(Anybody call for a link to yesterday’s post?)

Benedictine College

Jennifer staggers down the walkway of the sorority house, her awkward movements caused by fatigue instead of alcohol. One of the sisters starts walking toward the younger woman, a joyous grin appearing at the thought of yelling at someone. She skids to a stop when her potential victim yawn so wide that the sound reminds everyone of a lion. Wavering on her feet, Jennifer rubs her eyes and makes it to the door where she nearly falls asleep with her forehead against the poster-covered wood. She slaps herself in the face and gets inside where she holds up a textbook as a sign that she was studying. Approached by two more members, she breathes in their faces to prove she has not been drinking. The mixture of soda and hot peppers nearly knocks one of them out, the other struggling not to gag. She remains in front of them until they jerk their thumbs at the staircase and go back to a paused video game.

With a lopsided smile, Jennifer takes the steps by twos and stays against the wall to avoid falling over. Making way for a group going out for the night, she gradually goes down the hallway. She pops a cough drop into her mouth as she reaches her door, a pang of anxiety striking her stomach. Putting her ear against the lock, Jennifer carefully listens for movement and voices. Hearing some shuffling and muffled words, she knocks three times and wiggles the knob to give her roommate a warning. When her neighbor steps out, she puts a finger to her lips and waves the drunken girl away. Bracing herself for the worst, the red-haired woman opens the door and walks into a situation that she has always feared.

“Dear God, you’re naked and on top of him,” Jennifer blurts out as she turns her back on her roommate. To her chagrin, a new mirror has been hung from the door and she is forced to close her eyes. “Most people put something on the doorknob or leave a note. Even so, I knocked and made enough noise to let you know I was outside. You could have at least thrown something over yourself or . . . dismounted.”

“Nothing can be done in the heat of the moment,” Natalie casually says while she gets off her nervous boyfriend. She smacks his hands when he tries to cover himself up, but he manages to pull the covers up to his neck. “Don’t be such a prude. Not like you have anything she hasn’t seen some version of. Well, I’m not done with our romantic evening. So, you either go somewhere else or try to sleep over there. Keep in mind that staying here will result in me spreading the word that you’re a voyeur.”

Unable to keep her eyes closed without falling asleep, Jennifer does her best to walk further into the room and avert her gaze. “I’m too tired to deal with this, but you’re not giving me much of a choice. Please stop being a bitch to me for tonight and I’ll give you the room tomorrow. I just want to sleep. If I go to the lounge then all the noise will keep me up and I won’t be able to get to my classes.”

“Don’t say a word because you’ve already disappointed me once tonight,” the black-haired roommate snaps, stopping her muscular boyfriend from speaking. Moving to remain in the other girl’s line of sight, she puts her hands behind her back to help push out her chest. “I don’t really care about your classes. Flunk out and let me get a single because this place would be better without you. Always practicing your lines and never let me smoke in here. I should be with my best friend down the hall, but they had to put me with you. The only way I can get rid of you is for you to quit as a pledge or as a student. Considering how much I hate you, I want you out of the school.”

“Why do you hate me so much?”

“Because you’re annoying.”

“We’ve only known each other for half a semester.”

“And it feels like years.”

“Fine, I’ll try to sleep in the lounge. Have fun bumping herpes sores.”

Jennifer angrily slams the door behind her, which causes the mirror to fall and smash against the floor. With a victorious smile, Natalie locks the deadbolt and skips over to the bed where she yanks the covers off her boyfriend. She is about to crawl onto the narrow mattress when a cold breeze strikes her skin and threatens to calm her down. The irritated woman reaches over to turn off her roommate’s desktop fan and violently yanks the plug out of the socket. Using a scissor to cut the cord, Natalie drops the broken device in the garbage and happily skips back to the bed where her boyfriend is starting to fall asleep. A stronger blast of cold air hits her, the frigid gale giving her goosebumps and making her shiver. The blinds move to reveal the open window where a raven is calmly sitting, its back to the room.

“Get lost, bird,” Natalie hisses as she shoves the animal away. Closing and locking the window, she flips off a person outside who pulls out a camera to take her picture. “Why did you turn on the fan and open the window? We barely did anything that would make you work up a sweat. Wake up, James, because I’m not done with you.”

