I know you guys have been wanting this, and its finally here! This might get a bit confusing on the layout of the underground lair, and if you guys can read my hand writing (or even want to attempt it) and want to see roughly drawn layout of the underground lair then I can get the picture to you. I am working on getting a digital/online mock up done now. You can email me at bellecliffauthor@gmail.com for the photo of the layout. I know this is rough as I just finished it at 1:26 am so please bear with it. Also I would like to mention that a week ago, January 23rd, 2015. I finally did the incredible thing of GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL! It took me five and a half years due to medical issues, but I finally did it and I am super relieved! Enjoy the new chapter my lovelies!
Vanessa sat down at the table with the other girls. Nobody else in the cafeteria could feel the atmosphere that surrounded them. The pent up energy surrounding the four girls was deafening, the girls kept looking around to make sure no one noticed them fidgeting in their seats. It had been three days of careful planning, which hallways to use and how to strike up the fire between Carmen and Elna. Everything was perfect.
“I still don’t see why we can’t get in trouble with you.” Gen asked.
“Because if it fails you guys are expendable, I would be tortured, but kept around as the only heir. I don’t want to lose you guys.”
“Just because we’re expendable doesn’t mean we can’t help Van.”
“Anika, I can’t keep you safe from inside the office and The Grand Master won’t do what we want her too if other people are there. I already have her so pissed off that if I miss out on an entire day she’ll flip off the handle and only want to punish me and not any body else who came in late.”
“You can’t just hide in the hallways without being spotted.”
“I can and I will, Viv, this is where my hair and these outfits come into advantage. I need the hallway under the fire escape because just past it is pitch black shadows.”
“Fine, but we are only agreeing because the bell is about to ring.” The pout did not look right on Gen’s face and I wished things could be different, just like they did, but we all knew this is how it had to be. I dumped the rest of my food into the bin and placed the tray on top before hurrying out of the cafeteria to find my new post for the day. I grabbed one of the knifes in my belt and started messing with the wall, carving random lines and squiggles into it until I started getting a design. Life was getting boring until I heard footsteps running about and looked at my watch.
“Wow, already two periods in?” I crouched down, bowing my head so all my hair fell over my face and watched the end of the hallway for any sign of someone coming down it. I could hear yelling, but no one turned to look my way. The third period was already over with lunch half way through. The girls finally made their way to the hallway and I was able to get some information from them.
“Hey Van. They’re looking everywhere for you.” Anika said, looking down at her tray.
“No really? I’ve just been crouching here watching people run races past me.”
“Well there’s no need to be rude about it.” Genevieve said, turning her head to stick her tongue out at me.
“Hey,” Vivian whisper yelled, hitting Gen’s arm, “we aren’t supposed to look at her, even if she is being a sour puss.”
“Well I am having to crouch here to keep from being seen. I’m lucky that all the training from the past few weeks has given me enough endurance to do this with my hands behind my back while crouching.”
“Don’t you at least sit when no one’s rushing past?” Genevieve asked, looking amazed at the thought that I had done it for a longer period of time then I actually had.
“Well of course, I don’t have that much endurance to do it for three hours straight, but I do have to do it to make sure they don’t see me otherwise.”
“You know they’re going to come after us soon, to question us right?”
“Of course Anika. While they’re questioning you, they won’t be looking for me, and I can sneak of to switch my arrows and get a few more weapons.”
“You need to be extra careful, they are about ready to send Aretha after you.” Vivian chanced a glance at me after saying so to give me a cautious look that also said she cared more then she showed.
“I’m not scared of Aretha, just as I’m not scared of the Grand Master.” Our ears all perked up at the sound of footsteps running in our direction.
“You three need to come with us to the Grand Master.” Aretha said to them, three people behind her.
“Why? What have we done?”
“That is just what the Grand Master wants to find out. I thought you were Vanessa’s friends, shouldn’t you three of all people know she’s missing? Grab ‘em ladies.” She said, motioning to the three guards she had brought with her. Aretha gave a long stare into the hall but her eyes only passed over me before she turned to follow after them. I rose quietly and tailed them, making sure not to be spotted. I made my way to the weapons room in record time after I had stopped tailing them and rushed inside. I emptied out my quiver and started loading it with the real arrows and a couple of daggers. I then placed my training arrows into the stock and grabbed some of the throwing knives, placing them in my belt. I left the room as quick as I could and then sprinted to the hallway with the fire escape, planning on waiting it out until dinner.
