CHAPTER 37: TUNNELS

The slide released us into a massive trash chute and before I could brace myself, our bodies collided together before crashing into the pile of trash and getting the wind knocked out of me. And then, all I could hear was the faint remnants of the metal slide rattling behind us as we disembarked from it carefully.

I forced myself to my feet after brushing the grime from my uniform. The air down here was different, stale and pungent as if it hadn’t seen the light of day or felt the touch of a human or Lycan in years.

"Are you sure people come down here?" I asked, my voice muffled as Valden brushed himself off and started clearing a path in front of us.

"Only to move the cargo inside. And even then it’s mostly using machines that bring it in from outside."

I gasped in surprise as I finally focused my eyes to see the view in front of me. It wasn’t just some basement cargo bay. Before me, like an underground labyrinth, stretched tunnel after tunnel on the sides with a massive one in the centre, wide enough for a vehicle to pass through. Their walls were donned with old pipes and lined with cracked glass panels. The ceiling buzzed with half-dead lights from above, and it was the only thing illuminating the otherwise entirely dark space.

"What is this place?" I whispered, bringing my arms up and hugging myself to shield from the chill.

Valden wiped his hands over his pants and scanned the wreck. "These are maintenance tunnels. They used to run beneath Kargahart back when the dome was first built for the workers and such. Once the city above us expanded, they sealed most of it off and left only one end of the tunnel for bringing in the cargo."

"So I guess we get out through that way right?"

He shook his head sharply. "Absolutely not. That takes us right to the city and straight into Darek and the Varcolacs."

That almost sent a slight tremor through me.

"Okay...then how are we going to get out then?"

"There’s another path in here," his voice dropped as if someone could hear us. "Everyone believes that the tunnels were sealed after the dome was built. But some of us managed to dig our way out. If we go through the last tunnel on the right we’ll reach a junction and then from there to the abandoned quarters. No one will be able to find us there."

The abandoned quarters.

Ice crawled up my spine at that. There was a reason no one went there.

"I’m sure Darek can find us if he wants to. He knows that’s the only place safe enough to hide."

"He won’t find us, Maeve. It’s not that easy. You’ll find out when you see it."

The abandoned quarters always made my stomach twist. There was a reason it was a safe place to hide. All the people who lived there had started to mutate into Varcolacs early during the mist days and Darek had gone ahead and decided to send word for them to be wiped out. It was mass genocide for hundreds of them. Hundreds of them, some of them who were probably not even infected. He had taken the easy way out instead of giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Even though the wretched quarters lay inside the dome, no one was ever bold enough to go back in there for fear of infection and mostly for fear that Darek would get them killed anyway.

We walked in silence for a while, the sound of our boots echoing against the walls. Here, we could no longer hear the war raging above us. My heart was still racing, mainly from the knowledge of what I was leaving behind. If Valden didn’t find a way to cure the curse I would die. If Darek found me, I would die.

How long would it take Darek to notice that I was gone?

How long before he got rid of the Varcolacs and then came for me?

Valden must have felt the shift in my confidence and fear because he suddenly reached for my hand and laced his fingers with mine. His hands were warm even though mine were probably freezing.

"Maeve," he said softly. "You did the right thing."

"Did I?" My voice cracked, betraying my resolve. "But then why do I feel like I’m betraying him?"

"I told you. The bond is strong. And the curse is stronger. It would want the both of you together. Once we get there, you’ll feel better. I promise."

I nodded, unsure.

"You don’t belong to Darek," Valden said now, a bit more harshly. His jaw clenched. "He’s only trying to control you through the bond and the curse. That bond, it’s a shackle and not love. You have to stop confusing the two."

I knew it wasn’t love. Whatever it was, it was forced.

Before I could respond, the tunnel shuddered and the ground beneath us trembled, dust showering from the cracked pipes overhead. Somewhere ahead, something screeched, long and guttural, like the scratching of claws against steel.

I froze. "What was that?"

Valden’s hand tightened around mine. His other hand went to the weapon strapped against his thigh. "Stay behind me, Maeve."

"Valden, what’s down here?" My whisper was a plea. I knew what the sound meant. We both knew.

He didn’t answer. His jaw was set, his body tense and his eyes were fixed on the looming darkness ahead.

The screech came again, louder and closer. Then came the wet sounds of dragging, as if something large and heavy was moving through the tunnels.

My blood turned cold. "That...that isn’t a Varcolac, is it?"

His silence was answer enough.

And then faintly, above the echo of the approaching thing, I heard something else.

A whisper. A voice that I’d grown so familiar with. That I’d grown to fear now.

Maeve...

My knees almost gave way. The voice pierced through my skull, raw and commanding, Darek’s voice.

Maeve, where are you?

I clutched my chest, gasping as the bond pulled taut, tugging me like a leash. My skin burned, throbbing in sync with my heartbeat.

Valden turned sharply, eyes wide. "Maeve, what is it?"

"He knows," I gasped, doubling over. "He knows I’m gone and he’s calling me through the bond..."

Valden cursed under his breath, grabbing my shoulders. "Fight it. Don’t let him pull you back."

"I can’t..." The word broke from my lips like a sob.

But then, from the darkness ahead, a shape moved.

Tall and twisted, its body scraped the tunnel ceiling as it shuffled forward, glowing eyes cutting through the black. A low, guttural growl rattled the air, and the scent of rot and mist swept toward us.

"That’s...that’s impossible. You said they couldn’t get in," I whispered.

Valden pulled me behind him, his long firing gun breaking free. His voice was tight, furious, and terrified.

"They weren’t supposed to."