The Secret Girl

by Stunich, C. M.

  If we can find out who these dickheads are, we can clear Jenica’s name and create a safe space for me here at Adamson all at once. And then I can get to know the boys better, maybe learn how to bake a cake by myself, start a new life that doesn’t totally suck in Connecticut.

  I’m so excited about this whole thing being over—I think we all are—that we’re not careful enough.

  The door behind us swings closed, and Church curses, racing over to try to open it. He shoves on it with his shoulder and tries the handle, but it won’t budge. It’s this huge, old wooden thing that’s taller than he is.

  “Ranger!” he calls out, voice echoing in the darkness. Now that the door’s closed, all the ambient light from above is gone. I get out of my phone and shine it on the lock as the others come jogging back to us, feet splashing on the wet floor.

  “It’s okay; I have the key,” Ranger says, but when he tries it, it doesn’t fit. Not the gold key, or the silver one. “The hell?” He tries again with both keys, but nothing happens. He even puts his shoulder against it with Church’s help and tries to force it open, but it may as well be made of stone. The damn thing isn’t going anywhere.

  That’s when it hits me.

  We’re down here in the dark, in the wet, with only our phones to see by.

  Time to call Dad again.

  I dial up my father’s number, but I can’t get any service.

  “Hey, are your guys’ phones working?” I ask, and Church takes his out to check.

  “We forgot ours,” the twins say, lifting their hands up in a placating gesture.

  “I’ve got mine, but there’s no service down here,” Ranger says, exhaling sharply. Must be all the stone blocking the signal or something.”

  “Mm,” Church murmurs, turning his flashlight app on. “No service for me either.”

  My heart clenches in my chest, and I feel suddenly sick.

  This doesn’t bode well for us.

  Not well at all.

  We're trapped.

  We're seriously fucking trapped in here.

  “Spring break starts tomorrow,” I whisper, feeling this coldness penetrate my body. It's just fear, pure and simple, but I can't help it. I am scared. I'm terrified. We're trapped in some secret freaking tunnels beneath the academy, an academy that used to be an abbey. The monks had over two hundred miles of tunnels down here. I thought it was, like, filled in or something, but apparently it’s very much still a part of the landscape. How the hell are we supposed to find our way out? “That means the campus will be virtually empty. It's just my dad and creepy Nathan.”

  I turn in a small circle, wishing Spencer were here. He'd be the most likely out of all us to figure a way out of this mess. But he's not. And we're trapped.

  “How long do you think it'll be before he comes looking for us?” Tobias asks, holding his brother's hand. It's actually pretty cute, seeing the twins comfort each other like that. But it also makes me wonder: if the unshakable McCarthy twins are nervous, then I should probably be freaking out, right?

  “Um …” I start, suddenly wishing I hadn't pushed so hard for independence. “The morning? Maybe later if he just thinks I slept in?”

  “This is so fucked,” Ranger growls, kicking and then punching the heavy wood door. He rakes his fingers through his dark hair as Church surveys the room impassively, that calculating mind of his working through a million different possibilities.

  “The question is,” he starts, exhaling sharply, “is do we wander around and try to find a way out, or do we wait?”

  Just as soon as he's said that, I look down and realize that I'm standing in about two inches of water.

  “Was this … so high before?” I ask. I remember the ground being damp, but I don't remember splashing around quite so much. When I glance up, I see Tobias unclasping his hand from his twin's and moving over to an inset drain in the wall. There's water coming through it.

  “Fuck,” Church snaps, sneering as he points at the curved stone wall beside me. “Do you guys see that?” We all turn to look as he points at a line on the stone above our heads. “That's a flood line.”

  “As in …” I start as a huge gush of water surges out of the drain.

  “As in it's going to flood in here, and we need to get the hell out,” Micah snaps, exhaling sharply. “This must be where all the storm drains up above empty into. And of fucking course it has to be raining today. Goddamn it, if I die in here tonight I'm haunting this school for the rest of eternity.”

  “You're not going to die in here,” Tobias declares, breathing hard. “If I have to, I'll hold you above my head. Church or Ranger can hold Charlotte up.”

