I mentally try to map out the castle above me, trying to place myself. If I were upstairs now, I’d be somewhere near the main dining room … I think, which means any path to my right is going to be short, it’s not going to lead far, but the path to my left; that has the potential to lead anywhere.
Knowing I could be wrong, I turn to the left and take off like a fucking rocket, the darkness beginning to overwhelm me. The path leads down, and before I know it, I’m tumbling over a steep set of stone steps. “Fuck,” I grunt, my already aching body barely able to handle the abuse.
My palms bleed, and I thank whoever is looking out for me that I didn’t smack my face against the ground again. Hastily getting to my feet, I keep going with hope surging through my veins, the stairs confirming that I'm heading in the right direction.
It’s almost a five-minute hike before I finally reach a door and have to feel in front of me for the handle. The deeper it gets, the colder and darker it seems to get as well. The door is large and made out of a hard metal, telling me that I’m right where I need to be, only the fucking thing comes fully equipped with a keypad entry.
Dread fills my veins as a small screen lights up the dark passageway and I squint into the darkness, the harsh, bright light of the keypad sending a searing pain right into the back of my head.
What’s the fucking code?
0000? 1234? 4321?
Fuck. No. They wouldn’t make it that easy. Well, Marcus would make it that easy, but Roman and Levi would demand something more complex. Something their father would never remember. A birthday maybe? No, he’ll have each of their birthday’s memorized … but not their mother’s.
I put myself back on that beach all those weeks ago when I sat up on the highest hill, watching as the boys dug a hole for their mother. We sat and talked until the sun went down. They told me everything they could remember, and I cried silent tears listening to the way they poured out every broken emotion clouding their hearts.
But what was it they said about her birthday? The twenty-something of April.
My hands clench into fists.
“Come on,” I mutter to myself, pacing the narrow passageway in front of the metal door. “You didn’t come all this way just to get stuck now.”
My hands run through my hair and clench into fists, desperately trying to recall the moment. I doubt the keypad will reset if I get it wrong. It’s not like my social media passwords that are going to give me three attempts before sending me a convenient email with a link to update it. If I get it wrong, I’m fucked.
With shaking hands, I move toward the keypad and go with my gut.
April 26th.
I start typing the code, pressing each number with care and accuracy.
0 … 4 … 2 … 6
A shaky breath expels from my lungs. “Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” I breathe, watching and waiting, feeling absolutely sick to my stomach until the whole fucking keypad flashes green and the automatic locking mechanism releases inside.
“Holy shit,” I sigh, filling my cheeks with air before letting it rush out between my lips, my relief knowing no bounds.
I don’t wait another second, pushing against the door and letting it swing open into a dark room. I follow it through, no doubt that I’m exactly where I need to be. The door slams behind me with a heavy BANG and I jump before shaking out my hands, trying to get a fucking grip.
The room is small and, judging by the drain in the center of it, I can only assume that this is one of the many torture rooms the boys had built into the underground playground, a room I so hope to get to use against their father one day.
Rushing out of the room, I try to get my bearings, glancing around the darkened playground. The open space where I’d learned how to use a chainsaw is to the left, with all the cells to my right. I’m about halfway through the playground, and I have to keep myself from racing straight to the other end. Instead, I go to the left and start scrambling through the vast array of tools on offer, shaking my head as I really have no fucking idea what I’m supposed to use to cut through the metal locks.
I search high and low, my frustration quickly getting the best of me. There are guns and knives, every kind of weapon under the fucking sun, but my aim isn’t nearly good enough to try and shoot out the locks the same way the boys would. But then …
I grab the guns and every silencer in sight, not sure which is best suited to do the job, or which even fits with what gun. Hell, I can barely even think straight, and the idea of such a loud gunshot going off makes me nervous, but what other option do I have? Bolt cutters maybe? If I knew where to find them, then maybe, but time is running out.
I’ve seen Roman do this before and I trust his shot better than I trust anything, even in the worst of times, he’ll be able to get the job done. I know he will.
The boys were right at the far end of the cells in the darkest corner, so I get a move on, storming down the long line of cells, my desperation controlling my every move. My heart races, the fear of getting caught so close to the finish line is crippling my ability to think clearly.
Cells whip past me, and I push myself faster.
I’m fucking coming. I chant it over and over again like a mantra, willing them to hold on just a little while longer.
Ten more cells.
Eight.