Once they were through, James had the door shut, the bolts resealing noisily, the rust and aging iron, tightening its grip once more on the old wooden door.
"How did he know it was me?" Charlotte breathed. James stood opposite her, pressed against the wall. He shook his head and put his finger against his lips. Charlotte could hear her heart pounding in her ears, hammering against her rib cage. Her head reeled from the adrenaline that was coursing through her body.
"Where are we?" James hissed, glancing around the dark tunnel they had rushed into, seeking refuge.
"I have no idea," Charlotte replied. She didn't recognise this place whatsoever. The tunnel was obviously disused and yet it was illuminated. The roof was low and the ground rough underneath their feet and the light that fell from the unevenly spaced lamps was dismal. The back of the heavy door, they had closed, was covered in cobwebs and dust. The corridor ahead of them stretched on before disappearing around a bend. It continued to slope bringing them deeper and deeper beneath the island. Charlotte shuddered. It was cold and damp down in the dingy darkness.
"We don't have much choice, though — do we?" James whispered. "We can only continue on. Bennett is on the opposite side of that door somewhere and I'll be damned if I am going to allow him catch us".
Charlotte nodded slowly. The dark tunnel definitely seemed the better option of the two. "Alright, but let's go now before they follow us any further," she agreed. "We have to get back to our rooms before Elmhirst finds our rooms empty". James looked at her grimly, before beginning down along the corridor. He had to slouch a great deal to stop himself from catching his head on one of the exposed rocks, jutting from the ceiling. Charlotte found she was slightly crouching too, mainly to ensure nothing caught her head by surprise.
"Do you think this place is in use?" Charlotte asked, running her hands along the rough wall. The walls were damp and the air smelt heavily of the sea.
"I guess so," James mumbled. "Why else would it be lit up? It must be used by someone".
"But who? The Forgotten use the eastern entrance and it's so deep under the school, I doubt the students or even the staff know about it. If Bennett knew of it wouldn't he have checked this way by now?" Charlotte glanced back along the dark tunnel but it remained empty.
"I can think of only one person who knows this island better than everybody else," James said, in a taut voice.
"Elmhirst," Charlotte replied. "But why would Elmhirst want a... secret passage?"
"I have no idea, but it seems like it's been a while since it has been used". James seemed to be fighting with cobwebs that were strung low across the tunnel before him.
"It's probably just a means of getting out without anybody knowing he was..." Charlotte's foot caught on a rock and she stumbled forward, cutting her sentence short, before she collided into James. The tunnel seemed to warp, ballooning out around them, tripling in height and width. James fell against the rock and earth sliding a little along the ground before coming to a halt. Charlotte tumbled on top of him. Winded, she rolled over, staring at the ceiling above her.
"Are you okay?" James coughed, helping her to sit up.
"Yeah," she winced. The shock of the fall seemed to have had more of an effect on her than the impact. "Sorry — I tripped," she whispered. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but we won't be for long if we don't get out of here. If we are still under the school they would have felt it when I expanded the tunnel. I didn't think and I haven't a clue what it could have upset above us..." James groaned, climbing to his feet and dusting of his clothes.
YOU ARE READING
Altered
Science Fiction'They wore uniform grey, their expression hard and distant, their muscles taut with expectation, as if at any moment they were ready to lead an assault, to carry out orders, to kill, to die. And yet they were. Kingston had trained these children to...
