Page 59 of Petals for Vicious Secrets

But that would be no help if the tunnel they were looking for was in those vessels, or any others that derived from them. They were lost. And the net of vessels… It was a dangerous labyrinth.

The tunnel was the only way out of this trap. Daring to believe the shadow blocks could stand against forces from the other sides, Hope turned to Marcus. His face was pale, utterly grave. The deep frown on his forehead made him look older.

That they were not running yet was the only real indicator that Marcus didn’t know where to go. That he didn’t know what to do.

Hope bit her bottom lip, inhaling sharply. There had to be a way to find the tunnel. She refused to believe their fates were doomed because the roixers had found them. There had to be an alternative. There was always an alternative. But right at this moment, what she desperately needed was what she had always rejected.

She needed help.

The noise of another cellholt approaching through one of the smaller vessels leading to theirs was evidence. The bangs coming from the shadow blocks, caused by either the roixers hitting them or the cellholts being driven over and over against them, were evidence. The third shadow block being created by the courtrades, this time led by Jessica, to cover the connection to the smaller vessel where the noise was emanating from, was proof.

There were only three small open vessels left where they could start running towards. They were not fully trapped. Not yet. But they needed help. She needed help in order to save Nina and her mother. In order to save herself. The seconds were ticking as fast as the hits against the shadow blocks were banging, as fast as other vehicles were approaching.

She needed help. And she needed it now.

A bird with blood-red wings appeared from one of the smaller, still-open vessels. Its speed was supernatural, and its loud cry roared in Hope’s blood. Her body reacted to the intense cry, to the racing wings, to what this presence could mean. But there was no time to think about any of that. There was only time to run.

So Hope shouted, “Follow her!” and started running towards the bird, trying to keep the pace. She was aware of Nina and her mother following her closely behind. She could also identify Marcus, Jessica and Aridian’s jagged breathing sounds.

The red bird flew high, its wide wings almost touching the ceiling of the vessels. Its turns from vessel to vessel were sharp, determined. Every vessel it guided them to was empty. The noises of the cellholts around them were still louder than what it could be deemed safe, but the bird kept guiding them through smaller vessels. Vessels where cellholts wouldn’t even fit. Where the pack of them had to stretch out in order to make their way through.

But Hope didn’t have time to care about every member of the pack. As long as Nina and her mother were behind her, she would keep running. She would keep chasing the bird that might be their salvation.

The bird that had now turned upwards and disappeared from the vessel through a vertical tunnel in the land.

37

Hope

Before Hope reached the spot underneath the tunnel, her mother overran her. One knee on the floor, Aurora facilitated the jump so Hope could grab the lower rail of the tunnel. A step towards salvation.

Hope knew better than to argue with her mother and trusted Nina would be right after her. Marcus would then aid Aurora, and the courtrades would follow suit.

So Hope jumped upwards, her leg muscles tensing at the straining of such a distance, and her fingertips touched the metal bar inside the caved tunnel, her palm curving around its cold shape. She pushed the rest of her body up and looked down to see her mother motioning to Nina that she was next.

Nina tried jumping twice until Hope grabbed her wrist and pulled her upwards. The noises of the cellholts were approaching once more, as if they had found them again within the net.

Her mother looked at Marcus as he lifted his arms towards her, and Hope’s heartbeat halted. But shadows only whirled around Aurora, lifting her, holding her body straight as they twisted around her legs and waist, until Hope and Nina were rushing up the tunnel, leaving space for Aurora below. And for every courtrade who would follow after.

Up they went, not looking down, not hesitating. Hope was climbing through the metal ladder on the never-ending wall of the tunnel as fast as she could. She knew that their speed was the only thing separating the courtrades from the roixers. From the cellholts, getting closer to the spot underneath.

Because even if she was climbing, far away from the opening to the vessel by each passing second, the sounds of the cellholts were not decreasing. They were getting closer. Louder.

Somewhere below within the tunnel, Jessica shouted, “Tell that fucking idiot to climb up now!”

“Marcus, climb!” Aridian echoed.

Up, up, up they went. No sign of the bird across the length of the tunnel. Yet down below, the cellholt noises were so loud. Too loud. Until they stopped. And then the screams of the physical fights started.

Hope didn’t dare waste a breath looking down. She knew she wouldn’t see anything other than dark shapes and a silver-haired head immediately underneath her feet.

“Fucking Llunal—climb the fuck up, Marcus!” Aridian roared, a tinge of fear in his voice.

If the roixers entered the tunnel, they would be damned. No matter how small the space was inside the tunnel, the risk was still too high. Too many things could go wrong.

“I’m in! I need all your thickest shadows to form an impenetrable shadow block. Let’s keep these bastards at bay. Shadows down, now!” he shouted, and Hope felt the walls of the tunnel shake, the rail she was holding shaking vigorously. If their shadows broke the rail…

But they didn’t. And shortly after, the fighting sounds from the vessels were muted. An impenetrable wall indeed. But there had still been fighting sounds—

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