An involuntary squeak rose up my throat and was out of my mouth before I could stop it. I clamped a hand over my mouth and shifted back against the wall.
Had they seen me?
Every cell in my body flared to life. I needed to find Roxy.
My hands trembled as I pushed open the door. I marched back into the bar, scanning the crowd. I had to find Roxy and tell her… Wait, what was I going to tell Roxy? That Barnaby was an alien? Was Barnaby an alien? My vodka-soaked brain struggled to piece it all together. At the very least he was cheating on Roxy.
Where was she? I wouldn’t make a scene. I would take her to one side and tell her… I hesitated. After what had happened with Amy, I couldn’t count on Roxy’s reaction. Besides, I didn’t have any proof. No, I would tell her about the girl and—
I stopped in my tracks.
Barnaby sat at the table with Roxy. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he leaned down and whispered something in her ear. She flipped her hair and giggled.
He looked up and saw me staring at them. My heart pounded as I held his gaze. For a split second, his pale-green eyes held a question, as well as something else, then shifted to amusement. He lifted two fingers in greeting. I forced a smile, then turned away.
He had been… he was just…
I hurried back through the doors to the hallway. Empty. No sign of the girl or… anyone.
Barnaby had been there. I could swear it. Yet he couldn’t have got back to Roxy that fast, or without passing me
I blinked. What just happened? I scanned the crowded room for the girl. Finally, I spotted her talking to her friends.
Had I imagined it? Had the girl been with someone else whom I’d mistaken for Barnaby? Was I holding on to my old life by seeing alien mysteries where there were none? Or was there really something going on here? After the robin and now this, maybe it was me, or maybe…
A chill ran up my spine. What if someone spiked my drink?
Back inside, I found Scott at the bar.
“Are you okay? You look pale.” He wrinkled his nose. “Did you puke?”
“No. Not yet anyway. Stay with me please?”
Scott studied me, unease in his warm brown eyes. “Sure. Do you want me to take you home?”
I watched Roxy fawning over Barnaby. “No, not yet. Just don’t leave me.”
“Are you worrying about the spikings? I heard there was another one.”
I looked up. “There was?”
“Yeah, who knows how many that is now? I can’t get my head around the whole thing. Did you know boys have been spiked too?”
“No, I hadn’t heard that.”
“Yeah, which makes people lean towards the drunken-student-blackouts theory. But I heard a few have even gone missing.”
“Missing?” I asked, my eyes still glued to Roxy and Barnaby’s continued PDA across the room.
“Yep. Creepy right? Of course, most people think they couldn’t hack uni life and dropped out.”
“You’d think the police could find out if that were the case.”
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you? It’s all gossip. The rumour mill around here is worse than it was in Burnt Oak. Actually, it’s not. Remember when there was that rumour that Dane slept with Sadie? Eliza? Hey, don’t look so worried. We’re stuck together like glue for the rest of the night. No one is touching your drink but you.”
I nodded, taking a sip to soothe my dry throat. Conscientia might not be around to guide me anymore, but my alarm bells were ringing loud and clear.
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* * *
The next morning I awoke with a hefty hangover akin to the kind I experienced after a long night at Evil Pete’s. I downed two glasses of water, pulled on my running gear, and took the same route through the park. There were the robin and the butterfly. Right on time. This was getting super weird now.
With a quick glance over my shoulder to check that no one was watching, I climbed over the fence and into the shrubbery, out of the view of the main path. I spent a few minutes poking around. Nothing. Although what exactly did I expect to find? A machine that spat out robins every half an hour? I waited around for a while but couldn’t find so much as a stone out of place. After seeing another bird exactly forty-five minutes later, I headed back more confused than ever. Either I had completely lost my mind or something really strange was going on.
I kept my head down during my lecture. My fuzzy brain made it even harder to concentrate than usual. The moment my class finished, I ducked past my friends and headed straight for the library. The robin and the butterfly weren’t the only strange things on my mind.
The instant I stepped inside the grand room, with brown panelled walls and row upon row of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, my mind eased. The soft click of typing and the occasional swoosh of a page turn were the only sounds. If I could ignore the musty smell, it was a little slice of calm amongst the chaos. All I needed was a roaring log fire and I would have my very own ambient sound setting.
