Chatoyant College, Book 1: New Student Orientation

Chapter 35: Asthma

It seemed only moments before paramedics were rushing up behind them with a stretcher and moving her and Edie physically out of the way. She could see the lights of the ambulance where it was parked just outside the gates. "Go back to your rooms, girls," said one of the paramedics, a stern, hefty black woman. She picked up one end of the stretcher as if Lorelei weighed nothing at all; another paramedic had the other end, and a third held what looked like an oxygen mask to Lorelei's face. "Your friend will be just fine, don't worry. We're taking her to the St. Margaret hospital." She gave them a brief, warm smile, then turned her attention to transporting the stretcher from the grass to the ambulance.

As Lorelei was moved away, Dawn saw some movement in the trees closest to her. She looked toward it, and for a moment saw a big-eyed, leaflike face. The branches shook and it was gone. She blinked. Had she really seen something there? Maybe the stress was making her see things. But it certainly felt as though something had been watching them.

"Okay, everybody." The security guard had his hand on Dawn's shoulder and was steering her toward the building, but he was facing the group of people gathered on the path and speaking to them. "Move along. Nothing to see here. Finish your moving in and whatever else you have to do." He turned back to Dawn and her friends and spoke in a gentle voice. "Do you girls live in Gilkey?" Dawn nodded. "All right then, here you are. Don't worry about anything--just take some time to calm down." He left them at the door of Gilkey, and they went in before the crowd, which had started to move again, could get in their way.

"Wait," said Edie as Dawn started to head toward the stairway. "We should tell Charlie what happened. He's her fellow RA, remember?"

"Right," said Dawn, nodding. Her voice sounded oddly thick to her own ears. "That's a good idea." They walked down the hall until Dawn located Lorelei's room; Charlie's, as she recalled, was just across the hall. She knocked on the door.

"Just a minute," came Charlie's voice from inside. The door opened after a moment and Charlie's smiling, freckled countenance peered out. "Need some help? You girls are freshmen, you're not moving in. Did something happen?" His smile slowly faded as he spoke, and by the time he had finished his brow was wrinkled and he was frowning.

"Lorelei had an asthma attack," Corrie said. "An ambulance came and took her to the hospital--St. Margaret hospital, they said. We thought you should know."

He nodded slowly. "Thanks for telling me. That's strange, though--we're pretty good friends and I had no idea she had asthma."

Dawn shook her head, and saw the others doing the same. "She didn't seem to have any idea, either," said Edie grimly. "It was pretty bad, but the paramedics said she'll be fine."

"Okay. That's good. Well, if you need anything, you can always come to me with whatever you'd go to Lorelei with."

There was silence, and Dawn realized that everyone else was looking at her. She shook her head quickly. "I... not this. I'll wait until Lorelei is doing better."

He frowned, but nodded. "Okay. Get some rest, girls. You look tired."

They turned away and walked toward the stairs. Dawn's mind was roiling, but it seemed to be the same thoughts repeated over and over again. Was that really just an asthma attack? Where was Annie? Who had her and refused to let her go? Why had Lorelei been in the woods? No matter how many times she asked herself these questions, no answer was forthcoming.

Naomi's voice broke into her thoughts at the landing for the second floor. "Oof, Dawn, do you think you could take your bags back?"

"Huh?" She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. "Sorry. Thanks for carrying them for me." She took one from Naomi and the other from Corrie. "I'm just... trying to make sense of what happened."

"Do you think it has something to do with Annie?" asked Edie hesitantly.

She turned to her in surprise. "You remember now?"

"Well..." Edie grimaced and sighed. "I still don't remember ever having someone named Annie live near us, or having her disappear or anything like that. I think I remember somebody screaming a few nights ago, but I thought that was a dream. But I do remember you looking for Annie, and now Lorelei is having an asthma attack out of the blue... they can be triggered by stress, and looking for a missing student could certainly be stressful."

"So you do think this has something to do with the missing girl?" asked Corrie.

Dawn nodded, staring at her feet as they trudged up the steps. Her legs felt heavy. "Lorelei told me to remember, and she and I were the only ones who remembered anything about Annie. I don't know what else she could have meant."