Vampire Emeritus (Part #3) ✔

Chapter 36: One Flew Through the Vamp's Nest

The deeper I went, the worse the conditions became. At first, all the stairways were finished, with proper railings and paint on the walls, cameras blinking at every corner and steel doors on each floor. But as I descended to the depths of this underground lair, the construction turned faultier.

Unfinished stairs, bare walls, mould gathering at the ceiling and moist, thick air awaited at the bottom. Claustrophobia washed over me and I could hardly breathe in.

Matt might have been right. If I wanted to stay alive, I shouldn't have come this far, this deep.

No one bothered me on my descent into the pits of hell and some primitive, visceral part desperately wanted someone to pull me out of this lair. But Ian was down here and I needed to find him.

My navigation skills proved useful, especially since I had a literal map on me. The first step, coming down to the lowest levels, was done. Now, I had to find Vilmus's chambers, which would be somewhere above me, according to the map.

There seemed to be a tunnel leading straight from Vilmus's chambers to the outside and I assumed that was where Ian entered, but the exit was far away and probably heavily guarded.

Briefly, I wondered if Ian's never managed to enter and I've got myself stuck in this huge underground dungeon alone.

I moved all the way to the opposite part of the lair, hoping I would stumble upon Ian's scent. As I walked through the tunnels, however, I began scenting death. Gosh, Ian probably left a trail of bodies behind him.

Swiftly, I followed the scent, which led me to the even moister areas where there wasn't even concrete on the floor and walls, but wet ground. Disgust turned my stomach upside down when I glimpsed the first dead body against the wall.

A stake peered through the heart. Greyness devoured his skin. The vampire's hand was cut off.

So, that was how Ian was attempting to unlock all the doors.

The scents grew stronger the further I went, and beyond the death and decay, I could suddenly faintly sense Ian. The smell of his sweat assaulted my nostrils and my heart pumped blood through my veins, urging me to move quickly.

An unfamiliar sound reached my ears. A beeping, regular, rhythmical sound. At first, I thought it was water plopping in the puddle, but as I came closer, I realised it was more mechanical.

Oh, shit.

I rushed towards the sound.

A row of black boxes lined up against the wall, a bunch of wires sticking out and around them, and a small, red light flickered on the surface, beeping loudly.

Ian set the explosives. He wanted to blow up the entire place.

I couldn't believe anyone regarded me as impulsive and unreliable.

I took out the map again and tried to guess where was I currently situated. According to my underwhelming navigation skills, I made it right under the second entrance, the one that led to the mountains.

The number of bodies grew as I walked ahead. The smell of decay masked Ian's faint scent, which he probably did on purpose. No one would know where to look for him.

I turned around the corner-

Rough hands grabbed the sides of my head, I screamed out, and the hands let go.

"Chloe?" Ian stepped out of the shadows, a completely exasperated look on his face.

"You almost snapped my neck!" I shook him off and stepped away. "Jerk!"