Chapter Fifteen

Girls Nite Out

 

 

 

Lexi fought the fogginess in her mind and finally won. With her next breath the sweet stench filled her head and it all came back. Every little detail. She opened her eyes and came face to face with the liar. “You said he was alive, Monica. You said you got texts from him!”

“Stop screaming, Lexi.” After a few seconds of silence, Monica’s voice came through the darkness. “I only said that to keep you from going to the cops.”

They should have gone to the cops right away. The very next morning, when they’d realized what had happened and that people were starting to wonder where he was and what had happened to him. Lexi sagged. If only she could go back and do that over. Do it all over. Not just that morning, or the night before, but the whole summer. Months of idiocy and ugliness. All of the worst things she’d ever done, all within one summer break.

“That was stupid. If you didn’t want to go to the cops, that would’ve been fine. You should have told me the truth and let me go. I could have taken all the blame.”

“I know that now. But I thought it was Ash, not Zeke.”

The image of the catcher’s mask rose up in Lexi’s mind. “It’s too late now, Monica. It’s too late to do the right thing.” She fought the fresh coil of hysteria spiraling through her as she added, “And it’s too late for us.”

Monica lowered her voice. “No, it’s not too late for us. We’re going to get out of this. If you’ll just stop screaming the next time Zeke comes in.”

More insanity. More random pieces she couldn’t fit together. “What’s Zeke got against Jon? Or me?”

“Stop asking questions and help me figure a way out of this.” She was jerking her legs back and forth, using the heels of her boots to try to snag the twine.

Lexi couldn’t let the questions go. “I didn’t have anything to do with posting that video.”

Monica sighed. “Girls showing off their boobs is no big deal. Especially when they knew exactly what they were doing.”

Lexi followed Monica’s motions and started working at the twine around her ankles too. “I guess that’s true. Sort of.” She stopped moving her legs and lifted her arms. “But that doesn’t explain this.”

Monica didn’t even look over when she replied. “He did more than that. He made ones in the bathroom too.”

“What are you talking about?”

The twine around Monica’s legs suddenly came free, and she kicked it away. It flew up and landed beside Lexi. “He made videos of girls going pee. In the bathroom.”

That couldn’t be true. “How do you know?”

“He showed me.”

Monica’s response sent chills down Lexi’s arms. “You’re both sick.” Seeing Monica’s legs free gave her the encouragement she needed. She kept struggling.

“I’m not sick. He is. That’s why I uploaded that one video, to get him into trouble and stop him.”

Something about that didn’t ring true but her binds were almost off. “What about Jon?” The pressure from the twine gave way and her legs were free.

“I don’t know.” Monica’s voice softened. “Probably knew him from baseball or some other place. Whatever happened with him and Jon has nothing to do with us.”

“Look at that.” Lexi tipped her head toward Jon’s body, hearing her voice rise but unable to stop herself from screaming. Her next words came out in a low shriek. “He’s dead, Monica. And in here. So, yeah, it does have something to do with us.”

“I know,” Monica said, her voice level. “But we have to think right now. Not freak out.”

That was true. And looking at Jon’s body, now that she wasn’t terrified and hysterical, made her realize she had to act. Not scream or panic. The longer they took, the more chance there was that Zeke would come back. Lexi twisted against the ropes securing her wrists. “We have to find a way out of here. Where’s the door? Did you try to find it while I was passed out?”

“I was out of it too. He kept rubbing that rag in my face, popping in and out, threatening me with more. Then you got here, and, well, I didn’t want to leave you.”

“This is—we—” Giving up on her wrists for the moment, Lexi scrambled to her feet. “Stand up. We have to get out of here. Now. Before he comes back.”

The rough cement wall tore Lexi’s delicate blue sweater, ripping it to shreds, but soon she was on her feet with Monica beside her. Blood flowed in her legs, fiery pins and needles burning her thighs and calves. Ignoring the pain, she scooted sideways, sliding her plastic-coated hands along the wall. Her feet were still partially numb and she moved carefully, doing everything she could to not trip. She moved past wooden crates, trash and invisible creatures scurrying along the walls. Her foot slid on a slippery plastic bag.

Monica gagged.

The stench got more intense as they moved. Lexi concentrated on not getting sick, telling herself to think about anything except what she was dealing with. A few steps later, she was surprised to find herself thinking about her mom and how badly she wanted to get home.

Monica was right. For now, they had to work together. She’d worry about later, later. “You there?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m with you.” The other girl coughed, then said, “I’m fine. Keep going.”

The room seemed long. The floor was scattered with weird-looking beige foam shapes, broken sticks and empty glass bottles. Three small barred windows let in smudgy rays of light.

