“But what’s The Gathering for?” I wade further in, not letting go of his hand “I mean, what’s the point? And why put us in body bags?”

We reach a large rounded pipe that snakes deep into the ground. Water streams down it like a river.  “The first thing you need to know,” he ducks inside the pipe, letting go of my hand, “is that we don’t have all the answers.”

I slide my feet inside the pipe and the muffled beating hearts floods my ears. “Who’s we exactly?”  I call out through the dark. “Aiden. Where’d you go?”

He finds my hand and we slide down the pipe, the water soaking into the back of my pants.  It’s a steep incline and the water makes it slippery. The darkness of the air is thick and I can’t see where we’re going until we reach the bottom where a deep pool of water is.  He jerks me over onto a metal platform, saving us from landing in it. The tips of my hair are dripping and my pants are soaked. My boots are filled with water and they squeak as I follow him over to a barred door that has no handle and no lock.

He reaches into the pocket of his jacket and takes out a knife. My knife. The knife Monarch gave me. “Take this.” He puts the knife in my hand.

I trace my thumb along the silver handle. “Who’s behind the door?”

“No one dangerous,” he says. “I just want you to trust me. That’s all. ”

I eye him warily and slide the knife into my back pocket.

He gives a small smile and raps on the door, this weird rhythm. Then a guy, a few years older than me, glides the door open. He has green eyes and hair as red as the rocks outside. There’s this strange sharp thing poking out from the side of his eyebrow.

“Aiden what’s up?” he says. “I didn’t think you were gonna show up tonight.” They slap hands and pat each other on the back. “So did everything go okay yesterday?” He asks.

“As okay as it ever does.” Aiden says and both their eyes land on me. “This is Kayla,” Aiden tells him.

The red-headed guy sticks out his hand. “Kayla huh?” He looks like he’s trying to figure out something, but then gives up. “I’m Greyson.”

“Greyson,” I say, holding my breath as I shake his hand. Fear. He fears I’ll discover something downstairs, his heart drumming as though it’s hiding dangerous secrets. Five more seconds and I might have pulled my knife out and forced him to divulge them.

But Aiden interrupts. “So are you going to let us in? Or make us stand out here all night?”

Greyson blinks and steps aside. “Yeah, sorry man. Come on in.”