Sarah Benadine is Dead

Chapter XXII, Part I

They met once again in Allison Groves's dorm room after classes. Shannon had told her mother that she would be staying late for the same reason she had the night before. Again, there was no question. Again, it was accepted. Allison, Caleb, Ginger, Jared, and Dexter did not meet with their teachers. No one was the wiser to what seven eleven- and twelve-year-olds were about to do.

They made it to the dining hall without incident. There had been a handful of students in the West Wing lounge, but none of them paid the group any mind. Most other students had long since disappeared into classrooms to meet with teachers. The dining hall was deserted, as the group had known it would be.

"Well, here we are," Dexter said as the seven of them walked inside the room. There was a dull sound of running water coming from the kitchen. "Now what?"

Allison shrugged. "Look—"

"If you say 'look around' I swear to God I'll break your arm," Dexter warned.

"All right, I won't say it," Allison said, holding her hands up in a gesture of placation. There was an amused glint in her eyes.

"This might sound morbid," Shannon said, ignoring the two of them, "but where exactly was Diane Merriweather, Ollie?"

"Over there," Ollie said quietly, pointing vaguely towards the middle of the right side wall.

Shannon followed Ollie's finger, walking slowly over to where the girl was pointing. The floor and wall were bare; there was not a solitary remnant of what had happened here only a handful of days ago. A chill went down Shannon's spine. It was just like nothing had ever happened. Diane Merriweather had never even existed.

"You sure it was here?" Shannon asked, not truly doubting Ollie's judgment.

"Yeah," Ollie said, coming up beside her. "It was here." She put a hand out and placed her palm flat against the wall. "'Find us.'"

Shannon traced her forefinger along the juncture of the floor and the wall. The ground felt cold. Behind her, Allison, Caleb, Ginger, Jared, and Dexter were roaming about the room. She could hear their soft voices as they talked about things she didn't catch. Ollie stood still at her side, looking sadly at the wall.

"Do you really think the vampires are here in the school?" Ollie asked.

"I don't know," Shannon responded. "I think they might be."

Ollie nodded, looking around the dining hall like she expected a vampire to pop up out of nowhere. To be fair, Shannon wasn't entirely certain that that wouldn't happen.

"I hate to rain on your parade," Dexter said, "but I really don't think there's anything in here. Maybe we should—"

He was cut off by the sound of the door creaking. Shannon looked over in surprise to see the door from the entry hall opening slowly. Someone gave an aborted exclamation—Shannon wasn't sure who—and then all seven of them were rushing towards the staff table. Shannon dove behind one of the high-backed chairs just as the door swung all the way open.

Initially, Shannon could not tell who it was. The table blocked her view. Deciding to risk it, she stuck her head inches above the top of the wood. She was surprised to see a girl in a white nightgown, gliding slowly through the room like a ghost.

"Is that...Tuly?" Ginger asked from Shannon's right.

"She's supposed to be in the infirmary," Allison whispered.