Monica said what Lexi was thinking as they passed under the openings. “Even if we did break the glass, getting past the bars would be impossible.”

That was obvious. “Look for the door.”

As they crept past Jon’s rotting body, Lexi tried not to look at what was left of his face. But it was nearly impossible to avert her gaze from the corpse being caressed by the misty rays of light fighting through the grimy windows. The worst part was his filmy eyes, staring blindly forward, as though he was waiting. She tried not to think about that night, and how he’d been goofy and happy, wanting to impress them with facts about his expensive racing bike.

“Lexi.” Monica spoke weakly from behind. “I-I think I’m going to puke.”

“Go ahead if you have to, just keep moving.”

Lexi skidded on something. A pile of red second-place ribbons, each with scientific symbols in the center. Then it hit her, the answer to a question she should’ve been asking. “This is the science club building. You know that, right?”

“Um, yeah. You’re right. I mean, yeah, I know.” Monica’s voice got lighter. “It is. Close to home, just have to get out of here.”

“You guys had your meetings here, right? So you must know your way around.”

“Oh, sure. I do. Go around the corner, the door’s that way. Look for the stairs.”

They made their way around the corner, inching along. The farther they moved from the windows, the dimmer it became. Without the shadows from the street lamps, they had to stay close to the wall to avoid running into boxes on the floor or the occasional piece of broken glass. Soon they were standing in near-blackness. Keeping her left foot steady, Lexi circled her right one, hoping to bump into the stairs. Her toe connected with a cracked wooden slat—the outline of steps. “This way.”

Stumbling as she searched for each step with her toe, she climbed until a cold, hard metal lattice scraped below her foot. She’d reached the top of some sort of platform.

She moved forward, then stopped to check on Monica. “You there?”

“Right behind you,” Monica replied, her voice growing stronger.

Lexi moved along until a scuttling sound stopped her in her tracks. She waited, trying to listen over the thumping of her heart and the murmur of Monica’s breathing. “That you?”

The other girl bumped into her. “What?”

“That noise,” she whispered.

“No. It’s not me.”

Lexi strained, holding her entire body still. “Maybe it’s a rat or something.”

The swish came again.

The second time rougher, closer.

Louder.

It wasn’t a mouse or rat. It wasn’t any creature.

The hinges of the door squeaked and a beam of light pierced Lexi’s gaze. She reached back and leaned against Monica.

“Hey! Hello?”

Lexi’s muscles flashed hot. She tensed, unsure of whether to rush forward or flee back the way they’d come.

The voice came again, louder. “Who’s in here?”

Her mind had to be playing tricks. “Ash?”

“Lexi?”

She dove into the darkness, flailing her bag-coated hands and tumbling until she fell into Ash’s arms.

Monica was right behind her, trying to grab them both with her bound hands until the three of them fell against the wall, sliding down until they hit the metal steps.

Monica smacked at Ash. “What are you doing here, Ash?”

“I was going to the weight room, trying to blow off some steam from—you know.” He glanced at Lexi, his eyes filled with apology. “Anyway, I heard the screaming, so I—” His lips curled as his lifted his head, trying to look through the darkness. “What is— What’s going on?”

After a beat of silence, she felt him gagging, so she leaned back to give him room to breathe. “Breathe through your mouth then out through your nose,” she said.

“What’s that smell?” he asked, his chest still heaving.

Monica scrambled to her feet. “It’s Jon—”

“Zeke killed him and took us.” Lexi grabbed at Ash, trying with her covered hands to pull him up through the darkness as she said, “We have to get out of here before he comes back. Hurry, stand up. Let’s go.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ash got up, weaving, probably from the stench. “I just saw Zeke.”

Lexi shoved her plastic-wrapped hands in Ash’s face, rubbing them together to make a rustling sound. “He tied us up. He killed Jon, Ash. That’s what that smell is.”

“Over there.”

Holding his hands over his mouth, Ash searched out into the room, his gaze circling until finally stopping on the outline of Jon Eagle’s body, visible beneath the thin light coming through the window. He took a slow step forward, then another, then leaped the last three, covering the last few yards in seconds.

Lexi rushed after him then stopped to watch him gradually reach out. His hand hovered in the pale rays of light coming through the window, his fingers wavering as he reached forward. Her stomach knotted as she watched him touch the dead, rotting corpse that had once been his best friend.

He spoke. “Jon. What happened? It’s really over now.” The last word came out as a sob, the sounds of his voice tapering off to a wordless jumble.

Monica and Lexi reached him at the same time. “We have to go, come on—”

“Monica’s right, Ash. We have to get out of here before Zeke comes back.” She pushed him away from Jon’s body, toward the door. “It’ll be okay. We just have to leave. Now.”