Initiated

by Steffanie Holmes

  They stormed into the room. Vincent grabbed his son by the throat as Ms. West lunged at Quinn.

  Go. Now.

  My stomach lurched and shoulders screamed as I swung my body around the pole. Mom would probably be good at this. Pole dancing was always her specialty. I flung out my hand and grabbed the nearest branch, swinging myself into the tree like a cartoon monkey.

  SNAP. The branch broke just as I slammed into the trunk. I wrapped my free arm around the tree, dropping a few feet before I was able to slide into a fork. My breath came out in ragged gasps as I leapt down the branches, ignoring the pointy bits that dug into my flesh. I jumped onto the lawn and raced past the visitor lot, now filled with cars, and across the field.

  Cold wind whipped around me. My legs burned, but I didn’t slow down until I hit the rose bushes at the bottom of the fields. Thorns snagged on my stockings, tugging at me like claws, trying to drag me back. The soaps jabbed against my legs. I hoped they hadn’t broken.

  Fuck. I left the phone on the table. It was out of battery, anyway. I had to hope Zehra didn’t need to message me again.

  Blood whooshed in my ears. My chest heaved but I kept on running, running, running. I didn’t even care anymore what they did to me. Let them toss me into the void. I’d fight that fucking Great Old God all the way down to hell. But if I could stop this happening to others…

  This ends with me. I will be the last.

  …if only I could do more. If I could give the students of this school a chance to live their lives again… Faces from Ayaz’s files flashed in front of my eyes, all those voiceless scholarship students, chosen because they had no one to fight for them.

  Until now.

  Trees flew by in a blur, the ocean rising up between them as I neared the edge of the cliffs. The ground rumbled beneath me, rolling and pitching under my feet. The god’s wrath? I didn’t stop to find out. I skidded to a stop as the rock ledge came into view, the same one the guys had used to shelter me from the club all those weeks ago. I dived behind the stones and slithered between the crack, fumbling in my pocket for the lighter. I flicked it on, illuminating the edge of the entrance. I turned myself around and slid backward into the hole. My foot slipped on the edge. My fingers lost their grip, and I half leapt, half tumbled onto the shelf below.

  I landed hard on my side. The lighter flew from my hand, bouncing on the stone and flickering out. The cavern plunged into darkness.

  No. No. No.

  I couldn’t be here in the dark. The darkness hid the shadows, the oppressive weight of hatred, the call of the god that wanted to have me all to himself.

  Panic rose in my chest. I felt around me, searching for the lighter, begging the darkness for some solution. Fear crept through my veins. A strange heat pooled in the palms of my hands, zigzagging across my fingers. I held up my hand, running the tips together, trying to make sense of the burning, living heat that scorched the inside of my skin.

  The heat bubbled against the surface. I cried out as my hands burst into flame – orange glowing orbs piercing the gloom.

  Light flared, then died back. I held up my hand, watching with awe and horror as flames rippled over the surface of my skin. The heat warmed my face and yet my hands weren’t burning. All I felt was a faint sizzle through my veins – the kind I got when I kissed one of the guys.

  Or when I started the fire that burned the slithering creature.

  From the darkness, a tall flame darted in front of my face, sending me reeling. The lighter! I stared as the flame from the lighter fell, becoming a small orange pinprick.

  What? How is that possible? How is the lighter burning without me touching it? How are my hands on fire?

  I must’ve spilled lighter fluid on myself. I’ve gone into shock. Any moment now that’ll wear off and the pain will begin.

  But it didn’t. Instead, as I watched, the flames on my hands shrunk away of their own volition, seeming to dissolve into my skin, leaving only the flame of the lighter.

  I really am doing this.

  Or maybe not. A tiny, hopeful voice echoed in my head. Maybe you just had a hallucination. You hit your head in the fall. The lighter must have had a spark left. You blew air on it when you exhaled. That’s a much more sensible explanation than you summoning fire from your fingers.

