Chapter Twenty-Four: Catwalks And Talks

(The Belly Of The Beast, Part 3)

***

The stairs clanged under Allison's feet—not that noticeable, but in the otherwise silent underground quarry, they were as loud as gunshots.

Allison's fingers were tight on the bow and string as she, Laura and Ryan walked onto a landing, seeing more rocky walls and scaffolding.  A prickle of unease trickled down her spine as she whispered to Ryan, "Do you trust this?"

Ryan shook his head, affirming to her that he didn't trust it. That he was as unnerved as Allison was.

"This place is eerie," she muttered—just as a voice rang out.

Silas.

Only by a second did Allison stop herself from releasing the arrow, heart pounding frenetically in her chest as she looked around wildly. That voice... it was the same voice from the woods.

But how?

"Did you hear that?" Laura whispered.

Allison nodded. "Yeah. Kinda hard not to hear it. Fucking creepy..."

"It's her," Ryan said.

"Who?" Allison and Laura asked in unison.

"The Hag of Hackett's Quarry," Ryan revealed. "It's like she's warning us off."

"Or guiding us," Laura countered.

"Or leading us into a trap," Allison muttered, eyeing the quarry even more warily than she had before as she wanted to scream. First, werewolves existed, now ghosts? What next? Vampires?

Allison swallowed that back as she kept the arrow ready, the string as taut as her muscles. They continued walking, heading up another set of stairs and over a steel catwalk and as they did, part of the railing fell off.

"Oh whoa!" Ryan exclaimed.

"Oh shit! Be careful," Laura warned.

"No need to tell me twice," Alison said, eyeing the drop warily. She had a feeling if she fell this time, it wouldn't end with her wet and losing a few arrows.

As the railing clattered noisily against the ground, Ryan turned to them and asked worriedly, "You think anyone heard that?"

"No. They can't have done," Laura answered.

"But maybe we should be prepared, in case they did," Allison interjected.

"Yeah. Sure," Laura said, holding her gun tighter.

"This place is not up to code," Ryan remarked.

Allison snorted. "I was thinking the exact same thing."

"I mean, if the code is 'literally crumbling to the ground', then I think it's doing fine," Laura snarked.

"Good point," Allison said.

"Let's just keep moving," Ryan suggested after the grin he wore dropped away.

"Yeah," Laura whispered as Allison followed Ryan, eyeing the drop once more before she did.

But not a few steps in, Ryan stumbled and Laura steadied him before Allison could, warning, "Careful. Jeez."

Allison nodded. "Especially with a fall like that."

Ryan nodded, as together the trio traversed the catwalk toward more stable ground, heading across both rock and more catwalks. Allison's fingers cramped around the string as finally she decided to loosen her grip and put the arrow back in the quiver, shaking out her hand and opening and closing it as tingles rocketed up her fingers. That needed to be gone, otherwise it would be a big problem when Allison needed to use her bow.

Still shaking her hand, Allison, Ryan and Laura walked up another flight of stairs, Allison's legs screaming—seriously, how many stairs were in here?—as Ryan commented, "Just look at this place."

"I'm looking, Ryan. I have no other choice not to," Allison muttered.

As they climbed up a set of stairs that curved, Ryan took a step and the whole staircase shook and screeched ominously.

"Oh shit!" Ryan exclaimed as the staircase kept shaking, leaping up onto the landing as he shouted back at them, "Jump!"

Allison didn't hesitate, leaping toward Ryan as he caught her and pulled her forward, the bow having not slipped out of her hand or no more arrows being lost miraculously. Allison turned and held out a hand for Laura as she caught it, the brunette pulling her to safety as the staircase fell, clattering to the ground.

Standing, Allison winced as she saw that a large section was gone, and muttered, "That's gonna be a problem."

Laura didn't seem that too concerned as she commented, "I could really do with a hamburger right about now."

At that, Allison immediately backed away as Ryan said, "Stop being weird," and pushed past her, heading up the next flight of stairs.

Allison did the same, Laura bringing up the rear, the trio walking up one flight, then another until they reached another landing.

"Oh boy, this is high," Ryan muttered. "Whoa."

"You okay?" Allison asked.

"Fine," he replied, looking away from the railings.

That was when Allison's nose caught something and wrinkled as she asked, "Do you guys smell that?"

"Yeah," Laura murmured, walking toward the railing and kneeling down in front of a dark, fleshy lump.

Allison swallowed back bile as she released that was flesh, dark red and scarred, hair still clinging to it. The smell hit her again, and Allison retched in her mouth, trying to keep from vomiting. It didn't help that, after noticing it, Laura picked it up and asked, "Do you think, actually, something is in here with us?"

"Uh, no duh. There's werewolves running around all over camp. Why wouldn't they be in here, water or no water?" Allison said, before she turned and muttered, "I think I'm gonna be sick..."

"Either that, or this route isn't as disused as we thought," Ryan observed.

"Ryan, please. Don't make the mental image in my head worse than it already is," Allison muttered.

"Sorry."

Inhaling and exhaling, shoving down the bile, Allison turned back around as Laura put back down the chunk of flesh and kept walking.

"How are you gonna be a doctor if you get grossed out by that?" Ryan whispered to her.

"Trust me, Ryan, blood and guts are very different when they're injuries on a person, not... that," Allison muttered, not looking at the flesh as they followed after Laura, walking across another catwalk and, to her legs' misery, yet another set of stairs.

"A long way down," Laura observed as they came to the landing and noticed a sign saying "CAVE IN! DO NOT ENTER"

"Yeah, no kidding," Allison muttered, looking at the sign.