“Weren’t you a little too mean to her?” the young man asks while grabbing a nearby water bottle. He gets up to stretch his legs and rub his back, the cheap mattress and box spring making his muscles ache. “I know that you don’t like her, but having sex to get her out of the room might be a bit too far. Kind of tough to stay in the moment too. Not that seeing you naked isn’t helping, but I keep fearing that she’ll come back in.”

Tiptoeing to the door to avoid the glass, she closes the chain lock and rattles the knob to prove it will not open. “Even a key can’t get her back inside, so she’s gone for the night. Look, I’m really sorry about putting you in an awkward position. Let me make it up to you for the rest of the night. All I ask is that we have sex in her bed. Give me that one gift and I will make it worth your while for a month.”

“That’s why you changed her sheets,” James mutters as he wonders if he has any control over the situation. Eyeing the other bed, he notices that it looks more comfortable than the creaky one that his girlfriend was given. “My back and knees could really use a break. Not that I’m saying we stop, but the springs over here keep poking me. Do we have to tell her that we did anything? That sounds like something you could get in trouble for. I mean, me and the guys have certain rules when it comes to this. One of them is that you don’t have sex in a roommate’s bed unless you’re ready to buy them new sheets. After all, things happen when you really get into it like that time last week.”

“You’re never going to stop gloating about that one,” the black-haired woman says, a faint smile on her face. Running a finger along Jennifer’s desk, she sits in the chair and shifts until she is comfortable. “As far as I know, there is no rule against it, but I would only get in trouble if she finds out. You’d never tell her about what we’re doing because you don’t want to upset me. My back would appreciate the change too. Please, let me ride you on my roommate’s bed, which has a better bounce.”

James hesitates until Natalie licks her lips and stretches her arms over her head, a lustful look in her eyes. Unable to hold back his desire, the young man finishes his water bottle and grabs a condom from a jar. He gives a final look at his girlfriend, who shows no sign of changing her mind. As she gets to her feet, James pulls back the heavy blanket and jumps into Jennifer’s bed. The instant he lies down, the bed snaps shut with enough force to break his spine and slowly suffocate him in the soft material. His toes stick out of the top of the folded mattress, only one of them twitching.

Natalie grabs James’s flailing arm and tries to pull him free, but the limb tears off at the shoulder. She chokes back a scream out of fear of being blamed for what she assumes is a horrible accident. With people knowing about her aggression and pranks toward Jennifer, it would not be a surprise for anyone to consider she boobytrapped the bed. Her mind spiraling into paranoia and panic, Natalie drops the arm and backs to the door. The soles of her feet are sliced up by the broken mirror, the pain momentarily snapping her out of her fear. She turns around to undo the chain, but her arms shake too much for her to get it open. Backing to the middle of the room, she looks down at her bloody footprints. A burning pain runs through her body and she holds up her hand to watch a glass shard come out of her palm. Coughing up blood, Natalie feels more of the mirror pieces weave their way through her insides. Amazed that she is aware of what is happening, the black-haired woman collapses to the floor and reaches out to take her boyfriend’s severed arm. The last thing she sees is her vision splitting as two shards slowly push out through her eyes.

(You in the back. I saw you sleeping through yesterday’s excerpt. CLICK HERE please.)

Ayers Hall at University of Tennessee

“Can we really call this a club meeting without Professor Soleman?” Harvey asks as he drums his fingers on the table. Leaning back in his chair, he cranes his neck to see if Marcy is still at the reference desk. “Not that I’m confused on what we’re doing here. It’s only that we called it a club meeting when we aren’t talking about mythology and haven’t told our adviser about this. Besides, that librarian gives me the creeps and she could tell Professor Soleman about this. He wasn’t happy last time we met in secret.”

“That’s why this is nothing more than friends hanging out,” Thomas whispers, slipping the taller student a candy bar. Stretching his arms, he smiles at everyone who are patiently waiting for him to reveal the reason for the meeting. “Anybody else notice that something weird is going on? Putting aside everything that happened in Professor Ramel’s office, people keep disappearing around here. I’ve talked to a lot of students and everyone has a story of a friend or classmate disappearing. Not that they see them disappear, but one day the person is nowhere to be found.”