  Nope. That wasn’t true.

  I can’t pretend any more. I really do have some sort of power.

  Well. Fuck.

  But I couldn’t worry about that now. I needed to find Zehra. Groaning, I rolled over on my side and grabbed the lighter, holding it up as I pulled myself into a sitting position. Pain stabbed my hip. I held the lighter down, admiring the fresh tear along the seam of my Derleth Academy blazer and the scrape visible through my ruined stockings. From somewhere deep in the recesses of my mind, the god groaned with pain.

  It doesn’t matter. I’m here. I made it.

  I dug out the soaps and inspected them under the light. They were completely undamaged, the tiny impressions of the keys packed inside. I didn’t have the map, but if I told her what to look for, I knew Zehra would figure it out.

  The cave felt different somehow, changed and oppressive, the stones closing in on me. A fine dust wafted in the air, rippling and curling around the flame. The dust stuck to my lungs, scratching the back of my throat. I coughed loudly.

  Something clattered against the stones. My heart pounded. I called out into the gloom. “Zehra? Are you here yet?”

  The only answer was darkness. Clamping one hand over my stinging hip, I crept down to the next shelf. I held up the lighter, but I could only make out a couple of feet in front of me.

  “Zehra?” I moved to descend to the next step. “I hope you’re not waiting too far into the cave—”

  My words caught in my throat as the light illuminated a rock protruding vertically from the edge of the shelf, blocking my way. I don’t remember that from last time…

  I ran the lighter along the surface of the rock, searching for a reason. The flame caught something dark etched across the stone. I recognized the symbol anywhere – the sign of the Eldritch Club.

  What’s it doing here? I ran my fingers along the edge of the rock, searching for a way around. The eerie veins pulsed as they crisscrossed at the edge of my vision. My nails scraped the edge of a second rock. Confused, I stood back and thrust out the lighter.

  What I saw made my stomach turn.

  The stones seemed new to me because they were new. There was a hole above the stones. The cave groaned as another piece of rock slid out and cracked on the shelf next to me. The roof of the cave had fallen in. That must’ve been the rumble I felt before.

  The cave-in completely sealing the tunnel. No one was getting in, or out.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  I clawed at the stone, shoving it with all my strength until I managed to topple it onto its side. I dragged out a second stone, opening a tiny gap in the wall. Blackness rushed at me. “Zehra?” I called into the gloom. “Are you in there?”

  No reply.

  Get help. Get the guys. She could be trapped on the other side.

  If that was true, there was only one way she could go – deeper into the cave, closer to the god’s cavern.

  I clambered back up to the entrance and crawled out from under the ledge, pausing to listen for the sounds of a search party. No one was out looking for me. I don’t know whether that was a relief, or a warning. I sucked in a deep breath and ran toward the pleasure garden stairs.

  My feet skidded on the damp stone as I took the path as fast as I could. The pleasure garden stood empty, eerie now that it was devoid of life – the crumbling rotunda appearing otherworldly, the angles bent all wrong. I located the path behind it that wound up toward the tunnel entrance and ducked inside.

  Once inside, I flicked on the lighter, but this time it had well and truly fizzled out. I squeezed my eyes shut. Focus. Stop panicking. You won’t help Zehra if you panic. I knew the tunnel like I knew the burn on my wrist. I w
alked slowly, keeping one hand on the wall and the other on the low ceiling. The familiar scritch-scritch-scritch of the rats powered me onward, drawing me back to—

  My body slammed against something hard.

  Huh?

  I reeled, my head spinning. I staggered back and thrust out my hands. I must’ve disoriented myself in the darkness. The tunnel runs practically straight, so I can’t have run into—

  My fingers scraped stone. I felt around, my hands sliding over dressed blocks, mortared in place. A wall of stone that filled the entire tunnel, without space for even a rat to fit through.

  The tunnel had been blocked up.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  This can’t be a coincidence.

