Page 80 of Rockwell Academy: The Twist

He says nothing and neither do the two centurions observing from the shadows. Even though I know who lurks behind the golden masks, it’s still eerie as fuck and I wonder how the girls reacted. Once again, my impression of Frankie goes up a notch because fuck me, this game is so dark I wish I had thought of it myself.

I’m the third centurion through the tunnel. Jesse beat us all to it and, as I follow Eric, I focus on the main event.

We reach the false opening and as we crawl through, my cloak catches on my knees and slows me down, the mask an immobile object on my face that hinders my progress. Fuck, they may look impressive, but they’re bastards to wear.

As I crawl through the opening and enter the smaller chamber, two more centurions are standing against the iron door. I’m aware they are female—Cassie and Siri but aside from being smaller than the guys, you wouldn’t guess it from their costumes.

I note Jesse crawling into the third tunnel and Eric hesitates before taking the fifth. I have the choice of three and as I glance at the two silent centurions, one of them points to tunnel number two. I’m grateful for the heads up, unless they are messing with me, of course, and as I nod my thanks, I’m guessing they identify the centurions by their footwear, much the same as I did with the girls.

At least I hope so and I haven’t been sent crawling after Imogen, or one of the other girls. Once you lay a hand on a challenger, they are yours under the rules of The Claiming. If I touch the wrong girl, it would end extremely badly for me and part of me wonders if Frankie instructed the girls to send me after a different girl entirely. I wouldn’t put it past him, which is why I’m grateful that Summer chose a distinctive color in her choice of footwear.

I waste no time and crawl into tunnel number two, a loud scream coming from the third tunnel, and I smile to myself. Hopefully, Jesse got his girl and another scream from the fifth reminds me I shouldn’t waste any more time.

As I set off, the ground is hard under my knees and the tunnel is small and rather claustrophobic.

It’s in darkness and my admiration for the challengers raises a notch because it takes a certain kind of bravery to crawl through the dirt in complete darkness, not knowing what creatures are in there with you.

My progress is fast and soon I’m not alone. Heavy breathing alerts me to somebody just in front of me. They quicken their pace and a frustrated huff tells me they’ve reached the dead end and as I crawl toward the end, I fix my sight on their footwear.

As I draw closer, a fearful voice calls out, “Who is it?”

I stop crawling.

It’s not Summer. What the fuck?

“Don’t hurt me.”

Now I know it’s not Summer, so with a low growl, I abandon the chase and crawl back the way I came.

37

SUMMER

Why do I like this so much? From the moment we entered the dungeon and filed past the lurking centurions, a spark of excitement lit my blood like a fuse. Frankie’s mind is dark and I share it and as we passed the cells, I resisted eye contact, knowing that one of them was Luca.

As soon as we entered the chamber, Frankie’s depravity was in full swing as each girl was hooded and spun around to disorientate them. I kept my wits sharpened and used touch and sound to guide me to the tunnel opening, and as soon as I was inside, I took a moment to remove the hood. It wasn’t easy either. The bastard had tied it tightly, but after a few seconds, I eased the knot apart and could finally breathe easier.

Not that there is much fresh air in this place, but the dim shadows surrounding me gave me some guidance at least. I crawled to the end and felt to my right and as I found the opening, I moved through it and was grateful the ceiling height enabled me to stand.

The others were hesitating outside the tunnels and two silent centurions followed our moves. I already know they are Cassieand Siri and rather than take advantage of that, I merely smiled and chose the tunnel to my left. Tunnel number one.

As I crawled into the confined space, I listened out for any noise, stopping every few seconds to alert me to any approaching predator.

Now I’m alone in the tunnel, the smile on my lips remains in place because I’m loving this so far. It’s a game I would have happily played as a child just for the hell of it, but knowing a guy like Luca is hot on my tail, offers a different kind of excitement—one I’m more than up for.

As I crawl, I soon reach a dead end and wonder if I’m expected to wait for him to catch me like a good little prisoner. It kind of sucks, so I head back the way I came, wondering if there is any place to hide to make this more difficult.

As I go, I sweep my hands through the dirt on the ground because I have heard the story of Abigail Flowerday. She was abducted on the first Claiming and it happened through a trapdoor in the tunnel floor. I wonder if they are still active, or if Frankie somehow immobilized them. I wouldn’t put it past him, but my search is an eager one. I love the idea of the tunnels below. This is something I’m interested in discovering, and what better time than in my quest to outwit someone like Luca Romano.

As I crawl, my fingers catch on a line of metal and my heart races as I sweep away the dirt and follow the line. It’s a perfect square and so I search for a catch, or a push mechanism, and just like that, the ground opens up beneath me.

My heart beats with excitement as I swing my legs into the hole and lower myself down, holding onto the edge until my foot touches the ground.

I did it!

I am victorious and yet already second guessing this plan because if the tunnels were dark, this place is what death must feel like.

Nothing.

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