Hunters of Chaos

by Crystal Velasquez

  At her words, I felt the tiniest stab of betrayal in my chest. I couldn’t believe Lin had told her. I knew we weren’t exactly friends, but things had definitely felt friendly between us by the time we got back to Radcliff Hall. She’d sworn, just like the rest of us, to keep what happened at the museum to herself. Lin wouldn’t break her promise less than five minutes after making it, would she? But I immediately answered my own question. Of course she would, and she obviously did. I was naive to think our one hour of friendship had changed anything.

  “What does my family’s donation have to do with my laptop?” I asked.

  Nicole scoffed as if astonished by my brazenness. “Here I was feeling sorry for you because you had nothing. I even let you borrow my clothes. But if your family could just give something as valuable as that vase away, then they must be loaded! They’re probably richer than any of our families.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” I retorted, my anger simmering to a boil. “My family isn’t loaded. They’re just . . . normal. And they happen to collect Mayan art because they care about our heritage.”

  Nicole narrowed her eyes at me and closed the distance between us. “Whatever, Ana. You want to keep up this poor-little-orphan-from-the-sticks act? Fine. But don’t expect any more sympathy from—”

  Without a second thought I reared my arm back then whipped it forward, swiping at Nicole with my fingernails. I felt a deep growl rumble up from my chest. Nicole dodged the blow just in time and my fingers sailed harmlessly past her pretty face. Had she been standing two inches closer, though . . .

  I stepped back in horror. I just attacked my roommate!

  Nicole slowly backed away too, covering her cheek with her hand as if I’d made contact and had left a nasty scar there. She was clearly in shock. “Have you even read your welcome packet?” she asked. “Temple has a no-tolerance policy when it comes to physical violence. Assault is grounds for permanent expulsion. If I told anyone what you just did—”

  “No,” I said in almost a whisper. “Please don’t. It was a mistake. An accident. I didn’t mean to. . . . I’m so sorry.”

  I reached out to touch her arm, but she flinched and backed farther away. Keeping both eyes on me, she grabbed a pillow from her bed and hugged it to her body like a shield. “I need some time to think. But I’d feel more comfortable if you slept somewhere else tonight.”

  I opened my mouth to plead my case one more time, but the grip she held on the pillow told me that she wouldn’t change her mind. All I could hope for was that she wouldn’t report me. As quickly as I could, I gathered up my own pillow and blanket and stacked my soiled computer on top. With any luck, I could wipe it off and get it running so I could reach my aunt and uncle and ask them to help me make sense of everything that had happened since I arrived.

  The second I entered the hallway, Nicole slammed the door shut behind me and I heard the snick of a lock. I hadn’t even noticed that we had a lock; we’d never used it before, and I didn’t have a key. I squinted my eyes against the overhead light and made my way to the stairs.

  I figured I would go to the common room and sleep on the couch. It wouldn’t be comfortable or private, but at least I’d be away from anyone I could hurt. I replayed the scene in my mind—Nicole’s sneering face, my hand lashing out. The image played over and over again in my head, like a Vine. I’d never, ever, in my entire life attacked anyone. I’d never even been in a shoving match. So what were you thinking? I shouted at myself silently.

  But that was just it: I hadn’t been thinking at all. That swipe felt more like some protective instinct taking over, the same way people’s hands shoot out when they’re about to fall, or the way your eyes snap shut when something flies at your face.

  I headed down the stairs toward the common room and ran into Doli on her way up. She already had on her pj’s—shorts and an old T-shirt. She held a toothbrush in one hand and an apple from the kitchen in the other. I was standing a few feet away, but I could smell the apple as if it were right under my nose. “Hey, Ana,” Doli said, all smiles. But after taking in the pile I was holding in my arms and my defeated stance, her face tightened in concern. “What’s going on?”

  I told her what had happened with Nicole and how I’d been banished from our room. “I don’t even blame her,” I said. “I’m going to sleep on the couch tonight. Maybe every night.”

  Doli groaned and gave me a sympathetic look. “No, you’re not. You’re coming with me. You can stay in our room. Shani has a sleeping bag you can use.”

