Vanessa walked beside Dana as they made their way toward the dorm building. Their footsteps echoed faintly in the quiet corridor until someone rushed past them in hurried, almost frantic steps, bumping into Dana's shoulder. The person didn't stop. Didn't apologize. Didn't even look back.
Vanessa spun sharply, ready to throw a retort that would sting, but the words died on her tongue the moment she recognized the retreating figure. Dana also paused mid-step, watching the man's back grow smaller and smaller as he disappeared around the corner.
"I can say I'm new here," Dana said slowly, tilting her head with narrowed eyes, "but I can swear that was Mr. Hance."
"It was," Vanessa replied, her voice clipped. Her eyes remained fixed on the direction he'd gone, her expression tightening. "And staff aren't supposed to be anywhere near the dorms."
"That's what I thought," Dana said. "So what's he doing here?"
"He's up to something."
Dana glanced sideways at her. "What makes you think that?"
Vanessa inhaled subtly, her dark lashes lowering. "His scent."
Dana raised a brow. "And?"
"It's mixed with dust," Vanessa said with complete certainty. "A lot of it. Fresh dust. He was… rummaging around somewhere."
As a vampire, her senses were sharp—sharper than any human's—and the faintest detail was enough for her to piece things together.
"So you're saying he was searching for something in the dorm?" Dana asked, turning fully toward the dorm building now, interest lighting her eyes.
"Affirmative," Vanessa said.
"Let's go," Dana said immediately, her curiosity already piqued as she began walking toward the entrance doors.
"It doesn't concern us," Vanessa countered, folding her arms. She had zero intention of wasting energy on something that didn't benefit her.
Dana didn't even look back. "I wouldn't have bothered dragging you along, trust me. But you're the one with the dog nose. You can trace the scent."
Vanessa blinked at her, mildly offended. "Dog nose?"
Dana shrugged, unbothered. "A compliment. In its own way."
Vanessa hissed under her breath but followed anyway. With a roll of her eyes, she took the lead, sniffing faintly as she guided them down hallway after hallway. They climbed staircases, passed the girls' dorms, then the boys', and eventually reached a part of the building that felt… abandoned.
The air was cooler here. Thicker. Still.
They reached the topmost floor—a floor neither of them knew existed. Completely empty. Silent. And surprisingly dark despite it being daytime, because there were no windows. Just a long corridor that seemed to stretch endlessly into shadows.
"Where exactly are we going?" Dana asked, scanning the eerie space she had been in HERBERT WILBUR for at least a month and surprisingly had never set foot here.
Vanessa suddenly stopped. Her eyes locked on a specific door.
Room 777.
"He was here," she said firmly.
"Here?" Dana stepped forward, staring at the old metal numbers. "This room?"
"Yes."
Dana reached for the doorknob and turned it. It didn't budge. "It's locked," she said, annoyance flickering across her face. "Great. We walked all the way up here for this?"
Vanessa stepped forward wordlessly. "let me see"
Dana blinked. "What are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Vanessa retorted, already crouching in front of the door.
She pulled a sleek black pin from her pocket and slid it into the keyhole with practiced ease.
Dana stared. "Is it just a coincidence you have that in your pocket, or…?"
"Always have them," Vanessa said, eyes narrowed in full concentration. "I have a habit of getting into locked rooms."
Dana raised an eyebrow again. "Should I be concerned?"
"Probably," Vanessa murmured.
A few seconds passed. Then—
Click.
The door unlocked, and a slow, triumphant smile curled across Vanessa's lips.