Forbidden (The Seeker Saga, #2) (6 page)

The crystal made an imprint in my palm. After a moment, I realized my haste had been foolish.  There was nobody else in the room now, which meant I didn’t need to cling onto the crystal as if my life depended on it.  I slipped it into my jeans pocket and flipped the phone open to dial one of the girls.

Ashley picked up after a few rings.

“Hello?”

“Ashley!  It’s Tracy.  Something bad has happened.”  My voice shook as I relived the memory.  The sight of the man on the floor didn’t help.  “Come to my room as quickly as you can.  And call everyone else!  They all need to be here.”

Ashley obviously picked up on the concern in my voice, because her tone turned gravely serious.  “I’m in my room.  I’ll be right there.”

I hung up the phone, and looked at Rob.  He was examining the man on the floor, but not touching him.  “We should sit him up somewhere,” he said.

I looked around.    “Against the wall,” I said, looking in the direction.  Rob gave a curt nod, and grabbed the man’s shoulders to drag him over.  The gnash on his head has stopped bleeding, but it had stained the carpet.  I began contemplating how to get rid of the stain – and then I shook my head.  That was
definitely
the wrong thing to think about. 

Rob didn’t ask for my help as he moved the man, and for that I was thankful.  I did not want to come closer to my attacker.

I leaned against my desk, and noticed the white rag the man had used lying by my feet.  Hurriedly, I kicked it away, to where Rob was propping the man up.

Rob noticed as it flew through the air.  “What is that?” he asked.

“He put it over my mouth,” I explained.  “I think it was laced with something.”

Carefully, Rob picked the rag up.  He brought it to his face, took a small whiff, and instantly recoiled.  “I recognize the smell.”

“You do?  What is it?”

“Chloroform.  It’s an anesthetic that knocks you out.  I’m surprised you’re still standing, if he had it over your mouth.  You breathe even a tiny drop of the fumes, and you’re out for a long time.  But…”

“Yes?”

“If the rag was laced with chloroform,” Rob said pensively, “that means the man wanted you knocked out.  He came here specifically for you, Tracy.”

Suddenly, I heard the man stir.  His head, which was hanging down his chest, started to move, and his eyes flickered open groggily.  Without thinking, I leapt to snatch the cloth from Rob’s hand and pressed it tight against my attacker’s mouth.  The feel of his face beneath my hand was filthy, disgusting, and being so close to him was frightening.  Luckily, he didn’t realize what was happening, and it only took a few breaths for him to be knocked back out again.

“What was that for?” Rob asked carefully.

“To keep him quiet,” I replied.  I did not know what I would do if this man awoke with me in the room.  Maybe I was terrified he would somehow break free and try attacking me again.  Maybe I was scared he would scream and call attention to our room.  Whatever it was, I thought it best for him to remain unconscious.

Just then, a cautious knock sounded on the door.  I spun around, heart caught in my throat.  Rob hefted the baseball bat.  He nodded for me to go against the wall, out of sight of the doorway.  I moved as silently as a hare slipping into the night. Rob approached the door.

“Who is it?” he asked carefully.

“Ashley!” came the reply from the other side. Hearing her voice, Rob visibly relaxed.  I did too.  He opened the door a crack and ushered her in.

“Quickly,” he said.  “We don’t want anyone passing by to see.”

“See what?” Ashley asked as she stepped in.  “What’s going—” she cut off with a sharp intake of air as her eyes landed on the man slouched against the wall.  Her eyes followed the small trail of blood from the man to the spot on the carpet by my desk, where Rob had hit him.  She took in the discarded pieces of cut up clothes littering the floor, and disorderly state of the room.  Finally, her eyes landed on me.  I saw that they were wide and scared.  “Oh my god, Tracy, !” she exclaimed. “What happened?”

With a deep breath, I relayed events to her as best as I could remember.  When Ashley realized the man had come here for
me
, she ran across the room and wrapped her arms around my body with nearly as much strength as the attacker had used holding me down.  As soon as her hug hit me, I couldn’t stop myself from having another small breakdown.  Rob picked up the story from there as Ashley stroked my hair gently.  When it was all explained, and I had calmed down once more, Ashley looked at the man.

