The Circle (Hammer) - By Elfgren, Sara B.,Strandberg, Mats Page 0,158

in shock.

It’s Vanessa.

She tears open the door and cold air gushes into the car.

‘Linnéa is in the cafeteria,’ she says. ‘I felt her energy. She’s alive.’

As she speaks, she casts nervous glances at the school.

Nicolaus pulls out his bunch of keys and hands it to Vanessa. ‘This one leads to the kitchen entrance over by the loading bay. A corridor goes straight from there to the kitchens.’

‘Is Max with her?’ Minoo asks.

‘I don’t know. I couldn’t feel him.’

‘Excuse me, but has anyone considered this may be a trap?’ Ida says.

Minoo glances at her in the rear-view mirror. What an idiot. That idea hadn’t even occurred to her. They’ve all been so focused on saving Linnéa.

‘Like with Anna-Karin’s grandfather in the barn,’ Ida continues.

‘Maybe it is,’ Anna-Karin says. ‘But what choice do we have? We’ve got to risk it.’

Ida clearly isn’t happy with that, but she doesn’t object.

‘Are we still working to the same plan?’ Vanessa asks.

‘Yes,’ Minoo answers.

She turns to Anna-Karin, who nods.

There’s so much that Anna-Karin would like to say to Nicolaus and thank him for, but there’s no time.

Minoo steps out of the car and folds the passenger seat forward. Ida clambers out, but Anna-Karin pauses and meets Nicolaus’s gaze.

‘I wish I could go with you,’ he says.

‘We need someone to wait for us, too,’ she says.

‘I’ll pray for you.’

They run across the car park. The school rises up into the night sky. It’s as if it it’s growing before Anna-Karin’s eyes. She tries not to think of how exposed they are in this open space.

They climb on to the loading bay where a wide metal door leads into the school.

Vanessa pulls out the bunch of keys.

‘Wait a minute,’ Ida says. She stands with her hands shoved into her pockets, looking down at her boots.

‘If I die and you guys make it … there’s a horse at the stables. Troja. Could one of you make sure he’s looked after?’

‘I will,’ Anna-Karin says.

Ida nods.

‘Okay,’ Vanessa says, and vanishes. ‘Let’s go in.’

Vanessa opens the door. It’s surprisingly easy and swings back without a sound. A ramp leads down into the darkness before them.

Anna-Karin takes out her mobile and switches on the light.

‘Turn it off,’ Minoo whispers. ‘We don’t know what’s in there.’

Vanessa takes Anna-Karin’s hand and they form a chain with Vanessa first and Ida last.

Ida closes the door. The darkness that envelops them is more complete than Vanessa has ever experienced before.

All four stand stock still, listening.

All they can hear is their own breathing and the faint hum of the ventilation system.

Cautiously, Vanessa moves forward, clasping Anna-Karin’s hand. With her other, she gropes along the rough wall.

She doesn’t dare try to sense if Linnéa is still alive. All her power is focused on sustaining her invisibility. And stopping herself rushing ahead in a crazed panic.

It feels like being blind, walking along with wide-open eyes yet seeing nothing. It’s impossible to tell how far she’s come or what’s waiting just ahead of her. Her whole body is in a hyperactive state, ready to react to the slightest sound. After a while Vanessa doesn’t know whether it’s the silence or the ventilation that’s humming in her ears. Then, she’s hearing whispers.

Vanessa …

The voice becomes clearer. And she knows, without being able to explain how, that it’s Linnéa’s.

Vanessa …

The voice is afraid, forlorn, but she’s alive. Linnéa’s alive. Vanessa picks up the pace. She senses that Anna-Karin and the others can’t quite keep up – too bad.

The deeper into the school she gets, the more difficult it is for her to sustain her invisibility. There’s a strange resistance to it, all the more terrifying as it had become so easy for her.

Vanessa’s hand reaches a corner and she stops. Her fingers touch a smooth surface. A door? She finds the handle. Presses it cautiously. Of course it’s locked. She whispers to Anna-Karin, asking her to turn on the light on her mobile. They have to take the chance.

Vanessa takes out the keys and tries them one by one in the light from Anna-Karin’s mobile. They rattle and clatter deafeningly in the cramped claustrophobic space.

Please … please … help me …

The voice is desperate, filled with pain. Vanessa’s hand trembles when she finds a key that slides into the lock. It opens with a click. Anna-Karin turns off the light before Vanessa cracks open the door.

Anna-Karin crouches as she moves behind the invisible Vanessa into the kitchen.

On the right side a big rectangular opening faces the cafeteria dining area. It’s where the students