Page 15

Maggie Grey

I threw on my Drew Collins jacket, pulling my white curls from underneath the collar before packing up my things. It was almost over. These exams were getting harder and harder and supposedly, the first semester…first year is the easiest. It’s just the basics. Maybe between pledging and dealing with the off chance that Asha will be kidnapped by the school, might have started to take its toll on me.

Could be that… Nothing too heavy.

Now I get the text that Namir’s mother is here along with Draco Holmes and Maze. I, more than anything, wanted to see Draco because Bellamy hasn’t shown his red-eyed ass since, and I refused to text him. How do you harass me with Tiktok videos and send mindless messages about nonsense to complete silence? So I grabbed my things from the table, and quietly left the study hall which was nothing but a large room filled with long tables and students buried in their work. With arched ceilings with glass colored stained windows, it looked more like the inside of a church than anything. Everyone knew this was a place of silence and there were always a few teachers around on study hall duty, here to help a student in need, followed by designated tutors.

“You need help with that?”

The deep voice came out of nowhere as I turned around to see Eamon already grabbing my drooping book bag off my shoulder to sling over his. Nice guy. Handsome. Fit. Brown skin…maybe a mahogany complexion give or take. He reminds me of Isis’s brother. That fit military frame, square shoulders and upright stance. He was dressed in a maroon varsity jacket with the khaki pants, and maroon polo shirt tucked in. I could even see a peek of gray hairs curling out of his goatee. He still had a youthful appearance in the face, bright eyes but I knew he had to be at least in his 30s.

“Thanks,” I said, flipping my hair back from my face as we began to walk towards the exit. I waved at a few students in my class until we reached the exit and he opened the doors for me. Drew Collins was rightfully decorated with Halloween and fall decor from large pumpkins the size of cars stacked together to drapes of colorful leaves strung together and looping from tree to tree. It was odd knowing that there was a holiday to dress up like real live people down here. So it didn’t surprise me when I saw no costumes or masks of witches and vampires with fake teeth. It seemed somewhat offensive to some degree. Still, the fake spider webs stretching against the corners of the building doors and windows was enough to put you in the halloween spirit.

“You and I share most of our classes together and never say a word to each other,” he said as I laughed.

“Yeah well…My strategy with college is always the same. Come in, do work from the previous class and dip out. I never really been the talkative type in class.”

“Well let me introduce myself then.” He put his hand out. “My name is Eamon. Most just call me E.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Maggie.”

“Oh I know who you are.” He chuckled. “The girl with the white hair. The First Fam…everybody knows who you are.”

“Aye yo E?! The Hill, tonight?!” Someone shouted. He put two fingers up with a nod before turning back to focus on me.

“What’s The Hill?” I asked. His eyes widened in surprise. “I know…I don’t know half the stuff that goes on.”

“You interested in going out to a party tonight then? You and your girls? I know you roll with a crew.”

I smiled.

Eamon reached in his bag to hand me a blank card. I wasn’t even going to do the stupid thing by asking what is it…where’s the information because knowing this school, you probably had to use some magical dust from the wizard in the sky to sprinkle on the card .

“We keep it blank from those who may find it on the ground,” he noted. “But come stop by if you can. You and your home girls are welcomed…”

He licked his lips with a wiggle of his brows. I laughed. Cheeky and corny, ok… I can dig it but my mack game was interrupted by my reality when my phone started to vibrate.

“Alright, I’ll look into it but I gotta get going.”

“Where are you headed? I got time to escort you to your next class,” he insisted.

“I’m actually meeting up with somebody,” I said, taking my bag off his shoulders.

“Ahh ok…Ok.” He nodded, catching the hint. “Tell the Coach I don’t mean no harm…Some see you as fair game.”

My mouth dropped. He shrugged with a cool frowning grin like he said something monumental.

“Hopefully I’ll see you tonight! It would be an honor to have the First Family at the Hill.”

It wasn’t just Eamon that was outwardly talking to me. I walked along the pathways of The Grounds and most guys who usually kept their heads down about me were finding the courage to suddenly speak. Souxie was the one to draw out the men, constantly coming up to speak to her and get their foot in her door. Asha was already making waves and asserting herself as the it girl on The Grounds, and Isis well… She was naturally that girl. Most men felt at ease around her and she could flirt their boxers off in a heartbeat.

