"Look both ways and don't walk in front of any police cars?"
The flash of lights filled the room.
"They've turned the corner, heading this way," Ricky said, striding back to me. "We need to go, just in case--"
Brakes screeched as we jogged into the back room.
"Shit!" Ricky said.
"Gabriel? They're coming here. Do we--? No, wait. There's a secret passage."
Ricky looked back at me. "What?"
"That's how Aunika and I got out. Gabriel--?"
"Do that," he said.
"I'm going to lose you as soon as we go underground, so this is goodbye. We'll call as soon as we can. Hopefully not from the police station."
--
Ricky was as impressed by the escape hatch and subterranean passage as I'd been.
"We need one of these under the clubhouse," he whispered.
"You can dig a tunnel, but you aren't going to get the ambiance of a proper nineteenth-century version."
"We'll decorate."
I smiled and, we strained to listen to what was happening overhead. It only took a few minutes before someone banged on the front door hard enough to shake the ladder. Then a shout of "Police!" The door opened with a crash and boots stomped in, and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to fall into memories of my parents' arrest.
"It's okay," Ricky whispered, his arms going around me. "Look at me."
I opened my eyes, and his face was right over mine.
"Just focus on me. Deep breaths."
I wanted to say I was okay, but his arms tightened around me. I took a minute to recover and stepped back with a thank-you.
Ricky reached for my switchblade and pushed the off button for the light. "Just for a minute, okay?"
We didn't want cops seeing light coming from a closet. Ricky found my hand in the dark again, entwining his fingers with mine while we listened.
The police found Erin. They called for assistance and began searching the building. Ricky flicked on my light just long enough to see our surroundings. Then he moved my free hand to hang on to his jacket while he led us deeper into the tunnels. My night vision is pretty good. His is better--another gift of his stronger Cwn Annwn blood.
Once we were partway down the next tunnel, he turned on my light and held it out to me.
"You want it back?" he whispered.
"No, keep it," I said.
He shone the beam around. "Wow. If we weren't running from the cops, I'd totally want to go exploring down here."
I chuckled. "That's what I thought last time I was fleeing through here. It's fascinating, isn't it? All this, abandoned, and--" I stopped short, my head swinging to the left.
"You hear something?" he whispered.
"No, sorry, just...I'd totally forgotten what happened the last time I was down here."