It was very evident that, whatever this place was, it was rarely inhabited. Dust and cobwebs coated the walls and stairs. Bits and pieces of the steps seemed to be completely crumbling away. There was a musty, dank smell that hung in the air, one that reminded Shannon of...decay. The staircase went deep; it seemed like it was ages before Jared's flashlight illuminated the bottom. Claustrophobia was not a word or idea Shannon would have readily reached for at that time, but there was no doubt she was feeling it as she considered how far underground they must be, how tightly packed in, and how isolated from the rest of the schoolâthe rest of the world, it seemedâthey were.
The walls did not widen out at all once they reached the bottom of the stairs. A long, sprawling corridor branched out in front of them, perhaps endless to their nervous minds. The musty smell was stronger, and Shannon could hear a soft crunching sound, like animals chewing through the walls.
"Where do you think we are?" Allison asked quietly. "Compared to the school, I mean."
"No idea," Caleb said, voicing all of their thoughts. He looked all around him, but there was little to see. A floor, a ceiling, and two walls at his sides.
"Do you smell that?" Ginger asked. "Ugh, it keeps getting worse."
"It's coming fromâaw, yuck!" Jared had turned his flashlight towards the ground, and the carcass of a dead rat appeared in its light. Maggots crawled around on its flesh, having their fill. Shannon felt nauseated.
"That's disgusting," Allison groaned. "What is this place?"
"A feeding ground," Dexter said quietly, and Shannon shivered. With a renewed sense of urgency, the seven of them maneuvered past the rat.
"Well, now we know something's really wrong with Tuly," Allison said. "She never would have willingly come down here herself."
"I think we knew that before," Dexter said.
Solemnly, they walked the long hallway. There was no end in sight. Shannon felt herself getting more anxious with every second that passed; twice she felt a cobweb stick to her body and nearly screamed, thinking it was someone touching her.
"Well," Jared said, making Shannon jump, "if we do find any vampires, maybe they'll be asleep. You know, it's daytime."
"Yeah," Ollie said, "but are we hoping we'll find any or not?" No one said anything. "Right. I thought so."
The group pressed onward in silence. The air in the corridor felt almost thick. Shannon wrapped her arms around herself; she felt cold, but she didn't know if that was the temperature or something else. She wasn't sure how long they'd been walking; it seemed the corridor would never end. The scuffle of their feet against the ground seemed loud enough to be gunshots.
After what could have been an eternity, Shannon saw what looked to be a light beyond Jared's flashlight. They walked a little farther, and then the corridor opened up into a large, cavernous room. It took a moment for Shannon to take in what she was seeing, and when she did she was filled with a dull and vague sort of dread.
It was a small bunch of candles that was creating the light. Shannon wondered how the flames could survive the close, stale air, but she supposed that was the least of her worries. All around the room were dark holes, obviously other corridors leading to other places. On either side of the room were two long boxes; it was obvious even to a child that they were crude coffins. But perhaps most disturbing, right in the middle of the room was a large hole dug in the ground. All around it, broken pieces of some kind of stone structure laid in a heap.
"Oh, God," Ginger said. "This is it, isn't it? This is where they've been."
"I bet those lead underneath the whole school," Ollie said, gesturing towards the many openings leading from the room.
"Oh, hell, we'll never find Tuly like this," Allison said.
"You don't think that, uh, maybe she's...already here?" Jared asked uncertainly, pointing to one of the coffin-boxes. Allison paled; Shannon could see it even in the weak light.
"I guess we'll have to see," Caleb said after a long pause. Without hesitation, he approached one of the boxes.
"Oh, be careful!" Ginger implored. Caleb paused for only one moment to look back at her with a reassuring smile, and then he lifted the lid.
"Oh, yeah," Caleb said. His voice sounded thin. "We found the vampires, all right."
The whole group moved closer as Caleb moved back. They all stuck close together; Shannon noticed Allison's hand come up to clasp Caleb's arm. Ollie gripped the back of Jared's shirt. Stuck shoulder-to-shoulder between Allison and Ollie, Shannon peered into the box. There, lying on an unimpressive mound of dirt, was one of the vampires they had seen the night in March. The same that Jared had seen at Kraus farm on Thanksgiving. She was still wearing her flowery, blood-stained dress. She looked more human lying there; if not for the fact that she wasn't breathing, Shannon might have believed she was just an average person asleep.
She knew better than that.
"I bet the blonde one is in that other one," Shannon said, barely louder than a whisper. The vampire did not so much as stir.
"Then where's Tuly?" Dexter asked.
"She could be anywhere!" Allison said, sounding frustrated. "God, only Tuly Lewis would get herself transformed into a vampire."
"I don't really think she did it on purpose, Allison," Caleb said. "And we don't know she's a vampire yet."
"We better find her soon," Allison said, and Shannon thought that went without saying.
"I hope I'm not pointing out the obvious," Ollie said hesitantly, "but, uh, we haven't looked down there."
She pointed to the hole in the ground. Somehow, Shannon had almost completely forgotten about it. She couldn't tell for sure from this angle, but it looked pretty deep. Almostâ
Like a grave.