Me ?

I was never that type. I was a guy’s girl. The one that was hanging with the boys to hear them talk about the girls they would go after. Somehow or another, we would hang out and it would go from there or not at all. Namir was the first man to make it clear he was interested amongst the rest of the guys here who were too afraid to speak to me.

Now…it feels like something is shifting. I just couldn’t tell if it was me or maybe it was something in the damn air. Maybe it was just this particular moon in the sky being attractive… To say I wasn’t used to the attention was an understatement. I just didn’t need Namir getting any damn ideas.

Knocking on the door of his office, I slowly pushed it open to see a few people standing around. Maze gasped as she stood up from the chair, short hair with curls slicked down against her scalp. She reached her arms out in a quick hug and squeezed me tight .

“I’ve missed you soooo much. I didn’t really get a chance to say as much when you came to the house but I’m hoping to get back in the school next semester,” she gleamed with excitement.

Draco stood wearing a hoodie over his head, and some baggy jeans as he gave me a nod with a small smile. Namir’s mother was sitting down with tissue balled up in her hand, red teary eyes like she’d been crying while Namir glowered. He was pissed. Something must have just happened and Maze was trying to lighten up the mood with the dramatics.

“Did I miss something?” I asked. Maze’s smile slowly faded as she closed the door.

“Wolf business,” Draco said dryly. He walked over with his usual rich demeanor despite being dressed like he was an extra from the 8 Mile movie. “How are you my beautiful cousin?” He wrapped one arm around my neck and kissed me on the cheek. “Bellamy keeps you close.” He said as he looked me over in approval. “I don’t like that. How are you?”

He pressed his hand against my forehead like I was sick with a fever before pushing my hair back as I smiled.

“I’m fine, Draco.”

“You have a new aura about you…” He looked me over again in approval. “Shifting with the moon, again?”

“ Perhaps ,” I mocked in an uppity tone. He grinned before wrapping his arm around my neck again to pull me in close for a hug.

“Come, let them talk in private…”

Draco was pulling me out of the office just as fast as I walked in as we stepped outside into the cold brisk air of Drew Collins. He shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket and stood with his legs cocked wide open, standing out like a sore thumb amongst the uniforms and coats.

“What the hell was that all about?” I asked, scooping my hair out of my face as the wind blew by.

“Apparently, the two brothers are actually fighting, for real this time and Maze really had no idea,” Draco said. “Ty and I spoke… I said what I had to say about how he handled my wife and left it at that. I spoke with their father and got a blessing from him. Not that I needed it.” He huffed. “All of this happened after I killed the wolf bitch.”

“I’m sorry, you did what ?” I let out.

“The one who dragged my wife on the ground in front of everyone. I killed her and Maze’s mother finished her off to cover me. So we don’t break out into another fucking civil war. I would have been ready either way.” He muttered before sighing. “I spoke with Ty shortly after that, face to face and we came to an understanding.”

“Okay so… All is well? ”

“Except Namir didn’t know…They approve of Maze because they really don’t have any choice. I’ve been around since we were children but…”

“They don’t approve of me,” I realized. Draco nodded.

“I don’t believe it has anything to do with you at this point and I’m sure Namir realizes that. Maybe in the beginning when they killed the girl but I don’t think so much anymore.”

“Wait a minute, killed what girl?” I asked.

“The girl…well the girls…The one who died at the house. Ty was behind that. He’s the one who did it…Did Namir not tell you? Why do you think he’s the only wolf here? Maze told me she was responsible for setting you and Namir up on behalf of the Uncle’s plan. Namir was supposed to pretend to like you to keep you close but in reality, Ty was setting you up which is why the deaths took place near you… Did you not know any of this? I assumed you did once you and Namir became serious and looked past it. You can’t blame him. He fell for you and that is what they weren’t expecting. Namir is forced to leave the pack because of you. Ty makes amends with Maze being married to me but hates Namir for choosing you over him. It’s petty sibling bullshit at the end of the day. Now, the mother is worried because she hasn’t heard from Ty nor the father. Nobody is telling her anything.”

