Fear Hall: The Beginning (9 page)

With another groan, she slumped lifelessly to the carpet.

She sprawled on her stomach, one leg bent beneath her.

The phone fell from her hand and bounced across the floor.

“Ohhh.” I dropped the heavy hair dryer. Pressed my hands against the sides of my face.

And stared down at my friend's unmoving body. Stared in disbelief.

“What have I done?” I shrieked.

“What have I done?”

E
den groaned.

Her hands twitched.

“Oh, thank goodness!” I cried.

I hadn't killed her. She was alive. She'd only been stunned.

I knelt down beside her. I saw a dark red bruise already forming just below her hairline.

But she's alive, I saw gratefully.

Now what?

My heart pounded. The room tilted again, and I lost my balance.

I rubbed my forehead. Blinked, trying to make the room stand still.

I suddenly felt so hot. Burning hot. My face. My neck. My entire body.

As if a raging fever had swept over me. Like those rivers of red-hot molten lava you see in films about volcanoes.

I trembled from the heat. I struggled to climb to my feet. But the room danced around me. And the waves of heat—rising all around—made me so dizzy.

My head … swimming … swimming …

Sometimes when you have a high fever, you see crazy things. Bright colors. Strange objects.

And you think crazy thoughts. You believe you're okay, that you're thinking clearly. But your thoughts are wild. Totally insane.

I think that's what happened to me.

I think that's what the fever did to me.

Because as I struggled to steady the spinning, tilting room … as I struggled to stop the loud throbbing of my heart… to stop trembling … sweating … shaking all over from the raging heat … As I struggled to think clearly, I acted.

I moved.

I acted without thinking. Without even realizing what I was doing.

And when my mind finally cleared, I saw what I had done. I had tied Eden's arms behind her back. Tied her ankles together.

I had tied her up with bath towels. Bath towels rolled up, rolled tightly. I had tied up my friend and taped her mouth shut with strip after strip of masking tape.

I had pulled her to a sitting position.

Her eyes were open now. She looked up at me groggily. Struggled to speak but could only grunt.

She stared at me, raising her eyebrows in disbelief. Questioning me.

What are you doing, Hope? What are you going to do to me?

Silent questions I couldn't answer.

Because I
didn't know
what I was doing.

Gripped by the sudden fever. Gripped by my desperate desire to protect the only boy who ever cared for me.

Gripped by some crazy, invisible force, I didn't know what I was doing. Or what I was about to do.

But I bent over Eden. Slid my hands under her armpits. And pulled her.

Pulled her over the carpet.

She squirmed and tried to kick me. But I had tied her tightly. She couldn't free herself. She couldn't get away.

I pulled with all my strength. Dragged her. Dragged her …

She tried to hold back. But her body slid over the carpet.

“I'm not going to hurt you!” I gasped. My voice came out so high and shrill.

“Mmmmmm! Mmmmmmppppf!” she tried to protest. She tried to shout at me through the layers of masking tape.

I dragged her across the room. Past the bunkbed that belonged to Angel and Jasmine.

It's so lucky they had early classes, I thought.

And then I thought: If they were here in the room, would I be doing this? What
would
I be doing?

Eden kicked out both legs. She tried to dig her heels into the carpet.

But I dragged her past the bunkbed. Into the clothes closet against the back wall.

“Mmmmmppp! Mmmmmmmppph!”

I shut the door so I wouldn't have to hear her muffled cries. I slammed the door hard. And leaned back against the wall, gasping for breath. My heart pounding … pounding so hard, I thought it might burst.

My mouth felt so dry. My throat ached. Every muscle in my body quivered.

I wiped sweat off my forehead with the sleeve of my nightshirt. Took deep breaths. Slower. Slower.

Waited for my breathing to return to normal. And listened.

Could I hear Eden's gagged protests through the closet door? Could I hear the thud of her feet kicking the closet floor?

No.

Silence in the room now. Silence except for my wheezing breaths.

