Catacombs Read online

  “I don’t want to be the negative one here, but you’re sure this is real, right?”

  “I’m going to see Mrs. Pogue tomorrow to make sure, but if it is, guess I’m going to college too. Full ride, can you believe it?”

  “Don’t know why you thought you’d be stuck here forever.” He set the letter on my desk and squeezed my shoulder, beaming brightly. “You’re damned smart, Briar. About time you realized you’re meant for more than Podunk, Texas.”

  “Dunno, thought sticking around the same state for a while would be nice.”

  “Nah, you should get out and see the world a bit.”

  I laughed sharply. “Pennsylvania is far from the world, Jake.”

  “Maybe, but it’s a start.”

  I shouldn’t have been questioning my good luck, but this letter, this whole situation felt off. I glanced one more time at the computer screen, but gave up the search and closed it.

  “Want to study together tonight? We have that AP Euro final coming up.”

  “And you suck with dates.” I grinned. History was probably the only weakness Jake had, and I never missed a chance to give him crap about it. Though somehow, he still managed to get straight As while I barely held on with my fingernails.

  Which brought up another point Mrs. Brown and Jake hadn’t said anything about. The full ride, there was no explanation for that. My grades were crap, and this school was willing to pay for everything? I worried they’d want me to do some sort of on-campus type work to compensate and inwardly groaned.

  I was far from a people person.

  Jake said he was going to grab his notes and he’d meet me downstairs in the living room to study. I told him I’d be down in a minute, and I took a few to read the entire letter a final time.

  There was nothing in it to tell me exactly what I was getting into. Just a full ride, transportation, room and board, the works.

  Now the question remained, what exactly did one study at an Academy of Ancients? Secret societies? Mysteries of history? Hoped it was something worthwhile. Otherwise this was going to wind up being a waste of their time and mine.

  The next day at school, I made an appointment with Mrs. Pogue and watched the clock move painstakingly slow, bearing with chemistry, lit, and history, until finally, I could go see her.

  Mrs. Pogue, thin, with pale skin and the blackest of straight hair, looked up at me over her computer screen. “Briar.”

  I felt stupid for what I was going to say next, but I’d been up most the night trying to search for anything about this school again. Still nothing. I handed her the envelope. “What school is this?”

  She took it from me, looked at the return address, then reached for her mouse. A few clicks later, she swiveled the monitor, so I could see it, and pointed. On the screen was a spreadsheet, the one she created when she was helping me apply to schools.

  “It’s one on the list. One of the first we applied to, and I’m glad to see they sent you a letter.”

  “Yeah, about that… I got accepted with a full ride.”

  For being a counselor meant to deal with all sorts of kids and not be judgmental, she failed miserably at hiding the surprised look on her face. She couldn’t even find words and finally just opened the envelope to read the letter for herself, as if I was lying right to her face. Which to be fair, I’d done plenty of times before, but this, this was still weirding me out.

  “I Googled them last night. Saw nothing about this school. Nothing, Mrs. Pogue. I’m worried they’re not even real and this was all just a mistake,” I mumbled the last quietly, shifting in the hard-backed chair.

  “They’re exclusive. They won’t have anything online for you to see.”

  “Seriously? Please tell me they have electricity at least.”

  She shot me a look, but I held her gaze.

  “They merely adhere to a different tradition than many other schools. It’s part of the reason why I thought it would suit you so well.”

  Traditions, great. That’s just what I wanted to hear. “Probably write with quills and ink, too.”

  “Briar, really, I don’t see what’s wrong with this,” she scolded.

  I grunted, and she shot me another look.

  “It’s in Pennsylvania. It snows there. I’m a Texan, born and raised. Not exactly used to snow. Or cold. Or anything else that happens up there that does not happen down here.”

  “Did you hear from the other schools?” she asked sharply.

  Maybe it was my embarrassment at all the rejection letters that made me lie, and damn was I getting good at lying. “I was accepted to two. No full rides. No scholarships whatsoever.”