"Well... where's 'cave out'?" Ryan asked.

"Million dollar question right now," Allison said.

But Ryan's question caused something unexpected—Laura letting out a snort of laughter and saying, "Look who's finding their funny bone!"

Allison stared at Laura—she didn't even know if the girl was capable of laughing or had a sense of humour—as Ryan let out an amused noise before they pushed onward, Allison not even caring about finding and killing Chris Hackett—she just wanted a way out of this damn cave.

"God, this fucking thing feels like it goes on forever," she grumbled as they walked across the catwalk, their footsteps ringing in the silence.

"So, Ryan, what's your deal then?" Laura questioned.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Allison, I get kinda. But with you... the whole mysterious brooding loner thing. It doesn't quite fit with the 'I love my camp leader' vibe," Laura observed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Allison asked, feeling defensive for Ryan.

"So I don't fit into the right box, is that what you're saying?" Ryan questioned, a defensive edge to his voice.

"You know that's not what I mean," Laura replied.

"How did you mean it, Laura?" Allison asked flatly.

"I've been coming here for years. You get to know a place, and it feels like a second home, y'know? I mean... until now," Ryan explained.

"What about your friends? Kaitlyn, Nora and... Hayden? Are those their names? They seem like they look up to you," Laura pressed.

"Yeah. Kaitlyn... she has the hots for me. Dylan does too," Ryan revealed.

Allison's head whipped to Ryan at what he confessed. Oh, if Hayden was here...

"What about Nora and Hayden?" Laura persisted.

"Nah, Nora doesn't go for guys, and she's in love with Sarah," Ryan informed.

"So doesn't Hayden—for anyone. She's more interested in that chocolate-covered liquorice than anything romantic or sexual," Allison interjected.

"Oh," Laura said, understanding her mistake in assuming that. Looking at Ryan, she teased, "Also, modesty, thy name is Ryan."

Allison chuckled at that as Ryan defended, "I'm not being smug about it. It's just a fact. They're not exactly secretive about it and so isn't Hayden with being matchmaker for me and Dylan, or for Allison and Nick."

Allison nodded. "It's true. But... I kinda appreciate it now. I mean, it worked, before..."

Allison trailed off, fingers tightening around the bow.

"So, what about you? Did it work? Who do you like more?" Laura asked.

Ryan looked down, before admitting, "If I'm being completely honest... it's Dylan. I don't know, he... we..."

Ryan trailed off with a sigh, but there was a fondness in his voice, a look in his eyes that reminded Allison of her's whenever she thought about Nick. That Ryan, indeed, returned Dylan's feelings back for him.

Oh, if Hayden or even Dylan were here...

Laura smiled. "Guess your friend's matchmaking worked, huh?"

"Yeah," Ryan said as he looked at Allison, the both of them thinking about the boys they'd fallen for. "I guess it did."

With that, it lapsed into silence as they continued walking—and came across a half-boarded up entrance in the wall.

"Oh thank God," Allison murmured at finally seeing the end.

"This way. I see a light," Laura informed.

They looked down and Allison could see the light too—along with the walls and ceiling covered in planks and cobwebs and the end of the tunnel shrouded in gloom. It looked creepy, but it seemed like their only ticket out of here.

"Yeah," Ryan breathed, sounding creeped-out.

"Or you can just hang out here," Laura commented. "Up to you."

"I vote we get the fuck out of here," Allison threw in.

"See? She's in," Laura said before she grabbed a board with one hand and yanked it loose, throwing it over her shoulder.

Allison's eyes were wide. "Holy shit."

"Someone's been eating their spinach," Ryan noted sarcastically.

Allison elbowed Ryan as Laura turned to them and asked, "So... you two want to go into the collapsing nightmare tunnel first or shall I?"

Ryan and Allison looked at each other, the looks and silence answer enough as they walked in first, Laura right behind them. 

Inside, the tunnel was even more eerie, with no light aside from that lamp and no sign of any other way out except for straight ahead. Cobwebs drifted against corners and Allison kept away—she hated spiders—as she and Ryan walked out from a tunnel and into a room with piles of debris and two entrances cast in shadow, moonlight slanting through a small window.

"Looks promising," Laura observed.

"I was thinking more mausoleum, but okay," Allison said sarcastically.

They walked through one of the entrances into what looked like a supply room, with all the supplies a doomsday prepper could only dream of. Allison scanned the room as they headed up to some sort of door and Laura asked, "You think this is it?"

Ryan shrugged. "Uh, beats me. I'm pretty much completely lost."

"Yeah. Me too," Laura confessed.

"Same here," Allison admitted. "I just want to get out."

Laura looked at them as she asked, "Shall we?"

Allison shrugged. "I guess. What other options do we have on getting out of here?"

With that as an answer, Laura walked up to the door and opened it with a groan. Allison's hand hovered over her arrows, ready to draw one and fire if needed, as they stepped through.

And toward what waited on the other side.

***

Heheheh...

I am low-key loving writing the Allison, Ryan and Laura dynamic?? It's super fun

Poor Allison—she just wants to get out of that cave XD 

And yes, I did change what Ryan said in regards to whether who he liked more to saying that he likes Dylan!! After all the chemistry the two of them had, it was such a cop out not to have Ryan reciprocate Dylan's feelings by now and say neither. So yeah, he definitely likes Dylan in here!! (though with saying neither... aromantic Ryan perhaps??)

But yeah, the trio's now in the Hackett House proper!! Although, I'm gonna have to leave you with that cliffhanger for a bit—because we're back with Hayden and the rest next chapter with a little bit of action >:)

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!