Chapter 9
Sebastian
“Do you two really think that’s a good idea?”
Bryce’s voice rang out in stark contrast to the silence of the house.
Both Landon and I jumped in surprise, whirling around to face him.
Bryce was perched at the top of the stairwell, the outline of his large body all that was visible through the darkness.
Though I couldn’t see his expression, I was confident that it mirrored the clear disapproval of his tone.
Landon sighed in irritation. “Kent’s such a little snitch.”
“He didn’t snitch. You two are not as inconspicuous as you think.”
“Always using such big words,” Landon muttered, and it was an effort to stop from asking how he’d managed to get into college.
Right now was not the time to offend the only roommate who was willing to go along with my plan.
I needed at least one person to keep a lookout while I slipped inside McKinley Rink.
“Why are you letting Sebastian pull you into his mess?” Bryce asked.
“His mess? Everyone on the team is feeling the heat! We should all want revenge,” Landon argued. “Besides, it’s just a harmless prank.”
“Are you going to try to stop us?” I asked.
There was a long silence before Bryce let out a huff of laughter. “Of course not. I’m going to bed. You should consider doing the same.”
“We promise to be home by midnight, Dad,” Landon teased. Then he nodded his head toward the front door and slipped outside.
I hesitated in the foyer for a brief moment, glancing back over my shoulder at the shadowed form of Bryce.
Though he said nothing, I knew exactly what he was thinking.
Right now, his judgment was a non-issue.
The only thing on my mind was delivering a message to Grace that couldn’t be ignored.
Without a goodbye, I followed Landon outside and shut the door behind me.
There was only a sliver of moon in the sky, which made tonight perfect for sneaking around unnoticed.
Still, Landon and I remained silent as we dashed across campus.
I lagged several paces behind him, hauling with me a twenty-quart cooler loaded with several pounds of expired ground beef.
The meat was courtesy of Bishop’s girlfriend, Macy, who worked at the local grocery store.
He might have refused to tag along, but Bishop had been instrumental in helping me acquire the goods free of charge.
We were nearly to McKinley Rink; I could see the outline of the structure in the distance.
Though I couldn’t do much in the way of retaliation, especially given the target Grace had painted on me, petty revenge was better than watching her walk around campus with that smug smile as everyone turned on me—again.
Landon and I ducked down as a campus patrol car rolled into view.
Once the headlights were nothing more than dots in the distance, we shuffled across the street.
I scoped out the surrounding area as we approached the old training center.
The place was completely dark except for a flickering light illuminating the front entrance.
“How are we going to get in?”
Was this really the first time he was considering that?
“I’m getting in with this,” I said, holding up white key card that opened nearly every building on campus.
I had no idea how the previous captain had gotten hold of it, but he’d passed it down to me when he graduated.
“You’ll stay out here and make sure I’m not interrupted. If you see anything suspicious, text.”
Confident we were alone, I darted toward the entrance and pressed the little white card to the sensor.
It flashed green and let out a beep, then the lock clicked open.
I rushed inside and closed the door behind me, my heart a steady drumbeat against my ribs.
McKinley Rink certainly smelled just as Grace had described it—old and moldy.
The stench only grew stronger as I crossed the entryway and pushed open the rink access door.
Cool air rushed over my face. I flipped on a set of lights and watched as a soft yellow glow lit up the right side of the rink, where there was a narrow strip that held two rows of benches and some standing room.
Even in partial darkness, I could tell this place had seen better days.
I felt a momentary pang of guilt at the realization that Grace wasn’t being overdramatic.
McKinley wasn’t just outdated, it was a hazard, but that fact wasn’t enough to deter me.
She’d lost any and all sympathy from me the moment my face had been plastered across the school paper.
I made my way down the steep set of stairs leading to the basement.
The lights down here were even worse, so I grabbed my phone and turned on the flashlight.
There was a narrow path carved out by walls of outdated equipment and dusty boxes.
Walking through the creepy maze of storage, I tried not to think about the campus rumor that McKinley Rink was haunted.