  “So, this is the best thing you’ve got going, right?”

  I crossed my arms and wished that I had been accepted somewhere else that wasn’t so traditional… and secretive… and weird. “Only thing I’ve got going, but what if it’s not a good fit, you know? This seems pretty fancy, and all and I’m not exactly that type of person.”

  “You’re worried you won’t fit in, is that it? Briar, it’s college, it’s your chance to see what you’re made of and figure out what you want to do. You’ll be fine.”

  I probably would be, but that wasn’t the point. Jake got into Texas State and was staying here, and I was going far, far away. Another problem was, Jake was asking Heather to be his girl, told me last night while we were studying and where is she going to college? Oh, that’s right, Texas State. Go figure.

  Not only was the guy I liked asking someone out, instead of me, but half of me also said I couldn’t exactly blame him. Why would he ask out a tomboy with curves she tried to hide, and no makeup on her face? Who was more comfortable acting the part of the loner reject than being sociable? Heather was pretty, and I was me. Hiding my body in baggy clothes, face stripped of makeup, hair pulled back into a ponytail, messy and falling out of it half the time. The chances of my seeing him again were slim to none. I wasn’t sure I’d even come home for the holidays. Mrs. Brown might wind up with more foster kids soon, and once we were out of high school, we were no longer her problem.

  I might as well kiss any chance with Jake goodbye and hope for the best at this new place.

  “The Academy of Ancients,” I sighed. “What kind of name is that for a school?”

  “I hate to say it, but I think you’re scared to take this chance.”

  “So what if I am?”

  She handed the envelope back, and smiled, actually smiled. “Not to be too blunt about it, but life hasn’t exactly been easy for you. You’ve fought hard and despite how you act, I know deep down you’re smart, and you want to make something of yourself.” She grinned wider, the look weird on a face I was used to seeing so serious. “Take this gift and go live your life.”

  “Yeah, yeah you’re right. Guess I’ll be heading to Pennsylvania. Where it snows,” I mumbled. “Thanks, Mrs. Pogue.”

  I had the whole summer to think about where my new path was about to take me. And a whole summer to dream up just how royally I was going to mess this up.

  Chapter Two

  Briar

  Two Months Later.

  “Cheer up.” Jake chucked my chin, which made me feel like a little kid, then hugged me, which made me feel nothing like a little kid. It kicked up emotions in me that I wish I didn’t feel.

  I stood in the hallway outside his room, waiting for my taxi to arrive to take me to the airport.

  All summer, I tried to convince myself there was no point in pining over him, not when he was staying here, and I was going far, far away. And he was still with Heather, of course. I’d endured several of their date nights at the house, putting on a fake smile until I managed to leave the living room and disappear into my bedroom.

  When I wasn’t busy finding ways to get over him, I spent my time researching the college I was attending. I searched for newspaper articles, college catalogs, anything I could think of.

  The only thing that did turn up was an article about an incident at the co
llege around thirty years ago. Something about several students going missing, but there was never any conclusion to what happened, or if they ever found the students again.

  Nice to know the school I was about to attend had unsolved disappearances.

  Academy of Ancients, that seemed very fitting now.

  “At least you got into one. Be happy about it. Full ride and all, you should be jumping up and down with excitement, ready to take on the world right now.”

  “Guess the excitement will hit me later after I’ve landed.”

  My bags were packed. Correction, my bag, because I didn’t have enough stuff to fit into more than one bag. I wondered how much of an allowance I’d be given to get by on. That bit of information wasn’t outlined in the letters. They sent another one with my plane ticket, but that was it. Just a date and time to get to the airport.

