Page 149 of Say Yes to the Death

“It’s my backstory, Claire.”

“Sorry.”

They crossed an intersection and hit the eastern edge of campus. The chapel rose in front of them, a stately, three-story brick structure. Loud music thumped from one of the dormitories nearby. The ghost of the taste of cheap vodka seared Claire’s tongue.

“Are we really doing this?” Mindy whispered, staring up at the chapel.

“I have to. You guys don’t.” Claire looked at her foolishly dressed friends. “I told you from the beginning I’m completely fine with you guys staying home or being lookouts.”

“We’re not leaving you alone.” Nicole nudged her in the ribs.

“Or missing a chance to take down a bunch of woman-hating sociopaths,” Mindy added.

“Okay.” Claire turned to face the chapel. “Let’s do this.” She slid on a set of gloves and wrenched open the chapel door. “Mindy, lead the way.”

They wound their way down a narrow set of steps into the basement. It was eerily quiet. They passed the soundproof music rooms Mindy had mentioned and came to stand in front of a nondescript metal door with a padlock.

Claire glanced around. There didn’t seem to be any cameras down here. Hopefully, there weren’t any in the tunnels either. The last thing they needed was campus security blowing their cover. She pulled the bolt cutters from her backpack and clamped them onto the lock.

“Help me,” she whispered, and they all grabbed the bolt cutters. They grunted and squeezed until the shackle snapped in half. The padlock thunked onto the floor, and Claire tucked it in her backpack. There was no sense in leaving evidence behind.

Mindy pulled the door open. The tunnel walls were rock. Everything was damp and smelled like a cave. There was no light switch on the inside. Claire pulled flashlights out of her backpack and handed them to her friends. She clamped on a headlamp and turned it on.

“Only one way to go,” Nicole said, stepping inside. The hallway ended in a wall on their right. An abandoned tuba sat just inside the door on the left. They walked another couple of feet, and Claire nearly banged her shin off a cello case. Communion trays were stacked haphazardly on a lopsided table.

“It’ll be a miracle if we make it to ESA without breaking our ankles,” Mindy muttered as she climbed over an old TV.

“How are we going to know which door is theirs? These all look the same,” Claire said, gesturing at another identical metal door that evidently led to another campus building.

“My GPS is still working.” Nicole waved her phone in the air as she led the way. She was like Indiana Jones in a wig. “We should probably try to be quieter in case someone is outside one of these doors.”

They descended into silence as they weaved through the tunnels. They passed piles of old computers, overflowing file boxes, and a full-blown papier-mâché dragon. Finally, after what felt like hours of walking, Nicole held up one hand. They stopped. In front of them was another metal door, and a blow-up sex doll lying face down in the corridor. Voices came from the other side of the door.

She touched her finger to her lips, and they crowded around the door. A soft light flickered through the crack in the frame. The three of them leaned in and pressed their ear to it. If someone jerked the door open, they would all fall into the frat and probably be murdered.

“I can’t believe someone tagged the house. I bet it was that bitch,” one voice said.

Claire’s heart thumped in her chest.

“But how would she know to put up that bullshit symbol? She’s not smart enough to figure out what we’re about,” a gruff voice answered.

Someone else spoke with measured pauses. “Gentlemen, welcome to your last meeting before you’re officially made members. It’ll be a short one. Each one of you has shown loyalty and commitment to the cause. Your training efforts with terrorizing Miss Hartley have been truly heartwarming. You’ve mastered the basics of intimidation, all the way up to internationally coordinated threats and explosions. Well done, gentlemen.”

Mindy’s knuckles cracked. Claire nudged her.

“But before you can become an official brother, you must prove yourselves.”

“How do we do that?” a deep voice asked.

“Our two most sacred duties as members of Epsilon Sigma Alpha are identifying women who have opportunities they do not deserve or are unsuitable for and restoring the natural order. Your initiation ritual will be your first chance to pay homage to our practices and figure out your strengths. You, collectively, will be assigned a target,” the guy that seemed to be in charge answered.

Claire exchanged a worried glance with Mindy and Nicole. Were they finally going to come for her?

“Who’s our target?” someone new asked.

There was the sound of a latch being undone and a shuffling of papers.

“She is your target. She is a business owner and, even worse, has been identified as a manipulator of local male officials. She’s not a high priority, which is why we’re saving her for the new recruits. However, every target is important. Each win brings us closer to restoring order.”

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