass either.

I have to come up with a way to deal with her.

I turn my light towards the carvings on the wall which are basically a guidance system inside the tunnels. It’s not easy to decipher the symbols but I can do it enough to get by.

I stop and my fingers trace the carvings. These are so old. Who carved these and who built these tunnels? And then there are the vaults.

I’ve seen only two so far but one was under the Level One island and the other was under the Level Zero island. If I recall correctly, Regan managed to open the vault under the Level Zero island and he took something from there, and that’s one of the reasons there is so much security now on the islands. There are now students on patrol most of the time.

The one thing I don’t get, however, is why the counselors aren’t the ones checking the tunnels. Considering that the tunnels are potentially unsafe, especially considering the events from two weeks ago, why make the students continue patrolling the tunnels?

“It’s like they want us to get captured and killed off,” I mutter to myself. “Some school this is.”

I don’t know how long I’ve been walking for but at some point, the echoing of my footsteps softens and I know exactly where I am.

The vault.

I turn my flashlight in the direction of the massive double doors made of stone. It takes me a minute to realize that this is not the vault that was opened. My eyes take in the symbols carved on it. They’re different.

This vault is still sealed and there is something inside it, something important that the Director doesn’t want anyone to know about. But I’m not the only one curious about the contents of this vault. I remember my second guard duty with Anderson when he seemed to know about the vault already.

Considering that Anderson has tried to actively kill me from the moment I laid eyes on him, it’s understandable that the very thought of him makes me annoyed. He’s another Level One who tried to feed me to some insane piranhas on our first day here.

My hand reaches out and I hesitate, inches away from touching the door. I haven’t forgotten what happened the last time I touched a vault door with my bare hands.

I look around.

There’s no one here.

Maybe if I just try again.

Taking a deep breath, I move my fingers towards the door and then touch it.

Nothing can prepare me for the screams inside my head.

Blood.

So much blood.

A suffocating darkness that has no end.

I’m surrounded.

“No! Taylor! Wake up!”

My father’s voice.

The fury in it.

“Stop it!”

My eyes fly open, my vision blurry.

My cheek is resting against cold stone and dirt and it takes me a moment to realize that I’m lying on the ground.

My heart is thudding as I pull myself up into a sitting position.

What the heck was that?

I heard my father’s voice.

Now that I think about it, I heard it the last time, too.

My eyes fall on the doors and a strange sensation fills me. Is this the only way left to hear his voice?

And what was the blood and the screams?

My mouth feels strange.

Almost uncomfortable.

I can’t close it properly.

That’s when I feel the sharp edges grazing my lower lip.

For a moment, I don’t understand, but when my hands reach up to check, I can feel two edged teeth protruding from my mouth. What is this? I’ve never felt these before!

My heart nearly stops as I realize what the sharpness is.

Fangs.

Vampire.

I’m a vampire.

I’ve known that for two weeks now and thought I had come to terms with it, but feeling my increasing heartbeat and ragged breaths, it’s clear that I have not. Aside from my strength, I’ve never really felt my fangs.

And to think I was laughing at Beth for panicking over the fur on her arm.

“It’s okay,” I breathe in and out, trying to calm myself. “It’s fine. This was going to happen either way.

However, I crouch on the ground, trying to calm myself down. This is the worst place to have a panic attack. So far, all signs of me being ‘not human’ have been in terms of strength. This is the first physical change I’ve experienced.

And it’s freaking me out.

I don’t know how long I sit there, shaking, but at some point, the light from my flashlight begins to flicker. That catches my attention, distracting me from my fun little mental breakdown. And before I know it, I feel the sharpness disappear as my fangs retreat into my gums.

Picking up the flashlight, I smack it against my hand but it keeps flickering. Frowning, I take another look at it and suddenly go still.

This isn’t mine.

This is Veronica’s!

Wait, why would her flashlight not be working? Students always have to double check their batteries. I stare at the flickering light, alarm rearing its head. I recall how Veronica was standing too close to the bottom of the tunnel and when I bumped into her and our flashlights fell, she was the one who handed me mine.

I hesitate.

She wouldn’t.

Leaving me down here in the tunnels without a light is beyond dangerous. These tunnels aren’t safe. And it’s incredibly easy to get lost. That’s why students are not asked to go down alone.

The light flickers and finally shuts down.

“Veronica!” I shout out, scrambling to my feet, terror filling me.

However, all I hear in response is an echoing laugh.

My blood turns cold at the sound.

Even I wouldn’t be this cruel to leave somebody down here like this! Even if I despised them!

I can’t see in the darkness. Even if my vision can somehow make out the ground and the walls, I can’t see the carvings properly which would guide me back. Without any sort of light here, the tunnels are a death sentence.

Shaking, I try to calm myself down, all the while rattling and hitting the torch to make it start working.

“You can’t leave me down here, you crazy psycho!” I shout out but the laughter is gone, and I know for a fact, so is she.

I’ll deal with her later, I think to myself, grimly, forcing the fear to the back of my head. For now, I have to figure out a way to get out of here.

However, no amount of beating the torch within an inch of its life is helpful. A sound of despair leaves my lips and I finally give up. Touching the stone wall, I try to backtrack my steps but it’s hard. I took so many turns when I was walking that I don’t know if it’s even possible to retrace my steps.

Not that it stops me from trying.

I begin walking slowly, still smacking the torch every now and then against the stone wall, praying for a random miracle. But nothing happens. I even try touching the symbols carved on the tunnel wall which work as a guidance system, but without seeing them, I can’t make out what they are.

“It’s going to be okay,” I whisper out loud, my breathing ragged with fear. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. You’re going to get out of here and kick that crazy psycho’s ass. And then, if nobody’s watching, lock her down in the tunnels.”

The thought cheers me up for a few seconds when I realize that the ground under my feet is slightly inclined.

Inclined?

It wasn’t inclined when I was walking before.

I go still as my worst fears are finally confirmed.

I really and truly did end up getting lost.

Now what?