They Keep Secrets

F O U R T E E N

Darkness's sneering face appeared in front of my eyes. I blinked a few times, hoping to clear the haziness in my vision. "Ah, little Laurelle decided to wake up?"

That was then I remembered what happened. The betrayal, hiding in the forest, being dragged away. I stumbled back, only to hit my head on the wall behind me. "Get away!" I swatted at Darkness, hitting empty air. "Where am I? Where are we?"

Darkness let out a cruel laugh. "We're just where we need to be. No need to worry..."

I knew people only said things like that when there was a reason to worry. The fogginess in my eyes still hadn't cleared and rubbing them didn't help either. I realized the room itself seemed to be fogged up.

"Sit tight, Laurelle. The show's about to begin," Darkness wiggled her fingers at me in a mocking wave. "Toodles!"

Once again, my mind filled with clouds and I fell into a restless sleep. 

It could have been minutes or hours afterward as I struggled to stand up, pressing my hands into the floor below, trying to gain leverage. The wooden boards seemed to give out as if they'd been rotting away for a decade. "Darkness?" I called out. An eerie silence blanketed me.

Through the haze, I could make out a few wooden crates, a rickety card table, and a matted, stained carpet lying in the middle of the room.

Echoes sounded off the surfaces in the room, as if there were people were whispering in a hallway right on the other side of the wall. I couldn't understand the murmurs, but I knew they were there. As the voices grew closer, I curled my legs beneath me and wrapped my arms around my body, trying to keep myself from shivering.

Something in my gut told me the sources of the voices were dangerous and that I should hide, but where? There were only wooden crates and a broken table. I scrambled up and shot behind the crates just as a beam of light scanned the room.

Through the gaps in the wood, I could just make out a few silhouettes. I didn't recognize many of them but I could pick out Darkness's high-pitched voice anywhere. 

Beams of light crossed over one another from the flashlights, once or twice grazing my face. I hoped with all my might that they wouldn't find me. If they did, I was sure I would be forced with a certain death.

"Do you think we should tell her?" A non-familiar voice sounds from the far side of the darkened room.

"What's there to tell her?" Darkness responded. "They have no proof. They could never know and neither should she."

Were they talking about me? I had no idea what they're talking about, but I had no choice but to listen. Wanting to hear more, I leaned forward so I was on my hands and knees, crawling towards the sounds. Careful not to press against any floorboards that seem loose, I made my way through the shadows.

My hand landed on something sharp lying on the cool ground. I bit the inside of my cheek to suppress the shriek threatening to escape my lips. Turning my palm over, I squinted, attempting to measure the depth of my injury. I spotted a rusty nail next to a frayed rope coil and shook my hand a few times, trying to rid myself of the pain.

"Veronica! I think I've found something!"

Veronica? Who was Veronica? The voice I didn't recognize was deep and throaty, definitely a male. Had Darkness lied to me about her name? I had realized Darkness was a unique name, but who was I to judge?

Every sound was intensified. Ever since I escaped from Darkness, my hearing had been exceptional, each noise a potential attack.

"This looks like a trap door!" A heavy, grating sound filled the room, the sound of metal on metal. "Ashton, come help me lift it!" I rubbed my temple. Were they looking for me? Was that why they were down here?