“How did he get on the island?” she asked.  “Who is he?  Where is he from?”

Rob went to kneel beside him, and tilted the man’s head up by the chin.  For the first time since all this began, I got a good look at his face.  The man was… simply the most
un
remarkable man I had ever seen.  He had a small nose, regular cheekbones, and unobtrusive eyebrows.  None of his plain features warranted any extra attention.  There was nothing about his face that said he was capable of an attack like this. 

“I don’t recognize him,” Rob said after studying his face for a moment.  “He’s not from here.  I’ve seen most of the staff here at one time or another.  He’s not particularly remarkable, but I would know if I’d seen him before.”

“I don’t recognize him either,” Ashley said.  She looked at me questioningly, and I shook my head.  I had never seen him before. 

“So… now what do we do?” I asked.  “Is there anyone we can go to? There’s no like, police, or anything on the island, right?”

“Just the few security guards taking shifts
guarding
the dorms,” Ashley said sarcastically.  “And it’s not like they’d be much help.”

“Besides, we should figure out what he wanted before we go raising a ruckus,” Rob said.  “I’m just thinking out loud here, but maybe the best thing in the short term is to keep this as quiet as possible.”

“I agree,” I said.  “But he’ll wake up eventually.  We can’t just keep him here.”

Ashley bit her lip.  Her dark hair swung around her shoulders as she looked around the room.  “I have an idea…” she began.

“Yes?” Rob and I said at the same time.

“We’ll have to wait for the others.  But… you guys know of the caves that run under the island?”  Obviously I knew, so I assumed Ashley was only making sure Rob did, too.

“Sure,” Rob said.  “They’ve all been closed up ages ago.”

“Not quite,” Ashley said, sneaking me a knowing glance.  “I know of an entrance that can take us down there.  We can keep him there—away from prying eyes.  That might be the best solution for now.”

Rob exhaled and rubbed his temples.  “You’re saying you know of a way into the caves?  How?  Does anybody else know?”

Ashley sneaked me another glance, and I gave her a surreptitious nod.  “The other girls do.  Liz… was the one who found the entrance.  I don’t know how.”

“They’re on their way here now?” Rob asked.

“Yes,” Ashley replied.  “I called them right after Tracy phoned me.  They were getting dinner in the main yard.  They’ll be here soon.”

“Even if you do know of an entrance to the caves,” Rob said, “how do we get him out of the dorm?  Surely somebody’s going to see and ask questions.”

“That could be easier than you think,” Ashley said.  “But we’ll have to wait for nightfall, first.”  I looked out the window, and realized that darkness was no more than half an hour away.  “That way there’ll be less of a chance of anybody noticing us.”

“Right. But, how do we get out of the building?” Rob asked.  “We can’t just carry him, bound up like that, down the stairs and through the foyer.”

“There’s a service elevator in the rear of the dorm that the janitors use,” Ashley said without missing a beat.  “They’re only here in the mornings.  Right now, nobody’s going to be there.”

“I didn’t know that,” Rob professed.

“You live in the senior dorm,” Ashley shrugged.  “Anyway, we need a key to access it, but I know for a fact Liz has one.”  I eyed her questioningly, and Ashley shrugged again.  “Student council stuff.  She’s got access to all types of things you’d never even think of.  Anyway, the best part is that the elevators go to a private exit at the back of the dorm.  If we’re lucky, there’s not going to be anyone out there in the dark.”

“And then we can go into the forest,” I said, catching on.  “We won’t need to take the main path.”

“Right,” Ashley said.  “From there, it won’t be far to the caves.”

Just then, an urgent knock sounded at the door.  I jumped, and my heart jumped with me.  Ashley’s head spun around.  After a moment, Rob went to the door again.

“Yes?” he said cautiously.

“Rob?” came the reply from the other side.  “It’s Liz.  Madison and Eve are with me.  What’s going on?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” Rob muttered as he opened the door to let the three girls in.  Liz was wearing a licorice drape trench over white jeans and a red blouse cut deep to the neck.  Madison, who sometimes reminded me of Liz’s shorter twin, had her hair swept back over a ruffled brown jacket.  Eve, dressed all in black with her hair spiked dangerously to the side, held a casual aloofness that she usually assumed. But that evaporated when she saw the inside of the room.

