CHAPTER SEVEN

"There is no safer place than the one you know to be dangerous. For in danger, we find the Lord. And in the Lord, we find safety."

– Truths and Wisdoms, 105:26, The Bible of the New World

The next morning, Lexa sits at our typical table with Kal, eating a breakfast coughed up by the kitchens. My steps falter as I see her, my jaw hanging slightly open, and a frown develops on my forehead. Didn't she say she was going to escape?

I grab my meal and slide into the seat across from them, the usual tension permeating the air around us. My friends continue to eat in silence as if they haven't noticed me, or maybe they have and there's just nothing to say. With every passing day we grow a little further apart, only sitting together because we have no one else to turn to, nowhere else to go. We came together because of friendship, but we stay together because of fear.

Eventually the silence gets too much and the words pressing into the backs of my teeth grow too fierce to keep in. I put down my fork. "I thought you said you were leaving," I say casually, my eyes on Lexa.

Lexa looks up. "Sorry?" she asks mildly.

"I said, I thought you were going to leave. Escape Eden."

She snorts. "Right. Because escaping Eden is just a hobby of mine, something I do when I'm not busy collecting stamps or training puppies."

"I'm serious, Lexa. If you've changed your mind, that's fine – if you recall, I wasn't going to go with you anyway. But don't deny it happened simply because you don't like me as much in the daylight."

Lexa laughs, her head skipping back and forth between Kal and I. "This is a joke, right?" When I don't start laughing, she fixes her eyes on mine and leans forward. "That never happened. I didn't talk to you about escaping Eden, Avalon."

"Oh yeah? So that was just someone else who barged into my room last night, crying and panicked? Tell me, do you have a twin attending this school? What's her name? I don't believe I've met her." I pretend to search for her non-existent twin, looking around the room.

Lexa grabs my hand suddenly, roughly pulling me across the table. Her fingers clamp down around my wrist, her nails biting into my skin. "Enough with the sarcasm!" she whisper-hisses. "I don't have a freaking twin and I certainly didn't go to you room last night. Whatever you think happened, didn't. It didn't happen, okay?" She lets go of my hand and leans back.

I pull my arm to my chest the second she does, rubbing my wrist. "Fine. If you want to deny it, deny it."

Lexa's mouth falls open in an expression of disbelief. Then she looks away, laughing coldly to herself. "God, you're insane," she says quietly. She leans forward again, angry eyes hitting mine. "You're insane."

I look the other way.

A few seconds later, she stands up, her chair scraping noisily as its shoved backwards. I don't bother watching as she storms out of the dining hall.

As soon as she's gone, Kal slides across into her seat. "Did she really come to your room last night?" he asks.

I look at him indignantly. "I'm not just making crap up. She practically crashed into my room crying and begged me to escape Eden with her. I told her she sounded crazy – that there was no way I was leaving. She got angry, and then she left." I shrug. "She's probably just embarrassed about it. I'd deny it too if I was in her position."

"I don't think she's embarrassed about it, Avalon. To be honest with you, I don't think it even happened."

I have to refrain from rolling my eyes. "Come on, Kal. Don't side with her. You weren't even there."

"Exactly," he says, brown eyes wide. "And from the sounds of things, she wasn't either."

I frown. "What do you mean 'exactly'?"

"Think about it. Just last week you came to me claiming that I'd snuck up on you in the dark. This week you tell Lexa she entered your room crying. Both of these things happened at night. Both happened in or around your room, where you're alone. And both are completely out of character for us. Since when do I joke around, trying to scare people? Have you ever seen Lexa cry?"

I shake my head.

"Exactly," he says again. He throws his fork down on the plate and leans back as if to say I rest my case.

I think about it for a minute. "So what do you suppose is happening then? Am I hallucinating? Dreaming?"

His eyebrows knit together as he considers it. "Maybe," he admits. "I don't know. It could be anything."

"Great," I reply sarcastically.

"At least you know when and where it happens. At least you know not to trust anything that happens in the dark."

His words ring like bells in my mind. "Wait!" I exclaim. "Say that again."

