Hero Complex

by Margaux Froley

  “Dammit,” he said.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “Binoculars. I want to see if we can see it from here.”

  “You’re not serious, are you? Between the two of us, I’m rarely the genius. But come here.” She crossed the room to the large windows overlooking Reed’s vineyard. The hill sloped down and curved out of sight into a valley, then reemerged with the Keaton campus on the other side. Devon held up her cell phone camera and zoomed in. “There’s an app for that, dude,” she joked.

  Bodhi laughed and shook his head. “Why do I feel old all of a sudden?”

  “See?” Devon held up the phone. Bodhi moved behind her to look over her shoulder. She scanned the Keaton hillside, moving the camera along the path she took to the Palace. All of a sudden, she felt Bodhi’s hand on her waist. Devon flinched, but reminded herself that he was probably not aware of what he was doing. It felt absent, hanging there. Didn’t it? She shifted her weight onto her left foot to try to subtly shake his hand off.

  Bodhi’s breath was in her ear now. He reached up and pulled a strand of her hair off her neck. Before she knew it, he was kissing her neck.

  “Okay, what the hell?” Devon whispered, her voice shaky. She felt her cheeks going hot. She spun and faced him. “I thought you wanted to be friends.”

  His cheeks were flushed, too. “I do. I did. I just … did I say that?”

  “Yes, you totally said that. You friend-zoned me, and I get it, with everything that’s going on. I was ready to walk away from that possibility and be your friend. But you can’t get all touchy-feely whenever you want. I don’t know what this is.”

  Bodhi stood across from her, his chest heaving. He ran a hand over his dreads. “I wanted to give you space. Or I mean, I guess I needed some space, and I didn’t expect you to wait around. Shit, I messed this all up, didn’t I?”

  She shook her head. “No. I did. And I’m doing it now, putting myself first ahead of you. But listen. You and Raven help me so much, do you really think I couldn’t handle being there for you? Even if it meant waiting a little bit?”

  Bodhi stepped forward and pulled Devon into a kiss before she could react. Her arms flailed by her sides for a second, but he gripped her closer, tighter, and she allowed her hands to land on his shoulders.

  Finally he pulled away and opened his eyes. For the first time, she noticed the small flecks of brown in that sea of turquoise. She smiled, and he sighed.

  “Thank you,” he whispered. He kissed her forehead and hugged her against his chest. Devon’s eyelids fluttered closed. She let her chest rise and fall in time with his. There was more to say, more she needed to do, but right now, this was where she was meant to be. It had been worth the wait.

  THE SECOND RAVEN SAW the handprint rubbing, she wanted in.

  Devon had taken a seat in the back of the dining hall during lunch, pulling her hoodie up over her head so as not to draw attention to herself. But before that, just to cover her bets, she went straight to Mr. Kramer and told him that she had been feeling feverish all morning. Yes, for the first time in her Keaton career, she’d accidentally slept through class. Of course he bought the lie; she wasn’t one to make excuses. He let her slide with the understanding that she would catch up on the missed lesson. Good thing she’d always played by the rules ever since she and a certain boy had broken them one night before freshman year …

  Hutch. It all came back to Hutch. But for the first time ever, she knew she could let him go and still treasure his memory.

  Now she had business to attend to. At her table with Raven, Devon was careful to cough in case anyone spotted her and doubted her sick claim.

  Raven ran her fingers across the aged butcher paper as if it were some magical artifact, as if not believing it was real.

  “So Reed just left this in his diary?” she asked.

  “Kind of. It was glued to the back cover.”

  “Awesome.” Raven held up the sheet to the light. “So the real question is: What’s the big deal with this handprint place? This is more than a memento.”

  Devon slid the paper in front of her. “Bodhi found the design plans. There’s a room in the bunker I think we’re meant to find. We just need to figure out the best time to get down there.”

  “I’m down for anything,” Raven said.

  “I know. You’re fearless.”

  Raven’s gaze drifted back to the paper. Devon opened her mouth, then closed it. For now, it seemed better not to tell Raven about the stalker photos. Fearless or not, Raven didn’t deserve that added worry. Besides, they were safe here.

