The last period had passed, with no sign of Zoe. Care was taken by Jon and Karyn to avoid arousing suspicion among the few remaining teachers and students after the end of detention bell rang.
Karyn sighed. "She's not here. I say we bail and try the mall."
Jon shook his head. "She's gotta be somewhere around. Gut feeling." He stroked his chin. "Maybe she turned herself into something that has to hide in the day?"
"Think so?"
"Well, she was into the vampire thing a while back. Who knows?"
Karyn crossed her arms in frustration. A pensive look crossed her face. "They do have night classes for undead and demons starting in a few hours. Maybe she's waiting it out here."
Jon nodded. "Could be. Let's check the grounds while it's still light, and we'll hit back here when the night crew shows up. At least there'll be others around to keep the bad kids in line while we search."
Karyn frowned. "Yeah, but who's keeping Zoe in line?"
"I had something! I swear it!"
"Don't get me started, Muldoon. We've been bumbling around these grounds for hours now, and we're no closer than we were before. And don't get me started on that track meet we nearly crashed!"
"He was a centaur. He got back into stride okay."
"You're not going to find what you need. Let's just "
"Wait, wait, I got something!"
"Muldoon, you'd better be serious."
"Serious as cancer. It was faint, but it was there, out in the forest."
"Hmm, the Grassy Knoll Men paid off for once. All right, let's check it out."
"Right. Better get our flashlights ready, just in case. It'll be dark in a couple hours."
