Forbidden Darkness (The Forbidden Darkness Chronicles, #1)

Ten

I was in awe of how amazing this place looked. Despite the steel walls in the one room we were in, the rest of it looked like a house once we reached the hallway. There were bedrooms, training rooms, and even an office—and to think I was just now seeing this was kind of giving me the chills. I felt like they owned a whole separate house underneath the one they lived in, and in a sense, they did.

"So what do you think?" Kristen asked as we entered the smallest room in the back. It looked like a guest room, with plain white walls, bland sheets, and a dresser that clearly wasn't being used. Lena had gone into the other room to check on some emails, and so we were back here all alone. I think most people would have been scared if they learned that everything they knew was a lie, but I wasn't. What I was afraid of was not being able to have the life I really wanted to live.

Monsters? Well, that wasn't a big concern for me.

"It's alright," I replied. "Sort of cool when I really think about it. How did you guys build all this?"

"We didn't," Kristen said, plopping down on the bed and taking off her shoes. "There was a family of Monster Hunters who lived here before us, and we just got lucky, I guess. There typically aren't basements here in South Carolina, so no one ever really checks to see if there is one."

"So what do we use this for?"

"Lots of stuff," she said. "Mostly we use it for training and educational groups or events. Not many people know that it's here, except Philip, whom you met."

While I believed what she said, there was something else I felt like she was keeping from me. I didn't want to pry, but I asked, "What else do you guys use this for? I mean, there's rooms and stuff, obviously. Have you ever stayed down here before?"

Kristen shrugged. "We did once, but that's a topic for another day. You're still too young in the system to learn about that yet. The only reason why I know is because I went through it."

Whatever it was, it sounded like a big secret. I decided not to continue that topic of conversation and said, "Then let's get me started on whatever it is I need to be doing. The coffee gave me some energy but I have no idea how long it'll last."

Kristen nodded and left her shoes in the guest room as we went down the hall and appeared before one of the first rooms I noticed that looked almost identical to a school classroom. One of the minor differences was that there were only a few desks—five to be exact, and they were all divided among the room and weren't side-by-side.

"What is this?" I asked.

Kristen smiled. "The classroom you'll be working in. The next couple of days is going to be you learning about all of the history of Monster Hunters, the Level System, and how our society functions. It's pretty interesting for the most part."

Ew, history. History was never my strongest class, but at least this sounded more like a sci-fi novel than anything else. "Sure seems like it," I said. "So who's going to be teaching me?"

"I am."

My heart stopped and I turned around to see all-hot-and-juicy standing in the doorway. Philip was wearing a blue t-shirt that stretched tight on him but gave me a glimpse of his perfect body. His pecks were beautiful and I wanted to reach out and touch those forearms...

"Um...hi," I started. "You're, uh, gonna be teaching me?"

He nodded and smiled, walking into the room to stand before me. His eyes were so soft, so green, and I wanted to just dive into them. "Yes, I am. And we have a lot of work to do today before we can even think of letting you rest."