Now what?
I asked myself.

What do I do now?

The fever had gone down. The heat had evaporated. Slipped away. I began to see clearly again.

And to think clearly.

Now what? Now what?

I can't hide her in the closet forever.

What will I tell Angel and Jasmine?

Why did I do this? What was I thinking?

Maybe I should tell Darryl what I've done, I decided. Maybe he will have an idea of what to do next.

“No!” I cried out loud. “No!” I tugged the sides of my hair with both hands.

Darryl will only want to kill her.

Darryl thinks killing is the solution to all his problems. He has no other ideas.

And I can't allow that. I can't. Eden is my friend, after all. One of my best friends.

So I can't tell Darryl. And I can't tell Angel and Jasmine.

So what can I do?

I shut my eyes, struggling to think clearly.

A sound across the room made me open them.

“Huh?” I stared at the figure in the open doorway.

Melanie.

Melanie staring across the room at me, her mouth open, her eyes wide.

How long had she been there? How much had she seen?

“T
he—the door was open,” Melanie stammered.

“Oh.” I stood up straight, pulling down my nightshirt. I could feel my face growing hot, and I knew I was blushing.

Had she seen me drag Eden into the closet? Had she?

I brushed my hair back from my forehead. It was matted down with sweat. “Hot in here,” I muttered.

Melanie narrowed her eye» at me. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“It's just so … hot,” I replied. “I don't know. Maybe I have a temperature or something.”

I turned my gaze to the closet door. Had I closed it all the way?

How long had Melanie been standing there? Would I have to drag
her
into the closet too?

Crazy question. But I still wasn't thinking clearly. I still hadn't caught my balance.

“What do you want?” I blurted out. It sounded more hostile than I'd planned. “I mean … it's kind of a busy morning,” I added. “I… overslept and—”

“I just wanted to remind you about the dorm meeting tonight,” Melanie replied, still eyeing me suspiciously. “We're going to try to get some answers about campus safety.”

“Good,” I muttered.

Melanie shook her head. “Two murders. Two kids killed so viciously,” she said with emotion. “It's so awful. Can you imagine what their parents must be going through?”

“No,” I replied in a whisper, lowering my eyes. “I can't imagine.”

“I—I'm scared to walk across The Triangle at night,” Melanie confessed. She shuddered. Her dark bangs shuddered with her.

She wore a navy-blue wool sweater pulled down over black leggings. She looked as perfect as ever.

I brushed my hair back with my hands again. I knew I looked as if a hurricane had blown over me.

“Anyway, we hope to get some answers tonight,” she said. “The dean promised to come. And someone from the local police. And the director of campus security.”

“That's good,” I repeated awkwardly.

“It's at seven tonight, Downstairs in the lobby,” she told me.

“Okay. I'll be there,” I replied. “I—I hope they catch the guy soon. We're all total wrecks here.”

Again, she narrowed her eyes at me. “Are you sure you're okay, Hope?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Sure. Just fine. I just have to get cleaned up,” I told her. “I'm off to a late start.”

I pulled open the room door and held it for her, hoping she'd take the hint.

“Okay. See you later,” she said. She forced a smile and made her way out.

Melanie is very suspicious, I realized as I closed the door behind her. She kept studying me, watching my every move.

What has she heard? What has she seen?

Maybe she saw Darryl sneaking in and out of my room, I decided. Maybe she thinks I'm hiding him now.

Darryl. I've got to talk to him. If Melanie suspects …

Darryl has to go away for a while, I decided.

It will break my heart. But he has to leave the campus. Get far away. Hide somewhere safe until this all blows over.

Yes. I suddenly started to feel better.

I realized that I'd finally had a good idea. The right idea.

Darryl had to go away.

But will he agree? I wondered. What will he say when I tell him?

Will he rant and roar and get furious as usual? Will he try to argue with me? Will he tell me that he'll never leave me—never?