  CHAPTER 18

  Saturday seemed the best day for their bunker mission. Most of the Keaton sports teams had games off campus—which meant fewer faculty members on patrol. Bodhi parked their Range Rover as close to the Palace as he could, a few large rocks wedged in front of the wheels for extra security. He carried a backpack full of tools, complete with thick suede construction gloves for each of them.

  “What are these for?” Devon asked. She and Raven tried to stifle a giggle as they slipped the gloves on. They looked like oven mitts with fingers.

  “This hill gets pretty steep. Figure we’d need something else to hang on to.” Bodhi was all business. He pulled at a coil of metal cable attached to the front of the Rover. “If we hang onto this as we go, we should be okay.” He carried the cable down to the edge of the Palace. The three stood on the farthest cement ledge. Devon peered down at the brush-filled abyss below.

  “I don’t see the lower ledge,” Raven said. “Shouldn’t it be there?”

  “It’s in the plans, so it’s definitely here.” Bodhi pulled an extra loop of the cable around his hand. Devon lay flat on the ground and smoothed her hands along the cement ledge. She could see bushes and dirt below, but no other cement lookout like the plans had detailed.

  “Do you think if we dropped over this, we’d land on the balcony?” She turned up to Bodhi, who’d begun making his way down the hill.

  “Maybe. I just don’t like the idea of our feet leaving the ground when we don’t know what we’re landing on.”

  “Better listen to Mr. Precaution over here,” Raven said.

  She extended a hand to help Devon up. With Bodhi leading the way, they inched farther down the hillside, each of them sliding gloved hands down the taut cable. Soon Devon was perpendicular to the sloping hill. Anxiety pricked at her. What if the lower balcony had been completely covered by the shifting hillside? What if there was no way into Reed’s secret room?

  “There’s something over here,” Bodhi grunted. He reached for a tangle of ivy wrapped around a tree and was suddenly standing upright. He stomped his foot on the ground and smiled. “This is it.”

  “Whee!” Raven yelled as she leaned and pulled the cable—and Devon with it—toward Bodhi. Bodhi wrapped the cord around the tree stump and helped them to level ground.

  Hidden in the shadow of a nearby redwood, Devon could now make out the back wall of the hidden second level. Dirt was piled in a mound against the bottom of the wall, and dusty cement arched above. She didn’t hesitate. Grabbing a nearby stick, she started digging the packed dirt away from the wall. Once it was gone, she tossed the stick aside and ran her hands along the wall’s flat surface. She could feel the indentations of the handprints. Her heart leapt. This was it!

  “Here, try this,” Raven said. She pulled a bottle from her backpack and poured water along the top of the wall.

  Five pairs of handprints were instantly visible. Small initials were carved below each: HK and FK were next to a pair of prints to their left, ED below a chubby set of prints to their right, and in the middle, RH and AH. Reed and Athena Hutchins. Raven ran a hand over the handprints on the left side. “Francis Keaton, but who’s the H?”

  “That’s his wife, Hana,” Devon murmured.

  “What happened to her?” Raven asked. “Wouldn’t she have a building or something named after her at school?”

  Devon shrugged. “
Don’t know. Maybe she left before the school was built.”

  Bodhi dug his fingers into a groove in the wall between Reed’s and Edward’s handprints. “There’s something else …” He pulled a crowbar from his backpack.

  “Jeez, where you been hiding that?” Raven laughed.

  “What? I came prepared,” Bodhi grunted as he jammed the crowbar into the crevice. It didn’t budge.

  “Maybe that’s not the way in,” Devon said. She turned and took in the view. The trees below weren’t tall enough to obscure the Pacific Ocean. But now was not the time for sightseeing. She scoured the platform and caught a glimpse of rusted red metal: a hinge.

  “Look.” She knelt down and wiped away the dirt. The metal continued toward the back wall.

  Bodhi used the crowbar to scrape along the lines of the hinge, and soon a small square doorframe took shape. After a few tugs with the crowbar, Bodhi pried the small door open with a loud creak. A burst of cold, metallic-smelling air drifted up. Bodhi poked his head into the darkness. “There’s stairs.”

