Without another word, Taya ran towards him and enveloped him in a tight hug. "Oh my God! I'm so glad you're safe!"

     Henry was surprised for certain but seeing his normally audacious girlfriend look so frightened gave him pause. He gladly returned the embrace though his curiosity demanded answers.

     "Of course I'm safe. Why wouldn't I be? Why are you even here?" He looked over Taya's shoulder where he noticed Margot. "Wait a minute. Is that...Margret?"

     “Its Margot. Nice to see you again, Henry.” Margot said.

     Henry blushed. “Taya, what is going on?”

     Taya disentangled herself, "I'll explain later. Is there anyone else here in the building with you?"

     "Well, yeah. Most of us are downstairs working on our projects. I heard weird noises coming from upstairs and came to investigate." He said. "You still haven't explained what you both are doing here."

     "Mr. Cho, what's going on?"

     Taya and Margot both flinched. They knew that voice all too well. An older man somewhere in his early forties walked toward them. He was very tall, with long skinny legs and a thin, beak-like nose, making his appearance reminiscent with a bird. His dark blonde hair was neatly combed back, revealing a large forehead with deep-set lines. He looked furious. Which, when she thought about it, was how he looked all the time. This was Dr. Douglas, head of the Physics Department at Heatherton University.

     He was as every bit as intimidating as she remembered him. Henry had collapsed to the floor, breathing deeply. Taya moved toward him. Douglas brushed past her, pushing her aside, his attention on Mayra and Henry.

     "Mr. Cho?" He walked towards him. "What are you doing here?"

     Henry was too dumbfounded to speak. He ignored Taya and Margot, a fact that both were quite relieved about. Taya had only ever made the occasional, courteous greeting and parting with Dr. Douglas. She didn’t know him at any personal level. But Margot did. She had been Trisha’s best friend. Taya motioned for Margot to sneak away while he was distracted. When she took a tentative step backwards Dr. Douglas noticed her.

     "Who are you?" What just happened here?" He demanded.

     Taya wasn’t sure how they were going to explain what just happened. She knew she was going to have to be careful with what she would say. She was grateful, at least, that he didn’t recognize her. Be calm, be diplomatic. Just tell him the bare bones. Keep it simple. From what she remembered, he had an ugly temper when it came to talking about the paranormal. Don’t say it was paranormal. He’ll believe that. Before she could answer Douglas shifted his hawk-like stare away from her and saw Margot slinking away. His eyes were wide as saucers when he saw her.

     "You!" He shouted.

     Margot stopped. She stood very still. Straightening her back she turned deliberately to face him. "Yeah, me." Margot retorted with equal venom.

       Damnit.

      "What in the world are you doing here? No one is allowed in this building out of school hours without authorization!"

      Margot marched towards him, never once breaking her eye contact. "I'm here because someone asked me here. To investigate!"

     "Investigate what?"

     Margot was only an inch away from him. In spite of how tall she was Douglas still towered over her. Taya saw that Margot was holding tightly onto her camera that her knuckles turned white.

     "What do you think? This whole area is brimming with activity!" She said, gesturing to the building with her free hand. "Ever since you finished construction on this place weird things have been happening here. Teachers, students, staff, everyone has had some kind of experience. People are afraid and they want answers."

     Dr. Douglas threw back his head and laughed. It was an ugly sound, reminiscent of a seagull. Margot glared daggers at him. Henry moved his hands down to Taya’s waist and held her tighter, positioning himself so as to block Taya from Dr. Douglas’ point of view as he and Margot continued to argue.

     "You can mock me all you want! But even you can't deny that there is something wrong with this building!" Margot shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him. Douglas stopped laughing and looked down at her with pure hatred. Margot didn't even flinch. As tough as iron, Taya thought, impressed by her old friend's bravado.

     "The only thing wrong with this building are dolts like Diaz letting silly little girls like you run around chasing phantoms." He said. Henry let out a small gasp and Taya balked. Dr. Douglas may not have ever liked Trisha’s interest in SPIRITS but insulting a student and a colleague was crossing a line. Margot only saw red.

     "Don't you dare talk about Dr. Diaz like that! He's not some ignorant old ass like you!" She spat back at him. Douglas's expression grew dark.

     "Don't you dare speak to me like that you ignorant brat!" He seethed. "You and the rest of your crazy little friends and that club of yours are an insult to this very campus!"

     "Ignorant? That's rich coming from you!" Margot laughed. "Your own daughter was the one who founded SPIRITS!"

     Something inside Dr. Douglas seemed to snap. His whole face turned red and he stepped toward Margot with such venom Taya feared he might just hit her.

     "Don't you dare talk about my Patricia!" He hissed.

     Enough was enough. Taya moved forward and put herself between Douglas and Margot.