Groups of desks were separated into little cubicles to create private study areas. I sat at the end of an empty row and took out my laptop. I flipped to the back of my notebook and sent up a little prayer of thanks that, in between hassling girls about Dane and partying, my former self had taken the time to set up a password manager. Locating the one for the Riverdell University Library, I logged on to the archive files.
Having learnt from my past mistakes, I decided to keep my mouth shut about the weird feeling all of this gave me. That didn’t mean I could ignore the uneasy sensation in the pit of my stomach. I needed to take action, for my own sanity as well as my classmates’ safety. Find a clue, anything to prove I hadn’t dreamed it all up.
First, I selected My Riverdell, the weekly student newsletter, and clicked on an article about the most recent incident. Jessica Cox, a freshman studying media, had been at a rainbow party hosted by the SU when she blacked out. Her concerned friends found her wandering alone outside. She was taken to hospital, but they didn’t find any toxins in her system. Jessica didn’t remember anything about what happened.
If an alien did this, there would be nothing to find.
My heart pounded as I scanned the rest of the article. That was it for details; the rest consisted of warnings about staying safe and looking out for one another.
I searched for more articles, my mind racing. If an alien were responsible, what was the motive? As I read about the other cases, I found that the MOs differed. One girl was missing. Two mentioned missing chunks of time.
None of the articles mentioned anything being found in the students’ systems. The common thread was memory lapse. Thankfully, none of the victims appeared to have been assaulted. Another boy, who had actually disappeared back in September not long after freshers week, had only recently been linked to the case when one of his friends came forward saying she remembered seeing him acting strangely the night he disappeared. One girl thought her drink had been spiked, and the others thought they had been injected, because they awoke with a red mark on their skin. The whole thing was vague and creepy as hell. As I searched through the newsletters, something else caught my eye. The article about the first boy, Justin Wood, had a picture of him at the party which My Riverdell had found on social media. Justin, a tall skinny lad, grinned at the camera. Behind him, amongst the crowd of partygoers in the background, was Barnaby.
Barnaby’s head was angled towards the camera, and the picture caught the reflection of his eyes in the light. Other people in the photo had red eyes from the flash, but his eyes flared with an unusual green-blue haze.
Almost as if they glowed.
Shit. I closed my eyes and ran a hand through my hair.
Once I had taken a moment, I set to work. I made a list of the locations where the incidents occurred. Then, searching by different hashtags—#copsandrobbersparty #rainbowparty #riverdellfreshersball #rsubarhappyhour—I scanned through as many pictures on social media sites as I could find. It took a while to go through all the photos, but eventually I managed to place Barnaby at every single one. Hardly evidence though. Most of the student body was at those parties. I sat back in my seat, mulling it over. I still needed more. Perhaps I could follow him. Even if I did and I found something, what was I going to do then?
The shrill chime of a ringtone sliced through the silence of the library, and all eyes fell on a fair-skinned blond boy a few rows down. As I watched him risk the wrath of the librarian and answer his phone, I thought he looked vaguely familiar. Then it struck me. I went back to the screenshot of the photo I had found of the Freshers Ball. Barnaby was front and centre, and grinning like the Cheshire Cat, his arms slung around a couple of his friends. To the left, with his shoulders hunched, laughing as his friend pulled him into the shot… was the same boy.
The librarian pressed a finger to her lips and signalled for the boy to leave. Barnaby’s friend Craig (also known as @itscraigmaguire according to the photo tag) got up, but instead of leaving he ducked behind some shelves at the far side of the room.
Seizing my chance to eavesdrop, I got up and casually strolled to the shelf in front, pretending to browse for a book.
“Relax, B, it’s covered.” Craig’s hushed voice drifted between the shelves.
I inched closer, took out Essays on German Literature and Culture, and flicked through the pages with fake interest.
“I’ll be at Starlight Club tomorrow. You’re going, right? Good. Don’t worry, no one suspects anything. And even if they did, it’s not like they are going to figure it out, now is it?” Craig laughed, then said goodbye and hung up. I backed up, hiding deeper between the shelves so Craig didn’t notice me when he passed, then retreated back to my desk.
