The following week Oaklynn returned to class.
He wanted to be happy to see her, but every time he looked into those storm-grey eyes, smelled her perfume or caught a glimpse of her thick dark hair, a sense of guilt stabbed at him. In the back of his mind something told him to look away, that she was no longer fit for his eyes, that even the act of looking might bring the wrath of the Karkadda down upon him.
In their seminars they managed to be civil, just about, but in larger lectures she sat apart from him, alone in the back reaches of the halls. A fleeting, furtive smile was all they were able to exchange, the last vestige of the relationship they'd once had. It filled him with rage and sadness all at once, the unfairness of it all biting him once again.
Luke had no choice but to watch her walk away as they piled out of their latest lecture, and he was treated to an extra side-dish of jealousy when he saw Kasper and three other students waiting for her. All smiles and laughter now when she approached, and he felt his whole body tense as Kasper slung an arm around her shoulders, turning and walking her away. He didn't see the look on her face, but he didn't need to.
Whatever rules and traditions she'd been fighting so hard against seemed to finally be taking their toll. She was becoming one of them, integrated, indoctrinated, and forgetting all about the human boy and his pipe dreams. Every piece of him seethed. He didn't even blame her, really, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of rage about the whole, insane world he'd stumbled into.
Then halfway through the week another Karkadda was killed.
A fresh media frenzy descended on the woodland south of the campus where another girl had been found, another student brutally cut down by DeVergne and his killers.
Of course, only Luke and any Karkadda nearby knew that for sure, but the police maintained they were looking at several possible suspects, and couldn't (or perhaps more to the point, wouldn't) share any details for the integrity of the investigation. He sorely hoped that DeVergne remained on that suspect list. He'd thought about going to Nalen after the kidnapping incident, but there were too many things he couldn't say, too many things that wouldn't be explained. Without facts – without evidence – Nalen was the proverbial immovable object.
So right now he had little choice but to watch the news report fold out, a sense of deja vu washing over him as the reporters asked the same questions.
"I guess no more walks in the woods after dark, guys," Kyan muttered, a half-finished glass of soda turning absently between his fingers. "You'd think they'd be able to track this psycho down, wouldn't you?"
"Plenty of evidence left lying around," Kenny agreed. Despite the news report currently churning along the screen, his appetite remained undented as he cleaved off a third of his hot dog with a single bite. "I mean, it's like amateur hour out there."
"Like you'd know." Aliyah muttered, snatching a fry from his plate and popping it neatly into her mouth. "Finding a body is one thing, linking it to whoever killed them is another."
"Look who's been hitting the true crime documentaries, eh?"
"Seemed like a good idea at the time." She shuddered. "I think it's actually making me even more paranoid."
"They don't catch this guy soon they're gonna start sticking us under curfew," Kyan said. Luke could see the uncomfortable hunch of the other student's broad shoulders as he spoke. "I mean, that night, you guys must've got pretty close to whoever did it."
"Isn't that a comforting thought?" Kenny swallowed down the mouthful of hot dog nervously. "What's your point."
"Nobody else has seen anything? Really? No witnesses?"
"Maybe we were just lucky," Luke countered. "Or... well, unlucky, depending on how you look at it. Not many people use those back paths through the forest. Just a few locals." He gave Kenny a knowing smirk at that.
"Oh, yeah, some luck." Kenny shook his head and took another petulant bite from his hot dog. "God, there's a reason nobody should take the shortcut in the movies. Never ends well."
"Okay, that's enough grim for me for one day," Gabi declared, standing up and slinging her bag across her shoulder. She nudged Luke gently. "You want to get in a little extra practice? Away from all the crazy?"
Luke placed his palms flat on the table in front of him for a moment, considering it. Then he nodded decisively. "Yes. Yes, I do." He stood up, nodding. "Let's get out of here."
"We'll catch you guys later," Gabi said as they turned to leave.
"Stay out of the woods," Kenny called after them.
She hurled him a withering look. "Thank God you were here."
They walked side-by-side out onto the campus, and Luke took a deep lungful of the crisp, cold air, grateful to be out and away from the news. He didn't know how much longer he could keep pretending he didn't know exactly what was happening out in the woods. He felt her hand on his arm and looked down.
"You okay?" Gabi asked. "Must be bringing back some nasty memories."
"Yeah." He nodded; shrugged. "I'm okay, I just don't like sitting there watching it and know I can't do anything about it."
"I know what you mean."
"Then let's... let's go shoot. I need to get my brain onto something else."
They set off for the equipment store, signed out their gear from a bored-looking attendant and crossed the campus to the archery range. In the midst of all the mayhem that had overtaken his life, Luke was glad to have the stability, something simple that he could quantify and conquer with nothing more than his own skills.
