Sanctum. Madeleine Roux

up his hands. “Forget I even mentioned it.”

      “Jordan and I could check the first addresses while you go visit her,” Dan suggested, with what he hoped was a calm, diplomatic tone. “Or maybe we can ask around to see what’s going on with Brookline’s excavation.”

      “Excuse me.”

      Their conversation trailed off as Abby’s host, Lara, ran up to them, slightly out of breath, her blunt haircut wild and stringy around her face. Dan felt immediately suspicious, and then tried to curb that impulse—she was probably just checking to see if he was okay, given that a kid had screamed and screamed and then tried to jump right in front of him.

      “You said your name was Daniel, yes?” she asked, pushing the hair out of her face.

      “No, Dan. It’s Dan.”

      The other hosts and prospies continued on without them, trekking across the muddy open field in front of the dorm on their way to the Commons. Some of them looked back at Dan curiously, but most of them seemed to want to get as far away from him as they could, and that was fine by him. “I was told to make sure you were okay. Do you need to call your parents? Will you be staying?”

      Dan shrugged coolly. “I’m okay, I guess. That student … Is he … Is he okay?”

      “Doug?” Lara frowned, shaking her head slightly. “He’s a first year. I don’t see him around much, kind of a loner. Students get stressed this time of year, with midterms and everything. His parents will be here soon to see that he is taken care of.”

      “I’d never met him before,” Dan said. He didn’t mean to sound defensive, but how could he not feel a little on trial? “I don’t even know how he knew my name.”

      Abby coughed theatrically, and Dan decided not to say much more to Lara unless she really pressed.

      But Lara surprised him. “That’s simple enough,” she said. “Not exactly rocket surgery, mm?” She pointed to the orange orientation folder tucked under his arm. A white sticker practically glowed on the front. “DANIEL CRAWFORD.” “Your name is right there for anyone to see.”

      “So it is,” Dan said with a nervous laugh. That was fine if it was explanation enough for Lara, but it didn’t nearly satisfy Dan. Doug had been staring at him well before they had their folders. And how did he know to say “You’re not finished,” just like it said on the backs of their photos?

      “I hope he feels better soon.”

      “He’s not the first student to lose it a little over exams,” Lara added, starting toward the Commons and the rest of the group. “I remember my first year like it was yesterday—many lost hours of sleep, moments of panic, even delirium from the lack of rest. I even lost clumps of hair over my first final. My parents were dead set on me being a pre-med, and the pressure was significant. Then I changed my major from bio to studio art. I’m sure you can imagine how that conversation went. But that’s enough of that—I’m supposed to be convincing you that NHC is awesome all the time!” She clenched her teeth in something that resembled a smile, brushing the stray hair out of her face. “Anyway, lunch. We’d love it if you joined us.”

      “We?” Abby asked.

      “Micah and me. Cal may come, too, but I think he’s still assisting Doug and contacting his parents. He can be quite a talker, so I’m sure he’ll be reassuring them for the next hour or so.” The light drizzle from before began to pick up in a steady rain, and all four of them quickened their pace. Damp, cold to the bone, Dan was only too happy to make it to the white overhang outside the Commons.

      He huddled under it, hugging himself. Brookline was to their immediate right. He looked up at the empty windows, rows and rows of them staring out like dozens of vacant eyes. Maintenance had only halfheartedly trimmed the weeds sprouting up along the edge of the entrance, leaving Brookline to look like it had been abandoned in decay all over again. So much for the excavation effort.

      The moody clouds overhead shifted, until a stray beam of light illuminated Brookline’s top floor—the floor on which Dan had fended off a man with a crowbar, sure that he was going to die. The way the light hit the windows, it almost looked like a pale face with ragged holes for eyes was watching him from inside.

       Just a trick of the light, Dan, you know better.

      “Hey,” Abby said, touching him on the back. “Let’s go inside. Don’t think about that place. It’s harmless now.”