Or will he realize that this is the best plan? Will he see that I'm only thinking of his safety? Only thinking of
our
future?

Outside the window, clouds rolled away from the sun. Orange morning sunlight washed into the room.

I moved to the window and felt the warmth of the sunlight on my face. Squinting down at the campus below, I saw dark-uniformed figures scurrying around.

Police officers!

What's going on? I wondered.

I peered through the glare on the glass. And saw three officers surrounding a guy with dark hair.

Darryl?

Yes. Darryl.

“Oh no!” I cried, pressing my hands against the glass.

What are they
doing
to him?

I pressed my face against the glass and squinted into the sun. One officer grabbed Darryl's shoulder. The other two moved on either side.

Are they arresting him? I wondered.

Do they know? Do they know he's the one?

I have to get out there, I decided. I have to try to help Darryl.

Maybe I can give him an alibi. Maybe I can persuade the cops that Darryl was with me when the murders occurred.

I have to try, I told myself.

I can't just stand here watching. Watching them take Darryl away.

My heart pounding, I crossed the room. Pulled open the door. Started into the hall—before I realized I was still in my nightshirt.

Down the hall, two girls looked up.

I spun around and darted back into the room.

“Got to get dressed. Got to hurry,” I told myself.

I had to get outside before the police dragged Darryl away.

I ran to the closet to get some clothes. I grabbed the handle, started to turn it—and remembered Eden.

Eden. My prisoner.

My friend. My prisoner.

A sick cry escaped my throat.

How could I have done that to her? Was I out of my head? Was I totally nuts?

I'll let her out, I decided. I'll explain to her. I'll apologize and beg her to forgive me.

Eden will understand. Maybe …

I took a deep breath and pulled open the closet door. “Eden—?”

She was gone.

I
stared down at the closet floor. At a crumpled pair of jeans on the floor. And a pair of black sneakers on their sides.

“Eden—?”

The closet darkened in front of me, as if a black cloud were sweeping over it. I felt myself pulled, pulled into the gaping darkness.

As if the closet were opening wide, revealing a black hole at its back. Opening wide and swallowing me whole. Sucking me into endless darkness.

“Eden—?”

Where was she? Where?

I heard a soft groan. Behind me.

“Huh?”

I spun around. Blinked twice. Three times.

Eden rolled over in her bed. She raised her head off the pillow and opened one eye. “What time is it?” she asked sleepily. “Is it late?”

I was too stunned to answer. I grabbed the sides of the closet with both hands. My mouth dropped open.

Eden opened her other eye. “Hope—are you okay?”

“N-no,” I choked out.

I felt the closet pulling me inside. Swallowing me. Swallowing me whole. Felt the blackness sweep over me. So cold …

“No!” I repeated.

I pushed myself away from the closet. Stumbled out into the light.

I staggered halfway across the room, unable to breathe. Unable to think.

“Eden?”

She squinted up from her bed, still half asleep. “What's happening, Hope?” she asked.

“You're not in the closet,” I murmured.

Her expression changed to confusion. She pulled herself up to a sitting position. “Excuse me?”

I dropped down beside her on the bed. I felt so happy and so frightened at the same time.

Happy that Eden was okay. Happy that she wasn't tied up in the closet.

Frightened about myself, about my mind.

Am I going crazy? Am I totally losing it?

I knew I hadn't dreamed that I hit Eden over the head and tied her up. It was no dream. I'd been wide awake.

So had I
imagined
it all?

How could I imagine something so vividly? I wondered. How could something I imagined seem so
real?

I shut my eyes tight and buried my head in my hands.

I didn't want to think about this. I wanted everything to disappear.

I wanted to wake up and have everything nice again.

“Oh!” I jumped up, suddenly remembering Darryl. Darryl surrounded by three policemen.

I had to get dressed. I had to get outside and help him.

Darryl. Poor Darryl.

“Hope—what's wrong?” Eden demanded. “What
is
it?”