His frown deepens. "You know when and where it happens?"

I wave a hand. "No, the other part."

"You can't trust anything that happens in the dark."

Don't believe everything you see in the dark, Mr Cunningham's voice echoes in my mind, and my eyes go wide as golf balls. Suddenly it makes sense. He knows, I think. He knows what's happening to me!

I rise from my chair just as Lexa did minutes before, my heart beating a thousand times a minute. "I've got to see Mr Cunningham," I say.

Kal looks up at me like I've gone crazy. "Woah! No you don't. Not until you tell me what's going on in that psycho head of yours." He grabs my hand, edging me back down into my chair.

I sigh, and when I'm seated he says, "Tell me what's going on."

I take a deep breath. "You know how I'm on mop duty as punishment for skipping lunch last week?" He nods. "Well, at the start of my first shift, Mr Cunningham was acting really strange – crazy even. He was all distracted and had these weird mood swings and then before sending me off, he got creepy. Like creepy-creepy. He said to me, 'Don't believe everything you see in the dark,' and then he started whistling and I basically just lost my shit. I tried to discount it, telling myself he was probably crazy or something, but now it all makes sense. He said this to me only a couple days after you – or fake you – tried to scare me in the dark! And now it's happened again!"

I take another breath. "Kal, I think he knows what's happening to me. I think he knows."

Kal's jaw hangs open. "You need to speak with him."

"I know," I say, starting to rise again, "I was going to before but you–" he grabs my hand and pulls me back down into my seat "–did that," I finish.

"You can't speak to him now. You're already being punished for skipping lunch last week and Lexa's going to get in trouble now for leaving too. Just wait until this afternoon. We can go speak with him together in our free hours before dinner."

With a sigh, I nod, knowing he's right. "Okay," I say. "This afternoon." He nods once, satisfied with my response.

Then the bell rings, and we grab our stuff and head to class.

-:-:-:-:-

When school finishes for the day, Kal meets me at the edge of the corridor leading to the groundskeeper's office. After an uneventful day of classes spent watching the clock, waiting for the afternoon to come, I felt tried and worn out. But standing so close to possible answers is making me restless. I pace back and forth, clenching and unclenching my hands, rubbing them on my grey skirt. What does Mr Cunningham know? Does he know anything at all?

"Avalon," Kal says as he approaches me. His face is dripping concern. "Have you seen Lexa?"

"I don't know. Maybe," I say, too caught up in my need for answers to be concerned by Lexa's whereabouts.

"Come on," he says. "Think."

I sigh and quit my pacing. "If I have, I don't recall. You know Lexa and I aren't on good terms at the moment."

This just seems to make the worry on his face worse. "So you haven't seen her in any of your classes today?"

I simply shake my head.

Kal blows out a breath, taking a step back as he runs a hand through his hair. "She wasn't at lunch, she wasn't in English or in math. I haven't seen her since she walked out of the dining hall at breakfast."

"I'm sure she's just taken the day off in her room, told the school she's sick. She did look pretty upset. I wouldn't put it past her to risk faking a sickness to get out of classes."

Kal still looks worried, but less so. "I'm sure she's fine," I say. "But in any case, we can worry about her later. Right now, we need to speak with Mr Cunningham. We need answers."

With reluctance, he nods. "But as soon as we've done this, I want to look for her. Just to make sure she's okay."

"Of course," I say.

Kal takes a deep, restoring breath. I can see he's trying to shake off the worry, but it seems to be super-glued to his skin. He ignores it, pulling himself together. "Let's do this, then."

I nod, and we walk the short distance to Mr Cunningham's door. The corridor looks different this time of day, with daylight from adjoining hallways filtering in from around corners. It seems brighter, safer, with no sign of the dangers I thought I saw in the night. It almost strikes me as funny that I found it frightening in the first place. But then, everything's different in the dark, and the night rarely makes sense to the day.

We stop. "This is it?" Kal asks as his gaze falls on the simple wooden door.

"This is it," I confirm, and then I knock thrice, my hand quivering slightly as I pull it away. This is it, this is it, this is it.