  Raven stepped back. “I can’t. That’s way too small for me. I lied when I said I was fearless. I get claustrophobic.”

  “You brought a flashlight, right?” Devon asked.

  “What do you think? Come on, this is what we’re here for.” Bodhi lowered himself through the door, his backpack hitting the edges as he descended.

  Raven nudged Devon. “I’ll keep an eye out. You got this.”

  Bodhi was right. She nodded, steeling herself, took a gulp of air, and stepped down. Instantly she could feel the cold from the stone steps sneak up her legs. Bodhi turned on his flashlight. A stone tunnel appeared, arching overhead. Bodhi reached the bottom. His flashlight beam bounced and disappeared around a corner.

  Devon landed on the flat ground and turned the corner to find Bodhi staring at a wall full of shelves. A few small wooden crates and one metal box were all that was left. “Let’s get this stuff outside,” Bodhi whispered, panting.

  He set his flashlight on a shelf and handed Devon the metal box. She took it with her free hand. It was lighter than she expected.

  Bodhi pulled out a crate filled with mason jars, each stuffed with what looked like dirt. He caught her puzzled stare. “Someone thought it was important enough to store and save, so I’m bringing it out with us,” he said.

  “Good idea.” Clinging to her flashlight, Devon tucked the box against her body. She shivered. “I’m freezing. Raven? You out there?” She started to climb back out and held the box through the small door overhead, but Raven didn’t respond. Devon hoisted herself up and outside again. “Rave?” she yelled in the direction of the car.

  “Up here!” Raven called back.

  “We found something! Come down!” Devon used the crowbar to pry open the metal box. Inside was a single manila envelope sealed with a faded red string. Devon untied it and pulled out a sheet of paper.

  We, the undersigned, agree to the following terms of ownership:

  The purchase of Lot #1882-A from United States Department of Defense-

  Francis Keaton: 50%

  Reed Hutchins: 25%

  Edward Dover: 25%

  All parties agree that any future sale of a portion of this Lot must be agreed to by ALL descendants.

  Devon reread the document. Keaton, Hutchins, and Dover had all agreed on how the land was to be treated. This document probably had some historical significance as far as The Keaton School went … but it wasn’t exactly buried treasure. This couldn’t be what Reed wanted her to find, could it?

  Bodhi emerged from the underground room, pushing the jarfilled crate out ahead of him. “What did you get?”

  “I think it’s an early deed to the land or something.”

  “Let’s bring it up to the house. Where’s Raven?”

  “Up top,” Devon said. She was careful not to bend the dry paper as she put it back in the envelope.

  “Rave?” Bodhi yelled. There was no response. The metal cable started to quiver next to them. Devon and Bodhi traded a confused look.

  “Raven?” Devon yelled. The cable swayed more, followed by the sound of the car starting up. “What the—”

  Raven screamed.

  Bodhi pushed Devon against the cement wall, his hands tight around her arms. “Stay here!”

  He turned to run to Raven, but the metal cable must have been cut from above, because it was suddenly hurling toward them. He ducked as the cable lashed at the ground, breaking a few branches along the way before hanging like a renegade question mark. But he didn’t hesitate. He jumped up, grabbed the ledge, and pulled himself over it, vanishing overhead.

  Devon could only hear her own fast breathing. She looked down and saw that her hands were pressed into the groove of Reed’s palms. It was the only comfort she had. Raven must have fallen; maybe she tried to move the car? The terror rising up the back of her throat told Devon that was wishful thinking. She immediately thought of the photos of her and Raven at the deli. Had their stalker come up to campus? Why hadn’t she told Raven? It had been a stupid move.

  She quickly tucked Reed’s envelope into her jeans and under her jacket against her back.

  Better to leave the metal box down here in case there was trouble.

  “Dev! Come up!” Bodhi yelled.

  His voice sounded urgent but not panicked. Whatever danger there was had now passed, Devon reasoned. She hoisted herself over the ledge as he’d done, crawling in the dirt at the steepest parts. Finally she broke into a run.