“Like he’s missing?” I questioned.

“Possibly… ”

The doors opened as Namir, his mother, and Maze walked out. Draco was reading my face faster than I could hide it when he suddenly leaned in and whispered against my ear.

“Cousin, the man left his entire family for you. Not Maze, but you. Maze wouldn’t even do that for me until she was forced to, and she still talks with them.” Draco slowly stepped back to look at me. “Do not question what is obvious.”

I inhaled deeply as Maze nervously glanced from Draco to I. She must have heard what he said but Namir was busy talking with his mother who was trying to calm him down.

“Please keep in touch, cousin. Don’t let Bellamy scare you away from us when he’s the real monster,” Draco said. He cupped my chin and kissed both sides of my cheek. A little too intimate for us being cousins but I figured it was rich people for, tah-tah …

“Draco, wait.” I held out the blank card that was given to me. “Do you know what this is?”

He flipped it over twice before shaking his head.

“It’s a blank card babe…Not everything is enchanted and magical here…Some of this is really just regular shit. ”

With that, he handed it back to me before walking off with Maze who waved.

“I’ll text you, Maggie! We gotta link up soon!”

Their mother didn’t say much of anything to me but she did cling on to Draco as they walked towards the parking lot. Her relationship to him seemed so out of place yet natural as she looked up to him as if he were her own son, but didn’t say a word to me. Not even a look in my direction. Didn’t matter though as I now had bigger fish to fry.

It wasn’t until I closed the door to Namir’s office that I came face to face, ready to question our entire relationship. He was upset and for good reason. Your brother played you. That slimy string bean built bitch with glasses played you. Your whole family played you for a fucking fool. Told you to get with me and when you did, you suddenly got squeezed out of the pack to the point where you removed yourself. Not to mention, he killed Hillary!

“So what are you gonna do?” I asked, breaking the tense silence as Namir stared at me.

“What are you gonna do about that walking toothpick of a brother!?” I snapped. “So he killed Hillary and you knew the entire time? ”

“I didn’t know. I put it together after the murders in the bathroom.” He said with a calm tone as he placed his phone on his desk. “My mother told me she’s worried about Ty because our oldest brother Seth is set to become Alpha now…”

Namir shook his head as he tapped the pen on the desk, trying to calm his nerves.

“Does she know her son is also a murderer?” I questioned. “Or does she not care about that?”

Namir ignored my question altogether as he spoke with disdain.

“She hasn’t heard from him since and that was weeks ago…Nobody is answering her calls. Nobody is saying anything to her about fucking Tyee.”

“So what does she want you to do about it? Go see him? Call him?”

Namir nodded.

“After all of this? After how he’s been moving? You would–––”

“I know–––”

“He doesn’t deserve to hear your damn voice or grace–––”

“I know––– ”

“How could he just kill an innocent student who had nothing to do with any of this–––”

He shouted with his fist slamming against the table, causing the wood to crack in place.

“I KNOW! MAGGIE! FUCK! I KNOW!”

I didn’t flinch, not even a blink as we stared at one another. Namir was going to do it. He was still going to reach out to his brother on behalf of his mother.

“Well I’m glad you know,” swinging my bag against my shoulder. “I’m going out tonight. Don’t wait up.”

“Maggie?” He called out but I slammed the door to his office, ignoring the stares of others as I walked out of the building. I started my long trek to Traditional Row, ignoring the shuttle stops and only stopped once to take a picture of the card to send to the group chat. When I slipped the card underneath the camera, I saw red letters forming slowly. Creeping along the white paper with a set of directions.

Go out and come back in. The Hill. Fight Night Fridays. Go out. Come back in. Doors open @ 10:33pm.

The card suddenly began to burn from the corners, crumbling into ashes before I quickly dropped the black soot, letting it disappear into the brisk air.

…

“Who is this man you got us meeting now, Isis?” Asha asked as we stood outside of the small town of Cedar Park. Right where the railroad tracks were hidden amongst the tall grass. We were huddled together underneath the only lamp post with the flickering light. The temperature was dropping and the only thing these girls bothered to wear were skirts and sweater dresses. Isis had a jumpsuit on with thigh high boots and a cropped jacket. Asha borrowed an off the shoulder dress from her with combat boots and Souxie wore a black leather skirt with a split on the side. They all looked so cute and so cold.

