A Whole New Crowd

by Tijan

  Backtracking down one of the main roads that led to the school, I found a side road and began walking down it. It led past a clump of houses and then curved around a field. The farther I went, the more isolated it seemed. Trees on one side and the field on the other. A flash of headlights warned me of an approaching car and I melted into the trees. It sailed past me and I caught the glint of a rifle from its passenger.

  The further out I went, the closer I was getting. I knew it.

  As the field ended, the road curved once again, and I was in the forest now, but I knew this forest. There were dense trees that were on either side of the river, which meant that the river wasn’t far from where I was. Now things were making sense. The river ran the length of the entire country from north to south. My guess was that Jace used it to smuggle drugs and he stored the drugs in the school, which meant there had to be a tunnel.

  I could feel it. I knew I was guessing right.

  Hearing shouts ahead of me, I veered towards them and saw an empty truck parked in front of a hill. I looked left and right to check if there were cameras. When I didn’t see any, I sprinted for the hill, bending low to the ground as much as possible. I hugged the side of the truck in case anyone could see from a higher vantage point, but no alarm sounded and no one shouted. Rifles were inside the truck, which told me the men were coming back.

  “Let’s go, Rufus!”

  The voice came from inside the hill. I glanced around, looking for a hiding spot. There was none unless I ran back into the woods, but I wouldn’t have enough time.

  Their footsteps were getting louder. They were coming.

  I had only seconds.

  I darted forward, and as I hit the hill, a door swung open, blocking me from their vision. As one man left, the door started to swing shut. I bit down on my lip, but held my knife in my hand. I was ready to leap and stab whoever came at me, but I heard a curse and the door was pushed open again. Relief flooded me. That guy went through the door and then a third followed him out.

  “Let’s get some booze before we have to head back. The next shift change is in four hours,” the first one said. He jumped into the truck.

  As the other two men filed towards the truck, I slipped around the door. It swung shut just as the truck’s headlights flashed on, and a moment later it was reversing. They didn’t wait for it to stop, he yanked the front of the truck around and gunned the engine.

  As they headed off, another wave of relief came over me. I was inside, but turning around, I had no idea where I was. It was completely black. Running my hand over the wall and ceiling, I could feel it was a big enough hole for a person to walk through. They had covered the walls with cement, but I could hear the river through the walls. My nose twitched from the dirt in the air. Musk, feces, and mold filled the air as well.

  As I moved further down the tunnel, the sounds of the river faded and sounds of traffic grew. I was getting close to the school again. I heard a honk, followed by someone yelling, “Pedlam RULES! Eat it, suckers!”

  Then it hit me, and I wanted to smack myself in the head. It was Sunday Night Rally. I’d forgotten about their tradition.

  When I got to the end of the tunnel, I hit a wall. Feeling around, I could tell the wall covered the entire tunnel so I started feeling for a door handle. Bass music, cheering, and laughter trickled down from above. I knew for sure I was underneath the school, specifically, I was beneath the parking lot. Then my hand hit a door handle and I paused. I started to turn it.

  When the door opened, I slipped into another dark tunnel. This one wasn’t as compact and I could feel that it wasn’t as long. A door slammed shut not far ahead of me and I held still, but my hand quickly felt in front of me, searching for a possible hiding spot. No one came towards me, no light turned on, and I hung my head. The tension had my insides in a giant pretzel.

  I scooted forward until I came to another door. Bending down, I felt under the door. A slight draft was there and it was cool. Then I heard footsteps and another door open and close. More footsteps, then a muffled conversation. I pressed my ear to the door, trying to hear their words, but couldn’t make them out.

  This was it. I knew whatever was on the other side could be it for me. I knelt down, resting my back against the wall. “Never take your time. Get in. Get what you need. Get out. Less than two minutes. That’s your goal every time.”

  I was going against Jace’s guidelines, but this was different. It wasn’t a mark. What I wanted to steal was a person, but I had to find him first. I had gone in blind, and I knew there was a high risk of exposure once I went through this door.

  I reached into my pocket and turned my phone on. In case there was a camera, I pulled my sweatshirt up so it was engulfed inside it, then pulled my hands inside with the phone. I didn’t want the light to attract attention, but I had to send this text. Text after text came to the screen. They were all from Tray. Ignoring all of them, I brought up the last from him. It read: Stop! Don’t do what you’re doing. Come back. I’ll make them help. Please.

  My hands trembled, but I typed back: I’m in. Back road. Field. Trees. River. Hidden door in a hill. Two tunnels. I sent that one and immediately started another one: I’m sorry. I really am. I still care about Jace, but I hate him. I didn’t know until the hotel. That one was sent as well. Then a third, but this one would be shorter and to the point. I’m going in. I love you, Tray. I love only you.

  Then I silenced the phone and tucked it back into my pocket.

  “I’m so dumb,” I muttered to myself. Pulling my head back through the sweatshirt, I leaned back against the wall, eyes closed. I waited, one more moment alone, one more moment alive. My phone was buzzing in my pocket, but I wasn’t going to read the messages yet.

