We descended single file, and the air grew colder with each step, that familiar musty scent of old stone and even older bones filling my lungs.
“Jesus,” Cherry muttered, glancing around the ossuary as Jeremiah pushed open the tunnel door. “It's even creepier down here at night.”
“Yeah, it’s like a horror movie,” I murmured, pulling out my phone and turning on the flashlight app. The small beam cut through the yawning darkness in the tunnel beyond the entrance, and as we made our way forward, the door automatically clicked shut behind us.
Jeremiah sent the drone forward, watching the feed carefully. “Tunnel looks clear for at least fifty feet. Let’s get moving.”
We started walking, footsteps echoing off the stone walls. The passage was wider than I expected, with a high ceiling and a path smooth from centuries of use. Every few yards, small alcoves were carved into the walls; recesses barely deep enough for a person to squeeze into.
The drone buzzed ahead of us again, its red light disappearing around a curve. The night vision camera feed on Jeremiah’s phone showed nothing but empty tunnel stretching ahead.
“How far do you think it is?” Cherry asked, her voice hushed even though we were alone.
“Jennifer said about fifteen minutes at a normal pace,” I replied. "But we're going slower because we keep checking ahead with the drone, so maybe twenty?”
A few minutes later, Jeremiah froze.
“Shit,” he hissed, pulling the drone back. “I think I hear someone behind us.”
“What?” Cherry spun around, her eyes wide with panic.
Before he could respond, I heard distinctly male voices echoing off the walls behind us. Someone was definitely heading toward us, from the ossuary end of the tunnel.
Jeremiah was already moving, grabbing Cherry's arm and pulling her toward the nearest alcove. “Get in. Now.”
I killed my flashlight app and pressed myself into the alcove across from them, the cold stone digging into my back. I held my breath and went completely still as the voices grew louder, and soon I could see the pale glow of a phone light moving across the ground.
“—telling you, Liam is going to lose his shit when he finds out,” one voice said, getting closer.
“He'll get over it. He always does,” another replied with a laugh.
“True. Hey, do you think they’ll have Jolie’s girls there tonight?”
“Huh? Who’s Jolie?”
“She owns that club down in the city. They usually hire her dancers as the entertainment at these things. Remember last year?”
“Oh, right, yeah! Those girls were fucking hot.”
The two guys were almost on us now. The beam of their light was brighter, and I could hear the scuff of their shoes as they walked. If they looked to either side, if they shined the light into the alcoves… we were screwed.
The footsteps passed.
The voices continued, growing fainter as they moved away from us, and their words faded into unintelligible murmurs, then silence.
I stayed frozen for another thirty seconds, waiting to make sure they were really gone. Finally, I heard Jeremiah's voice whispering across the tunnel.
“I think we're clear.”
I turned my phone light back on and stepped out of the alcove, legs shaky with relief. Cherry emerged from hers, pressing a hand to her chest.
“Holy shit,” she breathed. “That waswaytoo close.”
Jeremiah sent the drone behind us, checking the feed carefully. “We should wait a few more minutes before we go,” he said. “Make sure there's no one else coming.”
We stood in tense silence, listening to the emptiness of the tunnel. Every second felt like an hour. Finally, Jeremiah nodded.
“Okay. Let's keep moving. But we need to be even more careful now. If there were two guys coming from campus, there might be more.”