I knew better though. If something is about to go down, I need to be able to run. So I wore jeans and a cropped hoodie that came in at the waist. My white frizzy curls were sprawled about and New Balance sneakers, just in case we had to get the hell out of dodge.

“He’s a friend of my brothers.” Isis said as she looked at her phone. “He’s one of the runners moving through the doors tonight. If the card says go out and come back in?” She turned to look at us with her wide glossy eyes, always having a startled expression. “That means we go above ground and back below. Two doors. I’ve been to a party that had an in and out invite card. It means somebody created a door specifically for that event.”

“What kind of party was it?” Souxie asked softly as she slipped a strip of gum in her mouth .

“Honestly, I can barely remember.” Isis laughed. “I was 14 when I went.”

“Girl,” Asha tripped as she looked at Isis. “You are a wild child for real.”

“Well now it’s coming in handy because we’re off to our next adventure!” She beamed with a fist in the air. “Here we are, Second Family, off to solve another mystery of Drew Collins and the Missing students…No!” She suddenly gasped as she grasped our arms together. “Drew Collins and the Mysterious Case of Missing Students…I believe we are officially on to our next adventure ladies.”

“I agree,” Souxie smiled. “Hillary would probably be like, g uys…I don’t know about this …all while being right here standing 10 toes down in the mud with us.”

“Hell yeah,” Asha laughed.

My smile faded as I looked at the ground. Fuck it.

“Professor Tyee is the one that killed her,” I blurted out. You could hear a pin drop and the brush of the grass blowing as the girls slowly turned their attention towards me. I shook my head with a roll of my eyes. “I just found out today from my cousin Draco and Namir…He knew his brother did it.”

“Uhhhh,” Asha let out as she backed away with a shake of her head. “Not the whole time, right? We had homie dropping off groceries in our house when we weren't there! ”

“Don’t do that,” I snapped, already on defensive mode for him. “He didn’t know the entire time. He apparently found out just before school started back up. His brother is the one who killed the sirens as well…I don’t know why but I can only assume it was to make me appear to be something I’m not.”

Nobody said anything at first. You could feel a gentle warm breeze that stood out amongst the cold shift between our bodies. Souxie looked up at the night sky with a smile.

“That would explain why there are no wolves here but Namir and why he’s no longer in the pack.”

“Yeap,” I nodded without taking my eyes off my shoes. “He still lied to me though, soooooo.”

“Fuck him just for tonight?” Asha suggested with a raised brow.

“I’m going to enjoy myself,” was all I said.

“Oooo…are we all finally single and mingling?” Isis pressed.

Just then, you could see a bright light in the distance appear out of nowhere. Blinking into the night air like someone turned on a switch. The rumblings and howling whistle of the train drew closer as we began to back up.

“Are you sure we can’t just take my car?!” I shouted over the noise. Isis laughed while holding her slick curls in pace when the massive machine came blowing past us .

“I don’t think this train is stopping!” Asha yelled but the train had already begun to slow down, stretching along the backside of Cedar Park and the small town. We were in one of the last few cars when it came to a complete stop. The red velvet seats were peeling, showing the yellow stuffing inside to the finger print smeared windows. Nobody was on the train except for us as we made our way to the back by the heater.

“He said we have to meet him at the city station,” Isis said, showing her phone where she was texting our runner. “That’s the next stop. Now, try not to look so…new,” she warned. “A lot of scams happen out there. It’s very easy to get lost and separated. I’m not sure how it is above ground but this next station is different from Cedar Park. It’s not the quiet little countryside with the private university. This is the trenches…Okay? You have to move like you belong here so you don’t stand out.”

Asha cut her eyes towards me as we both snickered. Isis and Souxie clearly had the one up on us and were acting as much. Yet the landscape began to slowly change from the rolling fields and buildings belonging to Drew Collins and surrounding primary and secondary schools, to the growing highrise in the distance. I could see the black market on the side full of tents stretching for miles, string lights, and parked cars in the grass before it went completely black. When shot out of the dark tunnel into the crowded station where people were bundled up walking. Some were chasing behind another train going in the opposite direction. You could see billboards and signs plastered everywhere and steps leading to the ground level. There was a large digital poster that stretched from one end of the wall to the other of a black man with a sword, fighting in a green and gold uniform. He was waving the sword around with one arm behind his back as Mardi Gras colored confetti came sprinkling down the ad.

