Shadow Escape, the sequence(Book 2)

Chapter 6

✾Cora✾

When Jack volunteered to enter first — more like sacrificing himself —. I was both relieved and worried because there was no way of knowing if it was safe. And this place creeped me out a bit. The candles, cabinets and dusty walls. It was odd considering outside was the complete opposite. I peered out of the window and noted the array of wildlife and trees below. We were about ten stories up, in some sort of castle. The sun rose over a set of mountains in the distance, making me frown. Where could we be?

Something tugged at my shirt, jolting me back to the present and I let out a loud shriek. I looked down and saw Violet motioning towards the small tunnel for me to get in. Mike and Jack were already inside.

"It's going to be fine, Cora. Besides, would you rather escape or stay here in this haunted place?" Violet wrinkled her nose as she said that. I nodded, swallowing down the big lump in my throat and I followed through. She was right. This was better than being stuck in this weird place.

As I crawled through the tunnel at a slow pace, my hands burned from the chains that were wrapped around it earlier. Sucking the pain in, I focused on what was ahead of me. The tunnel closed in a bit and I suddenly felt claustrophobic and wanted to vomit. Bleck.

A twinge of pain joined the unease. I still felt the sadness from my step-mother's betrayal, but the fact that I was still alive surpassed it all. When we get out of here...If we get out of here, I don't think I'll be able to see her face again — let alone even talk to her. When I read the letter in the library about my biological father's death, I refused to believe it at first, but somehow, it felt like it was the truth. My step-mother told me that both my parents died in a car accident and she was suddenly in charge of taking care of me. I honestly didn't understand why she would lie. Who could I trust these days, anyway?

The soft scuttling noises and echoes of our feet hitting the sides of the tunnel were the only things we heard. We've been crawling for so long, my hands felt like they were going to fall off. After what seemed like hours, the torture looked like it was nearing to an end. I knew this because Violet all of a sudden stopped and I almost face-planted into her back.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Violet's head turned to me and worry was written all over her pretty face. The delicate skin above her eye furrowed. Already I had noted this was something she did when upset. "I think we lost them." Violet's voice travelled along the lengthy tunnel. After that registered, I couldn't stop the bile from rising to the surface. I whirled around at the last second to let it all out. Violet held my hand all the way through and when I finished she gave me a small towel she found at the back of her jean's pocket.

"I knew these towels would always come in handy one day."

Even though I had puke all over myself, I still managed a smile. Violet grinned back, sparkles in her eyes and hugged me despite the state I was currently in. "You know what? We don't need those boys. We can do this together as a team!"

I knew she was worried deep inside, but I really felt a friendship building here and I was glad Violet and I were getting along. Maybe she wasn't that bad after all?

I couldn't stop myself from blurting out. "Girl power!"

We giggled and Violet helped me wipe off all the residue off my shirt before continuing on through the tunnel. She really had changed. Tyler and Konaru must have changed her back in the maze. I was glad she came out of her shell, AKA phone. At some point the tunnel widened and it was big enough to fit two people across. I tilted my head. "I don't think the boys are too far ahead. We might even catch up to them."

Violet nodded in agreement as we resumed our slow crawl. Thankfully, there seemed to be only one main path down.

Violet didn't seem hesitant at all, nor reluctant. I was impressed with her confidence. Violet was strong.

"Hey, you and Mike are pretty close. What happened that made you guys so..." I wasn't sure if they were a thing yet, but I was curious about what happened while I was 'gone'.

"Inseparable?" Violet filled in for me and I nodded. "I'm not sure, but I think it all started with his striking green eyes." Hmmm, I thought. It was true. His eyes did have some hypnotizing skills. She continued on. "When he sacrificed himself for me back at the flooded room, that was when the love I felt for him rose to the surface and ever since then, my eyes could never leave his."

"That's...special." I told her, fascinated. "I wonder when I will meet that person."

She shrugged. "Trust me, you'll find that person eventually. Love takes time and before you know it, you'll be starting to feel the connection. Like the connection I feel towards Mike and the connection he feels towards me." Violet told me before brushing a bead of sweat away from her forehead.

"Like...soulmates?"

"Yes! Just like soulmates, but make sure to choose the right person. Get to know them first before you dive in and get hit. Mike is good looking and all, but his personality and who he is, is what really creates the connection." She winked and I stared at my hands.

Maybe she was right. Konaru and Tyler, Mike and Violet, which left me and Jack... I could've vomited again. No way was I seeing something in a piece of garbage. He was honestly very disturbing. To add to that, he was the first one to die which made him even more of a piece of garbage. I smacked myself. Where were these negative thoughts coming from?

"You okay?" Violet asked.

"Yeah, just a bug. I'm fine!" I plastered a fake smile on my face.

Violet chuckled. "Come on, let's keep going. The boys are sure to be far ahead of us! Just don't let the bedbugs bite!" That didn't do much to reassure me, but we resumed walking and the silence was filled with the weight of unspoken thoughts.

A few minutes later, I sighed as a dull light appeared. Was this the end?

Suddenly, I felt myself sliding down. Violet was sliding too and there was no way to stop it. "Cora! The tunnel is going down!" I peered downward and I was seized with fear with the steepness. It appeared to be sloping at a downward angle. I tried stretching my arms wide with my hands on both sides to stop the fall, but it got wider and wider.

"We don't have a choice." I took a big breath and my arms were getting tired from clinging to the sides. "On the count of three! Let's jump!"

"One..."

My heart had not stopped pounding like a drum in my chest.

"Two..."

Violet swallowed hard, contemplating on whether we should do this or not, but eventually nodded realizing there was no other option.

"Three!"

I stifled a scream as we both fell into a seemingly endless pit of darkness.