Emory
Present
Aydin left my room, telling me dinner was in an hour, courtesy of Taylor. I was pretty sure I didn’t want to eat or drink anything from that guy, but he said I would be served first. I guess that meant if I wanted the guys to eat at all, I needed to show up.
I nodded, kept my mouth shut, and closed my door without the chair securing it this time. If anyone came into my room, they’d just figure I’d left and they’d missed me.
Slipping into the secret passageway again, I carefully pulled the picture closed and squatted down, digging inside the duffle bag Alex had left and fishing around for another flashlight. I found a mess of clothes, granola bars, a water bottle, a blanket, a knife, and some rope.
No extra flashlights.
Were the granola bars all she had been eating? Aydin hadn’t mentioned anything was missing from the kitchen, but Alex was slick. I hoped she was swiping better food while everyone was asleep.
She had to have been coming out of her hiding places to go to the bathroom, at least.
I slid my hand around the inside of the bag, feeling for the satellite phone, but no such luck. Had she hid it somewhere?
Zipping up the duffle, I started down the tunnel without a flashlight and no idea where she’d gone. The tunnels probably covered every floor, and she’d had days to explore. I didn’t even know where Will’s room was.
I jogged down the hidden hallway, the scent of earth and sea surrounding me like I was deep in a cave, and the echo of the waterfall outside beating around me.
Thin beams of light streamed into the dark corridor from the rooms I passed, and I quickly peered through each one to make sure Alex and Will weren’t in there.
Coming to the end of the hall, I saw the tunnel continue on my left, and then looked ahead, seeing the ladder leading down.
Will showered in the natatorium. After the greenhouse, he might’ve gone there.
I descended the ladder, feeling it whine under my weight and instantly recognizing the same sound from the other day. In the walls in the hall leading to the pool.
Alex had been right there next to me, and I hadn’t seen her. She should’ve made herself known. What the hell was she thinking?
I shook my head, pushing the anger back again as slivers of wood poked my palms. I stepped down, immediately jogging through the passageway.
Panels and doorways appeared here and there, outlining entrances into various rooms, and I really hoped no one else knew about this because there was so much space to hide and watch, and if I needed a shortcut to get somewhere fast, this was perfect.
I wouldn’t get my hopes up, though. Aydin was smart, and he’d been here over two years. If he hadn’t found this yet, I’d be surprised.
I passed the gym, wondering how much longer the boys would be hunting and where Aydin was. I had yet to see him at all.
A thud hit somewhere close, like a piece of furniture jostling, and I paused for a moment before running down the corridor toward it.
“Ah!” someone shouted, and I stopped, leaning my ear into the wall.
“Come on, you can do better than that,” Taylor said.
Taylor? I thought he went hunting with Micah and Rory.
There was mumbling, and I knew they were on the other side of this wall. I scanned for the peephole, finding it a foot away and peering through it.
Taylor crouched on the other side of the pool table, only his head visible as he popped up every once in a while, someone else’s hands squeezing his neck.
“What the hell?” I mouthed.
And then I spotted something to the right and squinted.
Alex crept up behind Taylor, already in the room with a thick, wooden candlestick in her hand, and I widened my eyes, sucking in a breath.
Shit. What was she doing?