Silver Claws

42. Stay together

Cara was the first to let go of the rope.

But that comes later.

Before that, I was getting very tired of being a character in a horror movie.

We had every damn ingredient. Piles of dead bodies, an unknown killer, five attractive adults and one ugly stupid one. I'm not so unaware as to see where this was all going.

While Reed and Trevor linked rope together I was mentally kicking myself in the head. I should have known Akela's first priority would be revenge. She thought in terms of transaction, eye for an eye. I would have to keep that in mind from now on.

"Alright. No one speed ahead, always stay in sight of each other. Keep one hand on the rope at all times. We have about a mile or so of rope before we're out and we're turning around. Who's going in first?" Reed asked, his eyes darting over everyone in clear deflection. He was not happy about going underground.

Akela started to move forward but I pulled her backwards.

"I will." Dag volunteered. Good. I wanted him to stay where I could see him, even if the wolf inside wasn't pleased at following. Trevor tried to pass him a light which he scoffed at. He took the end loop of rope and jumped into the dark. We listened to the thump of his landing, the silence that followed after.

We followed in after him, Trevor followed by Cara, then me, Akela, and Reed bringing up the rear. I had to keep my head bent slightly, roots hung from the ceiling like sparse hairs. The scent of rot and earth hung cooly, like a grave. Trevor shone a light ahead of us that was swallowed by the dark, the edges of it barely reaching a curve ahead.

We started following the tunnel on high alert. These quarters were so close it would be hard to fight, the bodies littering our path were a testament to that. We couldn't shift down here without being too close together, we would have to use knives. We followed the slow curve, the walls remaining the same shape, dug out perfectly symmetrical. Every few steps seemed slightly lower, we were on a continuous decline.

"This tunnel. How long would it have taken for wolves to dig this?" Cara asked, running her hands over the sides.

Dag released a graveled laugh. "As if this would be the work of wolves."

"You sound certain of that." I said, my skin crawling with the urge to change, to charge at his exposed back. It would be so easy, to push everyone aside and-

These walls. I know the way these walls have been dug.

It wasn't long before we reached the end of the rope, darkness in front and behind us.

"What's the move?" Reed asked. "Go back?"

"Afraid?" I could hear the smile in Dag's voice.

"We could go for longer. If the tunnel splits we turn back." Akela spoke in her quiet-decisive way she usually used when she was going to do what she wanted anyway.

I gritted my teeth. "Fine. But you keep a hand on the person in front of you and don't let go." I placed my hand on the edge of Cara's sleeve.

I was the second person to let go of the rope.

There was a second of hesitation before everyone released the rope, one by one, to place their free hand on someone. The exception being Dag, who remained facing forward.

We continued on, our every sound echoed more and more, amplified by the walls. We walked on for another hour in tense silence.

The entire time I could feel my heart beating, elevated. A sick feeling invading my stomach, crawling up. Just as I was about to speak, my beta spoke first.