Had I stumbled on a lead? B had to be Barnaby. I pinched the bridge of my nose. Maybe this whole thing was a hallucination, and I would wake up strapped to a bed in Meadow View.
I signed out and put my notebook away.
What was I going to do about Roxy? If I told her about Barnaby, she would be devastated. If I pointed any form of accusation his way, he was bound to deny everything, spin her some line, and worm his way out of it like a silver-tongued devil. I had to get proof. Starting with this Starlight Club.
As I pushed back my chair and stood up to leave, I bumped into something behind me. A crash followed, earning me a severe scowl from the librarian.
“Sorry,” I whisper-yelled, then turned to find a girl and a stack of books sprawled across the floor. She looked up through her fringe with wide eyes.
“Sorry,” she squeaked.
“No, it was completely my fault. I’m the one who is sorry.”
The girl scrambled to her knees and began collecting her books, keeping her eyes low as she mumbled about how clumsy she was. I thought she looked familiar as I bent down to help. When I handed her books back, the penny finally dropped. It was Ella, the girl from social media.
I thought of the DMs I’d sent and winced. No wonder she looked like a deer caught in headlights. My gaze travelled to the large coffee stain down her front. “Oh no, your top.”
“It’s fine.” She waved her hand and began to back away, gladly dismissing the mess in her desperation to get away from me.
“Hold on a sec,” I called as I rummaged in my bag. “Your top is ruined. Why don’t you take this? The pattern might not be your style, but it’s better than coffee, right?” I held out my scarf. Ella stared at it like it might explode in her face. “Please, take it.”
“Why are you being nice to me?”
“Out of guilt,” I answered truthfully. “I wasn’t very nice to you in the past.” Her gaze dropped to the floor. “Look, I know it isn’t enough, but I’m sorry about those messages and anything else I might have done to hurt you.”
She narrowed her eyes, and my stomach sank. She didn’t trust my sincerity. Who could blame her?
“Please, will you sit down for a second?” I gestured to the chair.
She slipped on the scarf, positioning it over the stain, then perched on the edge of the seat. “Thanks for this.”
“No problem. I’m sorry for knocking into you. Listen, about those messages… I really am sorry about those too. It was horrible of me.”
“About Dane…” Uncertainty laced her tone. “I would never have crossed the line with him. Not when I knew you were together.”
“I don’t think we were. And we’re definitely not now. There is still no excuse for the way I treated you. It was because of my own insecurities. Something I should have taken up with Dane rather than lashing out at you.”
She studied me, then gave a small nod.
I gathered the rest of her books and set them in a neat stack on the table next to her.
“Dane is… Dane. He can be an idiot and is very rough around the edges.” I thought of how he was with Amy, even how he’d been with me sometimes. “He has it in him to be a good boyfriend. Don’t let him mess you around though.”
We exchanged awkward smiles, which stayed on my lips as I left the library. Even the shiver from the late-morning chill didn’t stop the weight that had lifted from my shoulders. Plus, I had a lead that might help me figure out exactly what was going on.
I took out my phone and texted Scott.
Are you free tonight?
He answered immediately. Yep, you wanna go out? SU Bar again?
I have a new place to try…
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* * *
Starlight Club was a few miles from uni, in the middle of an industrial park. Inside was dark, with a lot of multicoloured lights flashing to the beat of the 90s indie pop blasting from the speakers.
“Promise you haven’t brought me to a weird sex dungeon?” Scott asked, nervously eyeing a woman in a leather skirt.
The expression on his face made me giggle. “I’m not sure what your idea of a dungeon is, but I promise it’s not one. Doesn’t it feel good to get away from the uni crowd and check out somewhere new?”
“Is this because you are avoiding Dane? If so, you don’t need to worry, because I saw him all over this girl from my media class the other day. Oh… unless that’s bad news and you two are still…” He wagged his finger back and forth.
“No,” I said quickly. “We are not anything, and this has nothing to do with Dane. I wish him the best. I just fancied a change of scenery. Come on, let’s get a drink.”
Scott gave a little shrug, but I could tell he still had doubts. He knew me well enough to tell this was something more than a causal drink at a new club. Perhaps I should have just let him think it was Dane. Except no way.
