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I gesture toward the grate. “After you.”
Evangeline stops short. “Oh, hell no. I am not climbing into the damn sewer. I’ve seen the It movie.”
“It’s not the sewer, it’s a storm drain. We can follow it all the way back to campus.”
“Same thing.”
I heave a sigh. We only have a few more minutes before the other guys catch up with us. If any of them see us sneaking into the storm drain, they’ll head us off before we get back to the house. “If you think that you can outrun the other guys, be my guest. Otherwise, this is your only option.”
“Fuck.” Evangeline wraps her arms around herself, probably hoping that I won’t notice just how badly she is shaking. “What will they do if they catch me?”
I consider that. Last year, the guys who didn’t make it back were forced to line up and get their asses beat with the heavy wooden paddle hanging in our living room before they were kicked out of Havoc House for good. Sometimes, there are a few doses of public humiliation thrown in if the seniors are feeling particularly sadistic. The year before that, failed pledges were forced to march through campus in women’s underwear before being told they were no longer welcome.
It isn’t a stretch to assume that Brady will have something special planned for Evangeline.
“Do you really want to stick around and find out?”
“No, damnit.” She takes a careful step forward and touches the bars. “How are we even supposed to get inside?”
“Watch out.” The gaps between the metal poles of the grate aren’t wide enough for a person to fit between them. But the center pole is loose enough to be pried out. It takes all of my strength, but I move it a few inches to the side. “Go ahead.”
Evangeline slips past me with a wry look. “You’re not going to trap me inside of here, are you?”
Briefly, I weaken my grip enough that the pole shifts back into place. She lets out a little shriek before I grab it again.
She glares at me as I maneuver myself between the bars. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”
The metal falls back into place with a screech as I let go of it. “I’ve never seen you this scared before. It’s hot.”
“Screw you, Van Koch.”
“Anytime, Pratt.”
With a rude noise, she shoves past me.
I follow her into the darkness.
Chapter Fifteen
I am in a fucking sewer.
Evil demon clowns live in sewers.
I don’t realize I’ve said the last bit out loud until Drake laughs at me.
Havoc Boys aren’t anywhere near as scary as they like to think they are, but this isn’t exactly an improvement. This sewer is the kind of place where people hide dead bodies.
As much as I hate to admit it, I’m relieved that Drake is here with me. I would never have been able to come into a place this sinister on my own. He doesn’t say anything when I press close to his back, one hand tightly gripping his shirt so he doesn’t get too far ahead of me.
The storm drain smells like stale river water and rotting plants. Even though I know there has to be sewer water in here, it doesn’t smell like anything but mold and rot. Like decaying forest has been distilled into its own essence.
“If I step in shit, I’m sending Havoc House a bill to replace my shoes.”
“These pipes are for rainwater run-off, so the school doesn’t flood. There is a different system for waste.” A metal platform runs to the side of the tunnel and he lightly steps onto it, holding out his hand to help me up. “Although, I would strongly advise not coming down here when it’s raining unless you like cave diving.”
Drake seems remarkably unconcerned about the dark and dank as we slowly navigate the narrow tunnel. His cell phone is held out in front of him as a makeshift flashlight, but it isn’t bright enough to provide more than a small circle of light.
When he stops suddenly to navigate a narrow turn in the pipes, I run right into the hard planes of his back. My arm automatically goes around his waist as I lose my balance. I immediately pull away, but not before my hands brush his taut abdominal muscles and I let out an involuntary gasp.