  “That’s nice, but really. You don’t have to—,” I tried.

  But Doli grabbed my pile of belongings and started up the stairs. “You coming or what?” she called over her shoulder.

  Shani and Doli’s room was cozy and warm. Pictures of their families and friends were tacked onto corkboards over their beds, and they’d set the dimmer switch to its lowest setting, filling the room with a warm golden light. I was grateful that neither Doli nor Shani was the type of girl who used perfume. My nose was so sensitive right then, I didn’t think I could have taken it. I sank into the plush gray carpet covering the floor, pulled my legs into my chest, and lowered my head to my knees.

  “Ooh, that’s not a happy camper,” Shani said when she saw me. “What happened?”

  “Eh, she tried to kill Nicole,” Doli said matter-of-factly.

  “Is that all?” Shani answered.

  I looked up at them in disbelief, only to see that they were both smiling. “It’s not funny, you guys! I could have really hurt her,” I said.

  Shani turned in her chair and lifted her bare feet onto the edge of her bed. “Okay, what did she do that made you so mad?”

  I repeated the story, leaving nothing out. When I got to the part about how Nicole had broken my computer and didn’t even care, Shani exploded.

  “She did what?”

  Doli slid my ruined laptop onto Shani’s desk. “Exhibit A.”

  “Sacrilege!” Shani cried as she opened the laptop and turned it over in her hands. Drops of mocha latte dripped onto her desk. “I would have taken a swipe at her for this too.”

  “I’m not even sure that’s why I did it,” I said miserably. “It was like my hand acted on its own.”

  “Sounds like she had it coming, so don’t feel so bad,” Shani said. “I don’t know if Doli told you, but I used to be Nicole’s roommate.”

  “You were?” I got up off the floor and took a seat on Doli’s bed. “What happened?”

  “Pretty much what’s happening to you,” she said. “She was cool in the beginning, but then her evil streak came out. The insults and gossiping about me I could take. But then she started ‘accidentally’ erasing my voice-mail messages and hiding my homework so that I’d get in trouble in class. Petty stuff like that. I could never prove it, but I knew it was her. I would have gotten her back myself, but I’ve already been kicked out of a bunch of schools for doing stuff like that, and I wasn’t about to let her be the reason I got expelled again. Finally I begged Principal Ferris to just let me change rooms, and that’s when she put me in here with Doli.”

  “An upgrade of major proportions, wouldn’t you say?” said Doli.

  “I would, my friend,” Shani replied, giving her a fist bump.

  “So I’m just the next victim.” I bobbed my head, understanding the situation now.

  “Guess so. But hey, look on the bright side: I happen to be something of a computer whiz, and I think I can fix your laptop. Plus, I know how we can get Nicole back without hurting a hair on her pretty little head.”

  I wish I could say I took the high road, but right then, revenge sounded pretty sweet.

  “Do tell,” I said eagerly.

  chapter 9

  SOMETHING EVIL LURKS IN THE jungle. I’ve been stalking it for some time, and i’m finally getting close. The creature ahead can sense me slinking through the grass, swimming through shallow pools of stagnant water, closing in on my prey.

  In the distance, a st
epped pyramid towers above the tree line, and the sound of many voices chanting as one keeps time with a steady drumbeat. Though the leaves still drip with rainwater, the sun breaks through the clouds and heat sizzles on my skin. In the warm light of day I pick up the thousand scents of the jungle—wet earth, half-eaten pomegranates, animals . . . and an overpowering stench more terrible than anything I’ve ever smelled before. It taints the very air and makes me wrinkle my nose in disgust. I crouch low, preparing to spring. Ahead of me is death and destruction. I must stop it!

  A gentle roar sounds nearby, and suddenly a puma emerges from the thick foliage. I’m not afraid. Somehow I know the puma is there to help me. But why? I search for answers in its large yellow eyes, but it lowers its head and pads silently to a nearby puddle. The puma looks at me and I know to follow, to crane my neck down and peer into the water. A golden cat’s face covered in black spots stares up at me. I’m a jaguar? My heart thumps in my chest. I think of my aunt—the turquoise necklace she gave me, the jaguar I promised to keep with me always. . . . Is this a dream? It has to be. But I can’t wake up.