The time flew by quickly, more quickly then I had expected and soon the bell for dinner rang out loud and clear. I could hear the thoughts of the students as they chattered through the hallways, all of them wondering about my whereabouts and how I had managed to escape. I kept my head down and slipped into the crowd. Their curiosities pelting at me was driving me nuts, but I had to continue on in silence until I could sit down in the cafeteria. The chatter grew louder as we passed by the laundry room and grew closer to the cafeteria. Once I made it inside I waited near the doorway until the crowd flowed down to a trickle and most were seated. I then sauntered farther into the room and scraped a chair out loud enough that every other sound in the cafeteria was quieted. Whispers started a moment later and then all hell broke loose with the guards.
The chair I had been sitting on was kicked out from underneath me and I was on my stomach being held down, my arms pinned behind my back within a second. “You finally showed up huh?” Aretha said, “you’re going to regret ever pulling this crap, Vanessa.” I was pulled up by my hair and forced to stand just as the Grand master walked into the cafeteria. Her eyes flamed with anger and her balled up fist was headed right for my gut. I blew out my breath and held my stomach muscles together in an effort to keep the blow mild, but when it hit I knew it would leave a bruise, especially after two more equally hard ones were placed in the same spot back to back. I was released and I had no strength to hold myself up so I just crumpled to the floor at their feet.
“That your best shot?” I tried laughing, but it only came out as a wheeze.
“You’re a disgrace. Take her to my office and chain her up. I’ll deal with her in a moment.” I was picked up by my arm pits and dragged through the hallways. Even staring up at the ceiling and kicking to get loose I was helpless. Aretha kicked in the office door in anger and told the other guards to leave us alone.
“So, is it tea time, because I think we missed out on this important opportunity when we were kids.” My sass earned me a swift quick to the stomach. I was coughing and ended up spitting out a little blood on the carpet. Before I could wipe up the blood from my lip my arm was wrenched out and up from my body, causing me to loose my balance and it was chained to the ceiling, my other one quickly following its suit.
“You think you’re all that after a couple of days besting our tops fighters? You think you can just ditch a day of lessons without paying a price?” Each question was punctuated by a punch to the stomach and I had a trail of blood dripping down my chin. Coughing at this point caused nothing but pain so I had to choke each one back. “You aren’t that special, Vanessa, and you never will be. When we become the Grand Master I will take the driver’s seat and you will be locked in the trunk. You taking classes is just so you have something to do. Trust me, your pathetic friends won’t be filling your brain with thoughts of escape anytime soon.”
“What are you talking about?” Even in my immense pain I still was able to brush off her accusation easily, but at the price of a quick jab to the face. I could feel my lip split and knew I had a large bruise coming my way. When I turned to look at her face she became furious and punched me again, this time cutting my cheek.
“Don’t you dare look at me, and how dare you lie. You think I don’t know that you and your little friends have been planning escape? They suddenly became interested in classes instead of purposefully failing them to try and leave our little group, and you stopped fighting us as well and acting more like me? I saw you with your mutt mate and I know you would never turn your back, I know the stuff on the video was all an act. You can’t fool me!” she yelled her final sentence, but I gave her nothing but a long stare in return. The door flew open before she could do much more and The Grand Master was holding her off of me in no time.
“We need her alive remember, barely maybe, but we still need her. You can beat her later. Go cool off for now.” Aretha glared at Aramina, but finally gave in. She stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. “You pulled quite a stunt today, Vanessa, and you will pay for it.” She said, pacing a circle around me. When she got back to the front she lifted my chin. “Your eye will be bruised and swollen by the morning, as will your chin, but I think your lip will need a couple stitches.”
“All minor, it doesn’t hurt all that much, thanks for asking.” My rudeness brought the fury out in her formerly calculating eyes and she used her thumb to push down on my split lip. The pain made me wince. She walked behind me and for a few seconds I had no idea what she was going to do, but I heard a slight click. She had locked the door.
