The forest was never supposed to be this deep."I swear it was right here," Adrian said for the fifth time, spinning around the trees like they personally betrayed him.
I said, "Relax. Worst case? We discovered a new hiking trail. Best case?""Best case we don't die," Bella whispered, clutching Mila's sleeve.
Daniel stopped in his tracks, eyes wide."Guys," he said quietly.
We followed his gaze.A massive iron gate stood between the trees—ancient, rusted, engraved with words painted in red, none of them remembered seeing on any map.
BLACK HOLLOW UNIVERSITY
"Maybe we should pretend that we didn't see this sign written in blood," Bella said."Relax, it's probably just paint," I said.
Daniel said, "JUST PAINT! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND JAY? LET'S GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!""Looks like we are up for some adventure today," Adrian said.
Just as Mila was about to argue, a sound stopped us all.
"Getting out, kid? There is no escape now that you're standing in front of the Black Hollow University," a voice said behind us.
We all jumped, fear crawling up our spines.
Mila whispered, "Just what we needed."
We all turned in unison to see who spoke.It was a man around sixty, looking at us. His eyes were dark, and his smile slow and unnatural, like he knew something we didn't.
"Excuse me, mister, I don't care who you are or what this place is—leave us alone," I said, trying to sound brave, though my knees felt like jelly.
The man chuckled softly. "Nice to meet you too. Myself, Barf Viper. I am the security guard for this place. And yours?"
I said, "Sir, I don't care if your name is Barf or Giraffe—please leave us alone."
My friends burst out laughing, but the man's expression remained unreadable and cold.
"I'm sorry, dear, but there is no way out," he said.
Daniel lost his temper. "What do you want, old man? Get out of our way!"
Then he said, "Follow me before you get into serious trouble."
We exchanged nervous looks, but the way he spoke made us want to believe him.
Mila looked like she was about to faint. Bella looked at Barf like she was about to add him to her sketchbook. Daniel looked like an old grandpa thinking, another day, another person. Adrian looked cartoonish, and I felt like I wanted to shove the whole tree down his throat.
As we took a step into the so-called Black Hollow University—which isn't on Google Maps—the wind swept past us, cold and sudden. Leaves blew into our faces, making it almost impossible to open our eyes.
Suddenly, Daniel said, "Why does everyone look like we're the villain in their favorite series?"
We turned our heads and saw people our age—around 17—staring at us like we were their favorite meal.
"I KNEW SOMETHING LIKE THIS WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. I DREAMED SOMETHING LIKE THIS AT 11:11," Bella said.
"SHUT UP, BELLA, THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO JOKE," Mila said, though her voice creaked.
"It's okay, guys, as long as we're together," Adrian said.
I tried to pretend I was brave like I do every morning, but today, pretending didn't work.
We didn't realize that following Barf had led us into a room that smelled like old wood and dust. The room was dark brown. In the far corner, a figure lounged in a chair, their back turned.
SILENT