  The puma bites gently at my back and runs off through the trees. I trail after, eyeing its tracks in the dirt. Soon I pick up the scent—the smell of pure evil. Whatever it is, we have to find it. I watch as the puma leaps over a fallen tree and ducks beneath a curtain of hanging vines. I mirror its every move, and when I break through to the other side, I come face-to-face with a two-hundred-pound tiger. The big cat chuffs and shakes its massive head as a female lion stalks into the clearing. How is this possible? Why are we all here? As if in response, the lion bares her teeth and lets out a powerful roar. It’s time to continue the hunt.

  But then the wind parts the canopy of leaves around us, and I spot something through the trees—a sight so hideous that I sway on my paws.

  There, only ten feet away, stands a demon I’ve never seen before, but he is as familiar as flame. He stands upright, his muscular body almost human, but his feet and hands are knife-like talons and his head is that of a rabid jackal. His long snout is filled with tiny razor-sharp teeth and his red eyes glow like fire. He wears the golden headdress of an Egyptian god, but his waist is wrapped with disintegrating ribbons of filthy gauze, and black beetles scuttle around his feet. He leers at us with an evil grin and lifts one bony arm. A scale hangs from his clawed hand—on one side is a pristine white feather; on the other, a red and beating human heart. The smell of its blood permeates the air.

  I recoil, but some part of me wants the blood. When I hear the lion roar again, I remember my sacred duty. This evil thing doesn’t belong in the mortal world, and we have to destroy it. I round my back and lower onto my haunches, letting the bloodlust fill my limbs until I ache to strike. The tiger, the puma, and the lion all crouch alongside me, poised to attack.

  But suddenly a dark-faced creature explodes out of the trees and blocks our path to the demon. It’s a hyena, menacingly loping back and forth, saliva dripping from its jaw. But its mocking laughter and unsteady gaze inspire no fear—just a desire to tear and rip and kill.

  We attack the hyena at once.

  The small scavenger is no match for us. The tiger falls on the hyena first, its heavy paws tearing into one scrawny leg, while the lion swipes at its back, shedding rivers of blood that soak the damp earth. The puma buries its teeth in the interloper’s chest, as if trying to devour its heart. And I . . . I climb onto the doomed hyena’s back and search for its throat.

  When we are done, the hyena’s body lies in pieces before us and I look up at the demon with blood caked into the fur around my mouth. I’m thrilled at my conquest, exhilarated—and horrified at how good it feels to tear another animal limb from limb. . . .

  “NO!” I cried, sitting straight up as I tore away from the dream. I was panting hard, desperately trying to catch my breath. For a moment I didn’t know where I was. But then I saw the sleeping bag and remembered. I was on the floor of Shani and Doli’s room. I peered up at them in their beds. They were both still sound asleep, though they were tossing and turning, kicking at their sheets.

  I touched my fingers to my lips. I could still taste the blood.

  I jumped up and crept out of the room. I needed to splash water on my face and drown the metallic taste that lingered on my tongue. I entered the empty bathroom and turned on the faucet in the nearest sink, filling my hands with cool water. That’s better, I thought. But when I looked up at the mirror, for one terrifying second I could swear I saw a pair of huge, slitted yellow eyes staring back at me.

  chapter 10

  THE NEXT DAY, STILL SHAKEN from the nightmare I’d had, I went around in a daze, going from one awkward situation to another. First I had to knock on my own door so that Nicole would let me in to retrieve my uniform. “I’m warning you—I’ve got campus security on speed dial,” she said, watching me from the doorway as I gathered my things. Then came my first class, which of course was history with Ms. Benitez . . . and Nicole.

  I didn’t know how to be around either of them anymore. I couldn’t blame Nicole for being afraid of me. Even in my sleep I was dangerous. I couldn’t get the nightmare I’d had out of my mind. In the light of day I wanted to dismiss it as just a stupid dream. But it had felt so real.

