Legend & Lace

31. The End Is Near, But I Don't Want It To Be

Chapter 31

The End Is Near, But I Don't Want It To Be

At first, nothing happened. The silence stretched on for several moments before we all looked at each other.

Still, nothing happened.

"Well, that was a fucking waste of time," Kenna grumbled. "What the hell are we supposed to..."

The floor beneath us shuddered as more cracking sounds filling the small space within the vault. Cruz cursed jumping back while leaving the key, but Drake and I didn't move. Me...well, I mostly didn't because I was locked with fear at the sound. Images of what happened with Jesse and Lorraine flashed through my head. Would this be just like that, with either me losing Drake or him losing me? Both of us losing each other?

Kenna cursed more than I ever heard before and she clutched onto Cruz. Beau had Flannery pinned to the wall behind him.

Drake must have been thinking the same thing I was, frozen, before he reached over and grasped my hand.

But the hissing and creaking of the floor continued just as smooth cracks in the tiled floor appeared...making a large, square indention that lowered into the floor, making a ramp into darkness.

Finally, the shuddering stopped and there was silence again.

"Are you sure you had no idea of this, Hattie?" Drake asked in a shaky voice from beside me. "You are, after all, pretty much the only one who knows the history of all the lands the Brotherhood owns."

I nodded, swallowing hard as I peered down where none of us dared to go just yet. "I'm pretty sure I would have remembered this in any document that mentioned it."

"So...what exactly do we do now?" Beau asked, looking between all of us.

I looked once more before a feeling of finally finding what we were looking for washed over me. "We go exploring, of course...but let's hope there's no traps like down in the tunnels under Seward House."

Drake snorted as we both stood up straight.

Each of us grabbed a flashlight from my backpack before taking a second to gather ourselves...and then trekked down into the darkness.

Drake and I went first with Cruz right behind us, Kenna holding tightly to his hand, with Beau and Flannery bringing up the rear.

The floor beneath our feet was smooth, though our shoes kicked at the few fallen rocks that had come down through time. The tunnel walls at the beginning were made of stone expertly placed what had to be centuries before, but after a few minutes of walking, they ended and the rugged rock began.

"This is insane," Drake said from beside me. "I wonder how long it's been since anyone's been down here."

"Probably a while considering even Jesse and Lorraine didn't get the chance."

"Any idea how far it's going to take us?" Beau asked from about ten feet behind.

"No idea. The map we got from Drake's parents' place only showed the vault and where the locks were. There's nothing about this tunnel or what it leads to. We're going in totally blind."

"Well, isn't that wonderful," Kenna snorted, still clutching Cruz's hand. He looked over at her with a smirk, as if he liked seeing her not like herself. Cool, calm, and collected Kenna was gone, curses and all. But with the way she started glaring at him, that seemed to be changing back quickly.