“Your insolence will cost you Vanessa. I was going to let you go back to the holding cell to nurse your wounds, but by the time I’m done with you you’ll have to spend the night in the infirmary tending to broken bones.” She pulled my hair back and sent a punch into my side right before panicked knocking sounded at her door, my cry of pain unheard by her ears. Aramina growled and wrenched open the door.
“What!” she yelled.
“Carmen and Elna are fighting in the game room. Weapons are involved. I fear that one or both will end up dying the are in such a brawl.” I could feel the anger radiating from Aramina as she growled out her annoyance.
“Let Vanessa down and place her in a chair. Then follow after me. Make sure she can’t leave this room.”
“Yes Grand Master.” I felt delicate hands on my wrists but before the last chain was undone the woman had my arm placed around her shoulder for support.
“I am sorry Aramina was harsh to you, she’s just mad because I talked back to her.”
“It’s alright, Miss. I am used to her anger, I was in here all the time because I could never keep track of time.” The girl said laughing. Her blond hair fell in curls to her waist even though it was tied back into a ponytail. I could sense a sadness around her. “You’re in pain. I will go get you a cold compress for your wounds and be back.”
“What is your name?” I asked, interrupting her sentence.
“Julietta, Julietta Vernon. I am just a regular guard, but I have been told I shall be promoted to High Officer after your coronation as The Grand Master.” Her lack of a smile told me she didn’t want to be here as much as I did.
“I like you Julietta, that’s why I am going to tell you something. Go to the Grand Master so she doesn’t suspect anything, but as soon as something happens you get out.” I griped her arm to show her that I was serious and she looked down at it before back up at me.
“What do you mean? How will I know?” her anxiousness made me relieved.
“You will know. Find the nearest escape and get out. If you can take my friends with you; Genevieve, Anika and Vivian. Do you know them?”
“I knew them before I was placed as a guard. I was no longer in their classes and we lost contact by force. They didn’t like our escape plan and that I was the head of it.”
“Get them and get out, because we are all getting out tonight Julietta.” She nodded her head and we both knew that this would be the last time we saw each other until the five of us had made it out. She ran out of the room and left me to my devices. I stood up, ignoring the pain of what I was sure a bruised rib, and grabbed what I had been hiding in my boot for the past few days. Placing it down on a nearby table I started pulling books off the shelves and onto the double desk as high as it could go.
“And now ends your reign, Grand Master.” I clicked open the silver lighter and light the edge of one of the books. I watched as the fire caught and started to burn. When I looked at it closer I recognized something in one of the books, the hand writing of my mother. Grabbing the book I made my way out of the room, wondering why the Grand Master would have this in her possession. The fire alarm was raging inside the hallways when I made it outside of the room, but I was cautious not to draw attention to myself yet. When I made it to the end of the short hallway and I peered around I could see Aramina and some guards trailing after her, all in a rage. I bolted down the hallway towards the cafeteria, but I backed up a few paces to enter a different doorway that I had noticed the writing of. Darting inside I had a plan. I barricaded the door with a chair and grabbed the keys off the wall.
“Alright you guys, please don’t eat me because I am here to free you. We are all going home.the people outside this door are the ones you should hurt and give me time to get away. I am the Luna of the Moonfire pack and we will welcome you graciously into our pack for this.” I unlocked all of the cages for the trapped werewolves as the stared at me. As soon as they were released the room became far more cramped then I would have liked, but the soon ripped the chair away from the door and made their way out into the hall. I stayed inside the room for the moment until I noticed that the backs of their cages had doors leading into what I knew to be the fight room. I hit a button on a nearby wall in hopes that it would do what I wanted and all of the doors opened. I raced inside, not knowing how long they would stay up and ran out pf the closest door into the main hallway. I made my way over towards the cafeteria with Aramina and her guards close behind me again.