“Is Society Hill around here?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Souxie nodded. “Their gateway is through New Orleans like Drew Collins is Atlanta. My cousin got accepted in.”

The horn on the train beeped twice. Isis stood up, pulling at the jumpsuit with her back side showing off the serious dip to her hips and ass. She gripped her breast to push up, using the straps to her onesie to adjust as the doors opened. With her fangs dangling from her smile, she motioned for us to follow her.

“Let’s go and be cool,” she reminded. “Not too much attention. Stay close so you don’t get separated. Some of these people are crazy out here.”

We stepped off behind her and Souxie as Asha and I immediately linked arms together. I flipped my curls back from my face as I looked around the packed station, already being hit with the chaos of Friday night .

“Aye!? Can we get another fucking train out here?! DAMN! Two express trains going on Friday night?! Whose idea is that?!” Someone shouted.

“This is sorta like a cross between MTA and Marta,” Asha muttered under her breath as we maneuvered through the people.

“First Family!? First Fam?! The Sky God is down here with us regular folks!” Someone shouted. I looked around, seeing a man point at me. He had missing teeth and eyes blacked out like black water, soulless and demonic.

“Oh hell no.” I said as Asha glanced back before picking up the pace. This is why I wore flipping sneakers! For shit like this!

“Don’t run from your people!” He hollered.

Asha and I kept close, losing Isis and Souxie in the late rush hour crowd. There was another long poster that stretched out showing the mountains and cliffs of Japan where black women dressed in matching kimonos bowed to the people walking by only to suddenly pull out a sword to fight.

Yasuke University. Home of the first all black HBCU in Japan based on the first black samurai, and his descendants .

“Oh!” I pointed out. “That’s where I went! That’s it! ”

The woman in the kimono with the beautiful 70s style afro bowed at me. With a small smile, she stood upright and waved at a little girl who stopped with her mother to stare at her.

“That’s where you went? You really went to Japan? You sure it wasn’t like little Tokyo or something in LA?”

“It was the real deal,” I laughed. The woman with the sword suddenly slashed at the poster, splitting it in half as it went completely blank. Asha and I froze like we were hit before laughing at another ad that appeared about mythical gummy vitamins for children. Apparently, it enhances your abilities and brings out the magic within you.

“Scuze me!?” Someone shouted as they came up from behind us. A man with a pimply face and sharp pointy ears stared at us with a grip of his prickly chin. “Y'all go to Collins huh? I can tell. Y'all got that uppity look.”

“What does it matter?” Asha popped with an attitude. “Why are you talking to us?”

“Nah, I don’t mean any harm.” He said as he smiled at her, seeing the yellow saliva stretch from the top to bottom of his teeth.

“So then move out of our way my guy,” Asha barked. The man raised his hands in the air, scared and turned on at the same time as he stepped aside and let us pass. Thank God for her brashness . We continued to walk along the sitting train as people ran to grab their seats and hold the door. Asha pulled me forward when she saw Isis and Souxie heading up the stairs, waving for us to hurry up. I ignored the stares and double takes of people looking back at me while some snuck pictures with their phone. I reached to grab my hoodie, deciding to cover up my distracting hair.

“The Solhari winter festival is almost here!” Someone shouted as we watched a woman wearing a lion mask on her face and a red dress. “Come visit the kingdom and see the real Gods and Goddesses! The descendants of Orishas! The real power! Our princess is coming of age! Come see the most beautiful girl in the world that holds all of the power!”

She began moving her body, rolling her waist like a snake as her hips warped from side to side. She looked like an Egyptian belly dancer with her feet moving like she was on sand instead of the harsh cold concrete. Her ebony complexion had a certain shimmer underneath the gold jewels adorned to her body and her braids were decorated with colorful wooden beads. She slowly spun around, barefoot with jewels dangling around her ankles. She suddenly pressed her fingers to the lips of the mask. A burst of flames shot out into the air before coming to life. A dragon began to fly over the heads of people walking until it disappeared into black smoke over the tracks. I noticed the small woven basket before her as people stopped to drop a few cents and change in it before moving on .

