He spits out his drink, red liquid splattering all over the floor and dirt walls. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Frighten me? Are you joking?”

“So I take it that’s a no?” I take another sip of my drink, slowly, breathing in the sweet scent, trying to forget all the blood I saw all over my hands.

He sets his cup down on a chair and wipes his hands on his jeans. “Yeah, that’s a no.”

“Has anyone ever remembered things wrong? I ask. “Or not understand what they were seeing?”

He has no idea what I’m talking about. “I don’t think so.”

I’m yanked back to my lying ways, not wanting to reveal what I saw—not wanting him to know I’m different. “Never mind.” I glance around, avoiding his questioning gaze. “So what do we do now? Just wait until morning then go back to the hillside? I’m really eager to check up on Maci.”

“Maci’s fine,” he says, his gaze burning into the back of my head. “And we need to go see Cedrix before we leave.”

“And when will that be?”

“He’ll let us know when he’s ready.” He pauses, sliding his hand across the table and entwining our fingers.  “I have an idea.” He lifts me to my feet and leads me across the room. I still carry my cup, some of it spilling on the floor. This time instead of going up, we go down, taking a flight of stairs that dips us deeper underground. The air is heavier and damper, but it’s far enough that it shuts away the noise and fear pulsating from people and my head feels clearer.

“Who built this place?” I ask as we wind down the long, narrow tunnel lit up by the same lanterns as the hillside.

He lets go of my hand, but only to pick up a lantern. “I think it was originally an old shelter where people hid from the vampires when the disease first started to spread.”

“How did it end up empty?” I wonder. “Did they all die?”

He shrugs, his head bumping the ceiling and he brushes the dirt from his hair. “The first Gathering members made it bigger and turned it into all this.” He gestures at the walls and ground.

“So who built your place then?” I ask.

“It was just there,” he says. “There are actually a lot of places like that burrowed into the hillsides and I’m sure they’ll start to fill up with more ex-colony members the more time goes by.”

The tunnel opens into a small, rounded room. The floor is carved with brick and the walls with rocks, which have chains twisting from them. Lanterns swing from ceiling, giving the room an eerie glow.