Jeremy followed a set of rules to avoid this kind of thing. He wiped his palm over his pressed slacks before shaking the man’s hand. He kept eye contact and shook with a firm grip. The man’s smile widened. He had perfect, shiny white teeth.
“A pleasure. Any friend of Moira’s is a friend of mine. Just call me Uncle Howard. And this is my wife, Angelica.”
Angelica gave Jeremy a gummy smile outlined in bright red lipstick that matched her dress. He extended his hand. Her eyes widened. She shook, but her grip was loose. That was probably the wrong course of action. He should have bent down and kissed the back of her hand like they were out of some Regency novel. That’s how wealthy people acted, right? Jeremy did not know. He had no frame of reference for this.
“Angie. Charmed.” Angelica drew her hand back. Her nails were painted red to match her dress and her lips. Her auburn hair looked natural, but Jeremy would bet it was not. As professional a dye job as it was, the color did not quite match her complexion. On the other hand, Uncle Howard had dark hair peppered with gray. It was the same dark brown as Moira’s. They also had the same square jaw, sharp nose, and short height. Between Aunt Angie and Uncle Howard, Jeremy would bet Uncle Howard was the one related to Moira’s parents.
They stood in the center of a grand ballroom. That was the only word for a room with vaulted ceilings, marble floors, and floor-to-ceiling windows that opened onto balconies overlooking the estate’s grounds. Jeremy did not know people still had ballrooms like this. The chandeliers hanging overhead were the size of his studio apartment downtown. Sweat dripped down his back beneath the crisp button-down.
Moira wrapped a hand around Jeremy’s arm and looked up at him, “Jeremy is a copy editor. He has been tutoring me for my Introduction to Professional Writing class.”
Jeremy was no such thing. He was a friend who helped his buddy out of a tight spot. Very little could make him break his rules. But getting a friend’s promise to pay for pizza every movie night for the next year in writing was tempting enough. Usually, all Jeremy’s plans had to be made at least a week in advance, but here he stood at a banquet he knew nothing about that morning.
Caleb was vaguely related on his mother’s side to the caterer and agreed to help at the event. Since it was a family obligation, he could not back out even when he scored a date with the girl of his dreams. Jeremy agreed to cover the shift because he could not live through any more failed plans to woo said girl. At least now, it would either work out or it would not. The caterer provided him with a suit, and all he had to do was carry around trays of little tea cakes. Seemed easy enough until he barely made it onto the floor with his first tray, and a woman in a baby-blue dress, Moira as he quickly learned, blocked his path.
“Ooh.” She ogled the tray with her big, fluttery eyes, “Those look good.”
Then she dragged him through a side door. She plucked the tray from his hands, set it on a wire shelf, and tugged his white gloves off.
“What are you doing?” He sputtered.
“Making you presentable!” She tossed the gloves over his shoulder and started unbuttoning his vest. He tried to stop her, but she batted his hands away, “I need you to go along with me for a few minutes. I’m Moira. What’s your name?”
“Jeremy.”
“Perfect!” She tossed the vest aside and smoothed a hand over his tie.
That was how he ended up shaking the hands of Moira’s Aunt and Uncle. He should know better than to break one of his rules. It always led to situations like this. Now, he had to convince this man that he was a copy editor. That was not a part of the usual list of small talk he made with strangers. And nobody was carrying around the tray of little tea cakes anymore.
“A copy editor! How interesting.” Uncle Howard rubbed his chin, “I’ve always wanted to write a book. You see, I have a particular interest in the mythology of the ancient Celts…”
“That’s very interesting, Uncle.” Moira cooed, “But I’m sure Jeremy doesn’t want to discuss work matters right now. Bye!”
She picked up two champagne flutes from a passing tray, winked at Uncle Howard and Aunt Angie, and then whisked Jeremy away. The waiter carrying the tray of champagne threw Jeremy a confused glance. He shrugged as they disappeared through the laughter and popping champagne bottles.
They ended up on one of the balconies. It was muggy in the late summer heat, like dipping into a lukewarm bath. Jeremy’s shirt stuck to his skin.