  “That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard,” I snap at him, but it's … kind of cute anyway. “You'd drown, and we'd all die anyway. Let's figure this out. If the drains come in from above, then they must lead out somewhere, too, right?”

  I reach into my bag and pull out the crowbar, handing it over to Ranger.

  “Smart girls are so sexy,” Church says mildly, his face impassive and cold. It's okay. I know he means it, and I smile. We all gather around as Ranger digs the crowbar under the edge of the grate, and with Micah's help puts enough pressure on it that we hear a satisfying creak.

  It budges, but not a lot. This might be a slow process.

  The water's rising rapidly now; it's already at our knees.

  “There must be several other drainage locations,” Church remarks, and then he takes off down the tunnel with Tobias at his side. I'm guessing they're off to check on the other spots, see if there's an easier way to get out.

  “Don't go too far!” I call out, rising up on my tiptoes as shivering as the water rushes in. It's so dark in here, with just the phones to see by; I feel like I'm on the Titanic or something. Wrapping my arms around my chest, I fight the urge to panic. That won't help anybody or anything. Instead, I step forward and try to angle the light for Micah and Ranger, so they can see better.

  Unfortunately, it's getting more and more difficult as the water rises. The crowbar is now completely submerged. Even if we get the grate off, we're going to have to kneel down in raging water and try to climb through. Sounds like a nightmare, but I don't see any other options.

  Church and Tobias come wading back, their lips pursed tight.

  “If there are other grates, we can't see them!” Tobias calls over the raging water, holding Church’s phone up with the flashlight app on. He shines his light on the dark water, but there isn't much to see.

  Time ticks past so slowly, the water rising higher and higher around us, the light from their phones and mine doing little to illuminate the darkness.

  “Got it!” Ranger shouts finally, and then he grunts as the grate moves through the water and knocks his legs out from under him. Church catches him before he falls and hoists him back to his feet.

  “Charlotte first,” Tobias says, and I open my mouth to argue. “No exceptions.” He grabs my phone from me and puts it in my bag before taking me by the shoulders and pulling me close. “Micah will go ahead and pull you—” he starts, but his twin interrupts him.

  “Like hell I will! You go first.”

  “We don't have time to argue,” Tobias snaps, curling his lip. He looks back at me, his green eyes shadowed in the darkness. “I'm going to hold onto you as long as I can; Micah will pull you into the tunnel. If you guys come across a blockage, don't try to mess it with it. Come straight back.”

  Tears sting my eyes but the water's so high now that it's covering my breasts. I'm the shortest of the group; it won't be long before I'm completely submerged. The cold is starting to make my toes and fingers numb, and I'm realizing hypothermia is a real issue here. It only takes a few minutes for it to set in.

  “Okay, but nobody be a martyr, alright?” Nobody answers me, but it's hard to talk in here anyway, with all the rushing water sloshing against the walls. Micah grabs my hand and squeezes so tight that it almost hurts, but I'm glad for it. He won't let me slip; I k
now he won't.

  “Take a deep breath, Chuck. I'll count to three and then we dive.” I nod, and Tobias steps up beside me, grabbing onto my waist. “One.” I exhale. “Two.” Deep inhale. “Three!”

  We all dive down, but holy shit, the water's cold, and the current's stupid strong. Micah pulls me forward and Tobias pushes from behind. If they weren't doing that, I honestly might be pulled out into the tunnels and dragged away.

  We can just barely crouch in the tunnel, and while there's a tiny pocket of air above our heads, it'd require an extreme tilt of the head to even access it. If I absolutely have to, I'll take a breath. Otherwise … we just have to keep going.

  Tobias' grip slips away, and I realize he's intending on going back for Ranger and Church. There's not much I can do at this point without causing more harm than good, so I forge on, using my left hand to push against the wall while Micah keeps a death grip on my right.

  It feels like this damn thing goes on forever, and my lungs start to itch and then burn. It's like some vengeful god's just cursed me with strep throat and poured acid into my lungs. I'm not going to make it much longer without a breath, I think, pausing and feeling Micah yank against my head. My head tilts back and I try to breathe in some of that tiny air pocket. Only a bit of oxygen comes to me; it's mostly water.