“What happened?” Eve quickly demanded. 

Once more, I found myself retelling the story of coming back to my room, of being attacked, and of being saved by Rob.  The girls listened silently as I talked and sneaked anxious looks at each other.  Once I concluded with how Rob tied the attacker up, Ashley spoke.

“We need to get him out of here,” she said.  “The best option that I can think of is the caves.  We can keep him there until morning, at least, and figure out what to do next then.”

“That’s a good idea,” Eve said simply.  “But how do we get him out of the room?”

“The janitor’s elevator.  Liz, you have your key?”

Liz nodded absently.  Most of her attention had shifted to the man.  “It’s upstairs in my room.  I can go grab it.”

“I’ll go with you,” I quickly volunteered.  “I don’t want you to be alone.”  I also needed to tell Liz that I suspected the crystals had some part in this. 

Rob shook his head.  “If there’s anybody else out there, I should be the one to go.”  He retrieved his baseball bat from the floor.  “This has served me well so far.”

There was no way for me to argue without seeming confrontational, so I nodded my consent.  At least, with Rob out of the room, I’d be able to speak to the other girls freely.

“Let’s go,” Liz said, starting for the door.  “We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

With both of them out of the room, an uneasy silence descended upon the four of us.  Madison shifted her feet uncomfortably. Ashley cleared her throat. Even Eve looked a little disturbed.  I fingered the crystal in my pocket. It did not quite give me the peace of mind I was hoping for.

“So,” Ashley said after a long moment, “it looks like things are starting to get dangerous around here.”

“Do you think it has something to do with the crystals?” Madison asked suddenly.  It was the first time she had spoken since coming to my room. Her voice came as a tiny peep. 

“Of
course
it has something to do with the crystals!” Eve exploded, causing Madison to jump back.  Eve continued on without softening her tone.  “The question is, was this man after Tracy in particular, or could it have been any one of us?  How safe are we here anymore?”

“We don’t know everything,” Ashley said in a mediating voice.  “We don’t know
anything
!  We can’t presume it was about the crystals without proof.  All we really know is that a man just tried kidnapping Tracy.” 

“Well, what else would it be about?” Eve demanded.  “What—” she cut off at a knock on the door, and Liz’s voice on the other side.  Shooting Ashley and Madison a look that said the discussion wasn’t even close to over, Eve went to open the door.

Rob and Liz slipped inside.  “I got the key,” Liz said.  “We have to move fast.  Now’s the best time.  Most of the dorm’s empty because everyone’s out for dinner.  Eve, you go outside and stand at the stairs.  Make sure nobody comes on this floor without us knowing.”

Eve nodded so quickly that I was surprised she was the same girl who just had that mini-outburst. 

“Rob, can you pick him up?” Liz continued as Eve went outside.  She was the one taking charge of the situation now.  “Can you carry him?”

“Sure,” Rob said hesitantly.  “Over a shoulder.  But the bonds are obvious if anybody sees.”

Liz tapped her lips in thought, but an idea burst in my head before she could say anything.  “Roll him up in the carpet!” I said.  Everyone turned to stare at me as if I’d gone mad.  “Seriously,” I defended. “It’s already stained with blood, so I won’t need it anymore, plus it’s big enough to cover him.  Rob, if anyone sees you carrying a carpet over your shoulders, they might think it unusual, but I doubt they’d look twice.  At least, nobody would look close enough to notice a body inside.”

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Liz said.  “Let’s do it.”

Rob hefted the guy to the edge of the carpet, where he and Ashley began to roll him up.  It took a few attempts, but eventually the carpet covered his entire body, hiding his shape inside.  While they did that, Liz gave Madison the key so she could run and call the elevator.  I stood watch for a bit, then, after deciding I’d had almost all I could take for the evening, collapsed onto my bed.  The adrenaline that had masked my tiredness since the attack was wearing off.  I felt the fatigue coming back with double force.  I doubted I could sleep anytime soon, though.