by Sophia Sharp
“Oh my god, Tracy, I’m so glad you’re here!” Madison exclaimed, grabbing my hand. I yelped as she pulled me toward the others with such force that my arm nearly came out of its socket. Then I saw what she was so eager to show me.
Past the row of girls, slumped over against the far wall, lay Liz. She was unconscious, and looked as ragged as a beat-up scarecrow. Her cheeks were hollow. The color had drained from her face. Even her beautiful, perfectly sleeked hair was disheveled and splayed out of position. I could see her chest rising and falling, thankfully, but even that looked weak.
“What happened to her?”
“She had too much to drink,” Eve told me coolly. “I warned her to watch her liquor, but she never listens to me.”
“Is that all?” I asked, uncomprehending. At the small parties I’d gone to back home, I had seen some kids pass out from drinking too much. But Liz looked like she was on death row. This was no ordinary binge. “Did anything else happen?”
“No,” Madison said, her blonde hair waving as she shook her head vigorously.
“What about the light?” I asked. From the blank stares I received, I might as well have been asking if they’d ever been to the moon.
“What light?” Madison asked with a frown.
“Never mind,” I said. From the moment I saw Liz so helpless on the floor, my main concern shifted to helping her. From what little I knew about alcohol poisoning, I knew that getting Liz to a doctor as soon as possible was the top priority. “We need to get her to the clinic!”
“No!” Madison gasped, her eyes going wide. “If anyone finds out what happened to her, we won’t be able to host anymore parties!”
“Besides, it’s her own fault,” Eve said swiftly. “We told her she should slow down.”
Zoe, the girl with hair the color of my own, looked the most frightened. “Tracy’s right,” she said in a tiny voice, “Liz needs to get some proper attention.”
“She wouldn’t want that,” Eve put in, frowning at Zoe. “They’d stop funding the student council right away if they found out what happened.”
“Are you really so vain as to care more about some stupid parties than your friend’s life?” I exploded. Their reactions weren’t making any sense. I couldn’t believe these girls actually thought that leaving Liz like this was the right thing to do.
The girls all seemed shocked by my outburst, but Eve was the first to recover. “You don’t even know her,” she said disparagingly. “How can you tell us what she’d want?” Her short black hair made her look more intimidating than she really was.
“I doubt she’d want to be passed out on the dirty floor!” I countered. Suddenly, a realization occurred to me. What were all these girls doing in here, away from the main party, anyway? The only answer I could see was that they wanted to hide what they were doing… which just made Liz’s situation more critical.
“What else did she take?” I demanded of Zoe, who was the only one who seemed to agree with me. “There must have been something more!” Liz coughed weakly, and her entire thin frame shook disproportionately.
“Nothing,” Eve said with a glare. “Do you think we’d hide it if she had?”
“I don’t know! But this—” I motioned to Liz’s unconscious body, “—is not normal! Zoe, tell me: Did any of you use any drugs?”
All five of the girls looked absolutely scandalized at the suggestion. “No!” Zoe exclaimed, and Eve stared at me challengingly.
“Then why were you in here?”
“Liz called us in,” Madison offered. “She wanted to tell us something, I think.”
“Which was…?”
“I don’t know! When I got here, she was already on the floor, drifting in and out of consciousness.”
“Was that when you brought me here?” I asked.
Madison nodded. “Yeah.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I must have gotten here a good ten, fifteen minutes ago. If Liz was in bad condition then, how much worse was she now? And, even more importantly, how was it that none of these girls considered getting her to a doctor? At the back of my mind, something told me that I should press them about the light. The uniform blank stares were suspicious. But, for the moment, my priority was helping Liz.
“Madison, come help me with her,” I said, kneeling down beside Liz. I put a hand on her forehead, and instantly ripped it away. Her skin felt hot enough to scald me.
“What are you going to do?” Madison asked, not moving from her spot.
“Oh, for crying out loud! Zoe, come help.”
Zoe looked around at the others, wordlessly working her mouth. Then, as if spurred onward by a sudden burst of confidence, ran to my side. Together, we hefted Liz’s arms onto our shoulders, and stood her up between us. She groaned weakly, and her head fell forward.
Together Zoe and I took a step toward the door. It was awkward, because Zoe was a good inch or two shorter. This meant I had to slouch to keep Liz level. The other girls moved to the sides, whispering amongst themselves. Every once in a while, I saw one of them shoot me a baleful glare, but I ignored it. Getting Liz the proper attention was all that mattered.
“You shouldn’t be doing this,” Eve warned as I walked past her. The flickering light cast shadows on her face, making her look particularly menacing. I brushed her warning off. Just what kind of people were these girls, when they wouldn’t help their friend when she so obviously needed it?
“Madison,” I asked, “can you at least help with the door?”
The blonde girl looked like she was ready to have a fit from indecision, but at last nodded and ran up to open the door for us. Zoe and I walked Liz forward. Just as we crossed the threshold, something small and glass-like fell from Liz’s clenched fist. I looked back, but Eve snatched it from the floor before I could get a second look.
