Escape (Chronicles of Hart) by Kat Murray Read Free Book Online Page B

not for anything.
    They walked on in silence for some time. Both were lost in thought as they struggled with the underground terrain looking at it with a strange new understanding. This was never a happy place to be, anyone that had ever passed through had been running from something. If she was quiet enough Grace could feel the adrenaline of all those who had been chased through before her resonating against the decay still pulsating now in her veins. The tunnels seemed alive. She and Ethan had to pause briefly for an awkward washroom break in the already dank tunnels, each taking a turn walking back and away from the light to relieve themselves awkwardly. It was not as awkward as Grace would have thought. Because it was more of a factor in their survival, it became second nature not to talk about it. Ethan thought about this for a while nervously; his attempted chivalry had backfired so dramatically. Not only had she saved him from the villains, but urination in a tunnel reminded him more of imprisonment than freedom; it was embarrassing.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    TRACKING
     
     
    Walt and Steve walked along slowly, lighting the way with their bright LED flashlights bouncing merrily against the rough dripping walls. They had tried to keep a running commentary on the season of football, but it had quickly died out as each would pause to listen ahead too often to bother talking. The tunnels echoed and the underground noises and echoing movement of their own feet kept them both on guard, wary of the girl and her strange companion. They were prepared for an ambush. When the guards had reached the stone wall they stopped, flashing their lights around looking for an alternate route. “There is no way they could have gotten past here,” said Walt, confused. He ran his hand over the filthy wall and the lines scratched into the dirt. It looked like fingernails, someone had been here. It looked fresh and even, but he was no forensic scientist, so he kept his mouth closed.
    “Well I saw footprints, so someone came down here.” Steve huffed to Walt defensively as he scoured the corners for hiding fugitives. He leaned over to squint at a mound of mud with concern, poking at it with his gun until he was satisfied that it was inanimate.
    “We should go back and see if there was a fork we missed or something. I’ll watch the walls, you check up for manholes.” Walt took charge, shining his light back and forth across the darkness of the tunnel behind them from the direction they had come. He began walking as Steve scurried to catch up. Light trained at the uneven ceiling, it looked like it would collapse the second someone on the surface walked over it. He hoped they were somewhere remote.
    “The boss is gonna kill us .” whispered Steve.
    “I know .” Walt said with a grimace.
    They walked slowly, dissecting every inch of the tunnel with their eyes as they trained their lights in the designated directions. They checked for crevasses, exits, alcoves; anywhere their two fugitives could have escaped to. They needed something to save their lives from the inevitable punishment waiting for them at the church. The path back to the cellar was more treacherous than they had anticipated. Climbing back up the muddy hill was like trying to go up a waterfall. Their feet slid from under them as the cascade of slime stuck to their shoes. The smell of rot clung to their uniforms after they had finally gotten to the top, covered to the knees with the dank stuff. They plodded back to the cellar noisily, their shoes squeaked rhythmically in the hollow echoing back teasingly at their failure.
    ***
    Ethan and Grace had arrived at a dead end, out of breath from the exertion of the broken passage behind them. A rotting iron grate above them sat still, locked only by the third dial. Ethan twisted the lock, cracking through aged rust towards the nine. He twisted his fingers against the sharp rusted edges with effort. It caught at the eight,