Chapter 10

Every muscle in Madeleine’s body told her to run, yet she felt somehow paralyzed.

A look at all the girls told her they felt the same.

Sophie was the first one to speak. “What was that?”

“We have to help whoever it was,” Kayley said.

“Nuh-uh. No way,” Emma said. “That wasn’t a scream you want to be a part of.”

Ophelia stomped toward Emma. “Don’t be a baby! We need to help whoever that was.”

Madeleine’s adrenaline rush was slowly dissipating. “They’re right, Emma. We need to find who that was and make sure they’re OK.”

Sophie rubbed Emma’s shoulder. “We’re all scared, Em.”

Emma gulped. “You’re right.” New strength came into her voice. “Where did the scream come from?”

“I think it came from the left, from that tunnel over there. Come on!” Ophelia said.

All five girls jogged down the hall. When they got to the entrance of the left passageway, they saw that it split off into still more tunnels.

Ophelia whispered, “Sophie, Emma, Kayley, you take that branch. Madeleine and I will take this one. Keep your phones on and your flashlights ready.”

“Why do we need our flashlights?” Kayley said. “There are candles everywhere.”

“To knock someone in the head if you need to. OK, let’s go.”

Madeleine and Ophelia crept along the stone floor quietly and slowly. The smell of mold was so powerful that Madeleine’s nose almost couldn’t take it. She felt she would sneeze at any moment. She rubbed her nose. Why was this happening now of all times? Her eyes watered, and she brushed at them impatiently.

Suddenly, Madeleine almost ran into Ophelia as Ophelia stopped in her tracks. “Did you hear that?” she whispered.

Madeleine shook her head. Then she did hear it. The sound of many people chanting.

Ophelia looked at her with wide eyes, put a finger to her lips, and started down the hall again. Madeleine followed, wondering for the billionth time if this was a good idea and still suppressing a sneeze.

The chanting got louder and more eerie, keening and wailing, one voice louder than the rest speaking in a language Madeleine didn’t understand. Finally, she and Ophelia came to an archway toward a room where the chanting seemed to be coming from. Ophelia crouched down on one side of the arch, and Madeleine followed her.

An altar of some sort stood in the center of the room with a strange symbol carved into it. Six hooded figures surrounded the table, holding dripping candles and chanting. Torches lit the room from wooden mounts on the wall. Through a gap in the formation of the hooded figures, Madeleine could barely make out the items on top of the altar—which included her necklace.

The same scream the girls had heard earlier pierced the chanting.

A female figure writhed on the ground near the altar. A deep male voice rang out, this time in English.

“She feels it again! Rejoice, for our plans will be realized! Rejoice!”

Madeleine felt Ophelia shudder, and her own terror had reached a fever pitch. Our plans will be realized? Nothing good could come of that. Her nose started itching, and she rubbed it furiously.

But this time, there was nothing she could do. With horror, she felt her body contract.

She sneezed.

After that, everything happened so fast, she wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t.

The chanting stopped. Madeleine and Ophelia began to run.

Madeleine had never run so fast in her life, and she still could barely keep up with Ophelia.

In the main hallway, they ran headfirst into Kayley, Emma, and Sophie.

“What’s going on? Why are you running?” Emma cried.

With terror in her eyes, Ophelia pointed to the hooded figures running toward them. All five girls took off down the hall again.

Sprinting as fast as they could, they made it back to the boiler room door, climbed the narrow cement stairs, and tore through the prop room. When they reached the hallway on the second floor, they sprinted to the French doors and opened them in a panic. With trembling hands, Ophelia got out the key and locked it again.

“What … the … ,” Kayley managed to get out.

The sound of footsteps echoed on the other side of the door. The girls sprinted down the hallway and ran into the closest room—Sophie’s.

Ophelia kept her ear to the door to hear if anyone was coming. After fifteen minutes with no noises, Sophie turned on the light and all five girls collapsed.

“Well,” Kayley said. “We can safely say we don’t have a ghost.”

“Yeah,” Ophelia said, “no ghost. Just a murderous cult.”