“There’s another door up ahead,” I told Madison, who shot a remorseful look behind her before coming over and helping us carry Liz. We inched forward slowly. I took one more look behind me. The last thing I saw was Eve conferring with the others before the view of the open doorway was swallowed up by the crowd.
Chapter Eleven – A Watcher
He watched from his usual spot as the first guests arrived. The lights were already low. There was music playing through the speakers. Soon, the lighting effects would come on, perfectly synchronized to the beat of the song, and the real party would start. It would be a spectacular show to start the year. That was simply to be expected.
Tonight, he had eyes for only one person: the new girl. She was the key, the final playing piece to set everything in motion. He had waited many years to find one suitable for the job – no, the honor – that he and his father would bestow upon her. It was their expectation that she would cooperate. If not? Well, if not, he knew his father had ways of getting people to do what was needed.
Who could reject the offer? He was prepared to offer her near limitless power over anyone and anything she desired. Everyone except him, that is. She would answer to him, and he, in turn, to his father. That would be the hierarchy, with all the vermin of the world far below them. Who could reject such a precious gift?
He noticed someone approach, dangerously close to him, and froze. There was a special nook in the wall where the light fell just so, and prevented anyone from seeing him. Unless they actually felt out with their hands, they would not find him. Still, he did not want to take any chances.
The person turned away, beckoned by her friends, and the danger passed. She was a pretty little thing, he thought, the same age as him and already possessing a luscious shape. But, he had learned to push aside temptations of the flesh in recent years. He had a much higher calling, the potential of which sang out to him clearly. Once his plans materialized, he could have anyone his heart desired. That was what he really lusted for: the freedom, the power, and the self-satisfaction of knowing he was superior to all his peers.
In that way, he felt much older than the guests at the party. He had been re
jected his whole life, and was always the odd one out socially. No girls looked at him, much less spoke to him. The guys who spoke only did so as they bullied him. But that didn’t matter anymore. He had long since learned to shut all that out, to attune himself to the bigger picture. He watched a group of girls enter, far on the other side of the room, and quickly start dancing to the song. He sneered. All the people before him were sheep, nothing more, simply following whatever was popular at the moment. How sad it was to think their behavior was so predictable.
But there was more to it than that. Spurred on by being the outcast, he developed an insatiable greed for control. That was what he really wanted, he thought: knowing that he could pull all the strings and make anybody dance. Soon, the scope of his control would reach momentous levels.
In a way, these get-togethers were his first taste of control. Known by all around him as a pathetic loner, who could possibly suspect him to be the one actually hosting these magnificent parties? The label he had been given without asking was a perfect cover. It was his first exposure to the art of deception. And to power. Many of the people he now spied upon had culled him at one time or another. He held the penultimate decision of who would be welcome here every time he played host. It was an odd kind of justice, a strange game he played while waiting to be dealt his real hand. Now that he had, the wait was over. Very soon, his life, and the lives of everyone around him, would change irreversibly.
He trembled with anticipation. When his plans finally came to fruition, it would make up for a lifetime of inadequacy. He had felt that way from the moment his mother had abandoned him and his father when he was but a small child. She had run away with another man. From that moment on, he swore he would make her pay for the damage she had done to him, her own son, and to her husband, his beloved father.
Oh father, but you rejected me too. His father was a strong man, proud and determined. However, he had never shared his son’s anger at his wife. He, too, had that ingrained displeasure of being anything less than great. How it must have irked him to subject himself to all the juvenile, petty politics of his profession. How many years had he endured the tedious colleagues, the mindless students? Here was a man destined for greatness—no. He had already tasted greatness, but backed away to pursue an even greater power. The boy considered that thought. He was a man much like his father.
Not a man yet, though, he thought bitterly. Not in his father’s eyes. But, as soon as the current plan came to fruition, all that would change rapidly. His innate yearning for acceptance would be satisfied.
He caught sight of Liz, the new president of the student council. Seeing her made him smile. How naïve they all were, thinking that this mansion had been gifted to them by the alumni. And that said nothing for the bottles of liquor that were always placed out in the open, freely available to any who so chose. Nobody knew who actually hosted these events. Nobody but him. It suited him well.
Recently, he had started thinking of himself as a chameleon, able to adapt to any situation. No. A spider, weaving his web in the dark and ensnaring his unsuspecting victims. Yes, that was a better description. And already the web was taut with all those he had caught. Most had no idea they were trapped.
Where was the new girl? He had made sure the invitation was slipped under her door. Perhaps she hadn’t gotten it in time? Or perhaps she didn’t appreciate the prestige of being invited to one of these parties yet. No matter! She would, soon, once she found her groundings in the social life on campus. That would make her putty in his hands.
He sneered once again. All the petty games his peers played socially here paled in comparison to the one he was playing. It was the great game, the likes of which the world had never seen before. It started when an ancient secret was uncovered, a discovery made, and the potential of it all finally understood. He stood at the helm. Entire nations would tremble before him, one day soon. The whole world will be within his grasp. It would be a shocking life journey for someone deemed insignificant many times before.