  This was my plan. Get in. Find Gray, and hope they sent an army after me.

  It was time to go. I nodded to myself, wiped my sweaty hands on my pants, and stood. I grabbed the door handle and turned it.

  Light blinded me for a moment, but I went into the next room and shut the door. Throwing an arm over my eyes so I could let them adjust, I darted forward. It was go-time. The cameras would see me. I needed to move as quickly as possible.

  I scanned the room. It was a large basement hallway. A ladder was lowered down like in a submarine and there were four doors, two on each side of the hallway. There were no windows to see in so I started feeling the handles. All of them were locked. I was tempted to climb the stairs and see what was up there, but I heard a door from above open, then the scuffling sounds of feet over the floor.

  “Downstairs. An alarm went off. Check it.”

  Shit. I had seconds to hide.

  There was no place to hide in the hallway. I didn’t think. I went straight to the door handle that had been the loosest. Kneeling down, I used my pins to crack the lock. I was breathing in and out steadily to keep my heart rate low. Then the door gave way just as the hatch over the stairs lifted up. A pair of boots appeared and then I was pulled inside a room. I was held against the wall. The door started to slam shut, but I twisted. I shot my arm out and the door landed on it. It couldn’t slam shut. They couldn’t hear that sound. They’d know someone was there. The person softly cursed and held the door from my arm. I pulled my arm back and the door shut. It clicked softly at the same time a guard jumped to the floor outside.

  As more guards dropped from the stairs to the floor, I turned. Two inches separated us. I was face to face with Gray. His eyes were wide and shocked. Then his door was knocked on. He cursed and shoved me towards his bed.

  “You in there?” a guard called through the door. A key was being inserted into the lock, but it stopped. The guard pulled the key back out. “What the fuck? The lock is all messed up.”

  Another guard was next to him. Pushing on the door, he said, “What are we going to do? That’s our only set. Boss has the other set.”

  “Check the other rooms. Nothing was on the camera, but they said to still check.” He pounded harder on the door. “Answe
r me, kid, or we’ll have to bust down your door.”

  Gray was holding me behind him. His hands were jerking and his knees were shaking. “I’m here.” His voice was hoarse. He cleared it, then called out louder, “I’m here. Here.”

  The guard laughed. “Don’t suppose you’d tell us if anyone got in here?”

  The second guard joined in, bellowing loudly. “Right. That tunnel is almost a mile long.”

  I closed my eyes shut. Good joke, fellas. Good joke.

  “Post, you clear?” The guard turned away. The doors were being unlocked and then shut again. We heard, “Clear.”

  “Clear.”

  “Last room clear.”

  “All right. You heard the others. Set that alarm again, make sure it’s working right.” He paused for a moment. “Let’s head to the next level and keep clearing.”

  They started back up the stairs. As they left, before the hatch was closed over the stairs again, we heard, “We have to clear out the rest of the shipment—” It shut and we couldn’t hear anymore.

  I started to speak, but Gray slammed a hand over my mouth. He shook his head, then pointed to the hallway and leaned close. He whispered into my ear, “We can’t trust the others. I’ve heard them telling information for food.”

  I nodded. He lifted his hand and I whispered, “Are you okay?”

  His eyes clasped shut and he pressed his hands to his forehead, rubbing his temples. I skimmed him up and down then. He was thin, but Gray had always been scrawny. His shirt was sweaty, bloody, and there were dark smudges I didn’t want to inspect. Kneeling down, I tapped his foot so I could inspect the bottom of his shoes. They were still in good condition. That meant he could run in them.

  Looking around his cell, I saw that there was one mattress on the floor alongside two silver pans. My stomach rolled over on itself as I saw one had water and the other had crumbs. They were feeding him like a dog. A third pan was in the corner. That was his bathroom.

  I took his hand. “We have to go.”

  He shook his head. “We can’t. The door is locked again.”

  “No.” I took my pins out again. “I got my way in. I can get our way out. I think we can make it. There’s a tunnel.”

  His eyebrows arched high. “The mile tunnel they were talking about?”

  We were still whispering, but his last whisper lifted in volume. I shushed him quietly and he nodded, lowering his voice again, standing close to me. My nose twitched. The stench from him was foul so I began breathing through my mouth instead.

  As I knelt and began working at the lock from the inside, I murmured, “I think the guards use it to change shifts. The other guards said it’d be four hours. We can make it.”

  “If we don’t?” He shook his head. “No, Taryn. They’ll find us and kill us. I was looking for Brian. I didn’t believe he was dead,” he said, his voice growing hoarse.

  “I know.” My hand dropped to his on the floor, and I squeezed it.

  “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you right away that I was looking for him.”

  I frowned. “Dee said you were looking for Jace.”

  “I was, but I didn’t tell her that I thought Brian was still alive. He’s not.”

  He sounded so sure and my heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”

  “I saw his body.”

  “You saw it?”

