"When in a maze, always turn right," commented Tox, beginning to ascend the right hand staircase. Behind him Janet followed, holding the candle over her head to help illuminate the tunnel. It wasn't long before the damp walls carved out of stone gave way to dry walls of laid brick.
"Do you smell that?" Tox asked.
"Smoke. We're coming up under the faculty kitchen," Janet replied.
"Have you been here before?" Lox asked, surprised.
"No, but when you wander around these tunnels you start to learn the patterns. There's one like this under the music hall. It goes from the prop room to the backstage bathroom."
Sure enough, the light of the candle showed an end to the staircase. There was an obvious handle on some sort of door. Through a peephole shown a dim light. Tox put his eye to the hole, and saw what he assumed was the faculty kitchen. A single candle burned in a sconce, showing the room to be empty. Tox put his hand to the handle, and without any effort on his part the door began to open. He pushed gently and the door slid silently into the wall. Janet and Tox emerged into the kitchen, and the door slid silently closed.
"Fun, huh?" Janet handed him the candle and pulled out a comb, running it through her damp hair. "Welcome to the underground, frosh."
"Thanks."
"Still gonna walk me to the dorm?" She eyed him frankly.
"Sure. Lead on."
Tox followed Janet out of the kitchen, down a short hall, and out a back door. As soon as they were outside the candle blew out in the wind, but there was enough light to see. Janet immediately set a quick pace, and Tox followed. They followed the sidewalk to the Millfair Cottage, one of the small buildings used for student housing. A small group of women were standing outside chatting with a single male student. Janet and Tox moved past them inside. The power was still off in the Millfair Cottage, but there were candles. Janet didn't stop in the foyer, but continued upstairs. Tox followed. She turned left and stopped at a door. She already had a key out, and was inside the room before Tox could say anything. She held the door open for him, and he followed her in. She closed and locked the door behind her. There was a window, but the night was still quite dark, and Tox stood still, not wanting to move for fear of running into something.
"Just a moment, while I find my matches," Janet said. Tox heard the sound of rummaging, drawers opening and closing, and papers rustling. "Ah." Janet struck a match, and Tox held out the candle for her to light.
"Groovy," Janet said, waving out the match once the candle was lit. "You mind holding that for a moment while I find a holder for it?"
"Sure," Tox said, wondering why he was in this room at all. She seemed to be a very trusting person.
Janet peeled off the long coat and scarf and tossed them on the lower bunk bed. Underneath them she was wearing her towel around her waist. She stripped this off and tossed it to a dark corner of the room.
"Pardon my mess," she said, moving off into the darkness until the light of the candle could only trace the outline of her bare back. "My roomie and I are not exactly the picking up kind." By the flickering light, Tox could see piles of clothes, books, boxes and general detritus in every available spot, including the bunk beds.
"Where do you sleep?" Tox asked.
"Bottom bunk," Janet replied, returning with a candle holder in her hand. He handed her the candle. She put it in the holder and set it on the desk. She then picked up a roll of toilet paper and plucked off a few sheets. These she used to dry out here ears. "Tasha, my roomie, sleeps in the top bunk part of the time, on the floor part of the the time, and with me the rest of the time." Janet's tone of was of mild exasperation. She tossed the used tissue into a wastebasket. "How often I wished I had a neat freak for a roomie. Still,"she looked around, her hands on her hips, "at least she doesn't complain about my mess." Janet folded her arms across her chest. "Actually, I don't know what I'd do without Tasha. Chambers can be such a lonely place." Her voice was dropping as she said that, her gaze sliding off to focus on the shadows. She slowly sank down onto the bed. "Wow. It's just now hitting me. She's really dead, isn't she? That girl, Beau. Dead, just like that."
Even in the dimness of the candle light Tox could see that Janet was starting to shake.