“I have an idea,” Fala proclaimed.

“Anything,” I replied, getting tired of treading water.

“I can become my true self and use the strength of my two hands.”

“I told you we couldn’t do this without you,” I said loudly, letting go of Cates with one hand to pat Fala on the back.

“Hey…” Then Cates went under, coming back up treading on his own.

“It would be a great help. Can you shift in water?” Jacob asked, trying to spark his flint again.

“It must go all the way to the top floor,” Garvin said.

“That’s why we can make each other out the longer we’re in here,” Tammy replied, getting out into the middle. “The night sky is shining in. I hope like hell Fala can get that grate off.”

“Holy shit, you mean the sun will shine down from…” Derek began saying then fell silent, due to the fact that he went back under to fight the grate that held us prisoners of our own capture.

“I’ll return.” Then Fala too was under the surface. Moments later the water began to stir and foam around us, and out of nowhere Fala came up out of the water in werewolf form with Derek on his back holding the grate above his head. The drivers of the coaches had to have heard our cheers and ignored us, or just didn’t care, thinking it was other commotions coming from the houseguests. Jacob swam down and out first, upon his own demand, and shortly came back up smiling.

“It’s not a great area to escape too, but you won’t be kicking in here anymore. Follow each other and stay close to me. Holding our breath is not a problem, but going the wrong way could be if you do not find a place to surface.”

We went under with Fala bringing up the rear, barely squeezing through the square hole that wasn’t an easy fit for Tammy’s frame, and he and Cates were twice her size; other than around the chest, of course. The area that we finally surfaced in made me want to turn around and go back and face the sun. It was a demonic atmosphere, to say the least. Even the water was slimed in several inches of thick blood that had run, or been pushed off the floor with a broom. Sconces burned on the walls but were so spread out that it gave the large room dancing, shadowy figures that made one think that there were people walking about. We were as still as could be, trying to maintain our heads above water just enough to peer out of the very deep, narrow, brick river at the back of the eerie space. My eyes were so full of the tainted water that they burned with a fierce feeling, as if caused by acid, making it even harder to see.

“We have to get out of this liquid,” Garvin said, not caring who heard him as he swam over and began pulling himself out. “They clean the floor with lye, and the water is filled with it.”

“That’s why my eyes are burning,” I replied, pulling myself up on the extremely slick floor. “They haven’t cleaned it in a while.”

“I think most of this is fresh,” Sydney said, bringing a red-coated hand to his nose, while he was half in and half out.

“My skin is beginning to burn,” Tanda added, sliding her hands down her arms, to get as much of the liquid off as she could.

“This place will have a lavatory, with a fresh water shower. We just have to find it, but watch your step. Those who use this place know it well,” Jacob explained, putting his hand out on Derek’s chest before he could disappear. “Those who find themselves in places unthinkable by the sane will not hold any care to trespassers.”

Once everyone was out of the water and no one attacked us, we were sure that we were alone on this particular level. There were very few remains, and those that were down here hung from chains on the wall, far too decayed to be the owners of the fresh blood that coated the floor. Even if they had been breeders and just drained, the cobwebs and withered bodies told another story; one of long abuse on something other than breeders. None that I had seen so far had fangs; most were just dried-up skulls with mouths left open in permanent screams of unending torment. Knowing the many different forms of things in the dark world, the beings on the walls could be anything that shifted, or those who were just as normal as we once were. Fala stood nude in his human form, staring at two of the men that were hanging side by side, both with their feet removed just like the men in Yvette’s dungeon of torturous hell.

“They fought back,” he said, taking a big enough piece of cloth from one of them to wrap around his lower half. “These are shifters of the feline family. Look at their teeth; even in human form they stay the same.”

It had to be one of the most ironic things I had seen on a normal, or what looked like a normal. The teeth were just like that of a barn cat, with several sharp fang-like teeth on both sides of the jaws, top and bottom. “Are those the type of things you felt out behind Martin’s?” I asked, catching up to Fala.  He just shook his head and kept following the others, with Jacob and Cates in the lead.

We found no form of washroom anywhere on the level that we were on, but we found out how all the blood got down there. It was Tanda and Garvin, who noticed the droplets falling on the rest of us. It was dripping like a drizzling rain from the thousands of tiny holes in the ceiling above. I never felt anything hit my already soaked body, and had they not seen the fresh blood on the white of the lye, we may have never known.

“Why can’t we hear anyone screaming?” Sydney asked, turning a bit paler than he already was.

“Because, their victims are too close to death to have the strength,” Cates replied, pulling down on several of the sconces, until one gave way and a stone passage opened up.

“How did…” Tammy began saying when he held his finger to his mouth.

Voices of men could be heard now that the secret door was open. Jacob and Derek took the stairs first, with Cates and Garvin behind, followed by Fala and Sydney. Tammy, Tanda and myself stayed at the bottom of the staircase until we saw the light from the opening above and knew the boys had made it through.  As soon as we heard the men ask who they were and how they got in, we took off up the staircase with our weapons in hand.

“Did Lord Cheree have you waiting?” a man wearing a woman’s dress and make-up asked.

“Is this another of his silly games for the night?” the other, who was dressed in very tight black leather that covered him from head to toe, asked.

It was the one dressed like a woman that screamed when we three came running out.

“Angelica would just die if she knew he gave those slave’s weapons,” leather boy laughed.

“But, how many times has he done it? He should know by now that I like playing the woman. We don’t need them for this part,” boy-girl added.

“We are a part of the plan, pretty one. And you will go along or the Lord of the manor will be very pissed off,” I said, waving my blade around like a mad woman.

“Oh, I like this one,” leather boy said, rubbing his hands together.

“Fine, take all three. I’ll play with them,” boy-girl giggled, pointing his blood-covered glove at the boys who were just letting things play out.

“Shall we go back up to our rooms? We’re through with these two,” leather boy asked, lazily waving his hand back behind them.

“Will Lord Cheree be sending in a few like these to finish off the evenings excitement? Unless of course, we’re all pleased, then we can just come back down here and use these two up?” the boy-girl asked.

“They’re dead,” Cates growled.

“And your point, flesher?” boy-girl shrugged.

“Perhaps we should just play down here,” he replied, calmer after getting a sharp look from Jacob.

“You fleshers do like to play in the messy areas of the estate…don’t you? We can sneak up the back, and believe me, our room is nothing but a blood bath with plenty to wet that big appetite of yours,” boy-girl smiled, walking up and running his feather between Cates’ legs.