Page 88 of Raise Hell

Seventeen

Drake drivesus back toward St. Bart’s. We take the same road through Drumville toward campus, but he turns off the main road well before we reach the main gates.

Pavement turns into a dirt road covered in gravel. My arms tighten around his waist as the tires skid along the uneven surface. It’s too dark to see tire tracks, but I don’t get the sense this road is heavily used.

We drive deeper into the wooded area surrounding the school on what has to be a service road. None of the lights from the school are close enough to reach us, and the Ducati’s headlight is all that pierces the penetrating darkness.

We come to a stop at a clearing with a low gate blocking the road.

Drake kills the engine. “We have to walk the rest of the way.”

For a fall evening it’s warm outside, despite how quickly winter is approaching. Probably the nicest one we’re going to have until spring. But I still feel a chill move over me as I realize how quiet and dark it is out here.

I can barely see the ground in front of my feet. “You better have a flashlight.”

He points to the gigantic full moon hanging overhead. “Don’t be a dweeb. You don’t need a flashlight when the moon is this bright.”

“Until you trip over a branch that is too dark to see, break your ankle, and leave me with no way to drag your ass back to campus.”

Drake chuckles. “You would just take my keys and leave me out here to die of exposure, so I’m not seeing the problem for you.”

“True.” When I still hesitate near the bike, he grabs my hand and pulls me after him.

“Just trust me — you don’t want to miss this.”

I follow behind him as closely as I can, stumbling a bit in the darkness.

His grip moves to my upper arm to help me keep my balance, but he doesn’t alter his pace. I don’t have any choice but to follow him into the darkness.

The silence of the forest slowly gives way to the distant sound of rushing water. Eventually, the trees thin and the dirt beneath our feet recedes into perilous rocks.

Drake’s arm shoots out in front of me, just before I walk off a cliff.

“Watch out.”

A few dozen feet below is the most beautiful grotto I’ve ever seen.

Moonlight reflects off the hidden pool in a way that sets it aglow in the dark. The water is clear enough at night you can probably see all the way to the bottom.

“Holy shit.”

“I know, right?” Drake’s face is obscured by the darkness, but I hear the smile in his voice. “The pool is fed by an underground hot spring, so the water stays warm almost all year. It won’t freeze over in the winter.”

“I had no idea there was something like this on campus.”

“It’s a closely guarded secret,” he assures me. “So, I better not hear about you bringing any other guys here.”

I swallow hard past a sudden lump in my throat. “How do we get down there?”

“There’s a path over here to the side. It’s rocky, so watch your step.”

We carefully pick our way down the trail dug into the cliff side. I have to clutch his shoulders as he descends first, because I can’t make out the steps in the dark. I only place my feet in the same places he does.

I swear he has the visual acuity of a night owl.

Drake stops so suddenly that I nearly run into his back. “The water is pretty deep, and the ground is all mud further down the trail. We can jump into the water from here and then climb back up the rocks when we’re done.”

We’re only about five feet above the surface of the water. Even if it’s shallower than he thinks, there is no danger in jumping from here.

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