They mainly served brightly coloured fruity drinks that cost twice as much as they charged at the SU Bar. I offered to pay, seeing as I had dragged him here, but Scott wouldn’t let me and ordered a beer.
“This place has a cool vibe,” he said as we made our way through the crowd and found a spot overlooking the dance floor.
The retro pop music wasn’t exactly my scene, but it was catchy, and Starlight had a tranquil quality that soothed me, relaxing the jumble of nerves in my stomach. I couldn’t pinpoint what made me so nervous. Was it because I might find something out about Barnaby? Or I might not find anything, and I’d have to admit I was barking up the wrong tree?
“Eliza, I have to say, I’m really enjoying us hanging out lately.”
“What do you mean?”
“Until recently it felt like you only used to talk to me when you were drunk.”
“I did?” I swallowed hard, that familiar feeling of heavy disappointment returning. “I’m sorry.” I seemed to be saying that a lot lately. “It wasn’t something I did on purpose, I just...” I searched for a decent explanation and came up short.
“It’s okay. I didn’t say it to make you feel bad. I know childhood friends can drift apart. I’m just glad we’ve reconnected.”
“Me too.” A wave of emotion crashed over me, and I threw my arms around Scott and gave him a big hug. I expected him to crack a joke about how much I’d had to drink, but instead he squeezed me tightly. I closed my eyes. I had missed him so much since he moved to Cyprus. He really was a great friend. Maybe I could confide in him? Let him in and explain why I was acting strangely. The urge to talk to someone I could trust was like a bomb inside me waiting to explode.
“Oh, look, there’s Barnaby. Hey, Barnaby!” Scott yelled.
“Shh,” I hissed. All thoughts of a confession vanished in a puff of smoke as I grabbed Scott’s shirt and dragged him behind a pillar before Barnaby spotted us.
“Watch it, this shirt is expensive!” Scott exclaimed.
“Sorry,” I muttered, smoothing down the material.
Scott’s eyes narrowed. “Come on, fess up. What are you up to?”
I sighed. “Fine. There might have been an ulterior motive for me wanting to come here tonight.”
“I knew it.” Scott took a sip of his beer, then peeked back around the pillar. “What are we looking for exactly?”
“I’m not sure. I have a feeling that Barnaby is up to something.”
“Like what? Cheating on Roxy?”
Maybe I wouldn’t come completely clean, but I could give him something. “Or spiking drinks.”
Scott’s jaw dropped open. “Barnaby? Eliza, what the hell?”
“I know, it’s bad. But something’s not right. I saw him with another girl, and I think he—”
“You think he’s a date rapist?”
“I never said that,” I said quickly. “I don’t know if he’s assaulting them. I’m not sure what he’s doing. There’s just something up with him, and we need to know more. That’s why we’re here.” I felt certain, even if saying it out loud sounded crazy.
“Even if it is him,” Scott made a tsk of disbelief, “do you really expect to catch him doing something sinister here?”
“Maybe. I don’t know, but—”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Barnaby separate from his friends and start chatting to a pretty brunette. I grabbed Scott’s arm, tugging him farther behind the pillar. We watched as Barnaby leaned in and whispered in the brunette’s ear. She giggled and placed her hand on his chest.
“Okay, what now? I admit that looks bad, but do you think we’re going to catch him spiking this girl’s drink?”
“No, probably not. It proves he lied though. He told Roxy he was staying home to work on his thesis. And look at him, he’s all over that girl.”
Scott shot me a look. “It’s not looking good on the monogamous front, I’ll give you that. As far as being the one who is drugging students, you’re grasping at straws, Eliza. You realise that, don’t you?”
“If I knew you were going to be so sensible, I wouldn’t have brought you along.” I gave him a nudge as I scanned the crowd. “Just enjoy your drink and check out the guys. Leave the rest to me. Whatever it is, I’ll know it when I…” I trailed off. Someone on the other side of the dance floor had caught my attention. I blinked. It couldn’t be. I wanted to pinch myself. The figure turned around and looked into the crowd. All the air was sucked from my lungs. Barnaby, Scott, everything else around me fell away as I stared across the club.
It was him. In the flesh, less than one hundred feet away.
It was Jack.