Outcast (Wiltshire University Book 1)

Chapter 4

Wiltshire's grounds weren't as expansive as a Big Ten school like the one Zane's brother went to, but at four thousand acres there was still a lot of area to cover. I glanced at the sky squinting at the waning sun, a sinking feeling settling into my gut as I realized those thousands of acres would soon be dark. Who doesn't like a twilight scavenger hunt? I groused to myself; the dorm's exterior door slamming shut behind me with a loud bang. The sweeping grounds with lush gardens that had so attracted me when applying were now very much working against me.

I slogged down the path in the direction of central grounds. As my dorm cluster disappeared being me, I wished, not for the first time tonight, that my phone wasn't dead. This will teach me to use it rather than interacting with my classmates while I waited for the professor to start class. In my defense, some of those same classmates stole all my stuff, so maybe I was right to avoid them. As I passed by the other dorms in my cluster, I noticed the movement of students inside. No creepy ghost towns there, I thought bitterly. I wondered if they were in on this too. A group of students approached, breaking off the path to head into the building on my right. Seeing them I almost gave in to the urge to asked them if they saw anything this afternoon, but the fear of being humiliated by having them ignore me to my face kept my mouth shut.

Twenty minutes later the path to the bell tower loomed in my view. Being the center of grounds, the area was well lit, so at least I had that going for me. The creepy voicemail had left me a little more shaken than I was willing to admit, and I was not looking forward to combing the grounds in the dark by myself. Closing the distance to the tower in the waning light, I kicked myself for being an idiot and not going straight to the admin building when I first found my room empty.

With a sigh I paused near a blue emergency pole to survey the area, looking for anyone who might be waiting to jump out at me. I eyed the bell tower. I had yet to actually climb the thing, but I recalled my orientation tour guide saying something about the entrance to the stairs being in the half-submerged covered walkways that surrounded the structure. She also said something about it being a great place to see the stars or catch a sunset over grounds, so that must mean it wouldn't be locked up for the night.

My gaze swept over the grassy lawns surrounding the famous building. Even though most classes were long over for the day a large number of students still frequented central grounds, enjoying the warm September night. I studied the coeds as discreetly as I could, but no one stood out as nefarious. Groups of varying sizes walked down the cacophony of paths, their laughter reaching my ears.

I couldn't help but feel a little jealous that they were hanging out enjoying their time with friends while I was dealing with this hot mess. Why couldn't I be one of the girls hitching a piggyback ride from a guy as they raced off into the night? Or a part of the group enjoying a late dinner on the grass. I could probably pass on that tightrope thing going on to my left, but across the lawn another group played a game of crochet with glow in the dark equipment while their friends cheered them on. That looked fun. If they knew how excellent I was at cheering people on would they want to be my friends and help me find my freaking stuff?

Shaking my head, I banished my whiney thoughts; it was stupid of me to think like that. Focus Cali. Sweeping my eyes over everyone once more I didn't see anyone whose appearance scream "hey I'm waiting to jump you or further your embarrassment," so that was a plus. And if someone was waiting for me, there were enough people around that someone would hear me scream. Well, that's a lovely thought. No, it's cool, you can totes go down into the scary tunnel, people will totally hear you scream. Taking a deep breath and shaking my head again to re-clear my thoughts I shifted my weight back off the pole. Looping my thumbs through the straps of my bag I moved quickly down into the covered pathway surrounding the bell tower not allowing myself time to change my mind. Shadows jumped out at me as my eyes adjusted to the much dimmer light of the subterranean path.