Page 56 of The Hunt

Breathing a sigh of relief, I started walking again. My phone vibrated in my coat pocket a moment later, and I checked it to see an Instagram notification.Tessa has sent you a message.

I swiped down to see the preview text.Listen to these now please! Important!!

“What the hell?” I muttered, opening the whole conversation. Tessa had preceded the text with several voice notes. I scrolled up and clicked on the first one.

“Hey, babe. Sorry if it’s weird to send you a voice note, but this is kind of a long story, so I figured it would be easier than texting!” she began. She briefly coughed and went on. “So, I was just in the library with my econ study group. We had an all-nighter study sesh planned because we have a really hard exam coming up. So anyway, we were all sitting there talking, and then I saw your ex walking past. I glared at him and tried to give major ‘fuck off’ vibes, because what else would I do, right? But then—ah, shit. Sorry, I forgot about the time limit. One sec.”

I clicked on the second voice note.

“Sorry, I forgot we can only talk for one minute on these things. Ugh. Anyway, I noticed he was walking really slowly as he passed our table. Like, it was obviously on purpose, as if he was trying to intimidate us. He was also smiling creepily at the girl next to me. She kind of just… froze. Like, she looked terrified. So once he was gone, I took her aside and asked her what the deal was. She didn’t want to say anything at first, but I told her that I know the guy has a really bad rep, and I just wanted to help out if she needed someone to talk to. Don’t worry, I didn’t mention you or anything like that. I kept it vague. But anyway, she ended up breaking down and admitting that he did some really fucked-up stuff to her at a party. Hold on. Time limit again.”

Heart pounding, I played the third and final message.

“So, you can probably guess what he did to her. She was too scared to turn him in because of his rich family,” Tessa went on. “But look…. I am justso donewith guys like this. Wehaveto do something about this fucker. He’s running around campus doing whatever the hell he wants, hurting women, and he’s obviously not going to stop. So I was thinking. You, this girl Jane, Sloane, Bree, and me… we need to get together and brainstorm ways to take him down for good. I mean, five heads are better than one, right? So why wait? Let’s come up with something right now, before he gets the chance to attack someone else! Can you come meet us at the library?”

I sent back a voice note of my own. “Sure, I can come. Where exactly are you?”

She replied a minute later. “We’re on the ground floor on the east part, right near that side door that leads out to the courtyard,” she said. “I was thinking—when you, Sloane, and Bree get here, we can all go out there to talk. That way no one can hear us coming up with our plan. I know it sounds paranoid, butI really don’t want anything to get back to him. I want us to strike without that prick having any idea what’s coming.”

“Okay,” I replied, pulse pounding with anticipation. “Be there soon.”

I turned around and strode away from the bus stop, wishing I’d brought my car to campus instead so I could speed things up. Ten minutes later, the library loomed ahead, its towering windows glowing faintly from the dim light inside.

At this hour, the campus was much quieter, and my footsteps echoed loudly on the pavement as I approached the entrance, the faint chill in the air wrapping around me like a second skin.

Pushing through the heavy glass doors, I stepped into the quiet space. The main floor was practically deserted, save for the night staff at the front desk, who barely glanced up as I passed.

The east wing was even quieter. My sneakers squeaked against the tiled floor as I rounded a corner, heading toward the side door Tessa had mentioned. Rows of empty study tables stretched out ahead, the few reading lamps left on casting pools of warm light over the wood.

I scanned the space quickly. No one was there.

My pulse quickened slightly. “Tessa?” I said, my voice carrying further than I intended in the stillness.

Nothing.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened our conversation again.I’m here,I typed.Where are you? You said the east side, right?

I stood there for a moment, staring down at my phone and waiting for the typing bubble to appear. Nothing showed up.

Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I glanced toward the side door. The idea of going into the courtyard alone made me hesitate, but I took a deep breath, opened the door, and tentatively stuck my head out anyway.

“Tessa? Are you out here?” I called out.

A few seconds later, her voice drifted faintly over the chilly breeze. “Hey, girl! Sorry, Jane wanted a smoke!” she said. “Did you see Bree or Sloane yet?”

I breathed a sigh of relief and stepped all the way outside, glad that she was close.

“No, I didn’t see them yet,” I said, casting my eyes around. “I guess they’re still on their way.”

The courtyard was a wide, open space bordered by the shadowy outlines of towering trees and the gothic arches of the library's outer walls. In the center stood a circular stone fountain, its surface reflecting the faint light of the lampposts scattered around.

I walked slowly toward the fountain, my shoes crunching lightly on the gravel path. “Um… Tessa?” I called out. “Where are you, exactly?”

Her voice came again, faint but unmistakable. “Over here!” she said. “Can’t you see us? We’re literally waving at you. Hello!”

I took another step forward, but I still couldn’t see the two girls anywhere. My pulse quickened, and I tightened my arms around myself, the instinct to retreat back into the safety of the library overwhelming.

“Fuck it,” I muttered, pulling out my phone again.

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