“We are the true power that the council is afraid of! We are the original kings and queens! The original black people! We are the original earth, moon, sun and skies!” She yelled out. I started to question who exactly is the council but I would soon get an answer the moment we were on the main level. She and the rest of the passengers waiting on the train disappeared behind the wall, as we continued up the steps leading to the main level of the city.

“Holy shit,” I gawked in awe, coming up on the last step as I saw the bustling city life. The skyrise buildings, the neon lights, the cars…very expensive cars waiting at the intersection. Just above were the large digital billboards like time square showing a picture of the council and what do you know, Wilhelmina Holmes was in the center of it and the major universities written at the bottom. Drew Collins. Society Hill. Montclair & Monroe…Sycamore. The deans were the council for the Underground? Did that mean the schools fund this entire existence of this place?

“Y'all it’s almost midnight,” Souxie said, interrupting my thoughts. “We’re already late–––”

“SIS?!” Someone shouted, getting Isis’s attention. You could see someone with a small chain bouncing around their neck wearing all black came charging towards us. Isis suddenly turned around in panic .

“Y'all, that is my damn brother. I cannot let him see me dressed like this!” She hissed before her voice began to fade as he drew closer. “He wasn’t supposed to…”

Her brother stood right behind her, looking her over with the most disgusted face an overprotective sibling could have for his young baby sister. She gripped Souxie’s arm and slowly turned around to face him. He looked like he could have been an extra for Lil Baby’s rap video and there was no way you could tell he was a nymph aside from the ears that were slightly pointed back and his eyes that did the double blink. There were no fangs like Isis and no wide concave lens for eyes like hers either.

“You already know I’m telling both mama and daddy you out here dressed like this.” He said before turning to the rest of us. He did a double take at Asha showing a split second of interest before realizing who she was. Couldn’t touch your brother’s leftovers I suppose. “Aight, is this everybody?”

“Out of my way!” Someone shouted from the stairs. “Y'all standing around the station like people don’t have any place to fucking be!”

“So then move around!” Asha barked back at the woman who kept moving. “The fuck!?”

“This is everybody.” Isis said, humbling herself in front of him. “Y'all this is Imari…Imari, this is Asha, Souxie, and Maggie. ”

“Real shit, real shit,” he nodded, looking at me with a frown. “You dressed like you’re going to the park to play.”

“Uh..” looking at my attire, “I’m just wearing regular clothes to be comfortable?”

“Cool shit. Aight, my homeboy got caught up at the border so I’ma take y'all. We’re moving quickly because I have somewhere I need to be. So keep up.”

I tugged at my hoodie, keeping my hair covered as I caught a few people walking by staring with curiosity. Following in a makeshift line, her brother took us down two blocks from the station. We passed up storefronts selling high end brands and a level above in the window, you could see them recreating those exact same brands from Fendi to Gucci. Everything was being recreated, bootlegged and sold here as if it was new. Another storefront of a jazz coffee shop that had the instruments playing itself against the window and the moving black artwork on the walls dancing to the beat. It was a lot of people that looked to be my age, huddled together at tables, laughing and smiling like all was right in the world.

“My man Ray!?” Imari shouted as he pulled back the door of the convenient store squished between two high rise buildings. The windows were littered with stickers, posters, and ads for cigarettes, liquor and fortune telling ads. It was only three aisle going straight back. Imari slapped the counter twice for the man’s attention .

“These are my little sisters before you even try some dumb shit.” Imari started as the old behind the glass wheezed into his laughter. He had a cigar in his mouth as he grabbed the 50 Imari slipped him underneath the glass barrier into the silver tray.

“See, I wasn’t even gonna say anything,” Ray laughed. “They look–––”

“Watch yo mouth,” Imari warned. Ray gave him a single key with a black shoe string attached to it, sliding it underneath the small opening. He was about to talk his shit when he sat up in the chair, eyes landing on me, and tapped the window hard with his knuckles for my attention.