“I believe it’s called dropping out,” Aurora suggests, the book in front of her more appealing than the conversation. Looking at her friends for agreement, she senses that her brother is on Thomas’s side. “You can’t be serious. Let’s go through what happened. The windows slammed shut because the frame broke, you already knew that a bird was in the room, the cold was in your own heads, and Chris already admitted that something went wrong with his phone. Everything else was probably a prank left by students. Professor Ramel was a respected teacher, but he was tough. Someone must have failed his midterm and booby trapped the desk drawer. You four just happened to show up in time for it to go off.”

Jennifer timidly raises her hand, her legs curled against her stomach. “That doesn’t explain the anatomy dummy. I had that before Professor Soleman took it. As far as I know, nobody did anything to it. My roommate is a chemistry major, so she could have done something to get me in trouble. Unless another girl put remote control blaster caps in the dummy and set it off after seeing you guys inside. You know, never mind what I’m saying. Aurora is right that nothing strange is going on.”

Before Thomas can argue, Chris taps the underside of the table with his hockey stick and nods toward the front of the library. They can see Marcy heading towards them with a cart full of returns, the librarian moving with a slight limp. Not wanting her to overhear their conversation, everyone picks up the book in front of them and reads a random page. The woman is about to pass the group when she stops and slowly turns around, her eyes narrowing into slits. A chill ripples through the air as Marcy walks toward Chris, who is anxiously peeking at her over the top of his textbook. With a surprisingly firm grip, she takes the book and flips it around so it is no longer upside down. Fixing each student with a piercing gaze, the librarian smiles in approval and goes back to her returns.

“I know I shouldn’t ask this, Chris, but how did you make that mistake?” Apollo asks, shaking his head. He pulls out his notes and begins doodling, the pictures nothing more than mindless swirls on the page. “As ridiculous as Thomas sounds, I can’t shake the feeling that the answers to these mysterious are not that simple. It could be students dropping out, but that doesn’t explain why some of them left their stuff behind. What are the chances of two window frames breaking at the same time? Not to mention those booby traps would have been sitting there for at least twelve hours. Even if the anatomy dummy was remote controlled, it doesn’t explain the soda going off. That should have been flat no matter how much it was shaken the night before.”

“You’re also forgetting about Trina,” Bryce interjects, trying hard not to look Aurora in the eyes. Sensing that nobody is angry, she sits up straighter and puts her wringing hands on the table. “I’m with Thomas and Apollo on this because what happened to her doesn’t make any sense. Forgetting that there shouldn’t be a way for a human to . . . die that way, I was making out with her beforehand. Whether it was a disease or poison, I should have been affected too. Don’t try to say I’m immune because that would be too coincidental. Maybe this is nothing, but all of this is rather odd.”

“Why didn’t the anatomy dummy go off when Professor Soleman have it?” Harvey asks as if stirring from a dream. He jumps at the sound of a book falling on the floor, his breathing remaining rapid for a minute. “If the trapped dummy was supposed to get Jennifer in trouble then wouldn’t it make more sense to get Soleman than Ramel? She doesn’t take any science courses right now, so she would never be a suspect. I assume you were supposed to sneak it back into the office instead of giving it to another teacher. It’s entirely possible that what is going on is targeting people that we simply happen to know.”

“Or it could be accidents and embellishments,” Aurora snaps, the conversation making her nervous. Seeing big tears welling up in Bryce’s eyes, she sighs and puts a hand on her friend’s wrist. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but you were really drunk and Trina was found by someone else. By the time you got into the bathroom, somebody had put a jacket over her and you passed out. Please don’t believe the more outlandish stories, Bryce. Your girlfriend died a natural death and not as the victim of some madman. Believing the wilder stuff will only hurt you more.”

Thomas clears his throat and sneaks a sip of water into his mouth, the bottle popping slightly as he puts it back. “I have to agree with Aurora here. She also said it better than I could ever say it. Besides, everyone loved Trina. Nobody would ever target her for death. Well, bigots might, but they tend to use fists and blunt objects. Crap, I didn’t mean that, Bryce. It’s just that it really does feel like an accident while Professor Ramel doesn’t sit right. We should probably call it a night since we aren’t getting anywhere.”

“More that you got shot down too often,” Chris jokes while he reads a comic book.

“Let’s give Thomas some credit,” Apollo states with a smile. He pauses when his sister rolls her eyes and makes a small, indignant noise. “He put a lot of thought into this. So even if there are ways to poke holes in his ideas, it’s impressive that he could piece together such an interesting story. I mean, Thomas has put more thought into this than what major he is finally going to take. Until today, I had no idea he conducted interviews and had one of those conspiracy walls in his closet.”

