“Just get that gate open and we’ll take care of the rest,” Luis tells me, holding his hand out. With a smirk I give it a quick shake before turning and starting the trek through the sewers where Ethan and our chosen group of men are waiting. It’s time to get this show on the road.
“Ready?” Ethan asks and I can see that, like me, he is almost vibrating with eagerness to get moving. He already had one of the addicts down here to help open the lock and all that’s left is seeing where this tunnel leads.
“Let’s go.”
I send up a silent prayer the exit Crow once used is still there.
We keep up a steady jog which is about as fast as we can go without breaking our necks on the uneven and damp surface beneath us. We have four torches between us all, the only light down here. The smell of sewage still lingers but the further we get, the more it makes way for an even more musty and rotten scent.
Silence surrounds us except for the occasional splash of a foot meeting a deeper wet spot and the heavy panting of us all.
I’m coming Ana.
Thirty Eight
Ana
Since arriving at the Tomb, I’m increasingly grateful for the skills that Josh taught me in my youth and the ones I’ve self-taught over the years. Stealth and the ability to remain unseen, varying ways to kill a man silently and an intuitive sense of danger. It all aids us in the beginning of our escape.
Getting out of our cell proved easy and we only found one guard in the immediate area outside the room. I dispatched him with relative ease and though Sammi looked a bit ill at first, I saw a spark of interest there. If we ever get out of here, I’m teaching the damn woman to wield a weapon. It’ll be awesome.
We spend a few minutes changing into some guard’s uniforms nearby rather than the ridiculous dresses we were given. As I tie the slightly large boots to my feet, wondering if there was a female guard at some point or just a very small man. I smile down at the clothes, not liking the emblem of the guards that shows on the chest but enjoying the comfort and ease of movement. I am never wearing a fucking dress again.
“This is not very flattering,” Sammi says with a frown and I turn, snorting lightly as I look at her inspecting the, granted, not very flattering outfit.
“Well hopefully there’s no one for you to seduce on the way,” I say with a smirk and I see a pang of hurt in her eyes and immediately regret it. “Sorry, that wasn’t cool.”
She sighs. “Only fair, I guess.”
“Still…” I trail off, unsure of what else to say.
Right.
“Come on, we need to keep moving.”
“What next?”
A dark smile crosses my face.
“Now, let’s find Dick.”
Thirty Nine
Axle
“Do you smell that?” One of the men behind me says and we all slow to a stop, sniffing the air.
“I smell fucking shit,” another replies and I ignore him, closing my eyes and letting my senses guide me. A familiar and welcome tang burns my nose.
“Smoke,” I reply with a grin, “They did it. Come on, we gotta move.”
It’s minutes before we begin to see a slowly growing light ahead and all of our paces quicken until we find ourselves below some kind of man-hole cover, a few swatches of pale light coming through.
“Everyone quiet,” I demand before nodding Brutus over to me. I couldn’t risk bringing Theo or some of the others who might slow us down, leaving them safely hidden in the prison, but I knew Brutus’ strength and size could come in handy for us.
“Lift me,” I tell him. He nods and threads his hands together, giving me perch to step up.
“Stay quiet,” I say again, putting my ear close to one of the holes as I listen carefully. Wind and a few distant birds chirping. I still for a moment, overwhelmed by the unfamiliar yet nostalgic sounds. It’s been so long….