"Holy smokes," Caleb said.
"Yeah," Allison agreed.
"You guys okay?" Ginger called. Shannon looked over; Ginger's clothes were spattered with dust and her face was ashen.
"Fine," Shannon responded. Her head felt light. The whole thing had gone so fast; it seemed...anticlimactic. She and Allison were still holding the stake between them. Shannon wondered vaguely if she'd be able to uncurl her fingers from around the wood.
"It's...we did it," Allison said in shock. "We actually did it."
Allison stared at the empty coffin-box, mouth hanging open, eyes wide. Shannon was surprised to see that she was trembling.
"Allisonâ" she began.
"What was that?" Ollie asked, suddenly stick straight, looking around anxiously. The candles cast shadows across her face, creating a ghastly illusion.
"What?" Dexter asked.
Ollie held up one finger, her nose in the air like she was trying to identify a scent, and then a resounding scream came from somewhere in one of the tunnels branching off from the room. Shannon gasped, the sound ringing again and again in her ears. She had heard that noise once before. Panicked, she looked down at her right hand.
"Who does it want?" she cried. Her hand was blank.
"What?" Allison asked.
"It'sâit's a Follower," Shannon said rapidly. "Who is it after? Oh God, we gotta get out of here."
"A Follower?" Ginger asked, her voice shooting into the stratosphere as she said the last syllable. "Areâare you sure? Why is it here?"
"It's a Follower, and it's here," Shannon said firmly.
"Butâwhatâwho?" Allison asked brokenly, bringing her right hand up in front of her face. She turned her palm out to Shannon for good measure. There was nothing there.
"We have to go," Shannon said forcefully, smacking Allison's hand away. Down one of the long, dark tunnels, she could hear footfalls.
"Holy smokes," Caleb said. Shannon followed his gaze, and all the air left the room.
There it was, just like Shannon had seen the night of Sarah Benadine's memorial, now seeming entire eternities ago. Pale white, impossibly tall, six-fingered, the Follower appeared from one of the tunnels. Its teeth were bared, showing off every crack and every chip. Nausea swept over Shannon as she looked at it; in one of the Follower's cavern-like eyes, there was a ragged black hole, like something had been thrust into it.
Something like a tree branch.
Next to her, Allison pulled something out of her pocket. Only as it was soaring through the air did Shannon realize what it was: a yo-yo. It hit the Follower squarely in the face.
"A yo-yo?!" Shannon cried.
"No time," Allison said. "Run!"
With a hoarse bellow of rage, the thing charged. Shannon took off, not paying attention to where she was going. She was only focused on getting away from the creature. Someone caught hold of her hand; in the chaos, she couldn't be sure who it was. She felt herself being drug towards one of the tunnels. She could no longer remember which one they had come from. They all looked the same. Someone came up behind her and pushed her on.
All light fell away once they entered the tunnel. Shannon could not see a single thing. She pressed onward because she had to, half-certain that eventually they would run straight into a wall and be trapped. She still couldn't be sure who was with her; she couldn't see. She heard someone shouting, but their voice was distant.
"Go, go, go!" the person behind her screamed. It sounded like Ginger.
Whoever was in front of Shannon had a steel grip. Shannon's fingers were nearly crushed in the person's hold. Gingerâif it was Gingerâwas packed in tight behind her, one hand on Shannon's lower back. As Shannon ran, she could've sworn the whole floor was shaking. She could still hear the Follower, its heavy footfalls so much louder than hers and her friends, and she could tell it was chasing after them.
"Oh, goddammit," said GingerâShannon was sure of it now. "Go!"
Ginger gave Shannon one mighty push that sent her straight into whoever it was that was in front of her. Both of them just barely managed to keep upright. With a shock, Shannon realized Ginger was no longer behind her.
"Ginger!" Shannon cried, frantically searching through the oppressive darkness, trying to make anything out at all. The first thing she saw was the bright white body of the Follower closing in on them.
"Go!" Ginger repeated; Shannon could just make out her silhouette. "I'll take care of it!"
"Are you nuts?!" cried the third person with them. It had to be Ollie. "You'll get yourself killed!"
"Go," Ginger said forcefully. "I've got a chance."
Ginger's arm moved; straining her eyes, Shannon was able to see that she was holding up the stake she had used to kill the vampire.
"Go," Ginger said one final time, before turning away from them and running straight at the Follower. She cried out as she drove the stake into the middle of the Follower's chest. The creature's own shrieks mingled in the air with Ginger's.
Shannon felt a tug on her hand.
"Come on," Ollie said; Shannon was close enough to be able to make out her face. "We have to go."
"Gingerâ" Shannon protested.
"She can handle it," Ollie said. Her voice wavered. "Come on."
Ollie dragged Shannon along, moving as fast as both their feet could carry them. Shannon couldn't tell how Ginger was faring, but she could still hear her. She supposed she'd have to trust Ollie; she wasn't sure the two of them would be any help at all anyway.
