Chapter 34

I slid my palm along the side of the Union building, nearer to the second dorm. The shrub pressed into my side, and I shoved the leaves out of my way. Gray brick buildings stretched into the sky. Nothing had changed. They’d remained ominous and intimidating in stature with trees hugging the structures.

No one walked across campus, but I still kept low and close to the building. I doubted Osmodus had the foresight to watch from the cameras, but I couldn’t be too careful. Instead of rounding toward the front of the Union, I crept down the side, feeling for the emergency exit door. I’d never used it before—well, I’d never had to—but it would be better than walking around exposed. A bit paranoid of me but I wasn’t taking the chance.

The doorknob turned, but it didn’t open. I used a bit more force until it snapped off, and I could shove it aside, leaving a gaping hole. Carefully propping the door back in place behind me, I inched forward, moving faster with every second.

The passage spat me into the main hall where the bathroom was located. I slipped through swinging doors that cut across the kitchen. A horrid smell wafted out upon entering. Moldy food sat upon the surfaces in various states of preparation—as if everything had been dropped mid-way. I stuttered to a stop. There were also dead bodies.

Nausea crawled up my throat, but I swallowed it down. I didn’t have time to freak out. I stepped over a silver bowl and wove around the metal tables until I exited on the other side of the kitchen. I went through a similar emergency exit as the one I’d come in through and crouched as wind whipped my hair around my cheeks.

There used to be some sort of action happening this late at night. A random drunk stumbling across the campus, or a couple scurrying around in search of a place to hook up.

But eerie silence greeted me. Fucking freaky.

After a few minutes of no movement, I pushed out of my crouch and slapped an overgrown branch from my face. Twigs and leaves crunched beneath my feet, echoing loudly and putting me on edge.

Making it to Sandra’s room without being caught was my primary goal. Helen should be in there. Once I checked on them, maybe they could tell me Osmodus’s whereabouts. A sneak attack was my best chance at beating him without casualties. When I shifted, I didn’t care about much, so I needed to have a plan in order.

I dashed to the back door where my guys used to hang out, moving as quickly as I could. Panting, I shut the door, enclosing myself in a pitch-black room. I closed my eyes and focused, shifting only my sight. Graininess rubbed against my eyelids. Now able to see, the room was the same as when I’d been in it before, except a fine layer of dust blanketed the surfaces. Exiting, I wove through the corridors and finally reached the stairway leading up to Dean’s room. Hopefully he wouldn’t make too much of an issue with me showing up.

The metal staircase creaked, then I was on the platform to his room. I broke the doorknob and snoring echoed. If the sound of metal screeching hadn’t woken him, I’d be in the clear. He was sprawled on his back, mouth slightly open. Good thing the bear was a deep sleeper. The hallway met me with the same ominous silence. I crept onto Sandra’s floor via the stairwell next to the elevator by the entrance.

A creak echoed behind me, then a hand wrapped around my shoulder. I stumbled, guided by the aggressive grip into a divot. Since the building layouts mirrored each other, I recognized the entrance to the bathroom.

“Danny?” I blinked at the nerve-wracked boy who used to tremble from a raised voice. Gone were the glasses he used to wear, and he stood before me in boxers. “What the?—”

His damp palm slapped over my mouth. As much as I wanted to sputter, I held still as footsteps thudded past, and a door slammed down the hall. He released my face and drooped against the wall.

“Please tell me that’s water.” I rubbed the back of my arm across my wet mouth.

“I washed my hands,” he said sheepishly.

“I need to get to Helen.” She had to be in this building.

“She’s in Sandra’s room.” He kept peering around the corner to get a look into the hall.

“Are they okay?”

His eyebrows furrowed, and he lowered his voice as he leaned forward. “We’re all still alive, if that’s what you’re asking.” Lines ringed his eyes, and each of his blinks seemed to weigh a ton.

I gripped the edge of the door and poked my head out around the edge of the bathroom entrance to an empty hallway.

His palm on my arm stopped me. “Be careful. That creature has some sort of power over Unnaturals. They’re doing what he orders.”

He had them under a Thrall. Fuck.

Danny pinched the dent between his eyes where his glasses used to rest on the bridge of his nose.

“How are you liking life after maturity?”

His shoulders rose with his sigh. “It came with too many surprises.”

I felt that.

“Stay out of the way when shit goes down,” I said and squeezed his shoulder. He pursed his lips, but I didn’t linger to continue the conversation. I dashed down the hall as fast as possible.

Sandra’s room pin had remained the same. I snuck inside and shifted my eyes as I shut the door.

I was suddenly slammed against the wall. A sharp blade dug into my throat. I grabbed the knife, yanking it from the hand. Black blood spread across my palm. Tossing the metal, it thumped on the ground. I slammed my hand into the barrel of a chest blocking my view of the room.

Adrien stumbled back and clamped his chest with a wheeze. Determination didn’t fade from his gaze. Before he attacked me again, I flipped the lights on. His momentum came full speed. I moved to the side, and he slammed into the wall, sliding down. He hunched into himself, gingerly holding his side. A bandage peeked out from under his shirt, and he panted while his gaze settled on me.

“Maya,” Helen breathed with relief, and threw her arms around me. “Are you okay?” She grabbed my bleeding hand.

I curled my fingers into a fist, but blood still dripped down my wrist. Adrien carefully pushed off the ground.

Helen gasped and dashed over to him, hooking his arm over her shoulder to help him to the bunk. “You should have woken me up if you thought we were under attack.”

Adrien grunted and readjusted his sitting position, obviously not comfortable. A red stain spread on his bandage.

“Shit.” Helen jerked a drawer open and pulled out a rolled cloth. She fiddled with it while my gaze bounced around the bare room with purple accents on the left bed. Every room I’d entered in this building had a different set up. This one had only two beds, one on the left and another on the right. Helen had moved into this room with Sandra after maturing.

“Where’s Sandy?”

“She’s under his control.” Fuck. “They all stay with him.” Her voice cracked. “At daybreak, he’s going to sacrifice and feed off all the humans.”

In just a few hours.

“Where’s Claudia?”

Clothing rustled and she emerged from the closet. She stumbled free, hugging herself.

“You hid instead of helping him?” Helen chastised.

Claudia nibbled on her lower lip and dropped on Sandra’s bed opposite them. She clasped her trembling hands in her lap.

“Tanner?” she asked, her voice warbling. A frown marred her lips and genuine concern flared in her wide eyes. There was something different ab— she’d matured . My realization came mid thought.

“He’s here for you, but he can’t get through the barrier surrounding the school.”

“The witches were forced to put that one up. When the monster arrived, he put all of them under his control after massacring a fourth of the student body,” Helen said.

Everything was a shit mess, and no one was holding up well. Had they seen the depravity I had? I could only imagine, and based on their too wide eyes and washed out complexions, it wasn’t good. The foreboding weight in my stomach told me to brace myself.

“Fill me in on everything.”

Her mouth tightened and she nodded.