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For the first time in forever, I felt alone.

I allowed myself to fall into unconsciousness. Blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

Tappingon the door woke me.

I sat upright, stomach-churning, and peered around my room. Darkness clung to every corner, every crevice, every item, sheathing it like a thick blanket.

I was somewhat surprised, and perhaps a little hurt, that Beau hadn’t snuck into my room with me. I knew he was only respecting my wishes, but a part of me yearned for his comfort.

The knocking began again, further rousing me from my sleep. Maybe Beauhaddecided to join me. The thought had me eagerly sitting up.

“Beau?” I murmured, wiping sleep from my eyes. Throwing off my thin covers, I padded barefoot across the hideous blue and black dotted carpeting.

It had never occurred to me that it would be anyonebutBeau at the door when I opened it. The face staring back at me, however, was not that of my best friend. Instead, it was a familiar girl with wild black hair and crazed eyes.

It took me a moment to place her name. Kelly. From the hall. She had been the younger girl getting bullied by those boys.

My eyes traced her small, pixie features and the white nightgown she wore. Her hands hung limply by her sides, nails digging into the palms of her hands.

“Between,” she whispered, casting a haunted look in both directions. Both were empty at this time of night…or morning, if my dorm room alarm was any indication. Three, to be exact.

“Kelly?” I asked. The fog from my sleep had yet to fully recede, and I scrubbed at my eyes once more as if that would somehow speed up the process. “What are you doing here?”

“Between,” she repeated urgently.

I blinked at her.

Before I could formulate any type of response, she shoved past me and entered my room, slamming the door shut. I opened my mouth, but she quickly put a finger to her lips.

Shhh.

Nodding to show her I understood, I perched on the edge of the bed. My heart ached for Kelly. She was obviously unwell.

Was that why she was sent here?

Was that whyIwas sent here?

I was surrounded by psychopaths. It only made sense if I was one as well.

I didn’t know what she wanted me to hear, but I decided to humor her, tilting my head curiously to the side and nodding at random times. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

Whoops. Apparently, that wasn’t the reaction she wanted.

“This is serious,” she hissed, for once sounding coherent.

I nodded, properly chastised.

And then…I heard it.

There were no words to describe it. The scuttling of thousands of beetles, perhaps. The lightest click click click coming closer. The sound of mechanical spiders filling the walls, trying to claw their way out.

I froze, only my eyes moving to meet Kelly’s wide-eyed stare. She, once again, put a single finger to her lips.

The clacking was growing closer, just outside my dorm room door, before continuing down the hallway. It felt like an eternity instead of a few minutes as I held myself still. Waiting.

My breaths sawed in and out, but I managed to keep my gaze fixed on Kelly. She didn’t seem surprised by the strange, eerie sound reverberating through my room, nor did she seem upset.