The cloud from the grenade had cleared, revealing dozens of mutilated corpses on the ground. More shel s were crowding the Sepulchre, and were now climbing its wal s and beating on the doors.
Jared lifted Kim off the floor. “You have the book?”
She nodded, breathing hard.
“You ready to do what you came here to do?”
“Yes, and it’s about damn time, Ryel,” she said, tightening her grip on the pack.
We retreated into the church, passing extravagant garnishing of gold, marble and artwork. Candles lined altars, and pictures of the crucifixion of Christ. We passed a set of stairs that made Claire pause before advancing into the Sepulchre of Jesus.
“Where do they lead?” I asked.
Jared glanced at the stairs only briefly. “That would be the stairway to Calvary. Christ climbed those steps on his way to be crucified.”
We continued through a large room to another room that held a smal er room within it. You could walk around this room, but Claire advanced inside.
“Is this it?” I asked.
Jared squeezed my hand. “The Holy Sepulchre.”
We filed in, and everyone dropped their packs. I was confused. The adornments around the room signaled a holy place, but all this time, my mind pictured an underground cavern.
“This can’t be it. How can we protect ourselves in here?”
Claire sighed. “Not in here.” She pushed the altar to the side, revealing an ancient steep staircase. “The true tomb is hidden below. It’s hidden from the public.”
“I’m having my baby in a hole,” I said, more of a statement than a question.
Bex laughed once. “Uh...is there room in the inn?”
My stomach lurched, and I grabbed Jared’s arm.
“Nina?” he said, immediately worried.
I grabbed my bel y with both hands and groaned. “Give me a minute,” I said, panting.
Claire took a few steps down. “We don’t have a minute.”
“Let’s get her downstairs,” Bex said, checking outside the room. “They’re coming.”
Claire clicked a flashlight onto her rifle and ducked down the staircase. Ryan fol owed, and then Jared, me and Kim went down next, with Bex closing the opening behind us. The stairway opened up into a stone hal way that led to a massive cavern. Damp, dark, and drippy. Just as I had imagined.
“Feeling better?” Jared asked, touching my protruding stomach.
I nodded, stil looking around the room. The flashlights il uminated giant stone arches lining the vast space, accessing lateral hal s.
“Where do they lead?” I asked.
“Tunnels. Two hundred yards either way isn’t protected. They won’t come down here, but don’t wander.”
“I won’t.”
Kim pul ed the Naissance de Demoniac from her satchel, and pointed her flashlight around the room, settling on what looked like a formerly adorned altar. She walked over to it slowly. Even in the dim light, I could see her body shaking uncontrol ably. Ryan and I walked behind, watching her hold the book in front of her.
“I did it,” she said, staring at the book in awe. “We’re free.”
Ryan put his hand on Kim’s shoulder as she placed the book on the altar. She fel to her knees, and we fel with her. In the next moment, the ground began to shake, and smal bits of rock fel to the floor. A piercing roar echoed through the tomb, causing us all to cover our ears. It was one voice, but also many, wailing, yel ing, cursing utter foulness...and then it was over. Silence.
Kim looked back at Jared, and he offered a knowing smile. She had completed her mission, and freed her family of the duty of protecting the Naissance de Demoniac from a constant, powerful enemy.
“I guess I can go home now?” she said.
“You can,” Bex said. “But you’re on your own, and this place is crawling with shel s.”
“We could use you here,” Jared said, “to help with the birth.”
Kim smiled at him. It was a relief to final y see the two come to terms. The air was immediately lighter between them.
“I wonder if you stil have your superpower?” Ryan said.
Kim punched him in the gut, and he doubled over. “It would appear so.”
“That wasn’t what I meant,” he coughed.
Chapter Nineteen
Trapped
It’s hard to keep one’s days and nights straight when underground. If it weren’t for the family ful of Hybrids, I would have been alone while keeping my strange hours. Whether it was the baby, or the less-than-comfortable blow up mattress we slept on, or the constant dripping in the background, it was impossible to sleep. Regardless, I took naps at one to three hours at a time, around the clock.
Ryan and Kim didn’t seem to have the same problem. Even though his mattress was noticeably close to Claire’s, she made a point of keeping her distance now that we were all safe. As the days wore on, Ryan grew less happy about her cold demeanor, and the grumbling turned into ful - blown arguments.
It was difficult—after we’d spent so much time dodging and preparing—to sit and wait. As much time that went into planning our escape into this tomb, no one, it seemed, had planned for the suffocating time spent underground.
Jared and I tried to make the best of it: talking to my bel y, spending quality time together, discussing the birth. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Jared delivering our baby, but of all the people trapped in the tomb with us, Jared was my top pick.
After thirty days of darkness, tasteless rations, and the same close company, life in the tomb began to wear on all of us. Even Bex’s bright and cheery demeanor began to show signs of waning. Poker and gin rummy only entertained for so long, and radio reception was hopeless in the deep of Israeli rock. Stories in the evenings were something I looked forward to, and it gave me a chance to get to know everyone better.
“So, that was the first time I bested Dad, although I’m pretty sure he let me win,” Bex said with a broad smile.
“I remember that,” Claire said. “He didn’t let you win. He wouldn’t stop talking about it after you went to bed.”
“Real y?” Bex said, his eyes bright.
“Real y.”
Bex’s smile faded. “He died four days after that.”
Everyone lowered their chins, unsure how to advance the conversation.
Jared final y spoke. “That must’ve been hard on you, Bex. I don’t think I ever asked you if you were okay.”
Bex shrugged. “I was, I guess. What else could I be?”
“In pain,” Claire said. “We were all so wrapped up in our own, we didn’t even try to help you through it.”
“I missed him. And then...I missed you guys. I was glad when Jared brought Nina around. The family kind of came back together, then. Now we have Ryan.”
“We don’t have Ryan,” Claire said.
Ryan shot her a dirty look, and then softened his features for Bex. “Yes you do, man. I’m here if you need me.”
Claire rol ed her eyes. “What would he need you for? To help with a school bul y?”
“To talk to,” Ryan said. “You know, what we used to do before you became so hateful and mean.”
Claire crossed her arms over her knees. “You don’t give me a choice,” she mumbled.
“What?”
Ryan’s acerbic tone lit Claire’s eyes. “You don’t give me a choice!”