I shook my head. "I know, I just didn't think you'd sneak up on me."
"Sorry," he said with a little smile. "So what is this?" he asked, climbing in behind me.
"I don't know. Look," I said. "There's a hidden area back here."
The grin disappeared from Steve's face as I lifted my leg over the far side of the stanchion, into the dark passageway. Steve followed my lead and we started making our way down the corridor.
"Wait," Steve said, pausing me. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. A tremor rippled and rolled under his shirt. I swallowed hard.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
His hand silenced me and I strained to see what he could be referring to, but I couldn't.
Why couldn't Liam be here?
I knew Steve could protect me from most things, considering what he was, but something about Liam made me feel the safest. I missed him. I felt torn, not knowing the whereabouts and safety of either him, or Ty.
"The scent of blood is thick here," Steve said, pulling me from my thoughts. "Werewolf too. It's faint, further down." Steve shook his head. "I still don't smell your friend, only blood and wolf. This isn't good, Charlotte. Aaron must have left one of his pack mates to watch after Ty."
"I think I'm going to throw up," I said, leaning over to steady myself, my hands on my knees. "Ty was right. She is being followed." I tried to slow my breathing. My head spun. "Some killer is down here with her."
"We don't know that, Charlotte."
I glared at Steve from my position. "You smell death, blood and death."
Steve didn't answer, his face looking pale.
I stood up. "We better hurry." I said, moving forward. I couldn't stop to think about everything. I had to find her.
Steve caught up to me. Parts of his body had shifted. His iris' burned gold and the tips of his ears had slipped upward on his head. Crouching over, he walked, his nostrils flaring, and then his arm stopped my path.
"Let me go first," he said, his voice lower in range than normal.
I nodded, but he didn't pay attention. His amber gaze fixated on the dark path in front of us. He moved again, more wolf-like that human. A strong aura rolled from his shoulders, and something in me responded. I could feel it scratching under my skin. Lifting my arm, I watched a ripple thread across my wrist. I couldn't breathe.
I bit my lip to stop the trembling and caught up with Steve. He had rounded a small corner exposing a large, half crumbled-down, stone stairwell. He turned to me, and light flooded my vision. The entire place became vivid, every nodule distinct and clear.
Steve stared at me.
"What?" I asked.
He shook his head with a funny expression and started down the steps. "Nothing," he said.
I wasn't stupid.
I touched my eyes with the tips of my fingers. I didn't need to see them. Dropping my hand, I followed Steve, just grateful for the heightened vision.
The stairs opened into an expansive basement constructed from large crude rocks of all shapes and sizes. On one wall a large shelf made of wood had been drilled into the stone. Various items I didn't know had been placed on it, mostly farming supplies, although I could smell turpentine and paint.
"Charlotte," Steve whispered, making me jump. I cursed myself for being so edgy.
Steve waved me over to some make shift wooden door that had been bolted into the rock. An eerie falling sensation washed over me as he tried to pull it free. Something told me I didn't want to know what was on the other side.
With a grunt, Steve ripped the door from its place, tossing it to the side. The putrid, revolting scent of rotting animal escaped, knocking me back.
"Ah, god!" Steve said. He pulled the edge of his shirt over his nose. Stumbling away from the door, he glanced over his shoulder.
I didn't dare ask what he saw, but two steps to the right, and my lovely new vision answered for me. The horror buckled me. I tried to scream, to move, but nothing seemed to work.
"It's okay, Charlotte. Stand back."
Steve's words felt distant. Everything around me had become engulfed in a warm murky cloud of surrealism.
I couldn't tell if the bodies had been male or female. Shredded and torn, they leaned on each other in a haphazard hump, vacantly staring at us. Blood covered them in thick, blackened layers. Gashes and open wounds wreaked with rot.
"She's not in here," Steve said, although it sounded like he spoke through water. "I don't smell Aaron either, but it was definitely a wolf. I don't like this, Charlotte. I think we should go back. Why don't you try your cell?"
"What?" I asked.
"Your cell," Steve said. He lifted the large wooden door and placed it back against the cold stone. At least it helped muffle the scent. With the bodies out of view, reality came back. My mouth felt dry and pasty. Reaching into my jean pocket, I retrieved my phone, opening it.
Nothing.
"It's dea..." I couldn't say the word as I felt my body flush cold
"Look, let's head back and try the farmhouse," Steve said. "We might be able to find a phone there. I think we need to call the cops."
I knew he was right, but my insides twitched. Ty could be close. The police could take an hour.
Steve twitched and his shifted ears perked toward the far doorway just as a loud scream hit the air. Steve took off towards it.
"Ty!" I hollered.
I somehow got my legs to work, and ran after him. I realized in my immobilizing moment with the bodies, my vision had gone back to normal. I couldn't see a thing through the doorway.
The hall had a cold swallowing affect as I headed aimless down. I stretched my hands out in front of me, hoping to find a wall, and not a dead best friend. I cringed at the thought.
"Ty? Where are you?" A hand slipped around my arm, making me almost die on the spot.
"It's okay. It's me," Steve said.
I sighed with relief, holding my chest.
No answer came from Ty.
"You sure that was her?" Steve asked.
I assumed Steve could see me in the dark, so I gave him a death glare.
"Right," he said. "Come on, this way."
His hand remained gripped on my arm as we wove down several corridors. The ground sloped, bringing us deeper into the Earth. The air around us cooled with a damp, moldy smell.
The sound of dripping water echoed within the cold stonewalls. I begged to be able to see. In the darkness, it reminded me too much of drowning in a tomb. I also wished I didn't have such a vast imagination.
A faint mumbling sound came from up ahead and I moved away from Steve's firm hold, going toward it.
"Wait," Steve whispered, pulling me back.
"What are you doing, Steve? I hear her."
"Shh," he said. I still couldn't see, but his hand covered my mouth, the move surprising me. "I don't think it's your friend, Charlotte. I still don't smell Ty."
I shoved his hand away and glared at him. "Well, maybe you aren't remembering her smell correctly, Steve. You only met her once for like ten minutes."
I heard him clear his throat. "Good point, except for one minor detail."
"What?"
"I don't smell anything human. Period."
I froze. "That's not even funny, Steve."
"I'm not joking. Whatever just screamed isn't human. It's werewolf."
"Just stop it!" I said. Tears stung my eyes. "You know that was Ty. Why would you say such a thing? Why?"
"Charlotte, if it's her...I don't know. Maybe Aaron changed her, or..."
"Or what? What, Steve?" I took a step back from him. A tremor rose up and down my spine and the hall filled with light.
"Charlotte, please. Just calm down." His lanky, too long arms reached for me.
"Stay away from me, Steve," I said, backing away. "What? Are you saying that Ty is now some raging werewolf who...who killed those people?" My voice broke and tears roll down my cheeks.