“Nuh uh. Come on,” Asha said as she grabbed my arm. I hadn’t even gotten a chance to look at the snacks and things they were selling, so different from what I would see back home from Ding Dong Ditch fireballs to Haint Honey Buns. Things based on our culture and our memories as black Americans were made into brands I would have never even thought about. We followed Imari all the way to the back of the store that turned into a slither of a hallway leading to one single black door.

“Aight.” He started with his hand smoothing down his fade. “I got somewhere I need to be tonight so I’ma make this quick. Who is the responsible one because I know it ain’t my sister,” he said. Souxie immediately reached for the key that he held out. “You find a working door with a lock regardless of where you end up above ground…Say th e name of wherever you’re going and unlock it. It won’t open with the three knocks bullshit. That’s for the public. Fight nights parties are usually a private event.”

“You’ve been?” I asked.

“ Tuh .” He huffed like I had the nerve to ask. “Who hasn’t? Lightweight shit.”

“ Well excuse the hell out of me ,” I muttered, looking at Asha.

“Y'all got it from here,” Imari said. “If anything, Isis knows we one call away.”

Isis rolled her eyes as she went up to the black door, and knocked three times. Imari was already making his way out the store, fussing at the man behind the glass about nonsense just as we heard a lock click.

“Y'all ready?” Souxie asked. Isis pushed the door in to open.

“Ahh shit….” Asha sang. “Hereeeee weeeee go!”

We stepped in one after the other, grabbing onto each other as I closed the door behind me. It was only black for a split second before a bright light clicked and sharp cold air surrounded us. The same door that was pushed open was now a glass door inside of the dairy section of the grocery store. We were behind the dairy and eggs and the door we came through had no racks like it was a section being cleared out for cleaning. So Isis looked back at us before pushing the glass door all the way open as we stepped out. Never mind the strange looks we got as four girls dolled up walked out of the door like it was nothing. A white woman with her two kids looked startled as she stared at her chocolate milk then back at us like we were the ones who filled it up.

“We have to find a door,” Isis muttered, adjusting her strap as Souxie pulled at her skirt. We began to pace down the aisle as shoppers, mostly white with a sprinkle of asian…God when is the last time I’ve seen such pale skin? You sort of forget white people exist after being in the Underground for so long. So I was looking at them the way they were looking at us. Aliens. Strange pale colored aliens.

I looked back at the woman by the milk. She tried to open the glass door but when she looked inside, it was clearly back to how it was. She couldn’t figure out how we stepped out of it. Lady, your guess is as good as mine. I still don’t understand it.

“There!” Asha pointed out. “Is that a door? I thought I saw a light.”

“Oh please…not this again…I don’t want to get caught up in the door drama again,” I groaned.

“We’re not,” Isis assured. “That’s not a door…I don’t think… Maybe we have to go outside…”

We picked up the pace, moving past everyone who stopped and stared. Even the one black person we did see who lit up at the sight of us began to frown at our attire. My phone suddenly caught my attention as I looked down at the screen, shocked to see Bellamy actually text me.

Where are you?

I smiled. He must have heard from Namir that I was going out for the night ... That or maybe the dozens of people at the train station staring me down… Either way, I texted him saying The Hill and left it at that. Now you want to reach out to me after I leave the school? After months of silence and ignored messages…you finally reach out.

“There! I told you that was a door!” Asha screamed with a point as shoppers got out of the way. You could see one of the workers call for security. We quickly ran to the other side of the store where it looked like a back door for management only. The gold knob had a key as Souxie was the first to scurry up in her heeled boots and slip the key into the lock.

“Hey! Excuse me! That is for employees only! We’re calling the police!”

“Everyone say, The Hill on three,” Souxie declared. “One…”

“You all are going to have to leave! Now. This is not–––”

“Two!” Isis beamed as we bunched up towards the door. We ignored the two store workers coming towards us with one attempting to get to the door first. We called out three and yelled out THE HILL , laughing halfway through it. Souxie turned the key, hearing the lock snap, we opened the door. Nevermind that one of the workers attempted to grab my hoodie and Asha shoved her face back with a hard smack. We slammed the door shut behind us, stepped out of a dark cramped space and into something that was completely pitch black.