Danica

Thursday, July 18th, 10:49pm.

Air shivers out of my lungs as I try to calm my breathing, my hands shaking uncontrollably as my heart thuds in the back of my head.

You're fine, I remind myself irritably, Mila's going to be here, you're going to be fine.

I grip the blue envelope in my hand tightly, the Greek symbols for the sorority 'Delta Alpha Iota' written in silver sharpie flashing back at me in the dim light of a faraway streetlamp. I nervously wet my lips with the tip of my tongue and try to swallow against the humid air that still lingers from a recent storm as I shut my eyes.

I couldn't believe it when I pulled the letter out of my mailbox this morning.

I couldn't believe it when I texted Mila the news and found out that she had gotten a letter too as I excitedly opened it to read it.

I can still remember what it said in curling, black ink, the confirmation I've been waiting for arriving at last as I tuck the envelope into my purse.

"Dear Danica,

As a new pledge for our sorority, we are writing you to tell you that we are reviewing your application for possible full acceptance, however, before you can be fully accepted into our sorority, you must complete a task. Meet us outside of the old lecture hall on the south side of campus on Thursday, July 18th @ 11pm to prove your worth by playing a game with our neighboring fraternity's new pledges.

We wish you the best of luck and for a night of fun.

Love,

Your future sorority sisters.

PS: Be sure to wear some old clothes that you won't mind getting dirty, along with a good pair of hiking shoes."

It's a simple enough task.

I just didn't expect the instructions to tell me to head for the abandoned building on the other side of campus and wait until it gets dark. But here I am, hoping that this isn't some sort of prank to see how long I'll stick around.

The only question I have is what this game is going to expect me to do.

My eyes snap open when I hear the telltale hum of a junebug, the fat, brown beetle's wings droning as it flies past me for the streetlamp that's a dozen paces down the sidewalk. I try to ignore it, along with the horrific sight of a dozen moths swarming around the lamp as I try not to think of their spindly legs sticking to my skin.

I shudder and resist the urge to gag.

The sound of footsteps approaching me tears my attention away from the bugs. My hand darts for the can of pepper spray stowed in the purse hanging off my shoulder as my breath hitches. My fingers graze the case of my phone nestled beside it as I prepare for a fight.

Plan A and B.

"Hey."

I relax as the shadow moving along the building takes the shape of a girl as she walks up to me, her wide, dark brown eyes flickering in the orange light from the streetlamp.

"Liv," I exhale with relief as I take my hand out of my purse, "Christ you scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry," she says and for a moment I can almost believe that I see laughter in her dark eyes.

But the look is quickly gone as she composes herself and offers a ghost of a smile.

"You're here for the initiation ceremony too? I didn't think you were going to stick around town after graduation," I say and immediately regret my choice of words.

Olivia doesn't seem fazed though, she just blinks back at me with the same serene look that she's had since May. She shrugs as she stops a couple feet away and leans against the yellowish bricking of the building.

"Tuition was cheaper with my scholarship," she says in a sing-song tone, "I already had plans to go here, I'm not going to let the hard work go to waste."

But what I really hear are the words she's left unsaid.

I already had plans to go here before everything went to Hell.

I shake off the thoughts and paste on a smile.

"Are you excited to play the game?" I dare to ask.

"Of course, I even dressed for the occasion."

She gestures to her clothes then and I notice that she's dressed in black shorts and a ratty, black tank-top. I raise a questioning eyebrow at her as I wonder what she's thinking this game is going to involve.

"Emily had a friend from the sorority give me a couple of hints," she says in a conspiratorial tone as she puts a finger to her lips in a hushing motion. "Dark clothes was one of them."

I nod, wishing I had an older sister who's as cool as Olivia's to help guide me through life instead of being the eldest child and just guessing at everything.

Barking interrupts us before I can say anything as we look up in unison. A car has turned onto the road, its headlights slicing through the night like a white blade as potholes full of rainwater flash silver. Music pours from the car's rolled down windows as it parks along the sidewalk in front of me.

Olivia is suddenly by my side as she silently grabs my hand, her palm cold and slick with sweat as she squeezes my fingers tightly. In a dim part of my mind I realize that it's a familiar gray Mercedes that has parked in front of me.

I force a smile as the person gets out, their door slamming shut as the car honks. White teeth gleam at me over the top of the car as my stomach turns and a cold fist clamps itself around my chest.

Of course he would be here.

Of course he would want to play this game in order to get into his fraternity.

A set of green eyes twinkle back at me from the dark, but they look closer to brown in this light, the shade mimicking the shards of a broken beer bottle that is scattered along the curb. The figure runs a careless hand through their dark hair, his smile deepening when he notices Olivia.

"Hey, Livy," Derrick calls, his gaze flitting over her as he starts up the sidewalk towards us.

I tense instinctively, every muscle in me going taut as I slip a hand into my purse and wrap it around the can of pepper spray.

Wait for him to get closer.

