Sarah Benadine is Dead

Chapter XXII, Part II

It was very evident that, whatever this place was, it was rarely inhabited. Dust and cobwebs coated the walls and stairs. Bits and pieces of the steps seemed to be completely crumbling away. There was a musty, dank smell that hung in the air, one that reminded Shannon of...decay. The staircase went deep; it seemed like it was ages before Jared's flashlight illuminated the bottom. Claustrophobia was not a word or idea Shannon would have readily reached for at that time, but there was no doubt she was feeling it as she considered how far underground they must be, how tightly packed in, and how isolated from the rest of the school—the rest of the world, it seemed—they were.

The walls did not widen out at all once they reached the bottom of the stairs. A long, sprawling corridor branched out in front of them, perhaps endless to their nervous minds. The musty smell was stronger, and Shannon could hear a soft crunching sound, like animals chewing through the walls.

"Where do you think we are?" Allison asked quietly. "Compared to the school, I mean."

"No idea," Caleb said, voicing all of their thoughts. He looked all around him, but there was little to see. A floor, a ceiling, and two walls at his sides.

"Do you smell that?" Ginger asked. "Ugh, it keeps getting worse."

"It's coming from—aw, yuck!" Jared had turned his flashlight towards the ground, and the carcass of a dead rat appeared in its light. Maggots crawled around on its flesh, having their fill. Shannon felt nauseated.

"That's disgusting," Allison groaned. "What is this place?"

"A feeding ground," Dexter said quietly, and Shannon shivered. With a renewed sense of urgency, the seven of them maneuvered past the rat.

"Well, now we know something's really wrong with Tuly," Allison said. "She never would have willingly come down here herself."

"I think we knew that before," Dexter said.

Solemnly, they walked the long hallway. There was no end in sight. Shannon felt herself getting more anxious with every second that passed; twice she felt a cobweb stick to her body and nearly screamed, thinking it was someone touching her.

"Well," Jared said, making Shannon jump, "if we do find any vampires, maybe they'll be asleep. You know, it's daytime."

"Yeah," Ollie said, "but are we hoping we'll find any or not?" No one said anything. "Right. I thought so."

The group pressed onward in silence. The air in the corridor felt almost thick. Shannon wrapped her arms around herself; she felt cold, but she didn't know if that was the temperature or something else. She wasn't sure how long they'd been walking; it seemed the corridor would never end. The scuffle of their feet against the ground seemed loud enough to be gunshots.

After what could have been an eternity, Shannon saw what looked to be a light beyond Jared's flashlight. They walked a little farther, and then the corridor opened up into a large, cavernous room. It took a moment for Shannon to take in what she was seeing, and when she did she was filled with a dull and vague sort of dread.

It was a small bunch of candles that was creating the light. Shannon wondered how the flames could survive the close, stale air, but she supposed that was the least of her worries. All around the room were dark holes, obviously other corridors leading to other places. On either side of the room were two long boxes; it was obvious even to a child that they were crude coffins. But perhaps most disturbing, right in the middle of the room was a large hole dug in the ground. All around it, broken pieces of some kind of stone structure laid in a heap.