Embers & Ice

Chapter Twenty-Three

Like most of the Institution that evening, Hunter found the lower floor with the boy’s bathroom empty of all Men in White. She crept cautiously, expecting to be tasered in the back as she went through the common room to the bathrooms on the other side. She pushed open the iron door and peered in. No one was there.

This room smelt far worse than the girls’. Hunter slapped her sleeve over her mouth and grimaced. The faint sound of dripping taps echoed in her ears. The silence was eerie, and memories of the scene upstairs stirred inside her. She went to turn around and go back when someone cleared their throat and Hunter opened her mouth to scream.

A hand slapped over it and she whirled, expecting to find herself caught in Jamison’s slimy embrace again. But there was Will, all tall, broad and anguished. She was so relieved that she felt the urge to hug him, to have him wrap his arms around her protectively. The instinct brought upon her a wave of uncertainty and she pushed him away quickly.

He stared at her with seriousness. “Sorry I scared you.”

 “Where did you come from?” She glanced at the door and frowned. “I was standing right at the door.”

Will nodded his head behind him, a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. “Secret passage.”

For the first time, Hunter saw an inconspicuous slit in the tiling. “How the hell did you find that?”

“I’ve been here a very long time. I know everything there is to know about this place. You’d be surprised at some of the things the guards neglect.”

Hunter gazed up at Will, at the way flashes of silver light blinked in the deep brown of his eyes half hidden by the dull locks of hair that hung over his forehead. His thin lips were parted slightly, his arm still extended towards her as if he longed for her touch. Though alarms should have been blaring behind her eyes, Hunter felt no fear in following him. In fact, it would be safer wherever she was going if Will was leading her away.

“So,” he whispered and pushed the wall inward. It made a soft grounding sound like stone on concrete. “Can we talk down here?”

Hunter stared at it apprehensively, then nodded. “Okay.”

“This way to the dungeons,” he smiled suggestively. It was small and crooked, but a smile no less. Hunter had never seen Will with anything more than torment on his face, and for a moment she was transfixed and didn’t move. Then it disappeared and turned into a frown and he was cautiously reaching out to her. “I’m kidding, it’s not… I didn’t mean-”

“It’s okay,” she said and pulled herself together. The voice of the fire in her mind was shaking its head. Figuratively.

“I’ve been down here a hundred times. You shouldn’t worry.”

Hunter went behind him into a tiny tunnel. He stopped once she was inside the dank space and eased the wall back into place. It was suddenly pitch black.

Hunter groped around for him, her heart beating erratically, and found his arm. She gripped it tight, marveling at his tense muscles instead of feeling fear.

“Don’t worry, I know these hallways like the back of my hand,” he said. His voice spoke close to her, and its deep tone was soothing. She longed to light a fire to guide them.

Will gripped her hand as they walked. It had been a long time since Hunter had held a strangers hand that way. It was not the most outlandish thing that had happened to her in the past few weeks, but it was definitely odd. She felt comforted, despite her circumstances. It was unclear to her where she stood with Will, whether they were ‘friends’ like she was with the others, or whether there was something else, a bridge between friends and more. As she moved slowly deeper into the darkness with Will guiding her, she tried to concentrate on his hand in hers rather than the guilt that was still settling in her stomach.