"Come in," comes Mr Cunningham's voice, same as always. I edge open the door, the same groaning splitting the air as its rusty hinges swivel.

"Ah, Avalon," Mr Cunningham says when he sees me, looking exactly the same as he first did, save for his clean-shaven face. He looks down at his watch and frowns. "You're early. You're last shift doesn't start until after dinner."

"I know," I say and step further into the room so he can see Kal. "But I'm not here for mop duty."

His eyes flick between Kal and I. "Who's this?"

"Kal – my friend," I reply. "And we're here for answers."

Confusion spreads across his face like a plague spreading across land. "What answers?"

"Don't believe everything you see in the dark, right?" I cross my arms. "I want to know what that means. And I want to know why you said it to me."

The groundskeeper swallows. He breaks eye contact, sitting forward in his chair to continue work on the contraption he never seems to be without. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I stride up to his desk and rest my hands on the edge. "How do you know what's happening to me?" I demand. "Does anyone else know? Why am I seeing people who aren't there? What's going on?"

Mr Cunningham is quiet, the shadows of my words hanging in the air until long after they've been spoken. Eventually, he says softly, "You will not find answers here. I do not have them."

I take my hands off the table, forcing myself to take deep breaths before I lose my temper.

"I thinks he's telling the truth," Kal whispers. "I don't think he knows anything."

I shake my head. "Oh, he knows something," I say, speaking loud enough to ensure Mr Cunningham hears me. "For whatever reason, he's just not saying."

"Avalon," Kal hisses. "He's a teacher. You can't just start interrogating him."

"He's a groundskeeper. There's a difference." I turn back to face the older man. "You will tell me what you know and I won't leave until you do."

Mr Cunningham looks up at me and exhales, releasing his hold on the contraption. "Alright then. You want to know something – I'll tell you something: don't trust anyone. Don't trust your teachers. Don't trust your peers. And certainly don't trust your friends." For a brief moment, he rests his eyes on Kal. Then he meets my gaze. "Before the year is up, they will all be used against you."

There's silence for a considerable stretch after he finishes. "You were right," Kal says, his eyes on the groundskeeper. "He's crazy. Let's go." He grabs my wrist but I pull free.

"How do you know this?" I ask Mr Cunningham. He makes no response. "Please – tell me. I need to know what's going on."

For the first time, I see a glimmer of true empathy on his face. "I want to help you, Avalon, I do – that's why I've been dropping all these hints. But there's only so much I can do, and unfortunately, my good will only extends to here." He pauses, and the emotion vanishes from his face. "I can't say anymore. You'll have to figure this out alone."

I stare at him for a good while, a plethora of emotions passing through my system as he returns to his work. Eventually, Kal grabs my arm again. "Come on, Avalon," he says. "We won't be getting any more from him. Besides, we still need to look for Lexa before dinner. I'm worried she's missing."

I turn to him. "We've been over this, Kal. She's fine."

"Is this your friend?" asks Mr Cunningham suddenly behind us. Kal and I both turn. "Sorry," he says. "I couldn't help but overhear."

I look at Kal and he nods. "Yeah. She got angry at breakfast and stormed out. We haven't seen her since."

"She wasn't in any classes?"

Kal shakes his head. "None. Avalon thinks she might have taken the day off sick but–"

"You're not too sure," Mr Cunningham interjects, looking concerned.

"Yeah," Kal agrees. "We're going to search for her in her room now."

Mr Cunningham swallows. "Eden is a dangerous place. If people go missing, more often than not, they do so because something bad has happened."

"But we're in school. What could happen here?"

"I think you'll find that school is the one of the most dangerous places there is." He pauses. "I fear for your friend. And if something really has happened..."

"May the Lord be with her," I whisper.

"On the contrary," Mr Cunningham says, and I raise my eyes to meet his. "May the Lord stay very, very far away."

A/N

wow, it's been a long time since i updated this! 

i hope you liked this chapter (and that you could still remember the storyline after such a wait). i'll try to update again soon but i can't say it won't be a while until i get around to the next chapter. 

much love,
shaye x