     "HEY! You need to back the hell off!" She shouted. Douglas remembered that there were other people with them. He straightened himself and moved back having the decency to look ashamed at his outburst yet didn't apologize to Margot. He looked past Taya and right at Margot, his expression chilly.

     Taya turned around to look at Margot. She looked so tired and worn down. Taya stepped toward her, saw her eyes were watering and asked, "Are you OK?"

It was a stupid question. Of course, she wasn't OK. She couldn't say the right things at the right time as her mother could. But Margot looked at her and after a beat nodded her head and smiled.

      Then the lights began to flicker.

     Margot and Taya looked at each other. All the time they wasted arguing with Douglas and they hadn’t moved an inch. It was here. Without missing a beat Taya turned to grabbed Henry and pull them down to the opposite doors.

     “Taya! What are you doing?” Henry yelped.

     “Shut up and run, Henry!” Taya said.

     Margot grabbed at Dr. Douglas's sleeve. He protested and guffawed but Margot pushed his lanky body forward until he stumbled through the opposite doors. The flickering was starting to become more erratic and both girls knew it was only a matter of time before it appeared.

     They had tumbled out the door when Margot and Taya jumped back up to slam the doors shut. Both moved away, watching through the windows as the lights inside went dark. They were still in danger, it wasn't safe to stay here. Not giving anyone else time to object Taya forced Henry down the stairs with Margot right beside her. Douglas, however, was not listening.

     "What are you doing?" He shouted.

     Margot considered explaining the danger but realized there was no point. If the old man didn’t want to listen to reason and get himself killed, fine. She ran the downstairs, the sense of urgency rising. This thing was hunting them, getting closer and no matter how fast they ran they weren't fast enough. Margot and Taya noticed a handful of other students in the Star Lab. Margot and Taya banged on the windows, alerting the students to the danger. They jumped up, shocked.

     "Get out! Everybody we have to get out right now!" Taya shouted.

     "Everyone get out!" Margot yelled. "Get out! Hurry!"

     The students turned to one another, confused. Some looked at Henry who could only shrug helplessly.

     Douglas called from the stairs, "No one is going anywhere."

     He descended the stairs and walked calmly toward the group of students. He looked over the group of students with a hard glare "There is no danger. Go back to your work."

     Taya and Margot looked at one another and then back at Douglas. Looking up at the stairway they saw nothing. No shadows, no flickering lights, and Dr. Douglas looked just fine. Taya and Margot shared a look: they'd just made idiots of themselves. Henry stood dumbfounded, completely at a loss at what was going on. The other students looked between them and Dr. Douglas. Some were laughing. Others just rolled their eyes and went back to work.

     Douglas came up to both Margot and Taya. He spoke to Margot first. "You will leave. Now."

     He sounded so calm and angry at once it chilled Taya. Margot glared at him for several seconds unsure if she wanted to say something or not. But Taya stepped up and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She wouldn't just let her be thrown out. Douglas, finally realizing she was here turned his attention to Taya. He looked at her, confused.

     "Who on earth are you?" He pointed to Taya.

     “She’s my girlfriend.” Henry spoke up, making a point to wrap his arm around her waist. Some students were snickering but one harsh glare from Dr. Douglas ceased any further laughter and they returned to their places in the Lab. Everyone knew about Dr. Douglas's temper and no one wanted to be the recipient of it.

     He turned his attention back to Taya. "I do remember you. I’m terrible with names but I can’t forget a face. You are also a member of...SPIRITS?" He said the last word as he'd just swallowed something foul. She was about to say that no, she wasn’t. But Margot was beside her, listening. A creeping wave of regret rose up from her chest to her cheeks.

     “Yeah, I was.” Was her careful response. Margot grumbled something under her breath and looked away.

     “I’m not here on an investigation.” Taya said.

     Douglas looked her in the eye as if trying to decide whether or not she was telling him the truth. He let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his beak-like nose.

      "If you aren't with Ms. Verne, then why are you here Ms. Martinez?”

     Taya spoke quickly. "I'm here because I was worried about my boyfriend."

     "Worried about me?" Henry asked.

     "Someone called me this morning, threatening Henry."

     Douglas's brows furrowed. "A threat? From whom?"

     "I don't know! But someone wanted me to know he was going to hurt him!"

     Henry sucked in a breath. “Hold on, what? Someone said what?”

     Margot looked at her, expressing genuine surprise. Douglas didn’t look convinced but concern for his student’s safety took precedence.

     “Henry, have you received any threats from anyone? Or contacted her?” He asked him.

     “I did call Taya earlier today but the call dropped unexpectedly. Except…” He trailed off, looking at Taya. The others watched him expectantly.

     “I lost my phone earlier today. It was after I made the phone call. I’ve been searching for it most of the day.” Henry admitted.