They had the range to themselves today. A fine drizzle was beginning to settle on the campus – hardly ideal shooting conditions – and with the latest murder a lot of students were keeping their extra curricular activities to a minium. Even still, Luke trudged all the way to the far end of the firing line, putting every scrap of distance he could between himself and the knowledge of what was happening in Lasquette Bay. He stuffed his arrows into the holder and took a seat on the bench behind the firing line, gesturing for her to go first.
Gabi took up her position first, swivelling side on and bringing her bow up, arrow locked in place and string taut. She exhaled, long and slow, then released. A thrumming twang; the arrow ripped across the range and buried itself just outside the bullseye. Her brow furrowed. Luke smiled thinly. By her standards it was a miss.
The second arrow whistled unheeding through the cold autumn air and struck the target, this time inside the bullseye ring, and she let out a small hmm of satisfaction. He offered a slow clap by way of encouragement.
"So, how are things going with Oaklynn now?" Gabi asked as she knocked a third and final arrow to her bow.
"Well, I mean, they're not." Luke shrugged dejectedly. "I still have to see her in classes, but now it's just all weird. She just bolts out as soon as we finish. Like she doesn't trust herself to speak to me."
"Well, you've only gotta ride out this semester. You can transfer to some different classes if you have to once we're through Christmas."
"What if I don't want to change classes?"
She let out a frustrated huff, pulled back harder before she loosed the arrow. It crunched powerfully into the target on the inner yellow ring. "I don't really think it's about what you want anymore."
"Yeah, I know that." He shook his head and stood up, forcing a smile onto his face as he pulled his arrows from the holder. "Sorry. I guess I've not been much fun to be around lately."
Gabi sighed. "No, not really. And I know you can be fun. We all have a good time until Oaklynn comes on the scene and messes you about." She stepped over to him, her lips pressed tightly together as she looked into his eyes. Then, to his surprise she reached out and took a hold of his hand. "I hate seeing you all mopey and depressed over some girl, Luke. We're in college. We're meant to be having a good time."
She gave his fingers a squeeze before releasing her hold on him. Like nothing had happened she swept past and seated herself on the bench, leaving him standing uncertainly, her touch lingering on his skin. He resisted the urge to look over his shoulder at her, instead taking a step up to the firing line. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on the target, on his stance and the draw of his bow. In a slow, deliberate motion, he placed his first arrow against the string and eased it back, locking his eyes on the blue-red-yellow.
"Arbor, Truong? Getting some extra range time in, eh?"
Luke's jaw tightened sharply at the voice. He let the bow string go slack and his arms drop, aiming the arrow at the ground as he looked to his left. Coach Gore striding towards them, calm as could be in her ELU tracksuit, and the sight of her set his blood sizzling.
When he first saw her talking to DeVergne he didn't know what to make of it. Back then it had simply been weird, but now? Now that he knew the truth, the whole exchange took on a far more sinister undertone.
I told you where to look.
Without me you'd never have found them.
Did she know about the Karkadda? There wasn't much else that DeVergne seemed to be looking for out in Lasquette Bay. That made her complicit in all of the murder and mayhem, but he couldn't prove a damn thing. Gabi might have seen the clandestine conversation, but she knew nothing of the Karkadda and the true nature of the killings.
Worse, had he been part of that package deal? Before the incident in the cabin Luke had not been the most observant person in the world, largely because he'd had no reason to be. Now though? Had she been watching him on campus? Had she told DeVergne's men when and where to find him that night?
"Just making sure we're sharpened up," Gabi called back with a wave when it became clear Luke wasn't about to respond. "Thought you were off today, coach?"
"Oh, just had some admin to catch up," Gore replied breezily, but her gaze barely flickered towards Gabi before returning to Luke. "Thought I'd keep an eye on my top shooters. You alright there, Arbor?"
"Fine, coach." Luke turned away and wrenched the bowstring back again, resisting the urge to turn the weapon on her and demand an explanation. Instead he ripped a shot across the range and slammed and arrow through the bullseye. She waited, but he didn't have anything more to say.
"Well, alright then," Gore said quickly, clapping her hands together. "Good to see there's nothing wrong with your aim. You know, my door's always open if you have any problems keeping up with your range time and your studies. I know freshman year can have a lot of extra stresses."
"I think we're managing, coach," Gabi said, keeping her tone light. "But thanks. If Luke has a mental breakdown you'll be the first to know."
"Maybe take him to a doctor first in that case," the woman joked. "I'll see you both at practice."
She turned to walk away, but Luke couldn't hold onto it anymore. Something inside him just snapped and he whipped his head around to look at her.
"Coach?" he called.
"Yeah?"
"I did have one thing I wanted to ask you about."
Gore stopped and pivoted back. "Shoot."