The island, and the school here, were key. This was where the secret had been laid to rest. And it was here where it was uncovered again, and its potential finally revealed. It had been his father’s life work for the better part of the last decade. It was nearly time to reap the rewards.
There were… complications, of course. But they were insignificant and could be overcome. Would be overcome. Failure was not an acceptable outcome, neither for him or his father.
He touched the small pendant around his neck. It was the first discovery he had made, all on his own. It contributed greatly to his father’s cause. Of course, his father had dismissed it as a mere toy. He was blind to the true utility of it. It could detect the aura of the precious—
His thoughts were interrupted as he caught a flash of auburn hair at the door, and instantly recognized it as belonging to the new girl. Ah, Tracy Bachman. So. She had come after all. He smiled, and settled back in his enclave. This was going to be a very productive night.
For the next few minutes, he watched Tracy carefully. He felt he could see her through the crowd – impossible, of course – but every time she disappeared behind a swarm of bodies, he found her again mere seconds after she popped back out. He had met her already, but she, of course, had no idea who he really was. In fact, from the moment they met, he felt a sort of distant connection with her, and thought she shared it with him. That could complicate matters, a little bit, but he was positive he would have no trouble using her when the time came.
He stroked the pendant absently. It was a red ruby, swirled with intoxicating threads of black, and little bigger than his thumb. It was very precious to him. He frequently found solace in its smooth glassy surface. It was the one thing in this world that was his own, the one thing he had found himself, and the one thing that would never abandon him. It was safe and true, and he loved it for that.
Tracy had entered the room with that other blonde girl, the one who was the very spitting image of Liz. What was her name again? He thought hard, but couldn’t remember. Insignificant details like that sometimes escaped him. But she had left Tracy by herself. It was something he did not expect. She was now walking over to one side, to where the drinks were being served. He had half a mind to intercept her on the way, to come out of the dark hole he was in, but thought better of it. Better to watch and observe for now, and then make his move later.
He watched as Tracy waited in the line at the bar, and, eventually, got her first drink. She looked to be joking with the guy serving the alcohol. But that quickly ended. Pushed to one side by the rest of the line, she started looking around a little anxiously. Surely, the novelty and clamor of the party was overwhelming to her, especially since she’d never been to the mansion before. He knew every square inch of the building like the back of his hand, and could see past the seemingly chaotic movement. What was the new girl thinking, now? Was it fear, or apprehension? Was it unease with her current environment? That blonde she had come here with was nowhere to be found. Was she one of those who hadn’t had a drink before, and was now experiencing her first effects of alcohol?
The crowd bunched up in front of him, and Tracy was lost from sight. He tried moving his head to look around them, but they made a thick wall. Curse these people! He was not uneasy about letting the new girl go, exactly, but he wanted it to be on his terms. He was the one who should decide when he grew bored with watching her, not be subject to the whims of the crowd!
He tapped his fingers on the pendant as he waited for the people to move aside. There was nothing else to do, now. That uncharacteristic burst of impatience he just felt bothered him. His whole life had been spent waiting in the shadows. What were a few more minutes, now? Still, not knowing what the girl was doing gnawed at him in a completely unfamiliar way.
The crowd parted, only for a second, and he found her again. She was talking to someone tall and muscular… ah. It was Rob, Liz’s mindless boy-toy. Was this girl so vain as to be impressed by someone like h
im? He sincerely hoped not! But if she were…
Suddenly the pendant grew warm against his hand. His eyes went wide. No! He pushed himself out quickly and stepped into the crowd. He tried to shove through, toward Tracy. The bodies were packed too thick. An instant later, the pendant grew hot again, almost scalding to the touch. It lasted longer this time. His anxiety increased. He tried to shoulder his way past the people, keeping his head down so as not to be recognized. Before he got even two steps forward, he heard a disgruntled yell. The voice stood out over all the sounds of the party. He knew it came from Rob.
He pushed through a group of girls, and emerged to find Rob by himself. Where had Tracy gone? She had been here just seconds ago!
Suddenly, he understood what Rob was yelling, and everything clicked. Rob was yelling after her. Tracy was rushing the other way. Well, it was too late to interject now. He stood for a second, staring after her. As the other people all milled in around him, dancing to the music in their own little world, he smiled. They were all oblivious to the real tides of power that were swarming around them.
He made no farther move toward Tracy. Best he stick to the shadows. They had served him well in the past. None at the party knew his true identity. Let them all think him weak and vulnerable during the day. The truth of what he yearned for would take him far past any of these insignificant people.
He had one responsibility now, and that was to tell father what had just happened. Keeping to the shadows, he hurried out of the building, and slipped into the night.
Chapter Twelve – A Long Night
As we carried Liz down the stairs and onto the dark street, a sinking kind of despair started to wash over me. The clinic was far away – a good thirty minute walk, at least. And that was without the burden of carrying someone teetering in and out of consciousness. I only hoped we could get there fast enough.
