Sanctum by Madeleine Roux

said. “We need to hurry.”
    No sooner had the words left his mouth than he heard a single, solitary footstep on the floor above him. The one heavy footfall sent a rippling groan through the house.
    “ Go ,” he said urgently, waving her out the window. Dan scampered up after her and wedged himself through the window, ignoring the sharp splinter that scraped across his arm. Back out in the cold, Dan pushed the window shut and followed his friends down the porch.
    Nobody needed to say anything; Jordan took off, sprinting. Dan matched his pace, glancing back over his shoulder once as they left the house behind. Paper scratched against his belly, and he touched his stomach where some of the mailbag letters were tucked into his waistband. His arm throbbed where the splinter had caught him. He clasped his hand over the ache, and his palm came away slick with blood.
    When they reached the crossroads about a block from the house, Dan slowed down to a walk and pulled out the letters.
    “Not a total loss,” he said, catching his breath. “At least I got some of these.”
    “I took some, too,” Abby added. “Do you think anyone will notice them missing?”
    Dan shrugged, frowning down at the letters in his hand.
    “Not to be a total downer,” Jordan began, “but what the hell happened back there? Am I the only one who thinks Felix tried to lead us into a trap?”
    “These must be important,” Abby said, not quite answering his question. “We can read through what we took and see if there’s any mention of Brookline. If not . . . Well, we could always try going back another night.”
    Dan remembered the sound of that footstep shaking the house and shivered.
    “Let’s hope we don’t have to,” he murmured. “Anyway, that was only the first address. Maybe whatever Felix wanted us to find is at one of the coordinates and he just wasn’t sure which one.”
    “Man, all these maybes are starting to freak me out,” Jordan said. He spun and strode defiantly out of the pool of lamplight they had stopped in, and Dan followed, clutching his hurt arm.
    “Hey!”
    “Watch it!”
    Dan felt Abby’s hand on the arm of his sweater, tugging him back as they watched Jordan stumble under the streetlamp. Jordan was holding his chest, panting.
    “God! You scared me half to death!” he cried.
    “Sorry! Sorry.” It was Micah, sliding into the light with his hands raised in surrender. Dan puffed out a sigh of relief. “I didn’t mean to scare y’all, but you weren’t anywhere at the party. I’ve been looking and looking. . . .”
    His eyes landed on the hand Dan had clasped tightly over his biceps.
    “You okay?”
    “Fine, we were—” What were they doing? Why hadn’t he bothered to concoct a convincing story in case this very scenario unfolded? He swallowed hard and forced himself to look Micah in the eye. “Just out exploring the neighborhood. The party got sort of crowded, so we went out for some air.” Dan smiled, allowing his shoulders to drop. Relax. Relax and sell it and he will never know the difference. “I think we must’ve taken a wrong turn, though. Couldn’t find our way back.”
    He looked to Jordan and Abby for confirmation. They nodded in suspicious unison.
    “Yes!” Abby finally blurted. “Yeah, we got lost. The party was . . . way too hot, right? So many people in that tiny little house!”
    “Yeah, I found it a little stifling myself,” Micah said, reaching up to adjust his glasses. “You want me to show you guys back? I think that might be best. Not sure I’m supposed to allow y’all to wander around town in the middle of the night.”
    “Allow?”
    Jordan was going to give them away if he kept up the attitude.
    “Oh.” Micah laughed nervously. “Not like—I mean, we’re just supposed to look after you kids is all.”
    “Thanks for finding us,” Dan said quickly. He strode out ahead in the direction he hoped would lead them back to campus. Micah didn’t object, so he