Feeling embarrassed, Thomas leaves the table and heads for the door. With a sigh, Apollo grabs his friend’s jacket and hurries after him. Bryce and Harvey are not far behind, the pair curious to hear more about the mystery. The three remaining club members continue to read their books, all of them aware that Marcy is watching from the front desk. Feeling uncomfortable under the librarian’s hawk-like gaze, Chris mutters his goodbyes and leaves. He groans when his hockey stick knocks over a spinning display of romance novels, the crash causing everyone in the library to shush him. It takes the young man a few minutes to clean the mess, his pride pushing him to refuse help. Even though most of the novels are upside down, Chris wipes his hands on his pants and heads for the doors.

“My roommate won’t be in tonight if you want her bed,” Aurora says, snapping Jennifer out of her trance. She can see the hesitation on her friend’s face, but there is a spark of thankfulness for the offer. “I know you’re having trouble with Natalie. Take one night away from your room and pledging. Tell them you drank too much and passed out in my room. Heck, I can write you a note if you want.”

“That’s cute, but I’m only allowed to drank at the house. Unsupervised boozing means I get kicked out,” Jennifer replies with a half-hearted smile. Checking her watch, she licks her lips and briefly reconsiders the offer. “Maybe I can hang out with you for a few more hours. Part of me wants to contact the sisters and ask for permission, but I’m already feeling too much like a heavily controlled teenager. What possessed me to take on this challenge? Aside from my mom being so proud that her little girl is following in her footsteps. The one time that woman shows interest in what I’m doing and it has to be this.”

“I’ve figured something out about all of us.”

“What is that?”

“We really have some issues.”

“Guess we should have scouted a psychology major for our club.”

“To help us or see if we could make them regret their life choices?”

Laughing while putting on their jackets, they are immediately silenced by Marcy dropping a book on the floor. Standing on the front desk, the librarian glares at the loud students while crawling back down. Aurora and Jennifer cannot look away from the woman as she watches them, her unblinking eyes making them practically sprint from the library.

(Return to the past to understand the future . . . or not.  Your choice. I’m not a dictator.)

Halcyon Hall of Bennet College

Squinting through the flowing soap, Aurora does her best to reach up and get the body wash bottle that Jennifer is dangling over the shower stall wall. Hearing a muttered curse from her right, her fingers slip and the container falls. Bouncing off the faucet, she is hit by a burst of cold that drives her into the corner. Stretching through the frigid water, Aurora makes it hot again and practically dives into the warmth. She is busy picking up the body wash when a loofah comes sailing over the wall and bops her in the head. A playful laugh from Jennifer makes her smile when she experimentally sniffs at the rose-scented soap. Not a fan of the smell, she considers putting it outside with her regular shampoo. With a sigh of defeat, Aurora realizes that her aggressive friend would probably give her a sniff test. Putting a little of the body wash on the loofah, she goes about cleaning herself of two days of sweat and dirt.

“It looks like I’m leaking oil in here,” Bryce states from her stall. The sound of her fumbling with the hair dye bottle is met with another round of cursing. “I’m telling you, Jenn, that these directions make no sense. Wouldn’t a shower wash out the dye before it has a chance to set? This better not be a waste of my time because I was serious about this. By the way, does anybody have an extra disposable razor?”

“Are we really going to start throwing sharp objects around?” Aurora asks before a box sails over her stall. A startled yelp from Bryce causes Jennifer to giggle, the redhead obviously enjoying the time away from her roommate. “So, I got a text that the boys went to check out Professor Ramel’s office. Apollo said something weird happened and they wanted to meet with us for dinner. Gives us a few hours to hang out and talk.”

“Or we can say no and make this all about us girls,” Jennifer replies in a lazy voice. She pauses when someone walks into the communal bathroom, the whispering person leaving a minute later. “Pledging hasn’t given me much time for socializing with all my non-sorority friends. Should be over in a week, but I’m getting antsy. Not to mention I dread going back to my room. I found half a peanut butter sandwich under my pillow yesterday. Natalie said she knew nothing about, but it isn’t like her boyfriend is smart enough to pull off even the simplest of pranks.”

