It's Halloween, and Karina notices something strange in the town where she lives. Among the pumpkins and fake tombstones, people are... vanishing. It seems into thin air. The clock is set and time is running out... Can she stop who, or what, is caus...
A small stone passage had opened in the wall directly behind the desk. It was pitch black within it and the stench of stale air reached my nose from the opening. The sound of water dripping echoed off of the stone walls.
"A secret passage?" I questioned as Salem crouched down beside me. It was obvious that's what it was, but I was curious as to why Lauren's family had a hidden passage in their basement office.
Salem opened a drawer in the desk and dug through the papers stuffed inside. He pulled a small flashlight out. The light clicked on.
"How did you know that was there?"
He looked down at me crouched on the floor. "They would have to keep one close by for the room." He joined me again on the floor before handing me the flashlight. I gave him a questioning look to which he responded, "I can see better in the dark." Oh, must be a Venator thing.
I accepted the light.
Crawling through the small stone passage was horrible. I had forgotten to mention that I was claustrophobic. It had never really been a problem before and I often forgot I suffered from it. But right now, I definitely remembered. My heart beat was picking up with each passing minute in the cramped space. I tried to control it. I was on a mission to save Georgia and I couldn't go back now. I prayed Georgia was on the other side of wherever this tunnel let out.
Just when I thought my heart was going to give out from stress, the passage ceiling and walls disappeared.
Very carefully I stood and tried to find the walls with my hand. My hands grasped nothing but air. Salem shifted out of the tunnel behind me. "A room," he clarified before my real panic began to set in. I flashed the light around and found that we were indeed in a secret underground room. From what I could see the room was empty.
The light caught on a dark shape in the back left corner of the room. Someone was in here.
My heart skipped a beat as I walked closer.
Please be Georgia. Please be Georgia. Please be Georgia.
The figure laid on the ground, unmoving. As each step brought me closer I started to realize that the person was much to small to be any adult. I crouched down in front of the figure.
The person wasn't breathing as I rolled them over onto their back. The figure's glassy eyes reflected the light from the flashlight back at me. Their face and clothes were coated in soot and grime.
It was the little girl I had seen outside of the costume shop with Allison... and she was dead.
With a broken sob, I jumped back from the little girl's body, dropping the flashlight in the process. It rolled a few feet away. Salem was beside me in a second. He checked her pulse, found out what I already knew, and began looking through her pockets. "What're you doing?" I couldn't manage to push my voice above a whisper.
"I'm looking for a -" he pulled a small folded piece of paper out of the girl's jacket sleeve. He unfolded the paper and scanned the script in the darkness. He stood abruptly.
I grabbed the flashlight and scrambled to my feet as well. "What does it say?" I asked looking down at the scrap of paper in Salem's hands. I couldn't make out the words in the darkness without shining the light on it.
Leaning closer to Salem, I put the flashlight over the piece of paper. 'Venators shouldn't play with little girls who know too much.' the note read cryptically.
"Was this the 'little girl who knew too much'?" I motioned to the girl's cold body. Had this young girl gotten mixed up with a Venator and gotten murdered because of it? One thing I did know was that I couldn't leave her here to rot away silently. She had to have parents who deserved to know what happened to their daughter.
I pulled out my phone and started to dial 911. It was the only thing I could think to do.
Salem grabbed my hand before I could put in that final one. "You can't call the police." he stated.
"We can't just leave her here!" my voice echoed off the stone walls.
He sent me a bored look. "You can't call the police from that." he was talking about my cell phone, "They can track the location and see that it's registered under your name. They'll know it was you who called."
I slipped the phone back into my pocket. "Call from a landline?" I suggested.
He didn't say whether or not he agreed, but he started back toward the small entrance to the passage. I did not want to go back in there.
"Salem-" I started to tell him when a click echoed around the room. I instantly froze and his back muscles tensed underneath his shirt.
Slowly, he lifted his right foot and the sliding of stone against stone could be heard again. The tunnel was closing! I ran to Salem's side, alarmed that we were about to be trapped in a dark room with a child's rotting corpse.
To my utter surprise and relief, the opening to the room didn't close. Instead another panel, which was above the first, slid open. Now an actual doorway entered from the office into the hidden room. Well then.
Salem continued forward again, careful this time not to step on switches hidden in the darkness.
The artificial light was blinding on the other side. I blinked my eyes several times to get adjusted to the new light. Searching through the desk, I abandoned the flashlight back where we found it and pulled out a blank sheet of paper. I grabbed a pen and scribbled down a note for the police to find. It detailed instructions for how to get into the secret room and passage.
I looked up after hiding the note to find Salem coming back into the room. "The police are on their way." He called the police? "You should get your friends and leave."
Upstairs I found Charlie and a tipsy Hannah in the main party area. "There you guys are!" The music was still incredibly loud and I continued to struggle to be heard above it as it pounded through the speakers. "We need to leave!"
Charlie nodded and Hannah hiccupped. She leaned her head on Charlie's shoulder drowsily. At my concerned look Charlie explained, "Someone spiked the punch. You should have seen this little tiger earlier." I barely heard him.
He scooped her up bridal style and we made our way out of the thumping crowded party.
Outside the night air was cold and nipped at my skin. Salem was nowhere to be seen as he had already fled the scene, leaving no trace behind that he was ever there.
My car was a welcome sight against the dark houses of the surrounding neighbors. The many teenagers still left inside had no idea what was heading their way.
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A/N
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CELEBRATION TIME!!!!!!! I uploaded *satisfied smile* lol no IT'S 2018!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy New Year everyone! XD I hope this year turns out better than the last.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you next time. ;)
