Madeleine Roux - Sanctum

“I don’t suppose those are hangman games?” Dan asked.

“These?” Jordan pulled out one of the slips. “Just messing around.”

From what Dan could see, “just messing around” meant hundreds of rows of mathematical calculations. He had to wonder what it was like inside Jordan’s genius head. They picked up their bags and waited for the street to clear, then they crossed to the paved path winding up toward the college itself.

“How was the trip?” Dan asked, walking as close to Abby as he could without tripping her. “It’s been raining like this since the second I stepped off the plane.”

“Jordan wouldn’t shut up about his host,” Abby replied. “He looked him up on Facebook. Very rich. Very athletic. And very handsome with a capital H-O-T.”

Dan laughed nervously.

“And probably very straight with a capital Disappointment,” Jordan added.

“I doubt we’ll see much of them anyway,” Dan pointed out. “We’re here on a mission.” He tried to say this lightly, like it was all a funny joke, but neither Jordan nor Abby laughed. “Besides, they probably don’t have time for lame high school students like us.”

“Yeah.” Jordan tossed his curly hair and gave Abby a sideways look. “Let’s hope they don’t pay too much attention to the Scooby gang sneaking off.”

“I don’t remember this hill being so steep,” Abby said, puffing. “Man, this place must get freezing in the winter.”

With every step they took up the hill toward the college, Dan felt his breath becoming shorter and his mood darker. It was one thing to talk about coming back here; it was another thing entirely to be here, to be back . Felix, possessed or inspired by the Sculptor, had tried to kill them. Dan had seen an actual dead body. But as anxious as the place made him, it was as if someone had opened him up and hidden a magnet in his chest—he felt pulled back to this place and its as-yet-undiscovered secrets.

A buzz in his pocket jarred Dan out of his thoughts. He pulled out his phone to find a new text message from Sandy.

Hey! Make it to Jordan’s safely? Just checking in. Have fun on your visit!

Dan chewed the inside of his cheek, his finger dodging over the screen to type back a vague if reassuring message.

“Jordan’s?” Jordan himself eyed the phone over Dan’s shoulder as Dan typed a quick reply. “What exactly did you tell your folks about this weekend?”

“Not the whole truth, if you want to be technical about it.” It hadn’t felt good to lie to his mom, but it hadn’t exactly been hard, either. “I mentioned you were checking out a tour at Georgetown this weekend and said I was going to tag along. And then I might have changed my flight with the emergency credit card.”

“At least I’m not the one obscuring my whereabouts this time,” Jordan said with a wry smile. “I’m sure we’ll have a blast at Georgetown . But seriously, Dan, let me know if you need help paying back that credit card.”

“You should’ve just told them the truth,” Abby said.

“Then I wouldn’t be here talking to you two. My parents don’t want me to have anything to do with this place.” And maybe they’re right.

They reached the top of the hill and Dan stopped abruptly, stunned as if someone had punched him in the gut and knocked out what little breath he had left.

“What the …” The words died on his lips.

They’re the same , he thought, staring dumbly at a sea of tents set up in the grassy central area of the campus. They’re just like in my dream . Or really, just like in the warden’s dream. And more alarming still: just like in their mysterious photos.

He tugged the picture out of his coat pocket and held it up for all of them to see. Jordan and Abby did the same, standing in a row and completing the panorama.

“What’s stronger than déjà vu?” Jordan whispered.

“Whatever this is,” Abby answered.

The carnival tents were only just visible through the gaps between brick buildings; from where they stood, they could see the broad orange, purple, and black stripes. Dan half expected to smell the scent of burned fuel—to see the fire breather from his dream, and the man on the stage … But all he could smell was the mud clinging to their shoes and the unidentifiable cooking-meat stench that always seemed to float over from the Commons.

Dan tucked the photo back into his jacket pocket.

“I wasn’t expecting a carnival,” Abby said. “Do you think it’s for the prospective students?”

“There was nothing about it in the pamphlet they sent out,” Jordan said, leading them forward and deeper into campus. Tall trees sprang up on either side of the path, their fall leaves shiny with wetness. “Kind of a big thing to leave out, don’t you think?”

Dan wouldn’t know; he hadn’t bothered to read the pamphlet. It said it was for prospective students, not people pretending to be prospective students.

“At least it’s twenty percent less creepy than the pictures,” Jordan muttered. “Can anyone explain to me why every vintage photo looks like they used the Macabre filter on Instagram?”

“Doesn’t look like they put up any rides, either,” Abby said, squinting toward the tents.

“You’re right.” Jordan shrugged. “No Ferris wheel … Kind of dumb to have a carnival with no rides. Still, seems like we should check it out anyway. Who knows, Dan, it might have a big, important clue.”

“If we have time,” Dan said, choosing to ignore Jordan’s sarcasm. “And only after we’ve checked out every address. We might not even be able to get to all of them, or we might have to split up.” It was then he realized neither of his friends was responding, and both were staring at the ground.

“Not trying to be a killjoy,” Dan assured them. “But that is why we’re here.”

“We’re here to figure out why we’re all having nightmares and hearing voices. We’re here so we can get some closure and move on with our lives.” Jordan zipped up his jacket against the wind as they walked. “That may or may not involve Felix’s scavenger hunt, Dan. You have to be open to the idea that maybe that kid is just off his nut and those houses don’t have anything creepier in them than Republican voters.”

“You think Felix just picked a bunch of random addresses for his own amusement? No way,” Dan insisted, reasonably, he thought. “I think whatever … possessed Felix … gave him these coordinates. They’re linked. I can feel it.”

“Yeah? Are your Super Warden powers activating?”

“Jordan, that’s not funny.” Abby halfheartedly elbowed him.

“You’re right. Shit. I’m sorry, just … being back at this place … I knew it would be weird, just not this weird. The carnie vibe isn’t helping any.”

Dan couldn’t fault him. All three of them grew quiet as they walked the path snaking through academic buildings and fraternity houses. The admissions building where they were supposed to meet their hosts was on the far side of the campus and had its own separate driveway for cars of parents dropping off their kids. It looked like Dan, Jordan, and Abby must be the only three students who’d come by bus.

The walk took them past a small, gated cemetery. Dan had never given it much thought over the summer, since it was little more than a manicured patch of grass, the gravestones haphazardly arranged in no real line or pattern. Some of the grave markers were so old they weren’t much more than crumbling stubs. But now, a bright flash of red on one of the newer markers caught his eye. At first he thought it was just an ordinary flower arrangement, but when he looked closely, he saw that it was a wreath of red roses shaped, more or less, like a skull.