  I start to choke, but it's too late. My body inhales without my permission, and now I'm really feeling it.

  I'm drowning.

  I'm fucking drowning.

  My left hand claws at my throat as Micah forges onward, forcefully dragging me behind him as I swallow mouthfuls of water, knowing I'm doing more harm than good.

  This fuzziness starts to take over me as my brain is denied oxygen, and all these strange thoughts come to me. What if I'd told Spencer my secret sooner? We have such crazy chemistry. Maybe then I wouldn't have had to die a virgin.

  I realize I'm slowly losing it, but what else can I do? I'm moving forward as fast as I can. It's just … there might not be an end in sight. Maybe this tunnel goes on forever? I should just drift back to the main cavern, so I can say goodbye to the others before I die.

  Uh-oh.

  Yeah, I'm definitely not thinking clearly.

  Micah gives me one, final tug, and then all of a sudden, we're sliding down a slick ramp, like a waterslide. A scream escapes me as I cough in fits and spurts, the fingers of my left hand scraping against the stone wall. I’m trying to breathe, but the water’s thrashing all around me, splashing over my face. We tumble over an edge, our hands just barely clinging together, and then drop into a deep, cold pool. The current grabs us and pulls us forcefully down another tunnel. I’m going to die here, I tell myself, trying to be prepared for it. There’s no stopping the force of the water, no controlling our rapid ascent up. How we’re moving upward so quickly is beyond me, but then Micah and I are thrown out the mouth of a giant fountain and into a small pond below.

  I stand up, dizzy as hell, hacking and coughing into fresh, cold air. Rain is pouring down on us like crazy as Micah drags me to the edge of the small, inset pond.

  The McCarthy twin shoves me up and out of the water, so that I'm lying on my back. The feeling of drowning takes over me again as he positions himself to give me mouth-to-mouth. The hot feel of his lips seems to jolt me awake more than anything else, his hands going to my chest for compressions.

  I start to cough and he rolls me over, making sure I'm breathing before he tries to pull away.

  “Where are you going?” I cough out, and he looks back at me with sheer, unadulterated terror on his face.

  “To get my brother,” he whispers, voice breaking, his words stolen away by the wind. Even though my chest feels like it's full of fire ants, I push up and grab onto his leg. Going down there will not help Tobias.

  “There’s no feasible way you could get back to him from here if you wanted to; you can't go back.”

  “I have to!” he screams at me, and even through the rain I can see that he's got tears. Not such a dickhead after all, is he? He's got big feelings, this boy. “I have to,” he whispers, but then he drops down to his knees, and I know I've made my point.

  So we wait, watching the fountain on the opposite side for any sign of movement. It pours down in a thick, unending stream, and even with the drain that’s located below and to the right of it, the pond’s overflowing. The grass around us is soggy, with nearly an inch of standing water.

  “There!” Micah tears away from me, and jumps back into the water, helping to pull a scowling Church out. He looks so human in that moment, sopping hair falling in his face, coughing and shaking. I stand up, teeth chattering, and wait with bated breath. “Where are they?”

  “I don't fucking know!” Church screams back at him. “They shoved me in, those assholes …” His voice trails off, and the two boys wait side by side, one on either side of the drain, looking up at the big round mouth of the fountain. It’s just a decorative circle, about as tall as I am, spewing out is own never-ending waterfall.

  It feels like forever before Tobias emerges and Micah lets out this sound of pure joy that makes me want to cry. Later, I will. Later. Right now, there's too much at stake.

  “Ranger?” Church asks, but Tobias is still coughing, and can't answer yet. When he does, it isn't good.

  “We agreed since he was bigger, it made more sense for him to follow after. That way, if I slipped he'd catch me, and …” He pauses and we all look up at the fountain; if possible the strength of the water pouring from it seems to be increasing. There's no air pocket left in there, I bet.

  “Fuck, Ranger, fuck,” Church whispers, and then before the twins can stop him, he's climbing up and trying to peer into the opening. Tobias tries to go after him, but Micah holds him back.

