Dangerous Slumber

Megan looked closely at the map, spotting their names on the exact chairs that they were sat in and reading the other names.

“Logan Miller, Mason Clark, Ruth Laubrey, and Danny Helkis,” Megan read out loud, “Under your name is written, protector.”

“What does that say at the bottom of the page?” Rick asked as he pointed to the only other piece of writing on the page.

“Use this to reveal the answers you seek.”

“Okay, so we need the others here in order for the book to reveal whatever information it is concealing?”

“That’s what it sounds like, but all of this is making less and less sense. How are we supposed to get the others here because they’re not going to believe the truth?”

“Mrs. Laubrey will come out of curiosity and the boys, well, they’re teenagers, just tell them that you found a secret passage,” Rick told her, “As for Dan, we’re not going to give him a choice.”

“According to the map, there’s a tunnel that will bring us out on the newer side of the cemetery,” Megan said, “Hopefully, we can avoid whoever that is out there.”

“What I don’t get is if Dan is supposed to be here when the book reveals whatever it has to reveal, then how did he know those men were looking for you?” Rick added as they made their way along the tunnel.

“In one part of my nightmare, I was in a study and I was drawn to this picture of a man that was hanging on the wall. The name under the picture was B.L.Helkis and next to it was this weird symbol... I think that Dan maybe a rogue Ororian,” Megan replied, causing Rick to chuckle and then carry on in a more serious tone.

“What happened to you not trusting him or what he told you?”

“I think I interpreted what I was feeling all wrong, the bad vibe I was getting was warning me against him and not what he was telling me,” Megan answered, “We’ll find out once we talk to him.”

“After we finish this, you and I are going on vacation,” Rick announced, “Somewhere far away from Little Barlon and everything that’s going on.”

“The sounds like a great plan, however, I have a feeling that we have a long and hard fight ahead of us,” Megan mumbled as Rick put his hands on her shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze.

She looked up at him, giving him a small smile before returning her attention to what they were doing and leading Rick down yet another tunnel. Water dripped from the ceiling and the pungent smell of wet earth made Megan feel sick, but she didn’t let it slow her down. They walked for about ten more minutes before reaching what looked like a dead-end, but a quick search revealed a hatch in the roof, and with a nod, Rick boosted her up.

With the hatch lifted just a little, Megan found that the crypt it bought them out into was empty (aside from the remains of whoever the crypt belonged to) and pulled herself up. As Rick joined her, she moved to the door to make sure the coast was clear and they returned to the house to find Dan waiting outside.

Megan rushed straight past him, getting inside the house as Rick grabbed Dan by his jacket and dragged him after them. He had a lot of explaining to do and Megan intended to get every scrap of information he had, but first, they needed to secure the house. Once she had checked all the windows upstairs, she returned to the living room and watched as Rick checked everything downstairs. She stared at Dan for a few moments trying to figure him out, but nothing about him gave any sign of well... anything, and Megan was left feeling slightly uneasy.