  I felt around the edges of the tunnel, but whoever had bricked it up had done an excellent job. It wasn’t moving. I couldn’t wiggle any of the stones free.

  With nothing else to do, I re-emerged into the pleasure garden. The twisted statues mocked me from their plinths – she will die down there because of you.

  Our one chance was slipping away. I couldn’t let that happen.

  I raced back to the school. I didn’t need to check the doors to know they’d be all locked up. They didn’t want me to escape this time. Quinn had said there were at least two other passages into the school, but he’d never shown them to me, and even if I did know where they were, I had no way of knowing if they were bricked up, too. I counted windows along the dormitory block, stopping beneath Quinn’s. I tossed pebbles at his window, but no one stirred. I peered into the dining hall and many classrooms, but they were all deserted. During the day? What’s going on?

  I clambered back up the tree and tried to peer into Trey’s window. But the room beyond was cast in darkness. I couldn’t see a thing. I rapped on the glass but no one came to the window.

  Where are they? What are they doing to my boys?

  The Eldritch Club cars were still in the parking lot. I briefly considered hotwiring one and taking off. But I couldn’t abandon Zehra, or Greg and Andre, or Trey or Quinn or Ayaz. For someone who swore she’d never trust another human being again, I sure had a lot of reasons tying me down to this demented place.

  I circled the building, hoping by chance there would be a first-floor window open. I even tried the lock on the maintenance shed so I could find some tools to dig out the stone. No such luck. The thought started to nag at me, that maybe I’d reacted too hastily. What if Zehra wasn’t trapped inside, but it had just taken her longer than expected to make it to the cave? What if she was waiting for me while I was running around out here?

  So I dragged my broken, tired body back to that freezing cave and waited. I waited until the sun fell below the horizon, and then I kept waiting through the long and bitter dark night. I sheltered under the ledge, hugging my knees and biting my lip to keep my teeth from chattering. Nightmares tugged on the edge of my consciousness, but I refused to give over to them. Not here. Not so close to the god’s subterranean prison.

  From the cave, the oppressive darkness watched me, waiting for its chance to strike. I refused to give it that chance.

  Zehra never showed up.

  Sick with cold and worry, I waited until the sun rose high enough that I could see a fraction inside the cave. I felt around for the metal box the guys kept there and shoved the soap molds inside. Then I trudged back through the trees, heading to the school.

  The bell rang just as I limped toward the main entrance. Shit. Mid-year exams started today. I hadn’t studied. I hadn’t showered. I didn’t even know what my first exam would be. But I needed to find the guys, so I joined the crowd of students pouring into the dining hall, which had been converted into an examination room. I searched the crowd for one of my friends, but couldn’t see any of them.

  Something was wrong. Nothing was adding up. What had the Eldritch Club done to them?

  Numb with worry, I took a seat at one of the desks. At the front of the room, Dr. Halsey barked instructions, but I didn’t hear a word. All around me, students whispered about my torn clothes and disheveled appearance.

  Finally, I saw two figures I recognized – Greg and Andre were escorted in by Professor Atwood and deposited at the front of the room. Within moments, Greg had two spitballs stuck to the back of his chair. I turned around and scanned every face. Neither Quinn, Ayaz or Trey were anywhere in the room. There were no spare desks.

  Where are they? Quinn, I could almost understand skipping class. But Trey would never miss an exam.

  And when I thought about it, Ayaz had been missing ever since he’d gone off with Ms. West. A knife twisted in my stomach. They’re in trouble. I know they are.

  “Hazel, eyes to the front of the room,” Dr. Halsey said, not unkindly. Professor Atwood handed her a note. She unfolded it, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. When she looked at me again, her gaze was hard.

  “Hazel Waite, report to the headmistress’ office.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  I thought about running as soon as I exited the dining hall, but Ms. West must have anticipated that, because she’d sent Professor Atwood. Mr. Dexter waited in the corridor to escort me as well. The two of them flanked me as I trudged across the quad and through the atrium to the headmistress’ door.

