Possessions by Nancy Holder

replied. “Wait!” she called to Mandy.
    Mandy stopped and held out her arm. Julie hopped up to her and held on tight. Then the two disappeared inside the black hole that was the door.
    I took a few more steps. Then I smelled smoke. And suddenly, I felt kind of woozy. My stomach clenched and the ground rocked. Kiyoko came up beside me.
    “You okay?”
    “That smoke smell . . . it’s making me kind of nauseated,” I said. I drew back slightly. “What exactly is Mandy planning for Julie? Please, just tell me.” Maybe if it wasn’t anything too bad, I could go back.
    “I don’t actually know. I’m not even sure it’s tonight.” She set her teeth together, grimacing for forgiveness.
    My mouth dropped open. “But you said—”
    “That she might .” She touched the corner of her mouth and dropped her hand to her side. “I don’t smell smoke.”
    Then she looked hard at me. “You know, Lindsay, Mandy might pull a trick on Julie at any time. If you stay close, you’re more likely to be there to pick up the pieces.”
    “Julie’s pretty tough,” I declared.
    “Julie’s a fragile piece of glass,” Kiyoko replied, her gaze hard and flinty.
    Lara sidled up to us. “Come on, dark-links,” she urged. “The boys will drink up all the Grey Goose vodka.”
    “Do you smell smoke?” Kiyoko asked her.
    More girls were catching up to us—so it wasn’t going to be just us seven—although I didn’t see anyone from our dorm. I spotted Rose. She was wearing raggedy jeans and a curly black wig. When she saw me, she posed, and it took me a second to realize that she had come dressed as me .
    “You suck,” I said with a grin. The sight of Rose perked me up. “Doesn’t she suck?” I asked Kiyoko, to show her there were no hard feelings. Suddenly, I saw things with more optimism. Kiyoko had made a valid point—Mandy might decide to haze Julie at any time, and Julie would probably set her own hair on fire if Mandy asked her to. So swag-loss or no, it was good that I had come.
    I unwadded my sheet and threw it over my head. “There. Now everyone will be able to tell Rose and me apart.”
    Rose clasped her hands on either side of her face and drew her skin taught across her cheekbones. “Only now I’m Ehrlen-stein.”
    “Oh, I love it,” Alis said, as she came up beside us. “Does Ehrlenbach freak you out? She freaks me out.”
    “She scares me to death,” I admitted.
    “Well, that settles it. She’s a creepy weirdo.” Rose staggered forward with her skin stretched tight. “Let’s get this party started.”
    She led the way into the pitch-black interior, and we followed after. The smoke odor was so strong I coughed. I smelled alcohol—not like drinking, but like in a hospital. Disinfectant. My stomach seized, and a sour taste rushed into my mouth.
    Everyone crowded around me, yelling and shushing each other, then moved past me into the corridor. They were agog to see what mega-bucks Mandy had in store for them next.
    I realized I was hanging back. And suddenly, I couldn’t go on. It wasn’t only that I didn’t want to; I couldn’t. It was as if someone had grabbed my shoulders or I had walked into an invisible barrier.
    Waves and waves of panic crashed over me. I felt so stupid. But as I stared into the nothingness, I swayed. Sweat beaded my forehead. I couldn’t breathe.
    It’s nothing. Go in. You’re making a scene. There is no need for drama.
    Get out. Danger . My primitive instincts were taking over. I was afraid I was going to wet my pants. I heard myself whimper, and the weird thing was, I couldn’t even retreat. I couldn’t do anything except stand there and freak out.
    I’m in trouble , I thought, standing there in my sheet like an oversized three-year-old. I listened to my fluttering heartbeat and breathed slowly in, out. It felt as if a part of my brain refused to obey me.
    A gold circle of light bloomed from behind me, lighting up the darkness just enough for me to see the