Tracking down James Clark turned out to be harder than they expected.

For one, the internet wasn't exactly overflowing with information about a man who'd seemingly vanished from academia in the early '90s. They found a few scattered references to his time as an assistant professor, but nothing about where he went after that.

"It's like he fell off the face of the Earth," Drista said, staring at the search results on her laptop.

Karl leaned over her shoulder, frowning. "Maybe he retired early? Or switched careers?"

Nick snorted from across the table. "Or maybe he knew too much and skipped town before things got messy."

Drista grinned. "Now you're talking my language."

Karl rolled his eyes. "Can we not jump straight to conspiracy theories?"

"It's not a conspiracy if it's true," Drista said, clicking on another link.

The library study room felt quieter than usual, the faint hum of the fluorescent lights overhead adding to the strange tension in the air. Karl tried to focus on the task at hand, but his thoughts kept drifting back to the tunnels—and the door.

He still wasn't sure how to feel about what they'd found. The photographs and the notebook were fascinating, but they raised more questions than answers. And then there was the sound.

The scraping.

Karl shook his head, trying to push the memory away. "So what's next?" he asked, glancing at Drista.

She tapped her laptop screen. "I found something. An article from 1993."

Karl leaned closer, his stomach twisting as he read the headline:

"Promising Researcher Resigns Amidst Controversy."

The article was brief, and most of it was vague, but it mentioned that James Clark had been involved in a "highly experimental project" with Professor Halloway before his resignation. It didn't go into detail about the project itself, but it hinted at some kind of internal conflict between Clark and the university administration.

"That's suspicious," Nick said, leaning in.

Karl nodded. "Do you think he left because of the project?"

"Maybe," Drista said. "Or maybe he was forced to leave."

Nick sighed. "Here we go."

"I'm just saying," Drista said, holding up her hands. "What if something went wrong? What if the university wanted to cover it up?"

Karl frowned, his mind racing. The idea of a cover-up felt far-fetched, but at the same time, it would explain why there was so little information about Halloway and Clark.

"So how do we find him?" Karl asked. "If he's not online, we can't just Google his address."

"Old-school methods," Drista said. "We've got a name, a general time frame, and a connection to this campus. If he's still alive, someone around here might know where he went."

"Like who?" Nick asked.

Drista grinned. "Time for some fieldwork."

---

Their first stop was the chemistry department, which was housed in a sleek, modern building that felt worlds away from the dusty tunnels they'd explored.

Karl hesitated as they walked through the main doors, the faint smell of chemicals lingering in the air. "Are we seriously just going to ask people if they remember him?"

"Why not?" Drista said. "Worst-case scenario, they don't know anything."

Nick stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets. "Worst-case scenario, we look like total weirdos."

"We already look like weirdos," Drista said. "Might as well own it."

Karl sighed, following her down the hallway.

They stopped at the front desk, where an older woman with glasses perched on the edge of her nose was typing on a computer. She looked up as they approached, her expression polite but slightly wary.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Hi!" Drista said, her voice bright and cheerful. "We're doing a research project on some of the university's older faculty, and we were wondering if you know anything about a guy named James Clark? He worked here in the '80s and '90s."

The woman blinked, clearly caught off guard. "James Clark? Oh, I haven't heard that name in years."

Karl's heart skipped a beat. "So you remember him?"

"Vaguely," the woman said, tapping her chin. "He was a quiet man. Very dedicated to his work. But he left under... unusual circumstances."

"What kind of circumstances?" Nick asked.

The woman hesitated, glancing around as if to make sure no one was listening. "I don't know the details. But there were rumors. People said he and Professor Halloway were working on something... experimental. Something dangerous."

Karl exchanged a look with Drista and Nick, his stomach twisting.

"Do you know where he went after he left?" Drista asked.

The woman shook her head. "I'm afraid not. He just disappeared. But if you're really interested, you might try the archives. There's a lot of old faculty records down there."

Karl frowned. "The archives?"

She nodded. "In the basement of the administration building. You'll need permission to access them, though."

"Thanks," Drista said, flashing her a smile.

As they walked away, Karl felt a chill run down his spine. The basement. Of course it was in the basement.

---

Later that evening, the three of them regrouped at the campus coffee shop to plan their next move. The place was packed with students, the sound of chatter and clinking mugs filling the air."So, archives tomorrow?" Drista asked, stirring her iced latte.

Karl nodded, though his nerves were starting to creep back in. "Yeah. But what if we don't find anything?"

"Then we keep looking," Drista said. "Come on, Karl. Where's your sense of adventure?"

Nick sighed, sipping his coffee. "Adventure's overrated."

"You're just scared," Drista said, grinning.

"Yeah," Nick said. "Because I have common sense."

Karl smiled despite himself. As much as he hated to admit it, Drista's enthusiasm was contagious. And deep down, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were onto something big—something that went beyond Professor Halloway and James Clark.

But whatever they found in the archives, he had a sinking feeling it would only raise more questions.