I managed to get far enough ahead that they didn’t know I had ducked into the laundry room on the opposite side of the cafeteria. I could hear them running through the hallway just outside but managed to make it through to another short hallway just off of the main one. I was half way across the underground camp from where I had started by this point, but I knew that meant that I was n the wrong side of the place from where I was supposed to escape and meet up with the girls. I needed to get to my holding cell and back out without being caught though. I ran across the short hallway to another door which lead into a dorm room, that held one of its two occupants as I found out by the startled scream.
“Sorry, just using this as a hallway to the other hallway, trying to avoid a friend I had a fight with.” I ran out the door and barely heard her call after me.
“Aren’t you the next Grand Master though?” the hallway connected to another one that ran past the library and game room, where I could still hear Carmen and Elna raging on with their multitude of cuss words, and connecting back to the main hall. I peered around the corner before making the most dangerous short cut in the entire place, through the Guards Quarters. I sprinted through not wanting to be caught, but also not caring about being heard. Speed was the only thing that mattered at this point. I opened up the door connecting to the High Officer’s Quarters and sprinted through there back to the main hall. When I left the room I could hear people yelling that I had just passed by and knew they were back on my tail.
“When I get my hands on you, Fence, you were going to wish you were dead!” I could hear Aramina yelling. The anger in her voice sent a chill down my spine. I was back on the same side of the underground lair as my escape route and the fire and I could see it pouring out from the hallway as well as people fighting to put it out. I ran the rest of the short distance to the hallways and rounded the two corners I needed to get to the holding cells, but I also knew I was trapped. My only hope now was that I could open the Werewolf box and hid it before they came in again. I knew they weren’t to far behind me as I heard growls echoing throughout the halls, ones that sounded far to many for the dozen or so she had let out of the cages. Her hopes lifted for a few moments before reality came crashing down. She might be able to open the box, but she’d be killed before anyone could find her. At the rate she was going they were probably ready to kill her and deem Katy as a worthy replacement. I reached underneath the dresser and grabbed the box just in time for Aramina to come through the door and grab my hair. As I screamed in pain I could swear I heard a growl louder then any other and I knew that Caleb would soon find my body.
“You are going to choose them over us?” Aramina yelled, kicking my back, “You slut, you’re just as bad as those mutts!” she motioned for the guards to come over and they forced me into a kneeling position with both the werewolf and huntress boxes placed in front of me by Aramina. “At least I managed to grab this from my office before you burned it. You are now going to choose once and for all, Vanessa, choose correctly and you may make it out of this room alive one day.” She held a gun to my forehead. I stared up at her with all the hate I could muster and as I was about to speak I heard a familiar growl and knew Caleb had just made it into the holding cells. Aramina caught on to it by my face and shoved the guards away and grabbed onto my hair, forcing my head back, the barrel of the gun still aimed at my forehead. Caleb was now standing in the doorway to this small room.
“You’re just in time Alpha. You are either going to witness your Luna choose us, or an execution.” Caleb’s growl scared even me to the point where I squealed like a hurt puppy. His eyes softened when he looked at me, but his lips were still drawn back into an evil snarl. My hair was released and my head jerked forward to where I almost hit the floor. I used my hands to push myself up some and to look at Aramina. She still had the gun aimed at me and she had a devilish smile on her face. “Choose Vanessa.”
“Why are you doing this? I don’t want this, any of this. I just want to be with Caleb.” Aramina fired a warning shot near my hand and I screamed while Caleb barked loudly. His growl was now as constant as the tears streaming down my face. I had to think and think quickly. I pulled myself forward enough that I could use both of my hands knowing that just using one hand would be to shaky to open the lid. I looked up at Caleb and did my best to smiled at him, hoping it told him that everything was going to be okay. I couldn’t help but stare at the boxes afterwards and wonder what I should do.
“I know what you’re thinking Caleb. Its hopeless to think she is getting out of this without opening one up. She will choose, and if she chooses correctly it will save her life, the wrong one will end it. SO you are going to sit there and watch. Lets see if she loves you enough to sacrifice herself or if her love for you will fail. Either way one of you, if not both, will die shortly.” Aramina grew impatient again and fired another warning shot, this time barely grazing the side of my hand as she did so. I placed my hands on the boxes in front of me for balance and as soon as I had made my choice I looked up at Caleb and winked at him. All hell was about to break loose as I fingered the seams to both boxes.