"Well aren't you a lovely thing to see when I wake up." Chloe stands over me with terrible bed head and smeared makeup.
"Where's George?" She asks ignoring my remark.
"I-I don't know." I answer rubbing my eyes trying to remember if he left during the night.
"When we woke up he was gone, and we can't find him." She pulls me up onto my feet.
"Where's Tony?" I ask noticing it's just us.
"He's looking around for George. We looked everywhere in here." She looks around the room. I do the same, taking in all the new aspects in natural light.
"Did you check outside?" I ask.
"No." She answer slowly. I take the handle and push to open it but it doesn't budge. I wiggle it more, but with no avail.
"I can't open it. It seems locked" Chloe rushes to me and grabs the handle, pushing it with all her might. It stays shut.
"Hey girls. Where's Tony?" We spin around and see George walking towards us.
"He was looking for you. Where were you?" Chloe asks.
"I was looking around. You won't believe what I found-" he answer getting ready to fill us in.
"That's nice, but we need your lock picking abilities. Somehow we got locked in." I step aside letting him crouch by the lock. He picks it for a minute before turning to me.
"This lock is too old, the mechanics are different than what I usually work with." He stands and steps away. Chloe's face gets a worried look, the worry changing into fear.
"Hey, what I miss?" Tony comes in. "What's wrong?" He asks after looking at Chloe.
"We're locked in! And I don't have cell reception!" She starts bawling. Why is she so emotional? She's usually calm in all situations, a cool cucumber. Tony wraps his arms around her tiny shaking body in the attempt of soothing her. George and I exchange a curious glance. Even he, knowing Chloe for less than a year know this was out of character for her.
"Well I've got some good news, mates. I found tunnels this morning." George grins.
"And why would that be good news?" Chloe asks still crying.
"I think they lead to the other buildings, so maybe we can find a way out." He responds.
"Lead the way." Tony commands. He takes Chloe's hand and follows George as he leads us towards to the front of the church, and then back into the baptismal pool. He climbs the stairs and pulls up a trap door I wouldn't have noticed.
George stands back and let's Tony down first, followed by Chloe and I, and lastly he follows. I pull out my phone and turn on the flashlight, illuminating a cement tunnel stretching out in front of us. Chloe pulls out her phone and uses flashlight too, shining it behind us.
After a moment of hesitation, Tony takes a step forward, leading our pack. The tunnel smells damp, a mixture of mildew and stagnant, bacteria filled puddles. The tunnel seems to stretch on forever, surely leading us to our undoing.
Luckily, my flashlight shines off an old, partially rusted ladder mounted to the wall. It looks like the one we entered the tunnel with.
"Who's first?" I ask after no one steps up. "Fine." I step towards it, looking at it for a minute, noticing the slime and gunk covering it. I take a breath and place my hands on it, pulling myself it. I try to ignore the fact I don't know what I'm touching, or where I'm going. I push open the trap door above me, expelling a loud creak.
I shine my light around the room before bulling myself out of the tunnel. I enter a large room full of overturned tables and strewn about chairs. The only noise in the room is the clock of small claws on the linoleum. I turn around and offer my hand to Chloe, pulling her up.
I walk around the room, trying to figure out what it was. I look at the wall across the room, a wall with a cutout in it.
"Cafeteria." I say quietly, putting it all together.
"Huh?" Tony and Chloe say in unison.
"This was a cafeteria." George answers. Tony and Chloe are some of the best friends I could ask for, but not the smartest cookies in the jar. They all walk towards me, looking around the room.
"So this was the dormitory?" George asks.
"I assume so. Maybe all the buildings are connected by tunnels." I suggest.
"Let's look around here and then see if they are connected." Chloe says. I lead the way towards a set of double doors. They stick a bit, but move after a few pushes. We enter a corridor, windows on the left, doors to the right. The doors have numbers painted on them, starting at 101 and going up as we walk.
After 110 another set of double doors meet us. I push them open, easier then the last. The other side consists of a small room, probably 10' by 10', with stairs and a door. We all rush to the door, pressing against it. It doesn't budge.
"Don't worry mates, there are at least two more doors to try if the tunnel connects all the buildings." I assume this is George's way to cheer us up, but it doesn't seem to help. " Let's go check the tunnel then." He suggests after a lack of responses.
We head back down the hall, into the cafeteria, and then to our dank tunnel. The phone flash lights come out and we continue our trek. We walk quicker this time, hopes of another building to enter filling my mind. Thankfully another slimy ladder comes into view.
Tony pulls himself up and out of the tunnel, helping Chloe out after him. The room we enter has tables, like the last, just not as many. A record player sits in the corner to the right of us, some sofas scattered throughout the room, and one big window. The walls are a dirty white, the window complete with iron bars spanning the height.
"It's the asylum. There wouldn't be doors here that we could get out of. At least not any without bars." Tony says quietly as he walks towards the window. He turns left abruptly with his hand outstretched. He stops in front of the wall.
"There's a door." He opens it. I hold my breath, praying its our exit.
We all rush over when he enters. To my dismay, it's just an office. I look around the scavenged room. A book that's lying open catches my eye. I walk towards it, softly stepping on the paper covered floor. The book has lined, yellowing pages with names scrawled in dark ink. The page it's opened to has a line ripped out. I pull the name from the locket out, lining it up with the rips.
"At least we know where it came from." I mutter. As I look closer I notice a word written down the side of the page. The slip fits perfectly in the middle of the word, an i written on it. When I line it up and read it I jump back.
"What it is?" George puts his hands on my shoulder, holding me steady.
"Quinn. It says Quinn." I say quietly. He looks at the book, skimming the page. I point at it and he nods.
"Let's get out of here." He takes my hand and leads me out and back towards the tunnel. Chloe and Tony stumble behind us, rushing to catch up. We drop into the tunnel, walking to where the last ladder should be. Luckily, there is one. George is the first to get into the room.
"It's the library in the mansion." He announces our whereabouts. I look at the ceiling high shelves filled with beautiful books. It's the best thing I've seen all day, although I guess that isn't hard to do. I brush my fingers along the spines and breath in the lovely old book smell. I fill with warmth as old memories fill my mind. Thoughts of Harley and I burying our noses in books from the extensive shelfs in my dads office.
"Let's look for a door." I suggest when I snap out of my flashback. I scan the room, making my way to the tall dark door next to the desk. I push on the heavy door, getting it to move after a second. I walk into a foyer, and over to the gigantic entrance door. I take a breath and jiggle the handle. It doesn't move, and I feel like I could die right now. I take some deep breaths as my body feels weak.
"Can we stay here tonight? I feel better in here." I ask sinking into the lounger nearest to the door. I press my palms into my eyes, pushing back tears. I just want to be at home.
"Sure." Chloe says. George sits next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder. I sit up straight and straighten my composure.
