by Sophia Sharp
“Agreed,” Ashley said. She glanced quickly over her shoulder. “The island doesn’t feel safe for me anymore.”
“It doesn’t feel safe for any of us,” Eve said, and gave her head a curt shake. I didn’t know whether to be surprised or impressed with her candor. Usually, she tended to project a fearless demeanor. “But… this will make it even worse.” She dug into her pocket, and pulled out a creased manila envelope. She held it out in her hands toward us.
“What is it?” I asked
“Look inside,” she said, handing it to me. “I found it on the man who attacked you.”
I frowned. The envelope wasn’t heavy. I could feel something stiff and rectangular, like a credit card, inside. I reached in and pulled it out.
It wasn’t a credit card. It was an ID card. And it was from Oliver Academy.
“What… is this?” I asked, my voice trembling. There was a picture of a man on the card. His face was unmistakable. It was the face of the man who stood beside the headmaster at the opening day’s assembly. The one who seemed to seek me out amongst everyone else in the crowd. Except now, thanks to the card, I knew his name. Paul Rosenberg. Chris’s father.
The other girls crowded around me. A fury erupted within the group as they realized what the card was – whose it was.
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Liz demanded from Eve. “Why did you keep this from us?”
“I wanted her to be here,” Eve said, nodding at me. “She has a right to know.”
“How did he get the card?” Madison wondered.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Eve said. “The man who came after Tracy was sent by Chris’s father. Professor Rosenberg.”
“Oh, this changes everything,” Ashley muttered. “This means that Chris’s dad was in on it! He was a professor at the school!”
“This is bad,” Madison cooed. “This is very, very bad.”
“Who else knows about the crystals?” Ashley asked. “Who else knows about us? Who can we trust? And why are they after Tracy?”
“Maybe,” I said, my voice still unsteady, “it was because I was new. Maybe they thought I was vulnerable. More vulnerable than any of you.”
“None of us is safe anymore!” Madison exclaimed. She looked the most shaken of any of us. “I can’t go to my room by myself! None of us can! If a professor at Oliver sent the man to get Tracy, what’s there to stop more attempts? Nothing! What are we going to do? We’re just sitting ducks on the island!” Her eyes went wide, and she started breathing hard. Her pupils darted from side to side as if seeking out a threat.
“Madison!” Eve commanded firmly. “Calm yourself. Nothing’s happened yet. We’re all together now, and have our crystals.”
“Eve’s right,” Liz said, touching Madison’s shoulder. “As long as we stay together, and have our crystals, we’re relatively safe.”
Madison drew in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly. It seemed to calm her. “You’re right,” she said finally. “Sorry.”
I gave her a quick hug. I knew how scared she must feel. To realize that it wasn’t just Chris who knew about the crystals was a shock. But to have somebody else at Oliver Academy know about them? That was frightening. Even worse, it seemed we were being targeted because of the crystals. It was a threat we had never prepared for. We had assumed we were the only ones to know about them! This type of danger could manifest itself in the form of anything. I experienced that firsthand last night.
“We have to think rationally about this,” I said. “We can’t go harebrained just because we’re frightened.”
“Right,” Liz echoed. “We should start with what we know.”
“Well, it’s clear now that either Chris or his dad sent the attacker,” Eve said, “and we can presume that they both know of the crystals.”
“But we don’t know why Tracy is being targeted,” Ashley said. “I mean, not specifically. We can assume it’s because of what she can do, and we can assume that Chris and his dad are behind it, but we don’t know why her ability – or any of ours – is important enough to have them send someone after us.”
“Chris’s dad could have been the one to pressure Chris to do what he did in the caves,” Liz said thoughtfully.
“Actually,” I said slowly, “I remember Chris telling me once that his dad was the one who showed him that massive crystal formation underground.”
“You never mentioned that before!” Liz exclaimed admonishingly.
“No. I never made the connection before! Chris brought me down there before you guys showed me what the crystals could do. I never thought of it since then.” I gave a nervous chuckle. “I guess I’ve been avoiding thinking about it since.”
“Tracy!” Madison suddenly exclaimed. “I just realized where I know the man on the card from! It’s the same man who stood beside the headmaster at opening days!”
“That’s right!” Eve and Liz exclaimed at the same time.
“Didn’t you say he looked at you?” Ashley asked. “I remember that.”
“That’s right,” I answered slowly, thinking back. “I remember him scanning the crowd. And when his eyes landed on me, I thought I saw – even though he was so far away – I thought I saw him smile. And then he just turned and left.”
“But, why you?” Liz wondered out loud. “What was it about you that drew his eye?”
“She’s special,” Madison said.
“We know that!” Eve said. “We knew right away she was the strongest of us at using the crystals. But how would anyone else know that?”
“Could this mean the headmaster is in on it, too?” Ashley asked. “Could he have helped that man get on the island?”
“I don’t think so,” I replied. I had wondered the same thing at the start. “If he were, he wouldn’t have made that deal with us. With me, I mean. He wanted to keep events of that night quiet.”
“Maybe he wanted to keep it quiet precisely because he was in on it,” Ashley suggested.