Before long, Shannon began to see a light glowing farther along. It was faint but it was there. In a matter of seconds Shannon and Ollie ran into another room quite like the first, but smaller and with only one tunnel leading elsewhere. There were two lonely candles on the ground on the far side of the room. In the middle of the room in a white heap was Tuly Lewis, a dark figure looming over her.
"Tuly!" Ollie cried.
The figure that had been bent over Tuly looked up. Immediately, Shannon knew it was another vampire, but not one she had ever seen. She was small and looked no more than twenty, and yet somehow Shannon knew this vampire was old. It was a feeling she had not experienced with the two others. It was like she was seeing hundreds of years of time reflected in one body.
"Oh, I wouldn't if I were you," the vampire said, her voice soft and almost childlike. "We wouldn't want to disturb her."
The vampire rose to her feet; her face was still obscured by shadows, but Shannon could see blonde hair and red eyes glowing out of the darkness. The vampire raised an arm and scrubbed the length of her forearm across her mouth. Shannon looked down at Tuly and saw red streaks painting the girl's neck.
"You killed her," Shannon said dumbly.
"Oh, no!" the vampire replied, sounding genuinely upset. "Of course I didn't! Not her. She's much too lovely. I want to keep her forever." The vampire stepped further out of the shadows; when she grinned, Shannon could see her sharp teeth, tinged red. "I love children. They have so much more life than adults do."
Ollie was still holding Shannon's hand, and she squeezed so tightly it was painful. Shannon realized she'd dropped her stake sometime in the chaos with the Follower. Both of them were weaponless.
"They listen better than adults do, too," the vampire said thoughtfully. "Those two out there made such a mess." Those red eyes seemed to look inside Shannon, perhaps even past her. "I'm awfully sorry about the trick I had to play on you all. The girl in the dining hall. What a waste. But I needed someone to find us. To teach those two a lesson. They liked you, you know. The group of you. But they had it all wrong; they weren't ready to create. And I only play with what I intend on keeping. I never should have brought them down here."
Ollie gave a sharp intake of breath. Shannon figured she was squeezing Ollie's hand as tightly as Ollie was squeezing hers.
"You have such lovely hair," the vampire said, looking at Ollie. "I've never turned a redhead before. Not in all my years."
The next thing Shannon knew, the vampire was directly in front of Ollie. Shannon had not even seen her move. Shannon could see her whole face now. It was awful, but nearly impossible to describe. The vampire was beautiful; that much could not be denied. But there was something wrong, like looking at an unfinished drawing. Shannon couldn't put her finger on the specifics, she just knew it wasn't right.
"I hope the Follower didn't bother you," the vampire said, bringing one delicate hand up to cup Ollie's cheek. Ollie flinched. "We haven't had much peace down here since I got out of that godforsaken pit. I suppose everything comes with a cost." She looked at Ollie sadly. "You would be so beautiful if I could keep you like this forever. Maybe some other time."
In a way that could only be described as casual, the vampire took Ollie by the arm and threw her to the side. Ollie soared through the air like a rag doll, landing with a shriek. The vampire was gone again, standing over Tuly like she had never left the girl's side. Shannon felt frozen to the spot as the vampire bent down, looking to drink.
"No!" Ollie screamed. The air was knocked out of Shannon's lungs. The vampire went flying backwards towards the wall, away from Tuly and towards the two candles. For one split second, the vampire stared at Ollie, her red eyes wide and shocked, and then she disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Holy crow, Ollie," Shannon said when her breath had returned to her. "That was amazing! I didn't know you could do that!"
"Yeah," Ollie said weakly.
"That must be some magic book you have," Shannon said. She looked over to where the vampire had been. "Do you think you killed her?"
"IâI don't know," Ollie said, voice shaking.
"I don't know where else she would've gone," Shannon reasoned. "Wow, I can't believe you did that. That was so cool!"
The amazement was wearing off however, and Shannon remembered where she was. She looked at Tuly and then at Ollie, who was sitting on the ground and staring at the space the vampire had disappeared from with wide, incredulous eyes.
"Come on," Shannon said. "We gotta get Tuly out of here."
"Right," Ollie said distractedly. Shakily, she tried to get to her feet, but cried out when she put weight on her right leg. "I think I've twisted it or something."
"Oh no," Shannon said. She rushed over to Ollie side and examined the girl's ankle. Ollie had to be right; the area was already swelling. "We need the others."
Like he had been summoned, Caleb's voice called from far away, "Shannon? Ollie? You guys there?"
"We're here!" Shannon called back. There was a pause that seemed to go on forever, and then Caleb, Allison, Jared, Dexter, and Ginger all appeared out of the tunnel Shannon and Ollie had come from. Shannon breathed a sigh of relief to see Ginger was disheveled but, thankfully, still in one piece.
"Oh, shit, Tuly!" Allison said immediately, running over to where the girl was.
"Oh my God, what happened to you guys?" Jared asked.
"There was a third one," Shannon said. "A third vampire. I think...she had to be the one that was trying to turn Tuly. She seemed...old."
"You thought so too?" Ollie asked. Shannon nodded.
