Chapter 3

Twyla stepped into Sofia's room and threw the curtains open. The light caught the dust particles that were already gathering. They made little rainbows. Twyla shook her head. She was getting distracted by dust. She knew Sof's book bag wasn't here but what else was out of the ordinary? As she searched the room, she tried to be careful, neatly moving things and trying to put them back where she found them. But after that got her nothing but an appreciation for Sofia's decorating style, Twyla got less careful. She looked between the mattress and the base. She looked in coat pockets and between books. She looked in all the places she'd seen people in detective movies look. Everything was normal. Sofia's travelling items were still here. Her favourite teddy, yes, she had one, was on her pillow.

Twyls knew the next place she should look. Sofia's desktop. It was the most invasive search. But if she wanted answers…

Twyla sat at the slab of stone and switched on the computer. Sofia's password was taped on the corner, just like Twyla's. They shared everything because they knew they would respect each other privacy. It was what made this feel even worse.

As she opened the browsing history, she closed her eyes. She really wasn't sure she wanted to know. And, yip, now she knew what kind of porn her friend liked. She did think there would be some kind of plant uh… something… maybe?

Nope nope. She stopped thinking about it and tried to focus.

The history was pretty normal and all her folders were environmental. It was amazing how much Sofia was already doing to help the food crisis. She donated and volunteered with various charities. She did various activist activities. Planted trees… Her experiments were all for food sustainability.

Twyla appreciated how organised Sofia was. It made stalking her much easier.

Eating the banana chips she found on the table, Twyla thought about what to do next. What did they do in the movies? She spun around in the chair.

She couldn't interrogate anyone. She didn't want to.

She could retrace Sof's steps. Her schedule was there! In 15 minute intervals.

Twyla dropped the chips and printed the schedule out. The only bit that wasn't included was Sofia's late-night studying. Sofia had decided that on the day.

Twyla was out the door and halfway down the stairs before she realised that she was, firstly, in tiny satin shorts and a bra, and secondly, she might need some things with her if she was going to be hunting for clues the whole day. Things like a magnifying glass.

"You okay, there?" a deep voice rumbled behind her.

Mortified, she turned around. Standing a few steps above her was, and she would swear it on her deathbed, a god. His chest pulled against his shirt as he took up the entire stairwell. His shirtsleeves were rolled up and arms that told stories of fierce workouts crossed in front of her. It didn't look like he missed leg day either. A jawline that could cut paper mixed with soft, brown skin that Twyla swore glowed. And the eyes -

Twyla realised that she hadn't responded and mortification had layers.

"Hi, yea. Just uh, going inside now," and she took off running.

What was she thinking? She had to look for Sofia, not look at handsome strangers. Twyla caught her breath as she leaned against her bedroom door. Not knowing what kind of trouble Sofia could be in, Twyla skipped her usual bath and took a quick shower instead. She found her most practical clothes which comprised of a pair of jeans with real pockets, a coat with zipped pockets on the inside and out and a T-shirt that she could move around in. She also went for her sparkly, rainbow sneakers. Yes, they had glitter but they also never hurt her feet no matter how much she walked in them. She packed a small backpack with a notebook, pen (and a spare, Sofia would be so proud), snacks, water bottle, and her little first aid kit (yes, Sofia had made it for her with plasters, painkillers, allergy pills, and all sorts of helpful things).

Okay. She was ready.

She started by going to the biotech lecture hall and then when she realised that she couldn't get in because there was already a lecture happening, Twyla hung around before heading to the next venue. There was biodiversity, stats, and conservation before Twyla finally got somewhere. The conservation lecture coincidently ended just as Twyla was hanging about that venue. Twyla had never been so happy to see Sofia's friends.

"Jess! Hey Jess!"

"Hey, Twyla! Happy birthday! What are you doing here? Sofia had so many things planned and they were definitely not on campus."

Twyla's heart dropped.

"So, you haven't seen Sof?' Twyla asked, softly.

"What? No. I mean we saw her yesterday in class," Jess clarified.

"And that was it? Did she say anything? Maybe she was going somewhere?"

"You're really not with her? After our last lecture ended, we had a quick bite at the cafeteria but then we all went to study. The libraries were super busy because of the rain and she sometimes goes to the chapel for space?"

"The chapel. Thank you. I haven't checked," Twyla tried to smile at Jess.

"Please let me know when you find her."

Twyla forgot about the chapel. Sofia liked her space, even from Twyla sometimes. Maybe this was one of those times.

The chapel was hidden in the farthest corner of the campus. A forest started at the edge of the campus and carried along to join the nature reserve across the road. The chapel stood just inside those trees. The stained glass windows were cracked in their panes but they were held up by vines and moss. The walls help up the steepled roof that only missed a few tiles. The pews were dusty but neatly arranged. The gold cross still sat on the podium at the front. Twyla's footsteps echoed as she walked on the wooden floor. It was such a small chapel for such a large university. Maybe that was why it was never used. There could only be about 50 people in here at a time. The dust on the floor wasn't as even as the pews. People, probably Sofia, had been moving around in here. As she passed the podium, Twyla saw a little room off to the side. A desk gleamed in the sun. That looked like somewhere Sofia would study. Twyla opened all the draws. She picked up the chair. She looked out the window. She found nothing. Even though the dust on the pews was untouched, she ducked under each pew. Nothing. Not one thing that said Sofia was here.

Twyla could not give up hope. She went back to the desk. One last time. She crawled on her tummy.

There!

What was that gleam under the table in between that floorboard?

Twyla stretched her hand as far as it would go. Her fingers grazed it. She breathed in and squeezed herself under the draws a little more and she had it!

A pen. Not just any pen. A pen covered in rainbow glitter that Twyla had made for Sofia years ago. Sofia was definitely here. And she would not have left this pen. Sofia kept changing the ink and repairing it even after all these years.

The next question is where did she go then? She had to be somewhere. Twyla sat down for a minute and ate a chocolate. She watched the sun set fully and thought about how much she missed Sofia already. The moon was nowhere to be seen tonight and soon Twyla was in darkness. She supposed she should head back and start again in the light. As she moved away from the desk, Twyla's back snagged on a cross and the cross turned down. "Why are there so many crosses?" Twyla looked at the wall next to the cross. "Of course, it's a secret passage," Twyla said, sarcastically. "Guess, I'm going this way."

Twyla took a deep breath and walked into the dark passage. With the help of her phone torch, Twyla made it easily for the first 2 minutes, then she started to panic. After all, where would she end up? The tunnel was heading down, she knew that. It was also getting colder. The walls were made out of the same stone as the university. So, she knew she was still in the same area. There were old-school torches on the wall and other fittings that she didn't want to think about. She seriously started considering turning back, when she started to hear something. It sounded like Latin. But no one should trust her when it came to Latin.

It was the same words over and over. And there was definitely an 'et' in there somewhere. She took another turn. The last turn.

An ornately carved silver door stood in front of her, slightly ajar. There were carvings of angels on fire meeting around a powerful vampire in the middle. The vampire had blood dripping from their fangs. What the hell did this have to do with Sof?