Page 80 of Dead Wolf Walking (Bad Moon Academy 1)
There’s a flickering light at the top of the stairs, illuminating enough of the space that I can see more than a few wicked looking spiders. I follow after her, trying not to touch the cobwebbed wall. These stairs are steep enough that I end up lightly trailing my hand along the wall in case I slip. Sticky webs latch on to my finger but pull away as I continue.
This place is disgusting,Joan says.
You’re telling me.
“How far down do these go?” I ask when I count thirty stairs and can’t spot the bottom. The light at the top of the stairs is slowly becoming useless, and the deeper we travel beneath the school, the harder it is to see.
“We’re almost there.” Morg doesn’t sound concerned so I force myself to relax.
After all, what can be worse than being bitten and turned into a shifter?
Oh, I don’t know. A murderous psychopath who wants to cook your liver and serve it with a nice spread of steamed greens.
Joan’s sarcasm makes me feel a little better. If something were wrong, she’d be able to sense it. Right? Besides, why am I surprised it’s so dark? We are going to a crypt after all.
“Here we are,” Morg says. A button clicks and a flashlight flicks on.
“Now you turn it on,” I say with a huff. “Got another one of those?”
She points the light toward her face, illuminating her frown. “No, sorry. Do you want to hold it?”
“No. Don’t leave me behind though. I don’t know my way out.”
“Of course I won’t leave you behind,” she says and wrinkles her nose. “Here.” Extending her arm, she wiggles her fingers at me. “We can hold hands. It’ll be like a date, only there will never be sex and you have to pay for dinner.”
“Wow, well, how can I refuse an offer like that?” I grab her hand and we walk side-by-side down an all-brick corridor. The air is damp and stale. Something drips nearby, probably an old pipe, and any noise from upstairs is muffled by the stone ceiling.
“The crypt is a bit farther.” She swings the flashlight back and forth.
“Oh hell.” I squeal when a rat dashes away from the light, squeaking at being exposed.
“They’re harmless and you’re a big bad wolf. Don’t forget that.”
Yeah, that was a little lame,Joan says.
Hey, I was born human. Rats are creepy.
The corridor gives way to a large room nearly as big as the cafeteria. The walls are lined with shelves, cabinets with old wooden doors, and clouded jars of various sizes. Light from Morg’s flashlight bounces off of the glass, but they’re too dirty to see inside of, at least from this far away. My nose tingles from the dust in the air.
“See, when you said crypt, I thought you were exaggerating.”
Clicking her tongue, Morg shakes her head. “Nope, baby doll. This woman never exaggerates.”
I give her the side eye, and she groans.
“Okay,sometimesI exaggerate, but not about this place. This crypt is my special sanctuary.”
Swinging my gaze around, I eye the cabinets which remind me of those drawers where they store dead bodies at the morgue. “Um, well, it sure is… special,” I say, trying not to laugh.
“Shut up,” she growls.
I lose control of myself and chuckle. “Oh come on, it’s hella creepy, Morg.”
With a shrug, she heads to one of the jars. “Whatever. I love it. No one bothers me down here.”
I start to remind her that no one pays her mind when we’re topside but think better of it. Our friendship is still fresh and may not be strong enough to survive truth bombs. She reaches inside one of the jars and a shiver ripples down my spine as I imagine her pulling her hand out and seeing it covered in baby black widows.
Yeah, not going there. I see the dead for fuck’s sake, no need to freak myself out imagining spiders.
