The late hour insured that Wayne had no trouble entering the steam tunnel between the Field House and Juggers Hall. The streets and sidewalks were completely deserted. Though the iron cover sounded as if it would alert the entire campus to their trespassing, no one came to investigate. And after he slid it noisily back into place, he had only to follow the faded markings that Albert pointed out to him the first time he came down here.
He still could not believe that he was starting all over again. It was a long trip through these tunnels before he even reached the Temple of the Blind. Once inside, he would then have to find his own way to the City of the Blind, navigating the three emotion rooms along the way. He’d have to swim through that cold water. He’d have to squeeze through the tiny passageway where he nearly became lodged last time. He’d have to make his way once more through that reeking mud. And after what the old man told him, who knew if the Sentinel Queen would even let him pass through her city. For all he knew, she might even try to kill him.
Assuming he made it that far, he would have to pass through the City of the Blind’s north gate and somehow try to catch up with Albert, Brandy and Nicole, though they had a tremendous head start on him.
He had no idea how he was supposed to catch up to them. How would he even know where to begin? It was preposterous to think that he could locate a mere three people in a labyrinth that size. But he had to try. If nothing else, he needed to warn Albert of the old man’s claims. Either he or the Sentinel Queen was lying to them. Perhaps both of them. He could not begin to say which one they should trust, but he felt confident that he could trust Albert to help sort it out.
He followed the florescent green markings into the next passageway and to the old, iron ladder that waited to carry them deeper into the earth. “Careful,” he warned as he gripped the metal rung and began to climb down.
Olivia and Andrea followed close behind him. He still could not believe that these two lovely young ladies were both willing to wade through sewer tunnels, strip down to their birthday suits and risk life and limb to accompany not just him but each other, two complete strangers, on a frightening—and frankly insane—adventure they knew almost nothing about. The very idea was unfathomable to him. Although he supposed that it was no more insane than his own actions. He had, himself, come here in the company of three strangers, with no idea what was in store for him. And now he was going back again, regardless of the horrors he had seen.
He had asked them many times before arriving at the tunnel entrance if they were certain of their decision, warning them that it was dangerous and reminding them that the trip required them to give up their clothes. Although he could see in their eyes that the thought of disrobing bothered them both greatly, they still refused to back down. They were both strong-willed and stubborn and, truthfully, he had to respect them for that.
And the company they gave him while traveling these dark and moldy tunnels was more than welcome.
Olivia had been mostly quiet since the three of them left the parking lot outside Wayne’s apartment building. He wasn’t surprised. A lot must weigh on her mind. After all she’d been through, it was astounding that she was still going. Now that she was inside the steam tunnels, she had the look of a frightened animal, her eyes twitching from shadow to shadow, her jaw clenched. If not for the determined way she kept meeting his eyes when he glanced back at her, he wouldn’t have believed she was the same person who refused to even consider remaining in the safety of her dorm room.
Andrea, however, was an entirely different story.
“This is so cool!” she exclaimed, gazing wonderingly around at every new tunnel they entered, her blue eyes wide and bright, as if she were a child on Christmas morning. “How far do these tunnels go?”
“Can’t say,” Wayne replied. “But it’s still a long way to the temple.”
“So awesome! It’s like a movie set down here!”
Each time they walked past an adjoining tunnel, she paused and poked her flashlight into it for a moment, exploring as much as she could get away with. Then she would hurry to catch up again.
“Be careful,” he reminded her. “Remember, some of the machinery down here is dangerous. You can burn yourself on some of this stuff. Or cut yourself. This place isn’t exactly approved for tours.”
“I’ll be careful. Do these tunnels go under the whole city?”
“Not sure. Maybe,” he replied, although he wasn’t entirely sure she was even listening to his answers.
“I used to hear stories about tunnels under the city, but I never knew if any of them were real.”
The girl’s eagerness was amusing, and her energetic personality was refreshing in such a gloomy place. Her chattiness was definitely a welcome distraction from the task ahead. He wondered if she always talked this much or if it was just how she dealt with scary situations.
“You’re sure we’re not going to get in trouble for being down here?” Andrea asked as she looked back the way they came. She half expected to see flashlights chasing after them.
“Nobody saw us,” Wayne assured her.
“My dad would probably kill me if I got in trouble for something like this.”
“Even if someone saw us, they’d never find us. It’s a maze down here.”
Wayne found it amusing that she was more afraid of getting caught trespassing than she was of spiders and rats.
Andrea returned her attention to where she was going and saw that she had lagged behind again. Hurriedly, she caught back up and then resumed scanning every surface with her flashlight. “My friends would never believe all this,” she announced. “Never.”
Wayne had to smile a little. She wasn’t even out of the steam tunnels yet. Just wait until she saw the temple.
He glanced back at Olivia again, and again she met his eyes with that steely determination.
“There’ll be some tunnels down here that are too small to walk in,” he explained. “Some are pretty damp. We’ll probably get a little wet and muddy.”
“That’s okay,” assured Andrea cheerfully.
Olivia merely nodded.
Wayne focused his attention back on the tunnels ahead, careful not to miss any of the florescent green marks that would guide him back to the Temple of the Blind. He could not afford to get lost. Albert was already several hours ahead of him and still moving. That distance was only going to increase every moment he wasn’t working to close it.
Andrea pulled her cell phone from her jeans pocket and examined the screen. “No signal down here,” she reported. “Guess that’s not really a surprise, huh?”
“Yeah, you can forget about your phone,” Wayne warned. “Those things are pretty well useless where we’re going.”
Andrea returned it to her pocket. She didn’t like not having her phone. She felt vulnerable. But it was hardly unexpected. She probably lost the signal almost as soon as she entered the tunnels.
They were utterly on their own down here.