His stride is lazy and calm and I hate him for it.

He turns away briefly to point his key-fob at his car as he locks it, the headlights flashing and briefly illuminating us. He's wearing a hoodie of all things since it's still warm outside, the words 'Kingsford University' stitched across it in white thread as he jams his hands into the front pouch.

I wonder what he might have hidden in there as I take a small step so I'm between him and Olivia.

If it's a fight, then so be it.

"Dany!" a voice suddenly shouts.

A flurry of dark hair and olive skin barrels into me as a set of arms wrap around my waist and I lean into the embrace. The person giggles, oblivious to the tense situation that was unfolding. I let myself relax for a moment before I sneak a peek at Derrick. He's stopped a few feet away, his gaze dropping to the sidewalk beneath his feet and in that moment he looks so utterly defeated that my heart soars.

Haha, bastard.

I turn into the arms of my hugger, their lips flitting upwards into a smile.

"Long time, no see," Mila teases and I can't help but be calmed at the sound of her accent.

"Sorry, you know how work gets," I say in an easy tone, but all I feel is a crushing guilt.

"I know how work gets," she assures me though as she lightly punches my arm.

"Where's my hug?" Derrick suddenly asks from behind us.

"Oh, is someone jealous?" Mila teases and she lets go of me, her running shoes tapping on the sidewalk as she trots over to him.

I don't feel entirely bad for choosing an old, white t-shirt to wear, since Mila had chosen to wear hot-pink yoga pants of all things. I grin even though she gladly embraces Derrick, her hand cupping his face as she kisses him.

What she sees in him, I have no idea.

I avert my gaze to see that another figure is approaching us from the dark as they join us on the sidewalk.

I nod to Paxon and wave in greeting, "Hey, Pax."

"How have you been?" he asks me as he steps up next to Olivia and reaches down to hold her hand.

"I've been working."

"No other questions needed then," he muses and I grin. "I've heard rumors about this game before it's supposed to be fun," he assures us before he lowers his voice, "even with dickhead around it's going to be a thrill."

I stifle a laugh as he shares a smile with me and everything suddenly feels right in the world. I feel safer with him and Olivia around.

Maybe four years from now I'll have my degree in civil engineering and will finally be leaving this town behind in my rearview mirror. But for now I'll have to suffer with what I've got, a lakeside town in Michigan that I can't seem to get away from.

Not yet, at least.

There's a rattling noise behind us as a metal door on the side of the building opens and someone pokes their head out. A white hockey mask covers the person's face and without a word, they make a beckoning motion as they point to me.

Why me? I wonder as the others seem to freeze in place, all eyes locked on the stranger as everyone stares.

I hesitate before I walk over and step through the door into a dark hallway as the others file in behind me.

"Wait!" someone yells from the other side.

Someone darts in through the open door before it can close, their hand catching against the edge of the frame. They stumble in, their breath coming out in huffing gasps like they've been running.

"Sorry I'm late," he manages to choke out as he braces his hands on his knees so he can catch his breath.

"When are you ever on time, Eli?" Derrick taunts.

"Whatever," Elijah snaps as he scowls. "I'm Elijah," he then says to the masked stranger as he offers his hand for them to shake.

"We know," the stranger says, their voice deep and low like they're trying too hard to be mysterious.

'We' ends up being the stranger and two other masked figures who step out of a nearby room into the hallway. The door shuts behind Eli as Hockey Mask quickly locks it and we are plunged into darkness.

Three flashlights flick on a second later as one of the other masked figures approaches me.

"Your purse," a female voice says from the other side of her white and gold mask.

I stare incomprehensibly at her for a moment before she offers a hand and makes a 'give it to me' motion. She suddenly makes sense and my hand instinctively tightens on the purse strap.

"It's going to be kept safe," she says in a low mutter that is muffled by her mask, "we're not going to steal anything, we just don't want you taking any videos of the game and then uploading them to YouTube."

I grudgingly pass her the purse then as the other girl takes everyone else's phones from them. The girls then retreat to the room they came out of, the door shutting and locking.

"This way," Hockey Mask says as he turns and starts walking, his flashlight lighting the way.

Graffiti covers some of the rotting drywall in a myriad of colors and styles. Our footsteps echo hollowly on the cracked, dusty tiles, the sounds ranging anywhere from the heavy thud of Derrick's converses to my worn-out sneakers that silently pad along behind him. I fall into step beside Mila, her fingers briefly grazing mine as she offers me a comforting smile.

They're just trying to scare us. They're not going to hurt us.

I silently repeat these facts to myself as we reach the end of the hall where the stranger unlocks a door for us. The room on the other side smells of dust and unused air and I resist the immediate urge to cough as something catches in the stranger's flashlight.

I spot several puddles of a dark liquid pooled on the floor and as my eyes focus in the dim, I realize what it is right as a sharp, coppery smell hits my nose.

Blood.

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Author's Note:

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** CatLegis