"There's a guy I've seen on campus – I saw him sneaking around the equipment store not that long ago," Luke said. "I just wanted to know if you'd seen him too? You're around here more than we are."
She shrugged. "I might need a little more than that, Arbor."
"His name's DeVergne."
The bluntness did its job and he saw the flicker of panic that crossed her face. She got a hold of it quickly but it was enough for him.
"Oh, Simon?" she said, trying to remain casual. "He's a friend of mine from out of town. He stopped by the campus to touch base. Why?"
"I mean, I've just seen him a couple of times. On his own."
"I think you're misremembering, Arbor," Gore told him, firmness creeping back into her voice. "I saw him once for a catch up, but he's in town to go camping out with some of his buddies." She shrugged. "I don't know how much camping they'll get to do now though, on account of everything going on."
"We just hadn't seen him before, that's all," Gabi interjected before Luke could say any more. "With all the... you know-," she gestured uneasily to the surrounding woods, "I was just a bit worried, strangers walking about campus and stuff. It's scary right now."
Gore nodded sympathetically. "I understand that. Sorry if he spooked you, but I promise you don't need to worry about Simon. He comes to Lasquette pretty regularly for the camping and fishing in the bay. Just make sure you're not out after dark and you stick to campus grounds right now, alright?"
"Sure, coach."
"Alright then. I'll see you both at practice then." With that she turned away, just a little too sharply to maintain the casual veneer, and walked off, disappearing around the corner of the range awning. They watched her leave, silence descending on them as the misty rain thickened.
"Hey, hey! You okay?" Gabi asked in confusion, standing up and moving to stand beside him. She followed his gaze, looking in the direction Coach Gore had gone. "What was that about?"
"She just..." Luke let out a frustrated sigh, knowing he couldn't tie the whole thing together for her without unveiling the Karkadda. Aside from the ominous warning from the Mahar, it wasn't like Gabi would just take his word for it either. "I think she knows something, about all the shit that's going on around here. I just wanted to see what she'd say, I guess."
"Woah, give me a step back here, Luke." Gabi gave him a questioning look. "Is this about what we saw with that guy, DeVergne?"
"Kind of."
"Well, what did the sheriff say when you brought it up?"
"Said he'd 'take it under advisement'," he answered, rolling his eyes. "I didn't mention Gore though. I guess I didn't really know what to say about it. It was just weird."
"Maybe you should have." She folded her arms, hugging herself against the chill. "Don't want to go all tinfoil hat on you here, but that's the first time I've seen her catch up on her admin on campus. And it just happens to be when we're out on the range with no-one else around?"
"That's a supersized coincidence, huh?"
"I think so." Her lips twisted in thought. "But she didn't deny knowing the guy."
"No. I think she knows that we've spotted him on campus and she's trying to cover for him."
Gabi nodded. "Yeah. Funny place to have a 'catch up' out in the woods behind an equipment shed." She looked at him. "What are you gonna do?"
"Maybe a little spying of my own."
*
He'd gotten the arcade machine working two days ago.
Luke could still hear the victorious howl followed by a deafening crescendo of retro, synthetic music as the behemoth booted up for the first time. It had taken a while, tracking down parts, working in short bursts in and around classes, burning out components, swearing until the walls of the dorm had seemed to cringe.
But Kenny got there in the end.
"I've got to hand it to you," Luke chuckled, shaking his head in wonderment. "This is never going to get old." Kenny grinned triumphantly as he booted the beast up, its components humming merrily and lights blazing from all sides. The screen flared into life to show a pixelated, golden haired Rambo extra, complete with comically sized biceps and matching gun.
JOHNNY HELLHAMMER... 2! it announced.
"Grab a stick!" Kenny pointed, taking up his position at the left hand joystick. "Let's go blast some big pixels into smaller pixels for the greater good."
"You make it sounds so glamorous." The soda in his hand opened with a crack, and Luke took a long, deep drink before placing it down on the kitchen table a safe distance from Kenny's pride and joy. Rubbing his hands together in anticipation, he moved to the other joystick.
After yesterday's encounter with Coach Gore, Gabi suggested that before he embarked on any kind of delusions of counter-espionage, he needed to give his brain a break. Although he'd initially resisted, he knew she was right. For days – weeks even – he'd been trapped in a mental whirlpool, wondering who to trust, watching his words, lying to his friends and trying not to dream. He felt burnt out, seeing danger in the shadows, looking over his shoulder for Karkadda or DeVergne's poachers at all hours of the day.
So today he put it all aside. With the arcade machine working now Kenny had been desperate to give it a full and proper test run, so what better way to be insulated from the chaos than locking himself indoors with a crate of soda and junk food and game the day away.
