Renegade (The Captive Series Book 2) Read Free Page B

“Hurry!” she gasped, a sense of doom descending over her as
her breath came faster.
    Her hand clenched upon William’s, when
they were far enough from the entrance, they broke into a run,
their feet flying over the hard rock of the cave. They might
already be too late if the vampires were already upon them. With
the vampire’s exceptional eyesight in the dark, and their rapid
speed, it would be almost impossible for her and William to escape.
They took a side tunnel on the right, ducking low as the ceiling
became lower. William turned back, grabbed hold of one of the heavy
iron gates that had been built into the wall.
    “The guards!” she hissed, grabbing hold
of his arm before he could close the gate.
    “It’s too late for them Aria,” he said
softly.
    Her eyes widened, horror filled her as
the low pitched warning whistle pierced the air. William froze for
a moment; the gate was still partly open when they sensed, more
than heard, something approaching. William jumped into action,
rushing forward to close the gate as quietly as possible. There
were many other tunnels leading through here, it could take awhile
for the vampires to find the right one, and the gate should
withstand an attack for long enough to give them extra time to
escape.
    They retreated, moving as quickly as
they could through the stooped tunnel. Aria’s heart pounded rapidly
in her chest, a crushing sense of time running out seized hold of
her as something large and heavy slammed into the gate, rattling it
within its frame.

CHAPTER 2

    Aria was panting for air as the raced
forward. She could barely see William in front of her; they were
going on instinct and memory alone, to afraid of what was behind
them to grab one of the unlit torches from the walls around them.
There was no way to know where their pursuers were, it was too much
of a risk to light something right now. William led her around
another turn, the ceiling thankfully expanded again.
    William paused, turning back to slide
another gate shut. They weren’t far from the main room now. He
pulled her forward; she stumbled over a loose stone, her ankle
rolling out beneath her. A soft cry of pain escaped, but she
hurried on, refusing to be hindered by the throbbing pain that
raced up her leg.
    The tunnel became narrower, William
slid another gate home. The fire of the main room became visible as
the maneuvered another turn, soft laughter reached them. Aria’s
heart hammered, she could barely breathe. She had never felt
claustrophobic within the tunnels before, now she felt like a caged
rat running aimlessly along. If they got out of this she swore she
would never return to these caves. Then again, they could never
return to them anyway, they were no longer safe.
    They had been discovered.
    William and Aria stumbled into the main
hall. Everyone became silent as William spun around to slam another
gate shut. “They’re here!” Aria breathed.
    There were a good hundred people in the
room; panic claimed over fifty of them. Screams rang out, children
began to cry. Though they had run drills, and practiced for this
sort of thing, it had never happened before. Aria was dismayed and
horrified to see the chaos that swiftly took over. Her mouth
dropped as people began to run about, trying to gather as many of
their things as possible. Others kept their heads enough to shut
the other three gates that blocked the tunnels from the main
room.
    She wished that her father or Daniel
were here, they would have an easier time at keeping everyone calm,
but they had gone to meet with another group of rebels stationed
about a mile away in another set of caves. “Everyone! Everyone! You
have to calm down!” She raced into the center of the room, holding
her hands up as she tried to soothe the fray. No one paid her any
attention as they began to push and shove their way toward the only
remaining exit. “Wait!” she cried, trying to stop them before they
hurt each other. Trying to stop them before they