Page 5 of Bound by the Mad Scientist

“Why can’t he?”

Kel’s voice dropped. “Do you not know, or are you being a dick?”

“Know what, man?” I retook my place leaning against the counter next to him.

His whole vibe changed. “It’s hard to talk about. Everything online is a lie, but it was a big deal. Still is.”

“What is?”

Kel stared at me for another second, then stood so his back was to the rest of the room. He didn’t whisper, but he was still hard to hear. “My dad was the dean of Natural Sciences here at Whitcomb, until his experiments got too… intense.”

I scooted an inch away from him without meaning to. “What does that mean?”

“It means he went to prison four years ago for unethical practices and unregistered human trials.”

My eyes widened, and I felt much less drunk than I did a moment before. “Holy fucking shit, dude. For real?”

“Yes, for real. But I think he was set up. His research grants came from Dixon Chemical, and I think they wanted to silence him and steal his IP.”

“I… What? That’s legit fucking insane.”

“I know. It was a huge scandal here. Thank goodness I wasn’t enrolled yet. I didn’t want to go here, but he insisted. Plus tuition is free.” He shrugged. “But I don’t like talking about it. I never know who thinks what, and I’d rather just skate by under the radar, you know? A bunch of people still think he’s guilty.”

Kel wasn’t the kind of guy to ever show his backside, as my dad would say. His unsure stance, as if I was about to shout at him, made me want to hug him tight. “If you say he’s innocent, I believe you.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder, warming my chest more than the vodka. “Thanks, Adrian.”

The music in the living room cut out, and someone got on the mic. “It is midnight. All Hallows’ Eve has begun. Let us prepare for the hunt!”

“What the fuck is the hunt?”

A single brow flickered up and down. “A long-observed Whitcomb All Hallows’ Eve ritual.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“Basically a mix between manhunt and capture the flag. Upperclassmen versus underclassmen. Sophomores and freshmen will be sent out into the woods behind the manor—”

“Wait, wait, wait, into the woods? Like right now? In the dark?”

His smile helped to calm the budding anxiety in my gut. “Yes. In the dark, scaaary woooods.” He hunched over and twiddled his fingers.

“And, and… then what?”

“Have you never played manhunt? Since you’re a boy, if an upperclassman guy finds you and tackles you, he gets to bring you back to the manor. Girls just need to be tagged, or do the tagging. We win if we capture all the underclassmen by two. You win if at least one survives. Losers have to clean the place tomorrow and take down the decorations before Founder’s Day next week.”

“I don’t know about that, man. I don’t like the woods. I’m from the plains. Forests give me the fucking creeps.”

Kel slung his arm around my shoulder and said, “Aw, don’t be a big baby. It’ll be fun. Besides, you don’t want these guys to think you’re a pussy, do you?”

I let him lead me out to the back porch, but didn’t answer.

Chapter Four

“What the fuck was that?” I said to the nearest guy as we ran into the dense, dark forest.

He didn’t respond. Instead, he turned left while I kept straight ahead.

The only other person near me, dressed as if Catwoman were a prostitute, said, “Get off the path! We only have ten more minutes until they come after us!” Then she veered off to the right into the trees and dirt.