She squeezed her eyes tight shut and breathed deeply, the cold from the flagstones seeping through her clothing. Finally, the sickness abated, and she slowly opened her eyes and raised her head.
Darkness.
A shot of panic went through her and she scrambled to her feet, whirling around in fright. What the hell? She’d gone blind!
Wait. No, not blind. A faint light was coming from somewhere and as her eyes adjusted, she made out that she was in some kind of room. The wind and fresh air had been replaced by the smell of damp stone and something else. Unwashed bodies?
What? That made no sense! She was standing in the middle of a set of ruins in the back end of beyond. Wasn’t she? So why was she suddenly in a dark room?
She froze as she sensed movement around her. The shuffle of footsteps and the low hiss of breathing.
“Who’s there?” she cried in fright.
“That sounds like a lass!” said a voice a few paces away, making her jump. “Bailey, light that torch, will ye?”
Light suddenly bloomed, so bright that it made Abi squint. It came from a flaming brand held by a scrawny looking youth who was staring at Abi as though she had sprouted horns and a tail.
“Itisa lass!” the youth cried incredulously. “Where’d she come from?”
“Where didIcome from?” Abi snapped. “Where didyoucome from? And where the hell are we?”
She heard movement and she turned to see that more men were crowded behind her in the narrow, high-ceilinged room. The men were filthy, with dirty hair and even dirtier clothes—the source of the smell.
Abi’s heart began to pound. What was going on?
A man took the torch from the youth and stepped forward. He was dressed in some sort of baggy tartan smock that had seen better days, and was older than the youth—perhaps in his thirties. He had a sullen, bearded face. He peered at her with a puzzled expression on his weathered features.
“What, by all that’s holy?” he said. “How did ye get in here?”
Abi took a step backwards but halted as she realized that took her closer to the men crowding behind. “Where is here? Who are you? Where am I?”
There was a round of whispering at this and then some scattered laughter.
Lass doesnae know where she is!
Addle-pated, that’s what she is!
But the man with the torch didn’t laugh. He was watching her suspiciously. “Ye are in the prison below Kalmack Castle. Where did ye expect to be? Are ye a witch to appear out of thin air?”
Kalmack Castle? Was that the name of the ruins she’d been exploring? Okay, so she was still in the same place she had been. That thought calmed her a little, but how had she ended up in a cell below ground? And what were all these dirty, rough-looking men doing here?
She paused. Hang on a minute. Had he just asked if she was awitch?
“Look,” she said. “Is this a joke? Are you all on a stag party or some work’s team-building event or something?” If they were playacting or part of some sort of escape-room type activity, that would explain why they were here. Perhaps she’d taken ill and wandered down here in a delirium. Yes. That would explain everything. “I’m not part of the game,” she said. “I’ve ended up down here by accident—somehow—so if you could just let me out, I’ll head back to my car.”
“Let ye out?” said the man. “Did ye miss the part where I told ye this was a prison?”
Abi threw up her hands. “Very funny. All right, ten out of ten for keeping in character, but I’m serious. There’s been a mistake. I’m not part of the game. Now, please let me out and you can carry on with your fun.”
The men shifted, glancing at each other uneasily. Abi had to admit, they played their parts well. She wondered how long it had taken them to get into their costumes and get their make-up and hair exactly right. They were very convincing.
The man with the torch stepped closer. “I’ll ask ye again,” he said. “How did ye get in here? Is there another way out?”
Abi blinked. “Another way out?”
“A tunnel, a secret door, anything.”
“I...I don’t know!”
