Breathe Under Water - Shadows of the Night 1

Chapter 12

Hey!

I'm back again with a new chapter - as promised I tackled a marathon of writing and editing to post as fast as possible. So please give me some credit for that - read, comment, and if you liked it vote! I'm still in the middle of a writing-frenzy, so I think I'll be able to post soon again :D

Lara

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Chapter 12

The outline of the basement's first corridor differed slightly from the one above. Shorter. Narrower. More claustrophobic. But maybe, just maybe, that was my imagination.

Slowly I moved to the first door, eyes and ears poised for things that could make my stay in Pennsylvania hell – the twin brothers of movement and sound. I listened. No sound. No movement. And it meant nothing where vamps were involved.

I exhaled. I'd simply have to risk it. There was no other way of knowing.

I opened the door and peeked in, found my eyes attack-raking a dust-filled storeroom. I moved forward, opening doors with sweaty fingers. After staring into something that looked like a blending of a men's locker room and an armory, I began to lose whatever pretense of calmness I had been sporting.

Finding a needle in a haystack was easier than what I was trying to do here. I was bound to get caught and then I would be in big shit, with a capital S.

What options did I have?

It was sudden and unexpected, a pebble of sound that sent my world into a torrent of pulse and adrenaline. Someone opened the door at the far end of the corridor.

Instinct and a fleeting sense of self-preservation. I darted into the men's locker. The door I left open – just an inch. The noise of approaching footsteps and the low rumble of male voices. At least two. They were coming in my direction.

"Did you get everything this time?"

"No."

"He's not going to like it."

"As if I didn't know that myself. It's just a bad season. With the new shit going round and all..."

"Did you write that in your report?"

"Of course not. At least not with these words. Man, I'm glad that I don't have to give it to him personally. Now that it's safe in his office, I'm gonna find me a nice bed, get some sleep, and pray that he's not in a bad mood when he reads it."

"If you think that's gonna help. By the way...."

The voices drifted out of ear range. I waited half a minute before moving out swiftly. I had a hunch I knew what they were talking about. Time to find out.

I approached the door they came out from and opened it slowly.

Bingo.

Sure enough this looked like some sort of office. I went inside and closed the door noiselessly, switching on the light after a few seconds of heartbeat-filled silence. The scent of business and decision making permeated the room. The drapes and carpet were in crimson colors, their contours half swallowed in shadows. It would probably match Heron's taste.

I'd come this far, and yet, I didn't really know what I was searching for now, did I?

One of the guys I overheard said something about a report. Fine. A report it would be then.

I ransacked the room visually, eyes finally coming to a rest on the ancient secretaire placed in the middle of the room.

Another trickle of sound. I almost died on the spot for the second time that night. Footsteps outside. Reflexively I hid behind the crimson loveseat in the left corner of the room, expecting my detection any second now. Somebody opened the door and closed it firmly. Pulse and blood went crazy inside my system. I had no idea if it was a vampire. In fact it could be Heron himself, and I none the wiser in my 'human form.'