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Directly in front of me is a dirt bike coming at full speed. The driver is wearing a helmet, so I’m not able to see his face, but he’s got a passenger behind him with hands wrapped snug around his waist.
“Watch out!” Elias shouts. I’m pulled back at the same time the bike comes flying past me. The wind from its high speed causes my hair to whip against my face. My heart leaves my body as I fall back on Elias and we both hit the ground.
“Is that…”Riley?
I’m still on the ground, watching as the crowd parts for the driver and what appears to be my roommate. I push myself up and wipe the dirt from my jeans. “Asshole!”I shout.
“Get used to it. They ride wherever they want and pay no regard to anyone in their way. On another note, I think I found your friend.”
“Yeah.” I lean to the right, trying to see where they went, but all I see is a cloud of dust as the students come together again and continue toward the tunnels. “I think she’s officially lost her mind.”
Elias gets off the ground and offers me his hand, which I accept.
We’re standing under one of the overhead lights, and I get a better look at him. He pushes his glasses up his slender nose and I note his blue eyes. They’re as bright as mine, but with tiny specks of black on his irises. He’s actually a pretty good-looking guy, if you’re into the preppy, nerdy type.
Elias nods toward the open space in front of us and I realize we’ve fallen behind the group. “You should probably get going. They like to humiliate anyone who’s late.”
“Of course,” I say, sarcasm apparent. “Wouldn’t want to keep the leaders waiting.”
“Or your friend.”
“Shit. You’re right. I should make sure she’s okay.” I pick up my pace, hurrying to catch up with everyone.
Before long, I’m mixed in with the group as we step under a cement overhang. Pushing myself up on my tiptoes, I try to see where they’re all disappearing to, but it’s too crowded to see anything but more people.
Like flies, they drop one by one, and that’s when I realize everyone is descending through a hole in the ground.
It’s so loud and the chatter in my ear helps to drown out the questions racing through my mind.
When it’s my turn to go down, I hesitate.
“Go!” someone shouts.
Without another thought, I step down into the black hole, the chatter following. Someone bumps into me and I stumble into the person in front of me. They say nothing, nor do I.
Finally, I see light. Lined along the walls are old torch sconces with sharp metal teeth. Inside each one is a lit pillar candle. Flames dance around the walls and the ceiling, the shadows fading and reappearing as people walk by.
We’re in some sort of a dungeon, and when we come to a four-way, I continue following the crowd straight ahead. There are so many turns that it’d be easy for anyone to get lost down here. The thought has the tiny hairs on the back of my neck standing.
I’ve done well by not asking questions, but curiosity is getting the best of me. “What are we doing down here?” I ask some girl walking by my side.
“At the start of every school year, The Lawless holds The Gathering to welcome the junior class.”
“What sort of gathering?”
Her eyebrows rise, and she smirks, leading me to believe it can’t be that bad. “You’ll see, new girl.”
Why is it so damn important that I’m a new girl? So what! All the juniors are new and no one gives a damn. It’s almost as if everyone from this Academy got together and had an in-depth conversation about me coming in late. I mean, I can’t be the only one to enroll during senior year, can I?
Minutes later, we’re walking through a large doorway to an open space with vaulted ceilings. It’s not dirty like I thought it would be. It’s old, but the area is well kept. Stone walls surround us with the wall-mounted sconces as our only source of light. That is, until I step deeper into the room and look at the front where The Lawless stand in black-hooded robes. On each side of them is a burning torch set in metal stands.
The slamming of the doors behind us startles me. As they latch shut, the crowd immediately silences.
“Welcome to The Blue Bloods’ seventy-ninth Gathering to kick-off the school year,” Neo begins, speaking through a microphone clipped to his robe, his voice carrying through the wide space.
“I’m Neo Saint, one of your Lawless members. It is my honor to present to you your other student leaders at Boulder Cove Academy.” Jagger steps forward, his expression void of any emotion. “Jagger Cole.” He steps back in place while Crew comes forward, wearing the same desensitized expression. “Crew Vance.”
Everyone claps, while I just observe. It doesn’t seem right to applaud these assholes. They’re no leaders, they’re devils in disguise.