  “No! You're not getting yourself killed. It's not happening, bro.” Tobias yanks himself away from his brother, but he doesn't go anywhere. Instead, they both just stand there, muscles tense.

  When Church comes back down, alone, I feel something shatter inside of me.

  “No.” The word's just a whisper at first, but when Church punches the rocky wall next to the fountain, I fall apart. Tears pour from my face, and I start to shake, collapsing to my knees in the wet grass.

  It's not fair.

  Ranger just wanted the truth about the big sister he loved. He can't die like this, not here. No fucking way. I stand up and slide into the pool, swimming across it to … to … shit, I don't know, but the twins won't let me pass.

  “You're not going up there, Chuck,” Micah says, tears pouring down his face. “You're just not. We need to go find help.”

  “Go get the headmaster,” Church says, and his voice is so sharp it's like a garrote. “I'll stay here in case he …” He trails off. We all know Ranger is not coming back.

  Ranger drowned in the dark tunnels beneath Adamson Academy.

  Ranger is now dead.

  Ranger is dead.

  I try to let that sink in, but the words refuse to penetrate my oxygen-starved brain. Go get Dad. Maybe it's not too late? Even though I know that's just a bullshit fairytale meant to make me feel better, I grab hold of it and run with it.

  The twins escort me to the edge and we all climb out, shaking, our teeth chattering like crazy. Micah looks around, but I'm pretty sure he's confused as to where, exactly, we are.

  “Fuck, we need Spencer,” he whispers, and I feel this sick, guilty sensation wash over me. If Spencer were here, maybe he'd have known what to do in the tunnels, maybe he'd have known where to go? Maybe he'd know where to go now?

  Tears pour down my face as I move through the trees, desperate for some sort of landmark. Something, anything that will tell me where we are.

  “Ranger's dead, isn't he?” Micah whispers, leaning his back against a tree. He closes his eyes, his body shaking from the cold, and the adrenaline. I glance back and find Church waiting in the water. It's up to his chest now, but he doesn't move. He stands there and stares at that spot, like a dog waiting for hi
s best friend. I mean that in the best way possible, like his loyalty is unwavering.

  “He might not be! Snap the fuck out of it, Micah, and let's just go. Let's just start running until we figure out where we are.” He reaches out to grab his brother's arm, and Micah pushes off the tree like his body's made of lead. He looks like he wants to collapse to the ground and just give up. “Stay with Church, Chuck. Don't let him do anything stupid.”

  I nod and reach into my bag for my phone. Of course, it's supposed to be waterproof, but when I try to turn it on, I get nothing. It's either dead, or totally fucked.

  The twins don't wait for me to answer; they take off through the woods at a pace I could never match. With nothing else to do, I head back to the pond and move over to the side closest to Church.

  For a brief moment, the rain stops, so I don't have to shout so loud to be heard.

  “Is your phone working?” I ask him, but he shakes his head.

  “It somehow got swept out of my pocket on the way up.” He sounds so clinical, impassive, like he's discussing the weather. It's a defense mechanism, I'm sure of it, but it's still hard to hear.

  I sit down because there's nothing else to do and nowhere to go. The woods around Adamson are thick, and stretch for miles; the state park borders one side. Depending on where we are, we're just as likely to head deeper into the woods as we are toward the academy.

  Minutes tick past. With each one that flows by, I think about Ranger. Maybe ten, fifteen minutes ago, he might've been okay, clinging to life. But now …

  Finally, Church climbs out of the water, and I know it's all over.

  “Get up and let's start walking,” he says. He doesn't help me to my feet, just takes off in the same direction as the twins. He doesn't make it far, maybe ten or twenty steps before he collapses.

  I race over to him, but there's nothing in his eyes, just emptiness.

  Church Montague is just a damaged boy, not a psychopath. I feel bad for even thinking that.

  “He was my best friend,” he says as I sit beside him and put my arms around his waist, squeezing him as tight as I can. “He was my best …” Church's voice shakes, and he closes his eyes against the pain. “He was. I guess he's not anymore, is he?”