“Thanks so much for that!” Moira handed him one of the glasses, then leaned against the balcony railing. The light and sound of the banquet spilled out through the doors behind them. Beyond the railing stretched a pond circled by shadowy cypress trees. The full moon reflected on the still surface of the water. Frogs croaked, and crickets sang. Lightning bugs flashed over the lawn.
“They insisted I have a date for the banquet for some reason. I told them I was bringing someone, but then I never got around to it, and I know if they realized I didn’t, they would set me up with one of the guys in there.” She glanced over her shoulder. The golden glow from the chandeliers lit up her blue eyes. “Which would have been a bore. So, thanks.”
“No problem.” Jeremy set the champagne flute on one of the cocktail tables along the railing, “But I’ve got to get back. The sandwiches won’t serve themselves.”
“Oh, no, you can’t go back.” Moira said, “If they see you serving sandwiches, they will know I lied, and it will be a whole mess. No.”
“I cannot just…not do my job.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Moira waved her hand, “The caterer is a family friend. He won’t mind if I steal you away.”
Jeremy sighed. ‘All you have to do is put on the suit and carry a tray,’ his friend said. He shook his head. Ripples cascaded across the pond's surface, breaking up the moon’s reflection. A frog must have jumped into the water, but Jeremy did not hear a splash. He glanced along the shore, and his heart stopped.
“What?” Moira asked.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
He blinked at the shadow beneath the feathery cypress boughs, where he thought he saw a pair of eyes glinting in the moonlight. There was nothing but cypress knees jutting up through the surface of the water and scummy pond algae. The pond's surface evened out and reflected a mirror image of the moon again.
“Nothing.”
“There you are!” Uncle Howard joined them on the balcony, with Aunt Angie on his arm. “You ran off so quickly.”
Moira knocked back her champagne, then picked up Jeremy’s flute. “I brought Jeremy to be my date, not so he could hang out with you and talk about your dusty old myths. What do you want?”
“We know, honey.” Aunt Angie let go of Uncle Howard and latched onto Moira’s arm instead, “We won’t keep you long. It’s just that we have a surprise for you and your date!”
“Yes, a surprise!” Uncle Howard nodded, “We want you two to be the first to see it before the other guests. Down by the gazebo. Go on now.”
Aunt Angie plucked the champagne flute out of Moira’s hand and pushed her toward Jeremy. She and Uncle Howard wore twin smiles, bright in the moonlight. Moira grumbled but took Jeremy’s hand and led him back into the banquet hall. The lights, music, and conversation washed over them for a moment. Then, they went through another door and into the quiet night.
“They misunderstood something and probably have some terrible romantic surprise set up.” Moira said, “Let’s play along for now, or they will never leave us alone. They must think I’m dating my tutor now. How funny.”
Jeremy did not find this funny. He felt like the situation was rapidly spiraling out of control the further they went around the pond. The manor windows glowed behind them. Shadows stretched across the path. It led to a stone bridge over the artificial stream that fed the pond. The gazebo sat on the other side. Jeremy dug his heels in. Moira pulled up short and frowned back at him.
He may be beyond where his rules could help him. He should have known the moment he tossed one out the window that the rest would follow. But he drew the line at following a strange woman into the backyard, over a bridge, and far beyond the lights of the banquet. Especially if the surprise they were headed toward was somehow romantic in nature.
“I really should get back.” He insisted.
“Oh, stop being such a worry wart.” Moira tugged on his arm, “I bet it’s just a bunch of fairy lights or a violinist prepared to serenade us. Come on.”
“No, I think- “
A loud splash startled him. Moira jumped as well. They looked toward the pond, where a bullfrog sat along the shore. It stared back. Then it chirped. Jeremy realized there were no other frog calls. The lightning bugs no longer flashed. The night was completely silent aside from this frog, who appeared to have jumped out of the water. Usually, a frog would jump into the water when someone walked by.
“That’s creepy,” Moira said. She pulled Jeremy toward the bridge. He forgot to resist, too busy frowning at the frog and wondering if his entire reality was crumbling just because he broke one rule. The bridge looked even less inviting now. Black shadows crept from beneath its yawning belly, and the gazebo beyond cast an eerie silhouette against the starry sky. By the time he tried to dig his heels in again, they were already at the top of the bridge’s curve.