Aurora throws the loofah back over and puts the body wash outside, her nose steadily becoming used to the smell. “Well, you do act like an idiot around her. She probably doesn’t think much of you. Let’s talk about something more positive. I did my first solo dissection two days ago. It was a-”

The sounds from the other showers change, giving Aurora enough time to consider that something is about to happen. She is busy trying to figure out what is going on when capfuls of water come sailing over both walls. Jolts of cold run through her body as she tries to avoid the attacks, her friends laughing too hard to continue for more than a minute. Aurora can hear their teeth chattering and faint murmurs about needing warmth as the showers return to pumping out steamy water. Taking the hint, she finishes shampooing her hair and quietly stands with her head back to let the suds flow from the long tresses. Hearing Bryce stop her shower and pull back the inner curtain of her stall, she considers doing the same, but the feeling of warm water on her scalp is too good to give up.

Closing her eyes, Aurora puts out her arms to brace herself against the walls and lets out a slow breath. She can feel her muscles relaxing and all of her pent-up tension flowing down her body, the idea of it seeping out of the soles of her feet making her smile. She cannot remember the last time she felt so loose and calm since she has been working so hard for her classes and extra lab hours. The knots in her shoulders and neck make it difficult to relax completely, but she still enjoys the sensation of coming close. Remembering that Bryce knows how to give an amazing massage, she makes a mental note to politely ask her friend when they get back to her room.

On the verge of falling asleep, Aurora scowls as the image of a familiar classroom slips into her mind. Blood is splattered on one of the walls and she can smell burning flesh. Struggling to wake up, she looks around and sees a brown-haired woman standing on the ceiling. The well-dressed figure stops writing in her notebook and stares down at the student like a serpent would eye a mouse. Instead of attacking, the woman pushes her thumb into her golden eye until one of the walls shudders. Aurora screams when the left side of the room pivots up and she is left standing over a dark abyss. Like a cartoon character, she remains hovering for a few seconds before plummeting into the shadows. To her surprise, she wakes up wrapped in her towel and sitting on the bench just outside of her shower.

“Did you have one of your bad dreams again?” Jennifer asks, giving her shivering friend a tight hug. Having heard Aurora shout, she only had time to wrap a towel around herself, making only slightly less clothed than Bryce, who is in her underwear. “All we heard was you yell and then a thud. Looks like you hit your shoulder against the wall and slid down. Good thing you didn’t fall and hit your head.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Aurora blurts out as she tries to stand. Her legs feel numb and there is a throbbing in her head, which makes the room spin. “It was different this time. Almost like I showed up late to the dream and was punished for it. The other students were already dead, the teacher was on the ceiling, and I was simply . . . dropped out of the nightmare. Maybe my subconscious is angry that I haven’t slept much or the medication I was taking to help me sleep did something. Apollo doesn’t seem to have these problems.”

“Well, we’re not the types to give suggestions on this kind of stuff,” Bryce mentions while she puts on her shirt. Looking in a mirror, she runs her hands through her black and blonde streaked hair. “You talked about it, which is good. We’re always here for you just like Thomas and Harvey are there for Apollo. Still, you might want to talk to a psychologist together since shared dreams are strange. Maybe the whole twin psychic connection theory would be fun to delve into.”

Aurora is about to agree when she notices that Jennifer is biting her lower lip and tapping her bare feet on the wet floor. “It is killing you to keep your mouth shut and not voice your opinion. For the last time, Apollo and I are not going to do any psychic tests, we aren’t aliens, and I can’t read your mind. Besides, you always think of the number five anyway. Can we get dressed and move on to something else?”

“You’re no fun,” the theater major pouts as she heads back to her stall.

Bryce chuckles as she unwraps her towel from her waist and puts on her pants, the young woman not caring if anyone sees her underwear. Closing the curtain for privacy, Aurora finishes drying off and takes her time getting dressed. Looking for her shampoo, she nervously sticks her head into the shower and reaches for the bottle. The thought that she is still dreaming crosses her mind even though the world feels real around her. Noticing the floor drain, she waits for it to transform into the abyss that continues to lurk in her memories. Aurora relaxes when she hears someone knock on the stall, her snooty neighbor waiting patiently with a towel over her shoulder and a basket of toiletries clenched in her hands. Muttering an apology, she moves out of the shorter woman’s way and uses the outside mirror to fix her hair. As she follows her friends out of the bathroom, Aurora just misses the silhouette in the curtain suddenly disappearing as if the floor has been pulled out from beneath the showering student.