#Chapter 142: Back in the Tunnels
Nina
In the blink of an eye, Tiffany shoved her way up to me and slammed her medical bag down on the floor. In one swift motion, she yanked the glass out of my leg, dumped a bunch of alcohol on it that made me cry out in pain, then wrapped it tightly with gauze and a bandage.
“Sorry,” she muttered when she was finished, standing and closing her medical bag. “Better to get it over with quickly.”
I nodded, still biting my lip from the burn of the alcohol, but I knew that we had to get moving; I also knew that my leg would heal on its own rather quickly.
“Let’s move,” Enzo said to the group, then turned to me with a concerned expression on his face as Tiffany began to lead the group of scared students further into the tunnels. “Can you walk?”
1 nodded again, then attempted to hobble forward and felt a shooting pain travel up my leg that made me wince and stagger back against the wall. Without a word, Enzo sighed and turned around, crouching in front of me. “Hop on.
“I’ll be fine,” I replied.
Enzo shook his head. “That wasn’t a question. I’m carrying you.”
At Enzo’s firm request, I felt my face get a little hot. But, at the same time, the group was getting ahead of us now and we couldn’t be sure how long we would have before the rogues burst through the doors. So, I climbed onto his back and wrapped my arms around his neck. He stood and looped his arms under my legs, then began to follow the group.
“Do you think Matt is okay?” I asked quietly, my voice quivering
“I don’t know,” Enzo replied. “Maybe, if he didn’t try to fight and just got away instead.”
My mind wandered to Lori and Jessica then. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out my phone again, but when I tried to dial Jessica’s number, I had no phone service in the tunnels. A small curse escaped my mouth.
“They’ll be okay,” Enzo said softly as he walked. “The Crescents are only biting people… Not killing them. And with Tiffany’s antidote-”
“We don’t know that for sure,” replied. I felt a tear roll down my cheek, and I didn’t bother to wipe it away. The tunnel began to slope downward. Ahead of us, the group walked solemnly with Tiffany guiding them at the front.
I wondered how long it would be before the two students who I managed to shift back would turn back into rogues. Now that I knew that Justin was still a rogue even after I’d shifted him back in the woods all those nights ago, there was no doubt in my mind that my newfound power wasn’t permanent.
Finally, the tunnels began to twist and turn. With each step, I felt as though my body was being compressed in all directions, and soon I would explode.
Suddenly, as though Enzo sensed this, he spoke. “Don’t worry. I’m here with you.” His voice was soft and gentle, a far cry from what one would expect from someone who just witnessed the horrors that the Crescents caused. Even though we were making our descent back into the tunnels where we were trapped and tortured for days, Enzo was as level headed as ever.
Eventually, the tunnel widened a bit .
The group stopped ahead as Tiffany pushed open a door to a room. I felt a lump rise in my throat as I wondered if that room was the same room that Edward had me locked in, but it wasn’t. It was empty and dark.
“Let’s rest here,” Tiffany said, waving the students through. Enzo walked up to the door and allowed me to slide down from his back. Already, my leg was feeling a little better and I could put more weight on it now. Tiffany shot us both a weak smile as the students gathered in the room and huddled, then pulled a walkie-talkie out of her bag and flicked it on.
I watched as she turned the dials on the
walkie-talkie for a few moments before
she found the right channel.
“Hello?” she said into it. “Cynthia? Are
you there?”
There was a long silence. I pictured the dean laying dead in her office, or even
roaming the campus as a rogue.
Tiffany’s shoulders slumped with disappointment the longer the silence went on. Eventually, she seemed to give up and went to put the walkie-talkie away, only for a staticky voice to come through.
“Tiffany? Is that you? Where are you?”
Tiffany, Enzo and I let out a collective sigh of relief.
“I’m in the tunnels,” she replied. “1 have students with me. Over.”
“Good. Stay there as long as you can. The campus is crawling with rogues – it’s not safe. Over.”
“What’s the plan? Over.”
The dean paused before answering. “I don’t know exactly. I’ve just contacted the Fullmoons. They’re sending help, but it’ll be hours before they get here.
You have the antidote, right? Over
“Yes,” Tiffany replied. “I took everything I had. It’s not much, but it’s something. Over.”
There was another long silence, even longer now than the first one. I felt my heart sink as the dean didn’t answer.
“Cynthia?” Tiffany said. “Are you there?”
Still no response.
“Shit,” Tiffany muttered. “I think we lost connection.”
It was a relief to know that the
Fullmoons were at least coming to help, but the fact that it would be hours at the very least was no consolation. We were stuck down here, in these dark tunnels, with no food or water aside from the few things Tiffany was able to grab from her office. The students started to murmur worriedly.
“It’s okay, everyone,” Tiffany said calmly. “Help is on the way. We’re safe down here. Let’s just all get some rest.”
“I’ll keep watch,” Enzo said quietly.
Tiffany nodded, then looked at me.
“I’m staying with Enzo,” I said.
Enzo shot me a slight frown, but didn’t protest any further. Tiffany turned and retreated into the room with the students to tend to any injuries; when she was gone, I turned to Enzo as a thought popped into my head.
“Do you think Edward had any supplies down here?” I asked. “Food? Water?”
“It’s possible,” Enzo replied. He glanced into the room to check on
Tiffany and the students, then gestured for me to follow and began walking down the hallway. “Let’s check really quick.”
I followed, noticing that my leg felt
mostly fine by now aside from a slight pain. As we walked, we pushed open various doors to different rooms, but most of them were empty. But then, the hallway started to look familiar, and I suddenly stopped in my tracks.
“I can’t go any further,” I said, my eyes wide. “Our cells are just up there.”
Enzo paused, looking where I was pointing. I heard him let out a shaky breath before he turned back to face me 1 then, in the darkness, I felt his hand intertwine with mine. “I’m here,” he said. “It’ll be okay.”
I gulped. My heart began to race, but I felt stronger with Enzo’s hand in mine and solemnly began to follow him again. We passed by the doors of our cells; his was still wide open with the door laying crumpled on the floor from Edward’s impact. I shut my eyes tightly as we passed so I wouldn’t have to look.
“Enzo.” I said as we walked, just wanting to fill the silence, “can I ask you something?”
“Hm?”
“What did Ronan really say to you after your fight?”
He suddenly stopped in his tracks, frozen to the spot. I felt his hand tighten around mine. “It’s not important,” he began quietly, but I shook my head vehemently and turned to face him. “I think I deserve to know.”
Enzo was quiet for a long time. Even in the darkness, I could see him clenching and unclenching his jaw until he finally answered. When he did, his voice was grim and low.
“He told me that he’s going to take you from me,” he whispered. “Once he wins, he’s going to take you.”
I felt my heart drop into my stomach, ”
He wasn’t talking about winning the tournament, was he?” I asked quietly.
Enzo shook his head. “No. I know that now. He was talking about winning a battle.”