“I don’t think so,” I said again. “If he did, why wait until now to attack? If he was in on it, he could have arranged something much earlier—like when I was lying in the clinic. I think he was even the one who called my parents here.”
“That makes sense,” Liz admitted. “But the question still remains: Who else knows about the crystals and us? And how do Chris and his dad know?”
“You know,” I said, suddenly thinking of an idea, “I think there’s a way we can find out.”
“What do you mean?” Ashley asked.
“Chris’s dad’s office,” I explained. “Chris fled the island after the incident in the caves. I presume his dad went with him?”
“As far as we know,” Ashley said.
“So then,” I continued, “maybe we can find something in his office that will tell us more. With his ID card, we can easily sneak in.”
“You think he just left things lying around?” Eve said acerbically. “A checklist with his master plan? Come on!”
“If I were him, I would have taken everything with me when I left,” Ashley added. Then she shot a look at Eve. “But, I still think it’s worth a shot.”
“What do you think?” I asked Liz.
“It’s the only lead we have,” she muttered sourly. “And as long as we have his ID, we might as well take advantage.” A bell rang in the distance announcing the end of lunch. Movement became apparent among the students gathered around the fountain. I turned my head to watch.
“You guys said you were up all night, right?” I asked. “I’m guessing you didn’t go to class. If we’re going to search Chris’s dad’s office, now might be the best time.”
“Let’s do it,” Liz confirmed. “And afterwards, we still have to figure out what to do with our prisoner.”
Chapter Five – A Giant Spider Web
We had to consult the staff directory in the library to figure out where Chris’s dad’s office was. It turned out that he worked in the geology department. Surprisingly, Eve w
as the only one who knew where that was. She led us to the building without hesitation.
Walking through the streets of the main yard during school hours felt a little unusual. Even though it was still bright, the streets were empty. Everybody was in class. The few adults we did pass – probably professors who had that period off – gave us such strange looks that we hurried on before they could wonder why a group of five girls wasn’t in class, too.
We stopped in front of a building at the end of a street. It was familiar to me for all the wrong reasons. This was where the student council had hosted their first party, and where I found Liz struck with after sickness from using the crystal. Looking back, I now understood why the girls had acted the way they had with Liz passed out on the floor. It was nothing a hospital stay – or in our case, a clinic stay – could remedy.
The doors of the building housing the geology department were locked. I took Chris’s dad’s card from my pocket and waved it in front of an old-fashioned card detector on the wall. The blinking light turned green, and the doors clicked open. Without pause, Eve pushed them open.
A long dark hallway greeted us. Doors lined either wall, but they were all closed, and the lights were all off. As we entered, the main doors swung shut behind us with a clang that echoed ominously through the empty building.
“Now where?” Madison asked.
“The directory said his office was number 216,” I said. “So that means the second floor. Right?”
Eve nodded in confirmation. “The stairs should be this way.”
We followed her as she led us farther down the hall. The only light in the whole place came from a red EXIT sign positioned behind us. We found the stairs and started climbing. On the second step, I froze. I just heard something.
“Do you hear that?” I whispered urgently.
“Hear what?” Eve asked. She spoke in a regular voice, and it carried through the building.
“Voices!” I whispered. “Keep quiet.”
Eve shot me a baleful look, but didn’t say anything. After a few seconds, I caught the sound that had stopped me. It was the sound of conversation, but it came from far away.
“We’re not the only ones in here,” I whispered.
Liz nodded. “I can hear them, too. From the next floor up. We have to be quiet. If anybody finds us, they’re going to ask questions.”
“I’m going to take a look,” Ashley said, and ran silently up the stairs. We followed her up, but remained inside the stairwell as she peeked around the corner.
“Do you see anything?” Madison asked. Her voice carried a touch of worry.
“There’s a light at the end of the hall,” Ashley said softly. “I think that’s where the sound is coming from.”
“Oh, give over,” Eve said, pushing between me and Madison. “Nobody’s going to go looking in an empty hallway.” Fearlessly – and somewhat recklessly – she stepped into the hall. She checked both ways, and then turned to us. “Nobody’s here,” she confirmed. “But I think room 216 is in the same wing as where the voices are coming from.”
“Let’s just hurry up and get this over with,” I said. I didn’t like sneaking around in a large, dark building. You could never tell what would be waiting for you around one corner.
Eve nodded, and started down the hall. I went after her, and the rest of the girls trailed me. I read the room numbers as we passed. 200. 202. 204. Each of the doors was closed, but I noticed, to my relief, that there was a slot to swipe an ID card beside each one.
“This is where we need to be careful,” Eve emphasized as we reached the corner. The voices had become louder as we got closer. They were now clearly distinguishable as two people talking. Eve peeked around the side, and immediately pulled her head back. “The door is open,” she said, “and that’s where the voices are coming from. Unfortunately, we have to get past them to the other side.”
“Let me see,” I said. I moved silently to peek into the room. I saw that it was just two professors talking. Neither of them was facing the door. I motioned for the girls to follow, and slipped by the opening. Once everyone was on the other side, I breathed a sigh of relief. We continued on, and I counted the room numbers until we hit the one marked 216.
