Page 146 of Tag

“Tunnel,” I rasped, barely audible. “He dragged me into the tunnel—Dennis—.”

Within seconds, we were surrounded. Cheerleaders, football players, voices climbing over one another in shock and confusion.

Brittany rushed over first, wild-eyed and still breathless, a fresh bruise blooming on her cheek. Her boyfriend reeled her back in, holding her like he’d lose her again if he let go.

Layla pushed through with Sydney and Zara. Noah and Kellan followed, scanning the scene like they were waiting for someone to drop a bomb. Ryder came straight for me with our friends on his heels, cutting through the crowd like it didn’t exist. Dougie gently passed me off to him. His hands framed my face, tilting it up, his eyes drinking me in, checking for damage. I felt the weight of the stares—his teammates, mine, and the coaches.

I didn’t care.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice deceptively calm.

“I’ll be sore,” I managed. “But I’m okay. Britt got it worse. And—.” I shook my head. “When the hell was someone going to mention the creepy-ass tunnel connected to our locker room?”

Sydney’s eyes went wide. “What tunnel?”

Zara blinked. “There wasn’t a tunnel when we first got here.”

Mrs. Gale pushed forward through the crowd, face pale, mouth pressed into a tight line. “They’re using the tunnels already?” She immediately straightened like she hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

Roxxi’s head whipped toward her. “What the fuck do you mean already?”

Cloe wisely took hold of her before she assaulted our cheer coach. Ari moved closer to me.

“They were sealed off last year,” Mrs. Gale explained, her voice taut. “We weren’t informed they were reopened. You can only open them from the inside—they blend into the walls.”

“And you didn’t think to fucking mention that at any point?” Roxxi snapped.

If I hadn’t just been yanked through one, I’d be more concerned about her revelation.

“Well, people came through it and Dennis was one of them,” Brittany seethed, jaw clenched.

Gasps rippled through our audience.

“Dennis?”

“No way.”

“He’s weird, but come on…”

“How would he even know about the tunnels?”

I turned my head and saw a guy who had nothing to do with football or cheerleading recording. Xander followed my stare and walked right up to him, plucking his phone from his hand without saying a word. He hurled it straight to the ground. The screen shattered on impact. He crushed it with his cleat to shatter it entirely. The guy cursed,crouching to grab up the pieces when Xander walked back to us.

“Stay with the girls,” Ryder ordered softly. His thumbs brushed the edges of my jaw before he released me.

“Rye,” I started, reaching for him, but he was already moving.

Roxxi pulled me closer, her hand tightening around mine. Cloe and Ari flanked me immediately, their eyes scanning me like Ryder had just done.

He, Cade, Xander, Dougie, and a few more broke from the crowd, entering the girls’ locker room with one shared goal. The football coaches started trying to reassert control, but no one was paying them any attention.

Roxxi turned to Mrs. Gale. “Almost all of us are Marked. I suggest you make this right, and so it never happens again before anymore of our squad gets dragged through your tunnels.”

One of the assistant football coaches stepped forward—Mr. Crane. Thick-necked. Square-jawed. Perpetually annoyed. “It’s not our place to get involved, Miss Sterling.”

“Then make it your place,” she countered coolly.

Together, we walked away from the mess of it all and the endless speculation already circulating.

---