Tunnels of Darkness

Chapter Two

Tentatively Theodore clambered out of bed. "What is it Alex?" He asked, his voice quivering. Alex grinned at him.
"This may be news to you." She said. "But the student leaders have had you under observation whole day. And they have decided that I should be the one to look after you. I know that in the daytime the students of this school look dead and boring- sleeping through lessons and snapping at others. But the reality of this place it revealed only at night." Alex paused, letting her words sink in. She looked at the boy in front of her. He was quite short with ginger hair that looked slightly greasy. His silver-rimmed glasses made him look slightly like a kindly librarian. His eye colour she could not see, for the shadows drew themselves around his face like curtains.

Alex frowned. She seemed to detect a strange absence of malice in Theodore. Normally that would be good, but underground it could just endanger him. She shrugged and cast her thoughts aside; looks could be deceptive.

"Who were your parents?" She asked him. "They must have done things, for you to end up here.

Theodore hesitated, then spoke. "I never knew my Mum. And my Dad was a murderer. He forced me too..." A sob broke his speech. "He forced me too... Kill someone." He was weeping freely now, and Alex almost wanted to comfort him. Almost. She knew it was for the best that he got this off his chest now. It would serve him better later. So she stood, and waited for the sobs to subside.

Theo finally shed a last tear, swallowed and tried to pull himself together. "Right." He said, rather edgily. "Where are we going?"

Alex managed a small smile.
"I'll show you." She said. "Follow me. And try not to make too much noise."

Together the odd pair crept almost silently from the dorm. Theodore padded along through the darkened hallways like a hunted cat, while Alex's tread was more like a foxes' on snow. As the shadows loomed on either side of them, Theodore edged a little closer to Alex. She looked at him in surprise, but didn't thrust him away. Clearly he has a fear of the dark, she thought that might be a problem.

Her narrow train of thought was broken suddenly by the sound of hollow footsteps coming down the hallway. She grabbed Theo's arm, and dragged him to wall. "Don't move or speak" she growled lightly in his surprised ear.

Theo stared at the wall opposite them, wondering how the teacher could possibly not see them. But the cold footsteps echoed passed, and then the danger was gone. Theo was surprised; he and Alex had stuck out like dark thunderclouds in an otherwise blue sky.

He turned and demanded an explanation from Alex, but she just grinned infuriatingly. "All will be explained later." She told him. Then they continued their night foxtrot.

The two dodged through the night, ducking and diving under shadows. Finally, Alex slowed down and came to a stop. Theo looked around. They were in the main hall. Theo looked up and stared around at the great high walls, and marvelled at the rafters that kept the roof from crashing down. He heard a creaking noise that flooded the hall with it's ominous groaning. He shuddered and looked down. Alex had just pulled open a previously invisible trapdoor. The square of darkness that was revealed was an emotionless black eye. It stared at him. Theodore shivered. He glanced at Alex, but she nodded answering his unspoken question.

A strange spark of anger lit in Theodore's gut. "I am not going down there." He told her. "I refuse."

He expected Alex to look annoyed or slightly disgruntled, but she just shrugged.
"If you don't go down, you are going to be very bored. Every day will be just the same as the previous one. The pupil will always be glassy eyed and tired. They won't want to talk. But it's fine if you don't want to. There are others. They just shut out underground entirely." Alex glanced at Theo, to see how he was taking this. She grinned, and saw that he was somewhat swayed by this argument. But he was still determined.

"The answer is still no." He told her, resoundingly. She just flashed that infuriating foxlike grin at him again.
"Ok. Don't try waking me up tomorrow."

With a last shrug, Alex jumped down into the hole, disappearing into the shadows. Theo was left alone. Without his companion, the walls began to crowd in on him. He turned to head back to the dormitory. But he didn't know the way. He had only one option. Shuddering, he jumped down into the yawning hole. Landing on his knees one the floor, he heard Alex's voice in his ear.

"I knew you could do it. You'll thank me later."
"Alex..." he gasped terrified.
In a guarded voice she cut him off. Down here, that is not my name. Down her you call me Fuse ok? Fuse the arctic fox."

Theodore stared through the darkness.