Chapter 17 Gabi
GABI
Present Day
“Viv, turn that light off! Someone might see us,” I scold.
“Seriously Viv, it’s Saturday night. You don’t need to do homework right now,” Ele agrees.
Viv huffs her annoyance. “We’ve been here five nights already, and nothing has happened! I don’t know why we had to come back after the first night, when you didn’t find anything. You’d think breaking and entering one time was enough. Now you’re just asking to get caught!”
“I told you Viv, something felt very off in that house. There were zero signs of life, and the one room I needed to scope out was locked.”
“It was also three in the morning on a Tuesday,” Viv argues.
“Yeah, but why have your basement locked?” Ele debates. “The basement at DG isn’t locked.”
“Maybe they have expensive DJ equipment down there they don’t want stolen,” Viv suggests.
“Viv, whose side are you on?” I snap.
“I’m sorry, I’m just tired! And completely behind on classwork. Also, why are you giving me a hard time about my minuscule reading light? Do you see that full moon?”
I glance up at the saucer of brilliant light and have to admit Viv is right. The road in front of us is illuminated with silver moonlight, which is both helpful for our mission and harmful.
I sigh a grumble. “You didn’t need to come tonight,” I remind her.
“Oh sure, leave me behind to miss all the action.”
“Reconnaissance isn’t for the weak of heart, Viv. You can’t have it both ways. Besides, Adrianna said that Kasey was gone every weekend, so maybe that’s when whatever messed up shit they’re doing at Sigma goes down.”
“Nothing happened last night,” Viv reminds us.
“Does Friday night count as a weekend, though?” Ele ponders, bringing a pair of binoculars up to her eyes. “I don’t know. One could argue either way.”
“Are there any more snacks?” Viv asks.
“Some Takis,” I offer.
“Not in the mood,” Viv grumbles. “Can we all agree that if nothing happens in the next hour, we’ll go for a snack run? I could kill for a bag of Nerds Gummy Clusters right now.”
“Yes, I second this motion,” Ele adds.
Sighing, I lower my pair of binoculars. Not a single car has driven into or out of Sigma tonight, which feels odd for a Saturday.
Shouldn’t there be a caravan of people coming and going?
It doesn’t make sense, but then again, it’s been like this every night of the week.
Don’t these guys need to go to study groups or the library, at least?
Does no one do late-night munchie runs anymore, or stumble home drunk at two a.m.?
“Fuck it, let’s go get snacks now. I’m hungry,” I concede.
“Now you’re talking,” Ele grins. She rummages around the two front cupholders. “Where the hell are my keys? They have to be here somewhere. Ah, found them. Okay, let’s…”
“Whoa, hold on!” I jump. “Headlights!”
The three of us crouch down on instinct as high beams emerge from the back parking lot and jostle down the driveway.
“They’re leaving!” Viv whispers loudly.
“Whose car is that?” Ele asks as she peeks over the dashboard at the car now turning onto the street. “What college kid drives a big ass black SUV?”
“You forget they’re all rich,” Viv says.
“I know, my point exactly! Rich kids get driven around in black SUVs. They don’t drive them. Should we follow it?” Ele asks.
“You two follow it,” I whisper. “I’m going to stay and try to sneak in again. “
“No, Gabi. Enough with the suicide mission,” Ele hisses, but my hand is already on the door handle. I gently open the car door and slide out. “Follow it!” I whisper-shout. “Hurry, before it gets too far away!”
I quietly shut the door before I change my mind, and slink around the car with cat-like movements.
The brush alongside the road is thick enough to provide sufficient cover as I cut a wide path around Sigma house.
Next comes the most treacherous part. A stretch of grass stands between me and the hedges planted along the house’s perimeter.
Even with my all-black femme fatale outfit, it’s light enough outside, thanks to the full moon, to see a human-sized figure darting across the lawn.
The decorative gables and Gothic spires cast a patchwork of moonlit shadows ahead.
I study the windows facing me for signs of movement, and when I see none, I bolt.
Small branches snag the fabric of my black athletic zip-up as I force my way through the five-foot-tall hedge.
Sharp twigs scrape the exposed skin of my hands and face.
Some snap noisily apart as I continue to push past. The sound is loud enough to raise concerns, but I pray it gives off more of a medium-to-large animal foraging for food vibe than a human burglar.
Once I make it to the back of the hedge, I press my front torso flat against the exterior stone wall.
I shuffle sideways from window to window.
Unkempt branches dart out every few feet like barbs.
No windows on the west-facing side of the house are even the slightest bit ajar, which means I have to continue the process on the south-facing side that borders both the back yard and the parking area.
I slither around the south-west corner. The sound of gravel churning under tires fills the night air seconds before headlights come into view.
Sharp sticks rip at my shirt as I drop into a crouch.
The hedge is thick with leaves, making it impossible to see, so I force my way inward until I have a clear vantage point.
I try not to think about the millions of spiders and bugs crawling on me, likely readying an attack against the invader who smashed their home like a wrecking ball.
The slender porch in the back of Sigma house is brightly lit with porch lights. From where I’m crouched, the elevated porch obstructs my view of the parking lot, but I have a perfect side view of the porch steps.
“What the fuck?” I catch myself whispering aloud.
Figures approach, wearing long black cloaks and full-face black masks with tall… horns? I squint to get a better look, but details are hard to see in the dark. What in the satanic ritual shit is this? My pulse skyrockets, and I have to remind myself to control my breathing.
One… two. Three, four, five.
Five of these demonic figures just entered Sigma.
Is this a twisted take on a themed mixer?