“It’s a full moon tonight,” Moira commented, tilting her head up.
Jeremy looked up, and then his heart lodged itself in his throat. The ground fell away as the bridge collapsed beneath them. Moira let out a strangled gasp as they dropped. Stones crumpled around them, knocking and echoing about. There was a loud rip, and then all was silent. Through his shock, Jeremy realized he could hear a thin trickle of water.
“Holy fuck.” Moira muttered.
“Are you okay?” Jeremy asked. His hip smarted, but it did not feel like they fell far. The bridge had only been about six feet above the stream.
“I’m okay. How about you?”
“A little startled.”
They should be sitting in the stream's flow, but he only felt damp, cool air instead of wetness. He pulled out his phone, swiped on the flashlight, and winced at the bright blue light.
“Oh.” Moira said, “I ripped your shirt. Sorry.”
She extracted her fingers from the strip of fabric, which now hung from Jeremy’s elbow. Caleb was going to kill him. Not only had he abandoned the job he promised to fill in for, but he also ripped and dirtied the suit the caterer loaned him. They weren’t sitting in the stream, but the hard floor was wet with pools of muddy water and slime. He shone the light along perfectly smooth walls covered in more green scum. They extended past where the light could reach. They fell further than six feet.
“No reception.” He squinted at his phone.
“Me either. This is pretty strange.” Moira said, “And really disgusting.”
She glared at the water seeping down the scummy walls. Perhaps this was some underground chamber beneath the stream. Jeremy could not fathom its purpose, but the whole stream and pond were artificial, so it was not too strange that a manmade structure lay beneath. Maybe when the bridge collapsed, the streambed itself collapsed. He looked up into the blackness. There should be a little bit of light from a hole. It was a full moon.
“There is a hole right there.” Moira had her phone out, shining it through a hole about three feet wide. It was a tunnel. Water collected at the bottom of the curved walls. It trickled into the stone chamber.
“The water is flowing down.” Jeremy said, “Which means the tunnel is sloping up slightly. Maybe we can follow it out.”
Moira made a face of disgust. Her pale blue dress was already ruined by the dark green puddles they landed in. “We could just wait and shout for help. My Aunt and Uncle knew we came this way.”
Jeremy glanced up at the yawning blackness above them. “I’m going to take my chances on the tunnel. We can always backtrack.”
“You go first.”
They shuffled around in the small space, and Jeremy crawled in on his hands and knees. His light swung around with his movements. Before him was another yawning blackness. Behind him, Moira grumbled and made a disgusted noise every time she touched a particularly slimy spot. Jeremy’s hand landed on something soft. He whipped it away and looked down to find a patch of moss. With a shudder, he moved on.
The tunnel stretched for a long time, but it did eventually end. Jeremy’s knees and palms smarted along with his hip when they finally spilled out. He shone the light around.
They were in a larger stone chamber. It had four perfectly smooth walls like the other one, although no opening was above them. Each wall had a tunnel entrance. In the center was a stone pillar with strange, blocky inscriptions. Jeremy walked over to take a closer look. He had never seen writing like it before.
“That’s funny. Wasn’t the water flowing in the opposite direction?”
Moira shone her flashlight on the tunnel they emerged from. A trickle of water flowed down its low point and seeped down the wall to the stone chamber’s floor. Each of the other tunnel entrances was the same. A pair of eyes reflected in the light as he swept the room. He fumbled with his phone and shone it at the tunnel, but the eyes were gone. His heart thudded in his chest.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Moira trailed her fingers over the inscriptions on the pillar. Jeremy glanced at her. Something brushed against his wrist.
He yelled and reared away, whipping his flashlight around to look for that glint of eyes peering at him. There was nothing. His stomach flipped.
“What are you yelling for?” Moira scoffed, but her voice wavered. Jeremy wondered if she had seen the pair of eyes but did not want to ask. He did not want to know.
“Let’s try the other tunnels?” He tried to keep his voice level, “We can go clockwise.”
“You make it sound like we are going to explore them all.” Moira chuckled. Her laugh echoed hollowly through the chamber. Jeremy thought about the eyes glinting from the tunnel opening and hoped that was not the case.