  At least I still liked Ms. Benitez and knew that she cared about me. But it was clear she had secrets, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to find out what they were. I could tell that Lin, Doli, and Shani, who were all in her class too, felt the same way. But we kept our cool as Ms. Benitez launched into her lesson.

  Five minutes into it, Principal Ferris tapped on the door and strolled in. Following behind her was Dr. Logan, looking relaxed in a light linen suit. Jessica immediately straightened in her chair, a cheesy grin on her face.

  “Principal Ferris, Dr. Logan . . . what a surprise!” said Ms. Benitez with an uncertain smile. “To what do we owe the honor?”

  “I’m so sorry to interrupt your lesson, Ms. Benitez,” Principal Ferris replied in her usual chipper tone, “but we’re visiting every classroom to make this announcement personally.” She turned toward us now and clapped her hands together. “Ladies, as you all know, the excavation occurring on our campus has turned into quite the national sensation, thanks in part to Dr. Logan.” She gave him an almost flirtatious smile and twirled her earring like a shy teenager. “We’ve decided that the discovery of this important archaeological site is the perfect opportunity for the school to become more involved with the community. So we will be holding an exhibition for the local residents a few nights from now. We hope that—”

  Like a nightmarish déjà vu, the room began to tremble. Pieces of chalk clattered to the floor and the windows vibrated in their frames. It was another earthquake. What is going on? I thought. One was bad enough, but this was the third one in less than a week. I glanced at Lin, thinking she might look at me as if I were causing it. But her eyes were on the rattling windows and the swaying trees beyond. I noticed the way her hand gripped her chair. She’s afraid, I realized.

  “Everyone, under your desks,” Ms. Benitez called, but before we could move a muscle, the shaking stopped.

  Somewhere far off, on the other side of campus, the dogs in the kennel began to howl. My ears pricked, listening to the mournful sound, even as I wondered how I could possibly hear the dogs all the way from here. I glanced at Ms. Benitez and saw her cock her head. I realized with a start that she could hear them too!

  She turned to Principal Ferris and Dr. Logan and offered a weak laugh. “I guess you see why an exhibition might not be a good idea.”

  The principal returned a blank stare. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Why is that?”

  Ms. Benitez spread her arms, gesturing outside. “The frequency of these earthquakes has made it necessary for the museum staff to spend extra time to secure the pieces already on display. Otherwise, they could be damaged by the aftershocks. I’m not sure three days is enough time to secure a whole new exhibit. Besides, the excavation is still
in its early stages. Do you really think it’s wise to open the site to the public when there are so many priceless artifacts still being found and openly displayed?”

  Principal Ferris nodded, taking in the history teacher’s position with disappointed eyes. She turned to Dr. Logan. “Those are valid points. Dr. Logan. What do you think?”

  Dr. Logan cleared his throat and said, “I can certainly understand your concern, Ms. Benitez. I’m sure the team I brought with me would be happy to assist in securing the exhibit so that should the earth shift again, the new pieces won’t. And no one is more protective of the artifacts than I am. Every measure will be taken to ensure their safety. But as you and I have discussed many times, Principal Ferris, it would be an injustice to keep them locked away, hidden from the public.”

  Shani lifted her eyebrows at me in surprise. Do Principal Ferris and Dr. Logan even know about the treasures that Ms. Benitez has hidden away in the safe beneath the museum? the look said. It seemed unlikely.

  “And let’s not forget that this very school rests only yards away from a thriving Native American community, descendants of the Anasazi people, who I’m sure would love to see what their ancestors have left behind.”

  I glanced at Doli, but she stared straight ahead and sank down into her seat, looking uncomfortable.

  “I suppose you’re right,” said Ms. Benitez, but she was still wringing her hands, and her smile was laced with worry.

  Personally, I thought the exhibit was a great idea. It would be good to finally be around normal people for a change—people who didn’t think Old Navy was the seventh circle of hell and who didn’t own private islands. Besides, Dr. Logan was right—everyone deserved to see firsthand how incredible the Anasazi were. As a history teacher, Ms. Benitez should understand that better than most. So why did she look so upset?