How to Save Your School From Soul Stealing Demons

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3RD
7:10 AM
VANTERBEST HIGH, DIEGO'S LOCKER

Layne Reed is the third teenager to go missing in under a month.

According to the police, Bradford has a serial killer on its hands. Most likely a white male, twenty-five to thirty-four years old, charismatic and intelligent.

Which is obviously the most standard serial killer profile they could possibly give. In other words, as far as I can tell, they don't know shit about who the killer is.

Watts and I have been looking into Bradford's history for the past week, but unlike the stuff about Joan Belvight, nothing seems related to the current murders. I believe Watts's theory about Paul and his friends—excluding Hemani—could be true, but what good is it if we don't do anything about it?

Well, the thing is, we tried.

On Tuesday we finally decided to bike into town after school and visit the police station. We talked to Sheriff Doyle for about two minutes, filling him in on how Greg and Pamela both hung out with the same new group before their disappearances. The sheriff essentially told us to blow off, saying he should call our parents for making up a ludicrous story like that just to get back at a schoolyard bully. We tried to insist that he had it wrong, that we were telling the truth, but he wasn't having it.

Our suspicion was officially confirmed: no one in Bradford will believe that a group of teenagers is responsible for the murders.

"Renny and Ambrose should have listened to us," Watts rants quietly as I grab my Chem book from my locker and shove it into my backpack. I can't blame him for whispering— if there are two people I wouldn't want to hear me badmouthing them, it would be Renny and Ambrose.

As if summoned by her name, I see Renny coming down the hall behind him, walking like she's on a mission to kill and staring right at the back of Watts's head.

Totally oblivious to the holes being bored into his skull, he keeps talking. "I mean, if they at least tried to talk to her—"

Watts is cut off, his sentence merging into a yelp as Renny grabs his shoulder and whirls him around to face her, shoving him roughly against the lockers. The loud bang draws short-lived attention from a few students loitering nearby and a small group walking past.

She stands toe to toe with Watts and takes full advantage of the extra inch of height she has on him. She's glaring down the bridge of her nose, brows furrowed tightly as her finger pokes into his button-up.

"You're gonna tell me what the hell is going on right now. Tell me everything you know about what happened to Layne or I will—"

"Hey! Come on," I close my locker, stepping forward, "Lay off." Renny doesn't even bother looking at me, staying honed in on Watts's wide eyes.

"Well—Um—It's sort of all just theories right now—"

"Bull!" She slams a hand on the metal next to his head and he flinches so hard his glasses go crooked. "You knew something was going to happen to Layne."

The bell rings out for first period and Renny groans in annoyance. She finally looks at me, then back at Watts. "You two sit with me and Ambrose at lunch and explain everything, or prepare to get the ass-kicking of your life."

She jabs at Watts' chest one last time before storming off down the hall. Watts stays pinned against the lockers, watching her leave in a trance.

"You okay?" I ask, seeming to break him out of whatever spell he was under.