  Jake didn’t know that this was goodbye. I’d tell him in a few moments. Maybe see if he could take us out for some ice cream. Fresh made ice cream, the best I’d ever had. Jake had his license. I didn’t. It was stupid really, that I didn’t have one. I could have taken driver’s ed. Mrs. Brown even offered to pay for it. I didn’t take her up on her offer. She didn’t have the money to spare, and I didn’t see myself owning a car anytime in my near future. What was the point when I never stayed in one place long enough?

  Story of my life. A few months here, then a few months there, then my mother decides she wants to play parent again, and I’m back with her. That usually lasts a maximum of six months, then I’m back into the system and waiting for another home.

  So yeah, I didn’t feel that I could let Mrs. Brown pay for my driver’s ed class.

  Jake tried to teach me. Good luck. I froze every time I got behind the wheel and started to shake so bad he figured I’d had some unpleasant experience that I’ve blocked out from my youth.

  Ya think? I grew up with a mother that couldn’t decide if she liked booze or drugs more. Me? I was always tied for second with one of her boyfriends. She had more boyfriends than I had foster homes. And that’s saying a lot. So yeah, I could have had a bad experience or two in my life that I’d put away, pushed into a place where it would never come out and see the light of day again. Nights when I’d wake up to Mom fighting and kicking another guy out of the apartment. Of dragging me out with her at random times to get more booze, or worse, score some drugs. The days she’d forget to feed me or get me to school. Or the times her boyfriends gave me that weird look that would leave me with nightmares.

  I hated to say it, but Mrs. Pogue was right. Getting out of Texas and away from Mom, maybe forever, was a good thing.

  Jake’s phone vibrated on his dresser. He leaped toward it as if it was a sporting event and winning depended on his catching his phone on time. He glanced at it, and his face lit up as my heart plummeted. I knew what he was going to say next.

  “It’s Heather. She’s waiting for me to get her for the weekend. Going to Padre before the semester starts and it’s back to the grind for all of us.”

  “Yeah, sure. Have fun.” I didn’t mean it. But I said it. I might hate her guts for simply being with him, but I wasn’t going to take it out on him. I could be civil… sort of.

  “You too.” His hug was quick, and then he was down the hall, and a few seconds later, I heard him call out to Mrs. Brown that he was leaving, and that was it.

  Jake was gone.

  I fought the sadness, knowing I wouldn’t be seeing Jake again, at least not for a long time. If ever. Picking up my bag, I trudged downstairs, not bothering to look into my bedroom one more time. Just another stop on the ever-moving train that was my life. I told Mrs. Brown I’d be out on the porch, waiting for my ride. This was it, the start of the rest of my life.

  “Here’s to hoping losing my sanity and turning to drugs does not run in the family.”

  Mom had been normal until she hit college and then everything changed. At least that was what she told me. College messed her up, but she’d never told me where she went. Not ever.

  Not that it mattered. Mom was part of the past and Academy of Ancients was my future.

  I slept most of the flight, couched between a businesswoman in a suit and an older man whose story I couldn’t figure out. Someone’s grandfather from all the babbling talk about kids and so on and so forth until I tuned him out long enough to doze, eyes open and everything.

  The businesswoman was busy doing some sort of presentation on her laptop. I tried not to peek, tried to mind my own business. It wasn’t hard to do, because whatever she was working on looked boring. Marketing or something. That and her face was pinched the whole time, as if she really hated her job.

  Before we even took off, though, the older guy gave me a smile, patted my hand, and said not to worry, it would be fine.

  Freaked out, I wondered if my apprehension for the school, for the trip, for my life in general, showed on my face. It was my first time on an airplane, and I didn’t think I’d sleep. But I did. Probably because of the sleepless nights leading up to today.

  The whole disappearance story about Academy nagged at me, and I swore I dreamt about people trying to kidnap me in my sleep. I’d woken up several different times, panicking until I convinced myself I was alone and safe. At least, until I went to this place of course that was content to keep itself to, well, itself.

  That and the day before, I’d reached out to tell my mom about my scholarship. The woman who answered her phone said mom was away, some woman I didn’t recognize from her voice.