“This is it,” I said as I pulled the ID card from my pocket. “There’s no going back once we do this. Does anybody have any last minute objections?”
“Oh, for crying out loud!” Eve exclaimed, and ripped the card from my hand. Before I knew it, she swiped it through the slot beside the door. I held my breath in anticipation. After a moment, a click sounded, and the door popped open.
“Thanks,” I whispered sarcastically, taking the card back from her. She gave an indifferent shrug, and kicked the door forward with one foot.
I took a breath and stepped over the threshold into the dark room. A shiver ran down my spine. This was the office of the man who had ordered the attack last night—the office of someone who taught at Oliver Academy.
“Quickly,” I said, ushering the other girls through. Once they were all in, I made sure to close the door firmly behind me. That quickly proved foolish, however, because with the door shut there was no light to see.
Suddenly, a familiar blue light erupted beside me. It coated the whole room and instantly replaced the dark. I didn’t even have time to think before it disappeared.
“Who was that?” Liz demanded. I heard her shuffling around. “Why did you do that?”
“For this,” Eve said, and suddenly the lights in the room flickered on.
I stared into the room, seeing it for the first time. The office stretched far into the building. It was a narrow space, windowless, and there was a desk at the far end with no chair. Shelves crowded the side walls made the room seem claustrophobic. There were stacks of papers on the desk, on the shelves, and all over the floor. Some were yellow with age while others looked freshly-printed. Books littered every surface of the room. Some were haphazardly thrown open while others stood stacked in neat mounds. A small path was carved through the mess on the floor leading to the end of the room. I glanced at one of the open books that lay close to me, and saw there were notes scribbled in a barely-legible hand all over the margins. Chris’s father, it seemed, was a pedantic man.
“Nobody’s been in here a while,” Ashley said.
“How can you tell?” I asked.
“There’s dust on everything,” she answered. “Look at the shelves.” I did, and saw that she was right. A layer of gray powder covered all the shelves and all the items on the shelves. Even the open book near me, the one I would have assumed recently used, had dust coating its pages.
“Alright, well, with this type of mess,” Liz said, motioning around her, “we’d better start looking. We can spend all day and not even go through half the stuff.”
“What exactly are we looking for?” Madison asked.
“Clues,” Liz answered. “Clues as to why the crystals are so important to Chris and his dad. There’s no denying there’s power behind the crystals, but we don’t know very much about it. Maybe there’s something here that will tell us more.”
“And why she’s so important,” Eve added, glancing at me. “Chris was asking for her in the caves, and the attacker came specifically for her. Something makes Tracy special in his eyes, and we have to know what. Otherwise, we won’t even know what we’re up against. And we have to know that if we’re going to keep her safe.”
“Thanks for the concern,” I said, and genuinely meant it. Eve was somewhat of an enigma. Sometimes, she could be abrasive and stand-offish, but at other times she could be fiercely loyal.
“Keeping you safe means keeping all of us safe,” Eve shrugged, and the warm moment faded.
“Let’s get to it,” I said, and, taking the lead, started for the far end of the room. I heard the other girls shuffling behind me. Some of them stayed back to look near the door, while others walked farther in to investigate the shelves.
I reached the desk, and frowned. Right
in the middle of it was an empty space. What was odd about it was that there was an impression of a rectangular shape framed against the dust. It looked like a book had been there before, but was taken away recently. I swiped a finger on the clean portion of the desk and brought it up to my eye to take a look. There was not a hint of dust on it.
“Somebody’s been here recently,” I announced. The other girls froze.
“How do you know?” Liz asked softly after a moment.
“There was a book on this desk, but now it’s gone,” I explained. “The dust hasn’t had a chance to settle on the spot yet.”
“Let me see,” Eve said, walking up to me. I pointed out the spot to her, and she examined it carefully. “She’s right,” she confirmed after a few moments, as if my word didn’t hold enough weight.
“Do you think it was the same man who came after you?” Madison asked. “If he had the ID card, maybe he also used it to retrieve something from here.”
“Actually, that makes a lot of sense,” I said. “Who else would have access to the office? You need Chris’s dad’s card to get here.”
“We can ask him later today,” Liz volunteered.
“You want to… talk to him?” I asked. My throat constricted at the idea.
“Of course,” Liz answered smoothly. “We have to see if he can give us answers about why he was here. Why he wanted you. Don’t worry,” she added gently. “He’s still behind bars. There’s no way he’ll be getting out.”
“I… guess,” I said. It made rational sense to speak to him, but the thought of doing so sent shivers down my spine. I had made him up in my mind as some sort of monster, incapable of speech or even thought. But that was the better of my imagination getting to me. He was only a man, and he was incapacitated at that. But if anybody knew what was going on, he would. Maybe. Hopefully.
“With luck, he’ll be awake after we’re done here,” Ashley muttered. “But let’s not waste time. If we’re wrong, and it wasn’t the man in the caves who got the book, then what’s to say the person won’t come again?”
“Right,” I nodded, setting back to work. I heard the girls doing the same.
