The air was cold when Nancy stepped out of the dorm. The sun had almost set, and a breeze rustled through the leaves, causing some of them to flutter down from the branches. Slipping her hands into the pockets of her blazer, Nancy headed toward the woods that swept down the hill to the lake.
As she walked along the path, Nancy passed a handful of students. Other than that, the path was fairly deserted. Most people must be on their way to the dance on the other side of the campus, Nancy realized.
A stout brick wall marked the entrance of College Woods, and Nancy stopped by the gate. Now that she wasn’t moving, she shivered from the cold. It was seven o’clock exactly, she saw, checking her watch. Ned should be there any second.
After five minutes of waiting, Nancy began to get impatient. She was hopping from foot to foot, trying to stay warm, when she noticed a figure approaching. At last!
On second glance, she realized that it wasn’t Ned. It was Carrie, the girl who played the Emerson wildcat. She was dressed in her mascot costume.
“Hi, Carrie,” Nancy called as the wildcat approached.
But the girl didn’t respond. She rushed toward Nancy, lifting her hand high above her.
Something glinted in the pale moonlight. Nancy gasped as she realized what the object was. It was a knife—a shiny and sharp knife. And it was arcing through the air right toward her throat!
Chapter Fourteen
“Hey!” Nancy staggered backward as the mascot swung the deadly blade at her.
Twisting to one side, she lifted her foot and aimed a kick at the mascot’s arm. Her shoe struck the elbow, throwing the mascot back. As she stumbled, Nancy saw that the mascot’s feet were large—too large to belong to a girl. And this person was wearing purple high-top sneakers. Whoever this was, it definitely wasn’t Carrie!
To Nancy’s dismay, her assailant had managed to keep hold of the knife. Spinning, Nancy took off up the path, back toward the dorm. She ran as fast as she could, but her black pumps kept slipping on the slick asphalt. Stealing a glance back, Nancy realized she couldn’t outrun this creep—not in heels. He was only a few yards behind her!
Spotting a huge trash container, she veered off the path. Slow him down! The thought screamed through her mind. She grabbed the edge of the steel barrel and pushed. A second later it was rolling down the path.
The “wildcat” didn’t see the barrel until it was too late. It struck him with a loud clatter, knocking him down to the pavement.
Without a moment to waste, Nancy raced ahead, grateful to have any sort of lead. Her heart was pounding, but she kept running. Her lungs were burning when another figure darted out from behind a nearby tree.
“No!” she screamed as strong arms reached out and circled her waist.
“Nan! It’s me,” a familiar voice said into her ear.
“Ned!” Nancy went limp with relief. Turning in his arms, Nancy stared up at his familiar face. “Ned, someone is trying to kill me. We’ve got to get out of here—he’s got a knife.”
“A knife? What are we waiting for?”
As they tore to the end of the tree-lined path, Nancy kept glancing back over her shoulder until she was convinced he wasn’t following them any longer. Only then did she begin to breathe easily.
“We’ll have to report this creep to campus security.” Ned stared deep into Nancy’s eyes. For the first time she noticed how handsome he was in his crisp white shirt and charcoal gray suit. “I knew something was wrong as soon as I arrived at your room. Bess said something about a note—and that you were waiting for me in College Woods.”
“A note? Bess only said that you’d sent a message.” Nancy shook her head slowly. “I should have known that it was a setup, but when she mentioned something about a surprise, I didn’t question it.”
“Some surprise,” Ned said darkly. Pulling Nancy against him, he held her close in a long hug. When he finally let her go, Nancy thought she saw a misty haze in his brown eyes.