The tunnel air was much colder on my cheeks than I anticipated, probably because I was running as fast as I could. Even though I could feel my feet pounding on the ground, and knew from the burning in my chest that I was running at full speed, it didn’t feel like I was going anywhere, because it was absolutely black all around me.
“Seventeen Mississippi, eighteen Mississippi . . .” I was somehow still keeping count in my head, even while I was noticing every little thing around me. Splash! I ran through a puddle. Whoosh! I felt the breeze of an opening to my right. Huh-huh! I heard my own breath coming out in short bursts.
Things were going well. I was up to number ninety-seven, and didn’t even have the side cramp I usually got when forced to run laps in gym class. Maybe we’d make it without any problems after all.
And then I heard the screeching.
The familiar, high-pitched yelp was in front of me, growing louder by the step, and I was running directly toward it. Blindly, in the dark.
And then I heard the screaming.
It was Hunter, and she sounded hurt, or hysterical, or both. I felt myself running faster, trying to get to her, and then, unexpectedly, as I passed an opening on my left, I heard her voice now behind me. I was running away from it. Had she been grabbed? Where is Gavin? Should I go back and help her?
My feet propelled my body forward, even as my brain begged it to stop. I felt like I was under a spell, jogging against my will. Maybe I was still running because that’s what I was supposed to do. Yes! Just keep running. Alfred and Gavin had told us just that, over and over.
But I had completely lost count. How long ago was I at ninety-seven? Was I at one hundred twenty? One hundred thirty? Was I close? Far away?
A deep boom resonated, like an underground explosion, and the entire passage shook. Tiny bits of rock and dirt fell into my face, but I just kept running.
The screeching rolled in directly behind me now, and something jerked on my hair. But I just kept running. Alfred grunted behind me. I heard him swing; something flew through the air. There was another small earthquake. More silt in my mouth. I just kept running.
And then I hit the wall. At full speed. One second there was nothing but air in front of me, and the next second I slammed into the solid end of the tunnel so hard, I actually bounced backward. I heard a sickening squeal, felt something sticky on my neck, and then . . . nothing.
CHAPTER 26
My head hurts. The thought floated to me from the darkness: “My head hurts.”
I was awake, but I didn’t want to open my eyes. I didn’t want to know where I was. I couldn’t get past the pain in my head. It didn’t even feel like my head anymore; it felt like my head had been removed and replaced with a block of concrete that was being crushed from all sides. Maybe if I never opened my eyes, the pain would just go away.
As the “awake” message traveled around my body, I received reports from all appendages. My arms and legs were intact and sore, but not terribly so. I was lying down on something soft. Light registered through my eyelids in a curtain of orangey-red, so I knew I was no longer in the dark. My right hand felt slightly compressed, and I realized someone was holding it. Gavin! I popped my eyelids open.
Hunter was sitting next to me, cradling my hand in both of hers. “Maren!” she cried. “You’re awake! Blimey, you had me so worried!”
“Where’s Gavin?” I asked, propping myself up on my left elbow and immediately regretting it because of the rush of pain to my forehead. I was in a small, windowless room painted a shocking bright yellow. There were two twin beds, including the one I was lying on; two chairs, one currently occupied by Hunter; and two dressers. Behind Hunter, an arched door stood slightly ajar.
“Shhhh!” she admonished. “He’s not allowed in the Chambers. He’s with the other angels, across the river. But you’d better keep your whole romance with him a secret while we’re here. It’s not allowed, you know.”
“Where are we?” I asked.
She smiled. “Magnificat. We made it.”
“We’re all safe, then?” I asked, sinking back down in relief. I noticed the yellow ceiling was decorated with scallops and pretty designs in a darker gold color.
“Yes, we’re safe,” she said. “Well, at least . . . um . . .”
I bolted upright again. “What happened? Is Gavin okay?” My brain swelled as if an ocean wave rose and crashed inside my skull.
“Yes, yes, he’s fine,” she assured me. “It’s . . . Alfred didn’t make it.”
“What do you mean, ‘didn’t make it’?”
“He sacrificed himself, Maren, to save you. Gavin and I were behind the door to Magnificat, waiting for you, but we heard screams, and then a thunk. Gavin was ready to go back in after you but Alfred appeared, carrying you. You were out cold. He just managed to hand you off when he was pulled back in—”
“He’s . . . he’s dead? Because of me?” I felt sick. Poor Alfred. He didn’t deserve it.
“Don’t think like that,” Hunter admonished. “He’s not dead because of you; he was able to fulfill his destiny because of you. He didn’t want to sit around rotting in St. Paul’s. You gave him the opportunity to be a hero.”
Hunter had clearly lost her mind.
“Are you serious?” I said. “You can find the positive in something like this? An hour ago, you were passing out on the top of St. Paul’s, saying you couldn’t make it, and now you’re all full of wisdom about an old man getting mauled to death by demons?”
She smiled. “I know, it’s amazing, isn’t it? I’ve learned so much since we’ve been here.”
“You’ve learned so much in the past hour?”
“Well, actually, we weren’t on the roof an hour ago. It was more like three days ago. You’ve been out a long time. I’ve been checking on you constantly, of course,” she added hastily, “and sending reports to Gavin as often as I can. I even texted your grandparents from your phone, pretending to be you, so they wouldn’t worry.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Gavin’s ‘across the river’? What river? I thought we all crossed under the Thames.”
“Not the Thames,” Hunter answered. “Another river. Come and see for yourself.”
She helped me out of the bed and across the room. She opened the door, and although I’d seen people in the movies do it all the time—along with spitting out their drink when they were surprised, which I absolutely don’t believe anyone really does—I actually gasped out loud. Magnificat was more than just a location. It was an entire underground city. Made entirely of gold.