Every so often, a loud creek sounded from the floor above, and my heart rate would jump in anticipation.
I cast my phone light along the walls and ceilings, keeping my eyes peeled for a grate.
Eventually, I found one along the back wall of the basement.
It looked big enough to hold the entirety of my gift.
My lips twitched in a smirk as I pulled out the screwdriver tucked into my back pocket and got to work, quickly removing enough screws to swivel the grate out.
Now was the unpleasant part. Holding my breath, I dumped the contents of the cooler inside, gagging as several pounds of expired meat slapped against the bottom of the vent.
For the finishing touch, I stuck a large toothpick into the middle of the slop and skewered a note addressed to Grace though the top.
I felt a brief rush of gratification as I fastened the grate back into place and surveyed my work, but it was gone in less than a second.
In fact, I had to ignore the turning in my stomach as Landon and I trekked back to the house.
The only thing that stopped me from returning to the rink and disposing of the “present” was my own misguided sense of pride.
>> <<
Grace
I couldn’t believe the smell had gotten worse.
With the end of October looming, I had been hopeful the drop in temperature would kill off the lingering scent of mold that clung to every inch of our training facility.
But in just twenty-four hours, a newer, fouler odor had taken up residence.
If I wasn’t mistaken, something was rotting inside McKinley Rink.
It had to be. Nothing else could have produced such a grotesque stench.
“Did someone die in here?” Liv said, holding a hand over her nose to block out the rancid smell. The goalie looked like she was about to retch.
Pearson, who was dealing with a nasty cold, looked equally disgusted. “I’ve been nose blind for days and even I can tell something is off.”
“It’s definitely worse than usual,” I agreed.
Ah, yes. Worse than usual. Because we were already accustomed to playing in a rink that only stank of fungus on a good day.
“If there’s a dead body somewhere in here, I’m out,” said Big D.
McKinley Rink would never kick the haunted rumors if a dead body was discovered on the premises. On the other hand, we’d have an excuse to practice somewhere else if they did find human remains. The impending investigation would no doubt require closing the facility to the public.
“Do you think we should look around?” Almost the entire team was gathered at the entrance, so I couldn’t tell who’d made the suggestion, but no one seemed eager to move any further into the building.
“I don’t want to be the one to find the body,” Lydia muttered.
“It’s not a dead body,” Caroline said matter-of-factly. “It’s probably some kind of critter. There are a ton of traps down in the basement.”
“Is that you volunteering to check?” asked Pearson.
“What is going on, ladi—” Coach’s voice cut off, no doubt as she registered the terrible smell. We all turned to watch as the look of confusion on her face morphed into one of revulsion.
“Please tell us we don’t have to skate in this. I think I’ll throw up if I’m forced to be in here any longer,” said Lydia.
Coach Riley shook her head aggressively. “No. Right now, I want everyone to take a lap and see if they can find whatever is causing this smell. I’m going to call the emergency maintenance number.”
Several girls let out groans of protest. “But what if we find a body? What if the killer is in here somewhere?”
“Killer?” Clara exclaimed, eyes widening.
Coach waved them off. “Don’t be dramatic. It’s probably a dead rat.”
“Told you guys,” Caroline muttered.
“Just look around, and we’ll get someone over from the school maintenance team.”
Despite several rumblings, everyone followed Coach Riley’s orders, but our search ended in vain.
After nearly twenty minutes of choking down the disgusting fumes, I retreated to the fresh air, unable to endure another moment of torture.
The scent of what could only be described as death clung to my hair and clothes.
Caroline was the last to leave, aside from Coach.
I had no doubt she wanted to prove to everyone that it was indeed a dead animal and not a human body.
“They’re sending someone over to check on the smell,” Coach confirmed a few moments later, walking out with a tissue pressed to her mouth and nose.
A voice rang out from the back of the group. “Does this mean practice is cancelled?”
Coach shook her head and gave everyone a stern look. “We’ll wait here until someone comes to fix the smell. We play Minnesota on Friday, which means we need as much ice time as we can get.”