How to Save Your School From Soul Stealing Demons

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Okay?" He raises his eyebrows, looking at me like I'm stupid. "Dude. That was the single hottest moment of my life."

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At lunch Watts and I ditch our usual table and instead head to sit with two people who, despite inviting us, don't look too eager to have new tablemates. 

As I sit across from her, Renny leans forward and rests her crossed arms on the table. She's overtly threatening, whereas Ambrose, who's leaned back in the chair next to her, is intimidating just from the simple, uninterested glance he gives us before he goes back to his ramen cup.

"Talk," Renny orders as soon as our butts meet the chairs.

Watts glances at me, and I give him a look that essentially means, this is all yours, dude, as I unpack my lunch. He turns back to Renny, drumming his fingers nervously against the table. "Well... where should I start? What do you want to know?"

"What do I need to know?" She rolls her eyes when he hesitates, and brings a fist to the table. "Just start from the beginning!"

"Okay! Sure, yeah. Okay." Watts pushes his glasses up his nose and sits up a little straighter. "Well, I noticed on the first day of school that Greg Pines was sitting with Paul and his friends. Obviously pretty weird, but I didn't think too much of it until he went missing."

He continues to explain how Pamela was picked up by the popular group after Greg went missing, and finishes off at Layne's recent disappearance. "It could be a coincidence, but I don't know—it's a little too crazy if you ask me."

"No shit," Renny says. Watts looks at her blankly, like he's expecting her to slam the table again. She sighs, closing her eyes impatiently. "I'm agreeing with you."

"Oh! Right." Watts laughs in relief. I've never seen someone look so attracted to and simultaneously scared of someone, and it's almost enough to make me laugh. If the topic of conversation wasn't so morbid, this whole thing would be a lot funnier.

Watts moves on to describing how Sheriff Doyle was less than amused by our attempt at telling him our theory.

"And what about what you said the other day?" Renny presses. "About a cult?"

Ambrose shifts in his seat next to her, shaking his head—the first reaction I've seen from him this whole time. Watts glances at him nervously, as if he's worried he'll attack if he starts explaining.

"Watts's grandpa remembered hearing a story about a murder similar to Greg and Pamela's," I pick up for him, earning a leer from Ambrose. But there's nothing hostile in the curious stare Renny gives me, so I continue. Watts and I tell them about the research, explaining the rumors about the Cult of Bozzanath, Beau's murder, and how Joan was burned to death by some of the townspeople. Finally, Watts delivers the thread that really ties all of it together.

"So, not only was Beau killed by some kind of bite to the throat just like Greg and Pamela, but Beau's corpse had some kind of symbol carved into the forehead—and so did Greg's."

Renny furrows her brows, looking between us as if trying to spot a bluff. "I haven't heard anything about that."

"Understandably, since they haven't said anything about it yet. I overheard one of the deputies talking, that's the only reason I know. And I have no idea what the symbol was, but I'll bet anything it was the same as the one on Beau, and I'd also bet that Pamela had one, too."

She sits back in her chair, letting out a long breath. "So... you think Paul and Kayla and Hemani and them are all members of this centuries-old cult?"