  “How long?” I’d said.

  “Two to five,” the woman responded and promptly hung up before I could even ask where she was, or what she did this time around.

  If only she would take two seconds, just one time, to call me herself and let me know.

  I may not want to live with her, but it’d be nice to know if she was in jail or out. Or alive. If I never tried to check in once and a while, I’d never know anything about her current affairs. Not that she was ever truthful with me, not really. Told me she was protecting me. That was bull, but whatever.

  Did I look out the plane’s window the couple times that I woke up? Not once. Not interested in seeing how far the plane would fall if there were a catastrophe.

  Not that one happened. The plane landed with a thud that made my heart leap into my throat. I gripped the armrests with enough force to hear the squeak of protest. And I’m not that strong.

  I had no checked baggage. One small bag that I gathered from the overhead and followed everyone else off the plane, not sure where to go or what to do. The letter with the ticket said I’d be met at the airport by another student to bring me back to campus.

  The older guy was in front of me, the businesswoman behind me with her rolling carry-on behind her. We walked down the narrow path between the plane and the walkway, and I hoped it wouldn’t give. Then I chastised myself for imagining any scenario that would get me out of going to this school.

  Once they’d all headed out, I found myself in the same big room in a big airport like the one that I’d left behind in Houston. There were podiums for each gate, attended by airline employees. I slung my bag over my shoulder, puffed out my cheeks, and mentally cursed.

  “Where the hell do I go now?” I muttered aloud.

  The old man looked back at me suddenly, and I realized I must’ve said that louder than I meant. His white brows drew into a frown as he sidled back and asked, “You have checked baggage?”

  I shook my head. “Just this.”

  “Someone’s meeting you then, right? You have a ride?”

  I hesitated in telling this guy too much. Was he a creeper? I studied him without trying to look like I was doing it. The look in his eyes told me I didn’t need to worry. He was someone’s grandpa after all, and what he was showing was genuine concern.

  “Someone’s meeting me,” I finally told him, and he smiled.

  “Then go that way.” He pointed. “Follow the exit signs.”

  I n
odded. “Thanks.” And hoped he’d head out. I didn’t want company. I wanted to absorb this new turn my life was taking on my own.

  “Sure thing.” He started walking down the same path I’d have to take.

  Figures.

  I caught the signs for a restroom and went inside, needing a few minutes to gather my thoughts before I left the safety of the airport. Not that it was safe, but now that I was here, my hands shook, and my heart hadn’t stopped pounding, my pulse drowning out the din outside the bathroom. Out of all the crazy stuff I dealt with in my life, starting college scared me.

  “Get a grip,” I told myself angrily and glared at my reflection. “You’re a big girl, you can handle this. Just be who you are. The quiet outcast. Keep your head down, and you’ll be fine, just fine.”

  One of these times it’d be nice if I believed my own pep talks.

  My phone buzzed a text message. I pulled it out, hiding in the corner of the restroom. The second I opened it, I wished I hadn’t pulled it out.

  It was a text from Jake. A picture of him and Heather at the beach. Her in her perfect bikini body and bleached hair, him all muscular and making me want to hug and throttle him at the same time. Did he seriously not have any clue how annoying this was?

  My heart felt like it was in a vise. I deleted the text immediately, shoved the phone into my back pocket, and left the restroom, following the exit signs. Some stern warning signs informed me that I was leaving the secured area. I paused. Would I need to go back? Why would I?

  My bag was in hand, phone in back pocket. I had nothing else in the world, certainly nothing in this airport.

  I stepped through the gate manned by a guy who looked like he was bored to pieces. No one came in this door, clearly. He knew it and wasn’t expecting to be called to action. He glanced at me lethargically as I walked by.

  Now what? I kept on moving, following the exit signs. The letter said someone would meet me here. What did here mean? One foot in front of the other, full of trepidation, maybe even excitement, I made my way past all the exit signs.