  He nodded. His forehead fell to rest on my shoulder. He mumbled, “Jace showed me the video. It was Brian in the morgue. I think Jace took the video.”

  A shiver went down my spine. I didn’t want to think about that. “You talked to Jace?”

  “I was in another room and he had me moved here. He said it’s more secure.” A bitter laugh escaped him. “Not that it matters. My friend is gone. We’re probably going to die too.”

  I frowned. He was defeated, but I wasn’t. I kept working on the lock. The guard was right. I had messed it up, but gritting my teeth, I felt the second opening with my pin and turned my wrist, pulling it back to the slot.

  Then I heard a click and the door opened.

  Gray’s forehead was still on my shoulder, and I nudged him with my elbow. “Gray.”

  He started shaking his head. “I can’t, Taryn.”

  “We have to go.”

  “I can’t. I won’t be able to walk that far.”

  I stood up. I hadn’t come this far for it to end in failure. Grabbing his arm, I hauled him up with me and then leaned close to his ear. “You will walk or I will carry your ass.”

  His eyes were still closed. “I’m too weak.”

  “Then find something inside of you because we’re going.” I swung the door wider.

  I jerked him behind me, and looked at the other doors. They couldn’t see us. I twisted around and looked up at the corners. They should’ve had a camera and there, in the top right corner, I saw one.

  It was turned towards the ceiling.

  Gray saw where I was looking and whispered in my ear, “They moved it when they shot someone. They didn’t want evidence.”

  I went cold at that. “We are going. Now.” I pulled his door shut, then we headed back where I had come from. The alarm was going to go off. I didn’t have enough time to figure out how to disarm it. That meant one of two things would happen. They would figure it was a mistake and not bother to check the rooms again or they would break down Gray’s door and find him gone. Either way, I made sure I had a cement hold on his arm as I pushed him forward. As we went through the door, I began lightly jogging. I dragged Gray behind me. I wasn’t leaving him behind.

  We hadn’t gone far when I heard the first door open roughly. Then a voice bellowed through it, “WE HAVE A RUNNER!”

  The lights in our tunnel flipped on and I looked up. Right there, pointed right at us, was a camera.

  They had spotted us.

  “RUN!” I yelled at Gray and took off in a sprint.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  We got through the second door and the tunnel was dark again, but we took off. If something was in the way, we were going through it. I glanced back to make sure Gray was behind me. He was. A fierce expression was on his face, and I knew he wasn’t going to die. Neither of us were. As we soared down the tunnel, I began to think ahead. They would have men coming behind us, who would be weighed down by guns, vests, and anything else they had to wear for a uniform. We had a slight advantage, but they would radio ahead. Men would probably be waiting at the opening where I came in. They would try to cut us off.

  We had to get there first.

  A new burst of adrenalin came over me and I ran faster. Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw Gray falling behind. Our eyes met and a shared look passed between us. We had to keep going or we’d die. It was that simple. His jaw hardened and he bent lower, pumping his arms faster. He was back on my heels again.

  Their truck had to leave the school parking lot. They would have to go back into town, then through two stoplights before it could turn around. It would have to circle behind the field. We could do this. We could beat them. Maybe.

  Then I heard a gasp, followed by a thud, and braked, turning at the same time. Gray had fallen down. He was on the floor. His ankle was turned sideways, and he was bent over, grabbing it with a hand. The other was holding him up. He looked up, his eyes wide with panic. We both knew what this meant. I couldn’t carry him. We were losing our small window.

  The blood drained from his face and beads of sweat formed over the top of his lip. He grimaced, bared his teeth, and then waved at me. It was a weak gesture and his hand dropped back to his ankle. He choked out, “Go. You can still get away.”

  “No.” I shook my head.

  “Taryn!”

  I looked around, tuning him out. I had come for him. I wasn’t leaving without him.

  “Go, Taryn. What are you doing?”

  “I’m looking for something. Maybe I can use a stick to brace your ankle and you could still run then?” I was searching, scanning everywhere. The panic was burro
wing deeper inside of me, poisoning every cell of my body. My chest was tight and I knew I was panting from running, but I shoved all of that out of my mind.

  The goal was to save Gray. I just needed help. My eyes kept searching for something… Then we heard footsteps in the tunnel. My heart sunk. Gray glanced to where we had come from, but they weren’t coming from there. They were coming from where I had first entered the tunnel. We were too late. They had already cut us off and there was no escape. We were trapped.

  A wrangled cry ripped up from the bottom of my throat and I dropped to my knees beside Gray. I was frantic. There had to be something—the footsteps were louder, they were almost on us.

  “God,” a whimper left me. I couldn’t find anything. Then I began patting myself down. Did I have something on me that I could use? My knife—Gray wrapped his hand around mine and said, so damn softly, “Taryn. You have to go.”

  I shook my head. I wouldn’t leave him.

  His hand squeezed mine. “It might not be too late for you. It’s too late for me. You know this. Go, Taryn. Thank you for trying.”