Chapter 43 - Somber Forest

The main screen of Damon's death trap of a car fortunately offered an option for electric GPS navigation. In an attempt to avoid crashing, I typed Somber Forest carefully on the keyboard. There was a forty-minute projected time of arrival.En route, I made an effort not to think too much. Stress and anxiety were piling up inside of me like blocks, and I couldn't stop worrying about all the possible outcomes.The roads to Somber Forest were getting darker and riskier all the time, which did not help much. Eventually, the smooth tarmac gave way to muddy, uneven off-road tracks. The tail lights and the moon were eventually the only sources of light I could see.

The prison was situated beneath a vervain plantation, Tiffany had mentioned before. Describe the appearance of vervain. What shade did they have? I had no idea what the plants looked like, as I was just now realizing. My arrival was detected by the GPS, which beeped. It was indeed Somber Forest, as stated on a gloomy-looking wooden sign that hung from a tree. Stay out of there. I realized I would have to walk the remaining distance. Turning off the little car allowed me to get away. Before I planned my escape, I placed the key directly beneath the seats.

Upon lifting my dress, my heels quickly became buried in the muck. "Fuck!"

They were in the car when I took them off. Finding only a flashlight, I looked around for any extra shoes Damon could have. Using the flashlight light to see through the dense forest, I navigated barefoot and discovered a path. As the different instruments of the woodland grounds became visible, my feet eventually started to blister and bleed. My red dress turned nearly black from all the slipping I did on branches and rocks and in mud pools. There was no trace of a vervain plantation anywhere, even after I must have been walking for decades.

Tired and disheartened, I muttered to myself, "This is ridiculous," realizing how large the forest was. It cought be anywhere.

The faint smell of something fruity changed a few seconds later as the breeze shifted. A more muted scent—lavender, perhaps—was hinting at something. Maybe that was the vervain's fragrance. My best option in every situation was that. I got up and crept ahead, as though trailing the aroma of something sweet, my dress feeling more heavier now that it was hosteling mud. I tried to travel the opposite way, where the scent was much stronger, since the breeze was stirring more but the smell was becoming less. I muttered, "This is how it has to be." Walking further, I noticed that the stench grew stronger as I ventured deeper into the woodland.

I saw a nice small purple plant sprout after perhaps five or six minutes of walking. I bent over and smelled it. It had a lemon scent to it. I continued walking, breaking through a clump of thick trees, and then, as if by magic, there it was.Thousands of tiny vivid purple vervains dotting a vast area. Here, the aroma was almost overwhelming and quickly turned bitter. In addition to my acute anxiousness, I also experienced a sharp discomfort in my stomach. I forced my way through the plantation and looked for a door or any other clue that would lead to the location of the prison. I noticed a metal window in the center that was nailed shut.

This has to be it; this has to be the entrance leading into the prison. However, I couldn't possibly open it. Dozens of enormous metal screws were used to nail the door shut. As anticipated, there was no movement when I attempted the handle. I made an effort to dispel the minor dizziness I was experiencing. It would indicate that the vampires found another route out if they managed to get away. Something else must be close by. A hole in the earth that was at least two hundred meters away from the vervains. I shone the spotlight in the direction of the opening and saw that it was, in fact, a corridor, slit open wide.

This must be what the vampires used to escape.
I felt the trembling of bones and I placed my upper body inside of the hole and began to crawl downwards at an angle. My arms sank in the mud and I struggled to both crawl, and hold on to the flashlight. It suddenly fell from my grip and everything had gone pitch black again.

"Shit!" I blurted out.

I heard the flashlight hit the bottom with a thud and suddenly, I went flying down as well. I screamed out as I lost control of where I was going. There was no surface to hold on to, I was simply plummeting down through the hole until I finally hit the bottom, right side to the flashlight. I quickly gripped it and offered some more light to my surroundings. I rose to my feet, my skin bleeding from multiple wounds. I was inside of a tunnel, I could hear the sound of a nearby stream. I didn't know which way to go, and so I went left. I took my first few steps and I could suddenly smell the overbearing scent of iron.

For a moment, I felt liberated, I began to run in both panic and hope that I might have just done it, the smell of iron must be the silver. The tunnel had passageways that led to multiple other directions, I kept going left and following the scent of the silver. The air was littered now with a strong scent of blood and I realized that it might be what I was smelling the entire time. I came to a halt as my foot hit something solid. I looked down to discover what looked to be a coffin.
I held the flashlight further to light the rest of the room and almost screamed out.

The room bore dozens of coffins, every single one of them was open and empty but the one at my feet.

The door of the coffin began to shake and the voice from someone who said," help me, please."

Could it be a vampire underneath the coffins?

"Help me, please, I'm too weak to open it."

It sounded like a human girl.

"Who are you?" I struggled to even talk. The longer I was down here, the harder it was to breath.

"The wolf men, they brought me down here so that the vampires can feed off of me. Please help me, I've been stuck here for days."
Oh my goodness, it was a human little girl.

"One minute, I'm gonna get the door open!"

I balanced the flashlight on one of the coffins and struggled with the lock on the coffin.

"It's locked! Do you know where the key is?"

"It must be on the ground somewhere-"

I fiddled with the muddy grounds and found a large metal key nearest the middle coffin. I hurried to unlock the coffin and with my heart ready to burst out of my chest, I let burst the door with enough force to break it. I could not see the face of the little girl at first, only her blond hair.

"Are you alright?" I whispered and leaned closer.
The little girl was facing the bottom of the coffin. She had gone silent.

"Grab my hand, I'll help you up."

Still, I was met with silence. Was I too late?

"Hello, can you hear me?"
I grabbed her shoulders and she suddenly turned with lightning speed. I backed away quickly and fell back into the wall of the tunnel.I flicked mud from my face and looked up to see that she was standing now, hovering over me on top of the coffin. Her bright eyes shun red, even brighter than the flash flight. She had her fangs extended well below her chin, her icy white skin revealed pulsating purple veins.

"Tricked ya," she grinned.