The maintenance tunnel looked like a steel and concrete ribcage stretching out in front of me. The air smelt like rust and wet dirt, and pipes hissed softly above. Elena's breath came in short bursts that echoed off the walls as she chased after Wells. His grip on her hand was strong but not painful, like a lifeline in the dark. Behind them, boots thudded down the stairs they had just come down. Voices yelled orders in a sharp, clipped, and professional way. The person who was following them wasn't just campus security.
"Faster,"
Wells hissed as he looked back. His jacket hung loosely and his dark hair stuck to his forehead.
"We're almost there at the service hatch."
Elena's lungs hurt.
"Where are you taking me?"
He said,
"A storage annexe under the library."
"Not any cameras."
We can talk there.
"Why should I trust you?"
she said in shock.
"You lied about everything!"
"I didn't tell lies about everything."
His voice broke a little, which was the first sign of stress she had heard.
"I lied about one thing: my name."
I should have told you this sooner. Her feet made a splash in a shallow puddle.
"And the app? The messages?"
He slowed down enough to turn around and look at her.
"Those were real."
Every word. I didn't know you were my student until you went off on Professor Wells two weeks ago. By that time— He shook his head.
"At that point, it was too late."
Her chest got tight.
"Too late for what?"
He opened his mouth to speak but stopped. The tunnel split in two ahead. One path went up towards a ladder, and the other went down into the dark. Boots were getting closer and closer behind them. A beam of light from a torch cut through the dark. Wells took her hand again.
"Left."
They ran quickly into the darker tunnel. The sound of pursuit got louder and closer. Elena's heart raced. She didn't know where she was or who was after them. All she knew was that it would be over if they stopped. The tunnel got smaller, making them stand shoulder to shoulder. She could smell his cologne, which was a mix of cedar and something darker that she didn't know what it was. He was breathing hard, but he was still looking around and thinking.
"What do they want from me?"
she asked in a whisper. He said in a serious tone,
"You know too much."
"They think you have something—proof."
"Proof of what?"
He thought for a moment.
"Of what they're doing here."
She tripped over a pipe.
"What are they doing here?"
He didn't say anything. The tunnel opened up into a large room full of old electrical panels and crates with faded labels on them. Wells crouched down and led her behind a stack of boxes. He took a torch out of his pocket and put his hand over the beam.
"They won't find us right away,"
he said softly.
"We have a minute."
Elena leaned against the wall and breathed heavily.
"You don't make sense. Who are "they"?
What evidence? What kind of test? He ran a hand through his hair and looked into her eyes.
"I can't tell you everything right now."
She almost laughed, but it was a sharp, humourless sound.
"We're literally hiding from people who want to kill us, and you still can't tell me?"
He moved closer.
"If I tell you, you'll be even more of a target than you already are."
She hissed,
"I'm already a target."
"You pulled me into this."
Now tell me. His jaw was tight. For a moment, he didn't look like a professor or the man on the app. He looked like someone standing at the edge of a cliff. Then he let out a slow breath. He said softly,
"I'm not just a teacher."
"I'm a detective."
She stopped breathing.
"What?"
He said,
"An independent watchdog group hired me to get into the university."
"They thought they were collecting data on students illegally. Experiments conducted without consent. Profiling people based on their mental state. Apps that let you track things."
Her stomach turned.
"The app for dating?"
He nodded sadly.
"It was one of their tools."
I joined to see how deep it went. I didn't think I'd see you there. She looked at him.
"So you were going after me."
"No."
His voice got sharper.
"I never got in touch with you first. You sent me a message. I had no idea who you were until you complained about your teacher."
At that point, I was already... He paused, the next word stuck in his throat.
"Attached."
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Attached?"
He turned his head.
"Not important now."
"What matters is that they think you have something, our messages, my notes, or even evidence they put there. That's why they're after you."
A loud clang rang out in the tunnel. Sounds. They were getting closer. Elena swallowed hard.
"What will happen if they find us?"
He said flatly,
"They'll shut you up."
"And set me up."
Her skin crawled.
"Why didn't you just call the cops?"
He said,
"Some of the police are corrupt."
"That's why my group sent me. "I can't protect you if you don't trust me,"
though. She stared at him, her mind racing. Everything he said seemed crazy, and so did everything that had happened in the last hour. Locked offices, fake security, and men chasing her through tunnels. But he had saved her twice now. Another clang. Closer. He pulled a flash drive out of his jacket.
"Here. "Take this."
She thought for a moment.
"What is it?"
He said,
"Proof."
"If something happens to me, give it to Maya."
"She'll know what to do."
Her throat got tight.
"Why me?"
He said simply,
"Because I trust you."
She looked at the flash drive, then at him.
"You shouldn't."
His lips turned up slightly.
"That is too late."
A beam of light crossed the room before she could answer. People yelled. Heavy footsteps. They had been found. Wells took her hand.
"Get out of the way!"
They ran through a side door into a smaller tunnel with dripping pipes on the walls. The torch beam followed, and shouts could be heard behind them. Elena's legs hurt.
"Where does this go?"
she asked in shock. He said,
"Service ladder."
"To the library courtyard."
They turned a corner and came to a stop. There was a wall at the end of the tunnel. There was a hatch above that the metal ladder went up to. Wells helped her up.
"Climb!"
She climbed up the ladder quickly, her fingers slipping on the cold metal. She pushed on the hatch, but it wouldn't budge. She pushed more. It didn't move.
"They've sealed it!"
she yelled.
"Don't give up!"
Wells called and climbed up behind her. She pushed as hard as she could. The hatch creaked but didn't open. Voices roared below, getting closer and closer. Wells climbed up next to her and held his shoulders under the hatch.
"On three,"
he said through clenched teeth.
"One, two, three!"
They all pushed together. The hatch screeched and then opened up. The cold night air rushed in.
"Go!"
Wells hissed. She ran out into the courtyard and tripped on the grass. He climbed out after her and slammed the hatch shut just as a beam of light from a torch came through the gap below. They ran across the dark courtyard and hid behind a row of hedges. The library towered over them, its windows glowing softly. Sirens were wailing somewhere far away. Wells knelt next to her, breathing heavily.
"We can't stay here."
They will clean up the grounds. Elena held on to the flash drive.
"Where next?"
He looked at her with dark, steady eyes.
"My safe place."
A few blocks from campus. She thought about it.
"And then what?"
He reached out and brushed a wet strand of hair from her face. It was a small, instinctive move that made her heart race.
"Then I tell you everything."
"Stop keeping secrets."
Her heart raced.
"Why should I trust you now?"
His thumb brushed her cheek, softly but firmly.
"Because if I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have put you through hell to keep you alive."
She took a deep breath. His eyes were locked on hers, intense, searching, and almost begging.
"I'm sorry,"
he said softly.
"For everything."
A spotlight moved across the courtyard before she could answer. People on the other side started yelling. Boots on the ground. They had been seen. Wells took her hand.
"Run."
They ran across the lawn from the hedges to the gate at the far end. The sirens got louder. A black van screeched around the corner, its headlights blinding. Men in dark uniforms jumped out with guns drawn.
"Go!"
Wells yelled and pushed her towards a narrow alleyway between two buildings.
"Don't stop!"
She stumbled into the alley, her heart racing, holding the flash drive. Wells turned to face the men behind her and pulled something out of his jacket. It wasn't a gun; it was a small device that lit up blue. He yelled,
"Run, Elena!"
The courtyard was lit up by a bright flash. The men yelled. There was a lot of smoke. Elena ran with tears in her eyes, not daring to look back. Wells was gone when the smoke cleared.