I may not have looked like it, but I was completely scared when Riley jerked me into the tunnel. What could I be scared of? I had no idea, and that was my greatest fear of all.
Murmuring, I could hear murmuring. The voices grew louder the deeper we went.
There wasn't any light anymore, so how could I still see? What else could a vampire do? I really wanted to find out. I had all the time in the world.
The tunnel wasn't very long, just deep. It went down in a spiral more than it did sideways. I had absolutely no idea where it was going to end.
Suddenly, the tunnel opened up to a gigantic room cut out of stone and clay. It looked about the size of a half a football field, at least. There were thirty four people in it, not counting Riley and myself, and I knew they were vampires, too.
This underground lair was completely disturbing. Broken bottles, newspapers, and other random trash were spewed all over the ground. Random small groups of vampires were scattered about, talking to each other. It might be cliché, but it smelled like death down here. Amidst the smells and the talking and the trash, I noticed something completely odd: there wasn't any furniture. None. Where were we supposed to sleep? On the floor? I wasn't going to.
"What is this place?" I murmured to Riley.
"A temporary hiding place. We won't be here long." He obviously saw the disgust on my face. I grimaced. How temporary was temporary?
Suddenly, a young man who looked about twenty was standing in front of Riley and me. His hair was a deep black, which was a startling match with his red eyes.
"Another one," he said to Riley in a velvet voice, "how curious. You're good at this, Riley." As a response, Riley simply nodded. The man leaned forward to look at me.
"Pretty, too. Couldn't resist, could you? Don't get me wrong, I would have done the same thing…"
"Watch your tongue, Fredrick. I'm just dropping her off. I'm impatient as it is; I don't have time for your stupidity today." he responded bluntly.
"What do you mean 'dropping me off'? Where are you going?" I asked. I hadn't liked the way he referred to me like cargo.
"None of your business." he snapped. I stepped back a pace in disbelief.
"Excuse me? What did you say?" I said, in somewhat a snotty tone. He chuckled.
"Those are your two favorite words, aren't they," he asked sarcastically. He gave me a small shove as he went back toward the tunnel, "Consider yourself excused." He left, still laughing slightly. I glared after him. Fredrick put his arm around my shoulders.
"I like you. You've got a mouth, even though you don't look like the type that would. My name's Fredrick, by the way. Call me Fred." He removed his arm from around my shoulders, and stuck it out. I shook it firmly.
"My name's Bree. Bree Tanner." I replied.
All the others were staring at me. In a twisted way, I like how they stared. I grinned back at them.
"Let me introduce you to the others…" Fred said as he walked me into a group of vampires…
