The Unknown

xvi. darkness

"The soldiers will hear it too, I bet," Shaun pointed out. "We'd have to get the hell out of Dodge real quick."

Kyle nodded, his face calculating as he appeared to seriously consider the idea. "The sound would probably resonate through the valley, maybe for miles." He paused to inhale sharply. "If we do it...only one of us should stay to ring the bell. It's risky. I think the rest should sweep the area and try to find any others who escaped."

Rosalie, who had been keeping watch from the window, suddenly cried, "They're here, I see them!"

We all crowded to gaze out the east-facing window. There were at least a dozen soldiers up on the hill, marching into the valley directly toward the cathedral. A bolt of lightning shot down my spine, urging me to flee from the impending danger.

"Get down!" Kyle ordered, and we all hit the deck, out of view from the windows. Kyle's eyes darted between each of us. "You guys should head out. Stay hidden and move as fast—"

"No! I'll stay behind," I insisted. I already got him captured once. I was determined not to allow it to happen again.

"There's no time for arguing!" Shaun implored. "Just let me do it if you can't—"

"If you stay, I'm not going anywhere," I said to Kyle, pouring intensity into my voice. "Or you can let me do it alone. If anything happens, I'm sure there are plenty of places for me to hide and wait them out." I added, "It's worked before."

Kyle looked pained. He shut his eyes tightly, in frustration, and raked his fingers through his hair. "Shaun, will you please just take her and leave?"

Shaun glanced toward me uncertainly, and I shot him a dirty look. His gaze shifted back to Kyle. "She's an autonomous being, Kyle, it's her decision. Plus, I'm pretty sure she'd claw my eyes out before we got down the stairs."

Rosalie was already edging toward the door, her face painted with fear. Kyle, with conflict in his eyes, abruptly shouted, "Fine! Fine, let's go." He shot me one last glance, full of fervent anger, then tore his eyes away and disappeared without a word behind Shaun and Rosalie. I was certain they'd be safer with him than me. 

I peeked out the window to assess the soldiers' progress, but they were now concealed under the dense forest canopy. As they descended into the valley, the sun ascended to its apex, now out of sight above the roof. It was almost time. 

I waited a few minutes until I was certain Kyle, Shaun, and Rosalie had left the building and reached the relative safety of the forest. Then I took a deep breath and gripped the rope attached to the bell's clapper. It wasn't until then that I realized how severely my hands were shaking—the rope visibly vibrated when I took hold of it. 

With the greatest force I could muster, I swung it against the edges of the bell, cringing at the deafening loudness. Even after I stopped, the ringing in my ears remained, blocking out all other sound.

In a panicked haze, I took off running as fast as I could. Knowing that I had alerted them to my presence and location, I could already feel the imagined heat of soldiers chasing me. 

The world flashed by in a blur. Nothing registered in my mind. My feet maintained the rhythm of running automatically. 

I skidded to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. At the very same moment, I heard them stomping through the main entrance; the sound immediately snapped me back to reality. The footsteps grew louder—of course, they would head straight for the bell tower in pursuit of its occupant. I whirled in a full circle, searching for anywhere I could possibly hide. This time,  there were no convenient empty cabinets nor vending machines in sight.

My only option became obvious when I spotted the pitch-black abyss of the basement. There was nowhere else to turn. I took a deep breath and hurled myself into blackness.

I had no light source; I stumbled several times down the old, uneven stairs, each time catching myself at the last second. As I descended, the air chilled as if I were stepping into a freezer. I felt goosebumps rise on my arm—the one that still lacked a sleeve because I'd wrapped it around Kyle's wounded hand. I cursed myself for forgetting to ask him how it was healing.

My senses provided no information about my immediate surroundings, apart from the roughness of jagged stone walls against my searching fingertips. I carried on as fast as I could, following the wall with my arms extended before me. 

Booming footsteps and shouting voices grew ever-louder, echoing down the stairwell from above. The soldiers' stealth training must have gone downhill since Kyle was one of them, I thought, briefly smiling into the blackness. 

I increased my pace, and the last visible light disappeared behind me as I realized the stone was gently curving in a new direction. Every little sound seemed to echo from very far away as if bounced back from down a long tunnel. I had no idea how long the passage would continue, but I was beginning to fear—perhaps irrationally, as I clung tightly to the wall—that I might lose my direction. In the vast blackness, it might take a long time to find my way back, utterly alone and without sight. The thought sent a frigid shudder down my spine.

And that was if the soldiers didn't decide to search the basement. If they did, I would become a blind and helpless prey, while they, the predators, were most likely equipped with flashlights or even night-vision goggles. My breathing became ragged as I envisioned the scenario in my mind. I clamped a hand over my mouth to quiet myself as I gasped for air.

Suddenly, there were more shouts, but this time they echoed much more loudly against the stone, assaulting my ears. There was no way they weren't down there with me, I realized.

Then they began to sing, either to amuse themselves or to terrify me—or, perhaps most likely, both. The reverberation made every sound eerie, but one soldier sang a particularly ominous tune in a deep, thunderous bass that seemed to make the floor quake. Or maybe it was me.

They were getting closer. One voice called out clearly, "Ready or not, here we come!" and burst into a barrage of inescapable booming laughter. 

__________

I thought about curating a soundtrack and adding a song at the top of each chapter (I did that for a few earlier ones). Let me know if you'd be into that. And, as always, thanks for reading!