  I dragged my feet, rubbing mud into her plush carpet. The headmistress sat behind her desk, her fingers steepled together in a pyramid in front of her. Atwood and Dexter moved to the back of the room, talking in low voices to a man I didn’t recognize. Behind Ms. West, one arm leaning casually against the fireplace, a pair of icicle eyes stared at me with the detached fascination of a serial killer. Vincent Bloomberg.

  “Miss Waite, please, have a seat.” Ms. West shuffled some papers.

  “Why have I been pulled out of my exam?” I demanded.

  “There’s no need to take that tone with me. After your behavior in my office yesterday and then absenting yourself from the dorms last night, this disciplinary matter demanded immediate attention. We’re concerned about you.” She peered down her nose at my uniform. “I see you spent the night camping in the forest like an animal. Students caught sleeping outside their own rooms receive an immediate 20 point demerit.”

  “Since you didn’t catch me sleeping, I guess we’re fine.” I slammed one shoe against the rug, digging the heel into the deep pile. It squelched. Ms. West’s mouth puckered.

  “Despite your destructive behavior, you’re not in trouble, Hazel. We’re here to help you.” She leaned across her desk, her grey eyes swirling with something that might’ve passed for concern if I didn’t know she resurrected students in her Frankenstein lab. “Is there anything you want to tell me? Anything weighing on your mind?”

  Just the fact that you’re going to feed me to a cosmic deity and then reanimate my body in your heinous lab and trap me in this school for the rest of my life so that your precious Eldritch Club can control the world. I guess you might say I’m a little preoccupied.

  “Thanks for your concern,” I said through gritted teeth. “But I’m fine. Can I go now?”

  “Not just yet.” Ms. West shuffled the papers in her hands and laid them down in front of her. “Your behavior ever since you arrived at this school has been erratic and disruptive, and it’s only getting worse.”

  “My behavior—”

  “You have been implicated in some serious incidents of bullying and blaming other students for your cruel actions. You broke into my office, and your interactions with other students are starting to cause alarm.”

  “What bullying incidents? You mean how I’ve been the victim of bullying by your beloved class president?”

  “Miss Haynes tells me that several students had their toiletries spiked with chemicals that made their hair fall out and damaged their skin. We searched your room and found empty bottles from the products in question. What a nasty, dangerous thing to do! If they’d got those chemicals in their eyes, you might’ve caused permanent damage.”

  “I only did it bec
ause Courtney poured tar all over my hair,” I shot back. “I was nearly sick from the fumes and I had to cut off all my hair. Personally, I think she got off lightly. Why isn’t she being hauled in here for all the bullying she’s done?”

  “Because you’re not telling the truth,” Ms. West said. “You’re trying to cast blame on an innocent student in another attempt to torment her. The first week you arrived on campus I took you to Old Waldron. She cut off your filthy dreadlocks. They were a health risk for the student body – we couldn’t have a lice outbreak.”

  “That’s not what happened! Courtney and Trey broke into my room and put tar in my hair.”

  “Do you mean Trey, your boyfriend?”

  “He’s not my boyfriend. And Courtney filled my locker with rotting meat and—”

  “Stop,” Ms. West snapped. “I’ve heard enough of your baseless accusations. I don’t need to remind you that you were the one reprimanded for throwing meat around in the halls. You even admitted that you put that meat in your own locker so you could deliver it to Courtney’s dorm.”

  I snapped my mouth shut as a cold unease settled in my chest. This whole conversation felt like deja vu. This is a lot like my dream. But why? What does that mean?

  “After some careful consideration, I decided to speak with some of your classmates and get the full picture of what’s been going on with you. What they’ve told me is concerning.” Ms. West shifted a paper to the top of the stack. “According to Ms. Fairchild, you have called them insulting names like ‘rich bitch’ and spread rumors about them to turn their friends and boyfriends against them.”

  “Tillie is another bully who has been torturing the scholarship students since we arrived—”