I mentally strike that idea because it’s approaching midnight, and mixers always start around nine-thirty or ten p.m. Plus, if they were having a mixer, music would be playing, voices would be shouting, and there would be people standing outside.
Fuck, Gabi, this is it. It’s happening, I tell myself. I have to get inside. My phone vibrates with a text from within my jacket pocket. I glance up to see if any more figures are approaching the back porch, and when I see none, I decide it’s safe to take out my phone.
Ele: Black SUV headed back your way. Went to two freshman dorms. People got out then more people got in. Couldn’t get a good look. Too far away. Returning to idle spot.
Shit, okay. Do I wait it out in this bush or try to get inside? The back door seems open, and with some luck, I can slip in that way.
Just as I gather my courage, I hear the thunk of car doors closing.
“Jesus,” I whisper at the sight of men dressed in head-to-toe black, wearing black balaclavas, escorting figures who look a hell of a lot like women in pajamas with black cloth bags over their heads.
And there are a lot of women. I try to count but lose track.
They all have their hands out in front of them as if they’ve had their wrists bound together.
What in the actual fuck is happening?
I unzip my other jacket pocket and take out my ski mask – one I wear when I actually go skiing.
It’s regrettably not black but rather hot pink, which in hindsight was really fucking dumb.
Sharp branches fight me as I pull this thing over my head and push my way out of the hedge.
Crawling on all fours is my best bet at going unnoticed, so I scurry along the ground, being careful to stick close to the bottom of the hedges.
Do I crawl up the back porch steps? That seems like a bad idea. It’s too bright. But I don’t know if I’m tall enough to reach the ledge of the porch. I’d need a boost.
I stand on my tiptoes until my fingers curl around the lip of the ledge. Maybe I can scale it on my own like a rock climber if I put my foot… right… here…
The back door bursts open, and I panic, whirling around to press my back into the side of the structure.
Please don’t look over the side. Please don’t look over the side, I repeat in my head.
The sound of a lighter striking to life accompanies the smell of cigarette smoke.
“I fucking hate doing watch duty,” a male voice says. “Max and Brody got stuck with the front door.”
“How many more of these will there be?” a different male voice asks.
“The initiation ceremonies are once a month, right? Every full moon,” the first male voice either asks or confirms, but it’s unclear.
“I’d give anything to sink my dick into some pussy right now. Too bad it’s not a regular weekend or we could order these sluts to beg on their knees.”
I think it’s the first male voice again, but they both sound similar.
“Too bad we’re not Kieren. That guy can have all the pussy he wants.”
“Psshhh. I wouldn’t want to be him.”
I’ve lost track of which voice is saying what, but it doesn’t matter.
“Why not?”
“They say he lost his fucking mind after his girlfriend left. Like, truly. The guy is mental.”
“That hot blonde girl? She’s still not back?”
“She ran, bro. You heard the rumors about what he did to her, right?”
“Yeah, but there’s no way that’s true. You’d have to be out of your mind crazy.”
“I’m telling you, bro. He’s off his rocker. I avoid that guy at all costs, dude. I see him in the hallway, and I walk the other way.”
“Speaking of crazy, I hear Barrett and Kasey are on the outs.”
“Really? She’s been here all week, or at least, that’s what I heard.”
Here all week? That would explain things, and I hate that those fucking cops were right.
“Jonah said that Barrett is still pissed she cheated on him over the summer.”
“Weren’t they on a break?”
“Who knows, but you know Barrett. That guy’s an asshole.”
“Fair point. Have the elders arrived?”
Elders? I think to myself, pondering the new terminology.
“Yeah, about fifteen minutes ago. You didn’t see them? Hard to miss them in those masks. How can they fuck in those, anyway? Has to be hard. With those horns? Shittttt.”
Both guys snicker at the joke, and I wonder if they are talking about the masked individuals I saw exit the SUV. The description fits.
My head spins as they banter, and I become more confused by the second.
Unable to follow along, I plot my extraction plan.
The options are grim. It sounds like guards are stationed at the front door, so that rules out testing those windows, and I won’t be able to get to the other side of the house, given the guards at both the front and back exits.
The only way out, as I see it, is to go back the way I came.
I draw in a steadying breath and take a step. Then another, then another. I’m careful to stick close to the hedges so I can remain shrouded in their shadow. Three more steps and I’ll be around the corner.
Crack.
I freeze at the snap of a large stick under my foot.
“Hello?” I hear a male voice call, followed by, “Turn on your flashlight.”
Fuck.
Run.
I take off at a full sprint around the corner of the house and beeline it for the trees and brush that line the street.
My mind tries to calculate the trajectory I should head to avoid coming into view of either set of guards.
I end up running a diagonal line moving westward until I reach the cover of trees.
I bound through thickets of low-growing vines and leaves, and stumble over tree roots.
My feet hit the pavement at full speed, and I sprint toward Ele’s car parked twenty feet ahead.
Skidding to a halt, I grab the door handle and throw myself inside the car.
“Go! Go! Go!” I scream, turning to keep watch out of the rear window.
The engine roars to life just as Ele slams her foot on the accelerator. Tires squeal for purchase. Flashlights bounce in the distance.
“Go!” I scream again.
The car leaps forward and zooms at lightning speed in the opposite direction of Sigma.
Only when it’s clear we’ve outrun the flashlights do I take a breath.
“What the fuck happened?” Viv shouts from the backseat.
“I’ll tell you when we get home. Don’t slow down,” I pant. “They’ll catch us.”
“Headlights!” I scream at the beams reflecting in the rearview mirror. “Drive!”