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“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” He pouted, but Frankie and I just laughed.

The trip was supposed to be about two hours, but it took at least forty minutes longer, mostly because the traffic on I-95 south was a killer, even on a Monday morning. It didn’t bother us at all. Sitting in a luxurious limo with every comfort (except a bathroom) was not a hardship. We drank soda and ate potato chips, Cracker Jacks, and gummi bears while we traveled.

Finally, our driver pulled off at an exit and drove for a while longer before turning onto a rural road. The only sign of life was a small gas station that looked closed. As we went deeper down the road, the area became increasingly wooded. Finally we came to a stop in front of a white stone arch that hung above an enormous, black, wrought-iron fence. A brick wall, about fifteen feet high, connected to the gate and disappeared into the forest. I’m not sure who the wall was intended to keep out in the middle of nowhere, but it did seem kind of ominous. Our driver pulled to a stop in front of the fence and typed some numbers on a small keyboard on the dashboard. Curious, we pressed our faces to the windows to get a look at the words carved into the arch.

“Si vis pacem, para bellum,”I murmured.

“What does that mean?” Frankie asked.

Since I was the only one in the car who’d taken Latin, I translated. “If you wish for peace, prepare for war.”

“Oh, that’s not scary at all,” Frankie whispered, leaning back in the seat.

The driver spoke to us through a microphone. “We’re here. Welcome to UTOP, kids.”

The gate began to open slowly, and we drove into the compound. We all strained to get a look at the campus, then I turned around and watched as the heavy gate closed behind us.

Wally whistled softly and pointed ahead. “Get a load of that.”

He pointed toward a series of precisely arranged colonial-style brick buildings arranged around a large courtyard and shaded by several towering trees. An impressive array of antennas covered the roofs.

I could imagine students sitting on the benches that dotted the landscape or on the grassy areas, studying or working on their laptops. It would have been an idyllic setting, except for one thing—it was a Monday morning and the place was deserted. It looked like a ghost town.

“That’s odd,” I heard the driver say. I’m not sure he realized his microphone was still on.

“What’s odd?” Wally asked, alarm crossing his face as he leaned forward and pressed the microphone button to the front of the limo. “Where is everybody?”

“I’m not sure. Something isn’t right.” The driver pulled into a parking place in front of a large courtyard, the sides of which were occupied by several small buildings, and pulled out a cell phone. He tapped on the phone and waited. We could hear ringing, but no one picked up.

He punched the phone off. “Well, that’s not good.”

“What’s not good?” Wally said, his voice squeaking. “What’s going on?”

The driver opened his door, his hand reaching under his jacket. “You kids stay here. I’ll be right back.” He slammed the door and walked cautiously toward the courtyard.

Frankie gripped my arm. “Where’s he going?”

“I don’t know,” I said, pressing my face to the window.

The driver was halfway across the quad when a sound like a firecracker went off. He fell to the brick walkway and didn’t get up.

For a moment, all three of us stared in horror, our mouths open.

“What the what?”Wally shouted. “Did someone just shoot him?”

“OMG!” Frankie gasped, squeezing my arm so tightly I was sure I’d have bruises. “We have to help him.”

“Help him? Are you crazy?” Wally slid to the floor, grabbing me and Frankie and trying to pull us down. “There’s someone with a gun out there. Maybe he won’t see us.”

Frankie and I immediately joined him on the floor in a jumble of limbs. I snapped the door lock on, then snatched my cell out of my purse to dial 911. I had no bars. Wally and Frankie both checked their phones.

“Where the heck are we that we have no cell signal?” Wally said. “This is crazy.”

“What are we going to do?” Frankie whispered.

I tried to stay calm, despite the rapid pounding of my heart. “I don’t know. We can’t just sit here.”

“Why not? The driver told us to stay in the car,” Frankie said, her breath catching. “We should listen to him.”