For some reason, hunting in the dungeons for rats incited a very deep part of my wolf. Maybe it was the rough stone walls and moss/algae/other, more disgusting stuff on the stone floors.
It brought to mind the stories of hunting Gyaras that hibernated in the deep cravens of the Colored Mountains.
The stone slab wasn't giving an inch.
"Ben, Jonah... Come help. We'll split everything 50:50," I decided.
Ben looked at their sack, weighted down with the few earlier kills. "Deal."
I nodded to the rest. "Okay, we need to open up this wall. Princesses, stand back. Guns in front of the princesses. Sticks up front. Choose your role."
Ben exchanged his gun for Ethan's stick. "If you dare laugh while you're shooting in our direction, I'll f***ing beat you to a pulp with this stick."
Ethan laughed. "Eiyahaha... Why are you so scary, Beta?"
Which made me laugh, too. It's true what they said: the more, the merrier.
The guys tried to lift the slab, but it was too large. It was hollow behind; I just knew it. I knew rats dug, but that space felt much larger. So, a wolf made it? But why behind a wall? To escape? Or to hide something?
"Ben, why would a wolf make a hole behind this wall, and how would he access it?" I decided to consult the biggest brain I knew.
Ben straightened up from prying at the slab. He stepped back and then walked around.
"How big is this hole?" he asked.
"Maybe another cell?" I guessed. I went over to listen against the wall. There were faint scratching and scraping sounds everywhere, and a low hum... A machine?
"I hear a machine... Ventilator? Pump?" I tried to guess.
"Not likely." The biggest brain said, "Something like that would be in the dungeon blueprints."
I sniffed, but I couldn't get anything on a machine. No smell of oil or metal or diesel... The wall was pretty thick. I sniffed around to find where the rat smell came from. "Up on top."
"Go check it out, Shannon," Ben ordered.
Shannon scaled up the bars of the nearest cell nimbly. Ben had got the right guy.
"Over there." I pointed. Shannon carefully scooted over to the side.
"Woah, there's a hole here, like the size of my head," Shannon reported. "And don't tell me to poke my head in. I am NOT."
"It's okay," I said.
"There must be hundreds of rats in here," Shannon said, looking around from where he was.
Ben threw up a stick. "See if you can widen it."
"Okay. But I'm not going in there."
"Ready the guns in case anything comes out," Ben ordered.
"Be careful you don't shoot me!" Shannon warned.
"Okay. Just try not to make any sudden movements," Jonah agreed.
"Oh goddess," Lola breathed next to me. I heard her cock her rifle. "I've never felt so scared and excited in my life."
"Steady." Ben held up his hand to the guns. "Jay and Angela, guard the gunners. Don't let the rats get past you."
I watched them get into position. Boo was restless, something behind the wall stirring her to kill.
I grabbed Ben's arm. "Do you feel it, too?"
Ben smirked. "This isn't the most romantic setting to be having a moment, Sam."
I punched him.
"Eiyahahahaha." Ethan laughed. Lizzy was laughing out loud, too, but Ethan's rancorous laughter was just masking everyone else's.
"Hey, guys... I think they're coming out," Shannon, who was prying at the opening, said. Then he yelled in alarm and dropped down, rolling over the grimy hard stone floor.
A few rats scurried out. Gunshots rang out. Shannon crouched down and covered his head with his arms. There was screaming from behind me... Probably Abigail.
Several rats fell to the stone floor, thankfully dead. Which meant our gunners were good. And then, from behind the wall, a terrified, panicked screeching of a hundred little sharp-toothed rodents resounded... which was bad. Something else was stirring behind the wall. And my lucky sense of direction screamed, "Run away!"
"Run!" I flared. "Quick! Get back!!!"