Shannon took half a step forward, trying to get a better look. Admittedly, she was too nervous to completely leave the sides of her friends. She still could not see much of anything; she looked instead to the broken stone pieces lying around the hole. With a jolt, she saw a face staring back at her, and all at once she realized what the pieces were. All around the hole in the ground were pieces of a large broken crucifix, much like the one that hung at the front of St. Patrick's, Shannon's family's parish.
"Oh, look what they did to Jesus," Ollie groaned, apparently recognizing the pieces of rubble as well.
"Come on," Shannon said, taking Allison by the arm. The other five followed close behind them as Shannon and Allison approached the hole. Shannon was squeezing Allison's arm too hard, she knew, but Allison didn't say a word and Shannon didn't dare let go. Being mindful of the broken pieces of the crucifix, Shannon walked to the edge and looked down. A long ways downâ
Six feetÂ
âwas a third coffin, much more traditional this time. It was lying open. There was nothing and no one inside.
"Oh, boy," Jared said, "that's not good."
"Maybe...that's for Tuly?" Ginger asked hesitantly.
"Well then where is she?" Allison asked. She gestured at the ground at their feet. "And what's all of this?"
The arm of the Christ lay at Shannon's feet. Other pieces of the body and the cross were scattered about, like some grotesque religious mockery.
"Look, we gotta find Tuly," Allison said. "She's a pain in the ass, but I don't want her to die."
"Touching, Allison," Dexter said wryly.
"We should take care of these two first," Shannon said, nodding at one of the coffin-boxes.
Allison looked at her appraisingly. "You really want to do this, huh?"
Shannon shrugged. "We've got the chance. We should do it now before something else happens."
Shannon found herself in great agreement with the Allison of just a few months ago. One way or another, this had to end. From what she'd learned, it had been going on for years. Empty promises that things would change fell from the lips of people who should've done more. Shannon certainly saw the irony that seven schoolchildren had gotten farther than anyone else had.
"She's right," Caleb said. "They're sleeping now. Let's not find out what they'll do when they wake up."
"You got what we need, Jared?" Shannon asked.
"Of course," Jared said. With one hand, he began to dig around in his bag once more. "Honestly, you guys would be so dead if not for me."
"Yeah, yeah, you're a true hero," Allison said impatiently. "Hurry up."
With a dramatic flourish, Jared produced two wooden stakes. He looked around at the group apologetically. "I could only get two. I didn't want my dad to get suspicious."
"I don't think your dad would even notice," Dexter said under his breath.
"Anyway, I think Ginger should do it," Jared said, giving Ginger one of the stakes. "I think she'll...have the best luck."
"It's always me," Ginger complained.
"Should've gotten a different gift then," Jared shot back.
Ginger opened her mouth to make a retort, then closed it, settling for glaring at him, arms crossed. Jared smiled innocently at her.
"Give me the other one," Shannon said, holding a hand out to Jared for the other stake. He looked at her in confusion but handed the piece of wood over nonetheless. Shannon looked at Ginger. "We'll do it together. I'll get one, you get the other. I don't know what will happen, but I don't want to take any chances. I don't want them to wake up."
"You sure?" Allison asked.
"Aren't you?" Shannon replied. Allison looked at her for a long, long moment, and then she nodded.
"Let's do it quick," Jared said, "before something goes wrong and we all die."
"Oh, don't worry," Ollie said. "There's plenty of time for that. We still have to find Tuly, after all."
"Thanks for the reminder, Ollie," Jared said, grimacing.
"Are you ready?" Shannon asked Ginger.
Ginger shrugged and laughed, short and wry. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess. Just wanna get it over with."
Shannon nodded. She walked away from the hole in the ground and the empty coffin and the broken crucifix. She went back to the first coffin-box they had looked at, the one holding the vampire with the flowery dress and short brown hair. Allison and Caleb trailed after her; Ginger, Jared, Dexter, and Ollie went to the coffin on the other side of the room.
"Together then?" Ginger asked.
"On three," Shannon agreed.
Don't take any chances.
Allison and Caleb took hold of the lid and held it open. Jared, Dexter, and Ollie were doing the same thing on the other side. For a moment, Shannon felt like it was too easy. Here these monstrous creatures were, and after all the carnage they had done they would not even put up a fight. Shannon was looking at a corpse, both literally and figuratively. The vampire did not budge an inch.
"Ready?" Shannon asked. Ginger voiced her assent. "Okay...one...two...three!"
Shannon drove the stake home as hard as she could manage, praying that she was aimed at the heart. She felt the sickening break of skin under the point of the stake in her hand. The vampire's eyes flew open, red and awful. Shannon felt hands clasp around her own; Allison had let go of the lid and was holding the stake with her, pushing down as hard as she could. There was a fire in her eyes that shocked Shannon in its intensity. Shannon thought she heard bones breaking. The vampire let out a mighty shriek, and then in one instant she turned to dust, falling away to lie on the bottom of the coffin box. Shannon and Allison both staggered forward, the stake now slicing through thin air.
***Ugh, this part of the chapter ends so abruptly, but idk...this whole chapter seems so long, I didn't want to post it all in one. Oh well, it is what it is. Thanks, as always, to everyone who voted and commented, especially since updates have been few and far between lately. :)***