  Bodhi was helping Raven into the backseat of the car. Devon caught a glimpse of blood on her leg, and her shoe was matted with dirt. Raven’s eyes were squeezed shut and her mouth twisted in pain.

  “We gotta go. Get in,” Bodhi said.

  Devon ran to the passenger side and started to get in when she glimpsed a shadow on the grassy slope above, in the direction of campus.

  “Devon Mackintosh, is that you?”

  The mysterious figure didn’t sound like a student, more like a concerned teacher. The glare of the sun made him impossible to identify. Damn, now Keaton knows we’re down here. Not that it mattered anymore. All that mattered was getting Raven help.

  CHAPTER 19

  Raven’s foot and ankle were broken, but she wouldn’t need surgery. Bodhi didn’t want to leave her side at the hospital, though Raven insisted she was too high on painkillers to miss him if he took Devon back to school. And it was late. Devon didn’t want to appear antsy, but eight straight hours in the ER was beginning to take its toll. And she couldn’t be late for curfew, not with the campus buzzing with who-knows-what.

  The hidden paper poked into her shoulder blades. She was too nervous about who might be watching to move them. Even worse, Raven couldn’t remember much about what happened, which only made Devon more paranoid.

  According to Raven, she’d spotted a guy starting their car. Raven apparently opened the driver’s door and tried to pull him out, and the front tire ended up rolling over her foot. The guy ran toward the Keaton campus, and Raven couldn’t remember what he looked like, other than that he was wearing a Keaton baseball hat. A new baseball hat—that much she remembered. Devon had to ask, but Raven said she didn’t notice any dimples in his cheeks. Then again, the guy probably wasn’t smiling.

  Maybe it wasn’t Eli. Maybe it was Khaki.

  “What do you think, Dev?” Bodhi said. “I should probably get you home.”

  Raven was staring glassy-eyed at an infomercial for a “revolutionary” vegetable-cutting set. Machines hummed and beeped around her.

  Devon nodded, resisting the urge to crawl into the hospital bed and hug Raven. “I’m going to check around the hillside. Maybe he dropped something when he ran away.” She fought the fear of being watched, the idea that Raven’s nurse was listening to their conversations, that cameras were snapping their every move. There would be clues left on the hillside, and she would find them. But today’s incident had planted a darker idea in her mind: they weren’t safe
on campus, after all.

  The Hutchins family had used Grant to get to her last semester; it couldn’t be that difficult to put a new student on the payroll. An image of Oz flashed in her head. He was new and conveniently very close to Cleo. And Cleo was conveniently close to Devon. Not to mention, he’d already tried to hide one thing. Maybe he was hiding lots more.

  BODHI’S HAND WAS POISED over the key in the ignition, but he couldn’t seem to start the car. Instead he just stared at the steering wheel, sitting in silence in the hospital parking lot. Devon reached over and rubbed the back of his neck. Bodhi bowed his head. Even though she couldn’t see the tears, she knew he was crying.

  “It’s not always going to be like this,” Devon soothed. “I don’t know why all this is happening, but we’re going to solve it.”

  He sniffed and shook his head, straightening up. “If something had happened to her, I don’t think I could have handled it.” His voice was thick. “I’m supposed to protect her. I’m supposed to make sure she doesn’t end up in the hospital.”

  Devon leaned over the console and pulled Bodhi’s face to hers. She kissed his lips, wet with tears. He pulled her closer and kissed her back.

  Her cell phone rang. She pulled away and fumbled for it. Mom. Uh-oh. Bodhi cleared his throat, rubbed his eyes, and started the car while Devon answered.

  “Devon? Where are you?” Her mom sounded frantic.

  “Headed back to school.” Devon and Bodhi exchanged a look. “Oh, no, they called you, didn’t they?”

  “Someone saw you leave campus with that Elliot boy. They weren’t sure if you were hurt. They asked me if they should call the police. Devon, you’re okay, aren’t you?”

  “I’m fine, Mom. I’ll be back at school in twenty minutes. Who called you—”

  “I’m on my way, too.”

  “What? No, you don’t have to do that.”