"A third vampire?" Dexter asked. "What happened to her?"
"Ollie killed her," Shannon said. "I think. I don't even know what she did. Must've been something she learned in that magic book. It was like an explosion. She just sent the vampire flying."
"Hey, neat!" Jared crowed.
"What about you and the Follower?" Ollie asked Ginger, seeming desperate to have attention off of herself.
"Ginger destroyed that thing," Jared said. "I couldn't believe it. You should see it; it's just kinda lying out there in the tunnel."
"Sheesh, Jared," Ginger said. "It wasn't that impressive. Nearly got me a whole bunch of times."
"I don't know, Ginger," Dexter said. "If I was ever in trouble, I think I'd want you on my side. You could take on anything."
Ginger blushed and ducked her head, pointedly looking away from Dexter. Jared smiled and clapped her on the back good-naturedly.
"Look, I know we're all really proud of each other and happy no one's dead," Allison said, "but Tuly might actually be dying. We really need to get her out of here."
"She's right," Caleb said.
"Someone's gonna have to help me," Ollie said with a weak laugh. "I can't stand."
"Oh, great, we've got two invalids to worry about," Jared said.
"Shut up," Ollie shot back.
"Look, I had an idea," Ginger said quietly. "Dex, do you think you could teleport out of here? 'Cause if you can, you could go get help. You know, just in case something happens to us down here. Then people would at least know where we are."
"I can try," Dexter said, but he didn't sound very convinced.
"It's a good idea, Dexter," Allison said. "We need to make sure Tuly gets help. She's barely breathing."
"Right," Dexter said, nodding his head and biting his lip. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A sound of squeaking came from somewhere in the distance. He cracked an eye open. "What's that?"
The whole group went quiet and listened. The squeaking was growing louder; it sounded like it was coming from the second tunnel leading out of the room.
"Oh God," Ollie said, eyes popping wide. "Rats. Rats!"
Shannon was sure she was right. By the sounds of it, there was a whole swarm headed their way. The whole group looked around in panic.
"We have to go," Allison said. "Go, Dexter. Now!"
Without another word, Dexter disappeared. Caleb rushed over and scooped Tuly up; she hung limply in his arms. Much the same, Ginger picked Ollie up like she weighed nothing at all. Not daring to look back, Shannon ran from the room, Allison in front of her, the rest behind.
It was easier to rush through the tunnels with Jared's flashlight. At some point Shannon caught sight of six white fingers lying on the ground; a chill ran down her spine.
Ginger destroyed that thing.
They had emerged in the room with the coffins and the broken crucifix before Shannon knew it. The squeaking was still loud and piercing behind them.
"Which one did we come from?" Shannon cried.
"This one!" Allison said firmly, pointing towards one of the tunnel holes. She got right to the opening before she paused.
"What?!" Shannon screamed.
"My yo-yo," Allison said mournfully.
"I'll buy you a new one," Shannon promised, pushing hard on Allison's back. Without any more protestations, Allison ran on.
The tunnel seemed even longer going back. She knew Allison was right, though; eventually she caught sight of the dead rat they had seen earlier. She wondered how close the rats were behind them. She didn't dare turn around to try and find out.
Finally, just when she thought that perhaps there was no hope at all, they'd be running forever, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. Shannon realized that the wall had reopened; she could see into the dining hall. She pushed on Allison's back, urging her to go faster. The noise of the rats had grown into a cacophony; it seemed impossible that the animals should be so loud. Allison charged out of the dark hallway into the light, running straight into Dexter, who was waiting in the dining hall, staring into the hallway with wide eyes. The two of them went crashing to the floor, and Shannon narrowly avoided going down with them.
"Oh, hell, close it, close it!" Allison cried from the ground as Caleb and Tuly, Jared, and finally Ginger and Ollie came running out. Shannon looked around wildly; Headmistress Lea, Miss Winters, and Professor Nadig were there, as well as, surprisingly, Professor Stone and Dr. Kenfield. Each of them looked at the group in stunned silence as rats began to pour out of the opening. Then, without warning, the hole in the wall disappeared, and the flow of rats was cut off. The hole in the wall was concealed again.
The rats squealed and shrieked. Shannon estimated about two dozen had made it out. They split apart from each other and went scurrying around the room, like they were trying to get as far away from the humans as possible.
"Lord Almighty," Headmistress Lea said, watching the chaos.
"Oh, Miss Lewis," Miss Winters cried, rushing over to Caleb's side. In the light, Shannon could see how truly awful Tuly looked. Dr. Kenfield followed Miss Winters, and as he looked around at the group of them he gave perhaps the most long-suffering sigh Shannon had ever heard.
Professor Nadig and Professor Stone immediately began chasing down the rats. Shannon collapsed to the ground, trying to catch her breath. Headmistress Lea looked around at them, so calm in the madness that it was unnerving.
"I believe you all have some explaining to do," was all she said.
***I equal parts love and hate this chapter. And I can't quite put my finger on specifics to either side of it. Oh well. Thanks to everyone who voted and commented, only a couple more chapters left now! :)***