Taking a grip of the second joystick, Luke nodded his readiness. Kenny grinned and thumbed the fat red START button. The screen blared into life, with a 2D pixel construction of a corridor maze, filled with demons and monsters. All would meet their end from the guns of Johnny Hellhammer (and the unspecified Player Two).
For three hours they blasted their way blissfully through the legions of low resolution horrors, churning through chips, sodas and a sixteen inch pizza between them. But as they returned to the machine, preparing for a second stint, someone knocked on the door. Hard.
"Oh, come on," Luke sighed.
"Hey, not a word," his room mate advised. "We're not in."
"Lasquette Sheriff's department!" called a woman's muffled voice from outside. "Open the door, please."
"Oh. Err, I guess we are in."
Luke frowned and reluctantly stepped away from the arcade machine, crossing the room and reaching for the handle. His hand closed around it, but he found himself hesitating for a moment. What could they want now? Today he didn't want more trouble and more intrigue. He just wanted to forget the weird world he'd plunged one foot into.
"You better open it before she breaks it down, Arbor," Kenny warned.
He rolled his eyes and pulled the door open to find himself standing to face to face with one of Nalen's deputies. It took a moment for him to place the woman, but when he saw the name-tag reading 'Addison' he remembered where he'd seen her before. Addy. One of the deputies that had arrived with Nalen the night of the first murder.
She planted her hands on her hips and looked at him expectantly. "Luke Arbor?"
"Err..." He blinked and eventually managed to nod. "Yeah, that's me?"
"Can you come with me please? You're needed down at the station."
"Wha- why?"
"Sheriff Nalen would like to speak with you, that's all."
Kenny stepped up alongside him, a concerned look on his face. "Is this about... you know?"
"This is a separate issue," she replied, giving him a pointed look. "If you have something pertinent to add to that case I'll send someone by to take your statement, but right now we only need to speak to Mr. Arbor." Her tone made it clear she wasn't about give out any further explanation.
"Oh." Kenny hesitated, hovering uncertainly in the doorway. He leaned close, speaking urgently. "This about the other night?"
"Movie night? Why would it be?" Luke shrugged, the lie falling off his tongue with surprising ease. "It's alright. I'll give you a call when I'm finished up, okay?"
His room mate looked less than thrilled, but Kenny didn't argue. His shoulders slumped and he stepped back from the door with a nod. "I guess I'll see you later."
"Yeah."
"He'll be back later today," Addison assured them before stepping aside and gesturing for Luke to come out. "Shall we?"
He nodded and swallowed hard. Jamming his feet into a pair of trainers and slinging on his hoodie, he stepped out of the room and reluctantly dragged the door shut behind him. Cold air rushed eagerly against him and he shuddered, zipping the hoodie up tight. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Luke followed Addison to the elevator, trying to figure out what this might be about. He assumed it was something to do with the latest murder, but he didn't have any connection to it. He hadn't found the body – didn't even know the girl.
But what else would bring a deputy to personally escort him from the campus?
It looked like he would need to wait for the sheriff to get his answers. Deputy Addison had made it abundantly clear that she wasn't about to answer any questions, and the woman's no-nonsense demeanour dissuaded him from pushing his luck. He followed her footsteps, out the dorm and across campus to the drop off where her police cruiser waited ominously. Luke kept his eyes downcast, trying to ignore the curious glances of other students as they passed.
Addison opened the door to the back seat and turned, smiling at him. The gesture only made him feel even more unsettled. He slid into the seat, struggling to get comfy as she thumped the door shut behind him again, closing off the world. A moment later the deputy slotted into the driver's seat, the engine rumbled into life and they were off.
Luke folded his arms and settled against the back seat with only the occasional blurt of the police radio to keep him company. The taciturn deputy barely glanced at him as they wound their way through the hum of Lasquette Bay's afternoon traffic, controlling the car with the lazy ease of an expert.
The sheriff's office was a low, sprawling building, all right angles and red-brown brickwork, marked out by a faded brass plaque above its glass doors. Addison swung the cruiser into an empty parking space and a moment later he was being marched along into the domain of Sheriff Nalen. They passed through the reception desk and into an area of sprawling desks that hummed with fervent activity. Deputies shuffled back and forth, and his eyes were caught by the plain clothes detectives who spoke in hushed tones while hunched over open files, empty coffee cups spilled from desks around them. An air of urgency pressed oppressively down over the bullpen like a physical weight. They were desperate to catch the killer before another corpse turned up.
Addison directed him through the maze and out through a connecting corridor. The voices faded as they turned left, then right, passing offices and supply rooms and printers that stank of ink. Luke took another left turn, then stopped dead when he found himself looking at the door of their destination. It was a simple wood frame around a pane of frosted glass emblazoned with the word Sheriff, with a little brass plaque bolted beneath that read, 'Sheriff A. Nalen'.
And Oaklynn was sitting outside it.