Page 42 of You Belong Here

BEFORE: THE LAST HOWLING

We woke to the sound of the wind in the morning, slowly gaining force. I rolled over in bed, but Adalyn was already awake, watching me from across the room. She lay on her side, head on the pillow, smile stretching wide. “It’s here,” she said. “Our last howling!”

By the afternoon, the snow had started to fall. I could see my breath in the air, misty in the gray. The school was buzzing with anticipation after the long stillness.

The countdown was on. It was our senior year. It was time to prepare.

We’d been talking about the plan all month, waiting for this moment: Take the shortcut through the tunnels. Get to the old president’s house first. Defend the perimeter.

All we needed was the key.

I bumped into my dad in the cafeteria line during lunch. “Whoa, there,” he said, readjusting his glasses.

“Can I borrow your ID card?” I asked. “I left mine in my dorm, and I’m locked out.”

“Sure thing,” he said, removing the lanyard from around his neck. His faculty ID hung beside the key to his office, along with another for the archives.

“You’re a lifesaver,” I said, spinning for the exit.

“Beckett,” he called sternly.

I slowly turned around.

“I need that by next period.”

I smiled. “I’ll bring it right back.”

At the end of the day, Cliff Simmons stepped into my path as I walked across the center quad, like the wind had blown him in, too. A ghost from my past. Someone I used to know.

I jolted back, confused.

I didn’t know what he was doing here. “It wasn’t me,” I said, taking a step back. “I didn’t touch their truck.”

I’d seen the truck creeping across campus earlier in the week, Charlie and Micah in the cab, looking for us.

“I’m not here because…” He trailed off, eyes narrowed, looking off to the side. Like he wasn’t supposed to be here and was afraid of being caught.

Then he took a step closer, lowered his voice so I had to strain to hear him over the wind. “Tonight,” he said. “Be careful. They’re coming.”