In the hall outside, the three of you take a moment to pull yourselves together. Desmond ambles by. "Hey, what're you three—"
"Get lost," Darcy snaps. "Got no time for you right now."
Desmond gapes like a beached fish, but moves on.
Darcy hefts the small trash bag. "I gotta get rid of this…this." She sniffs, then wrinkles her nose. "And wash my hands."
Manish gulps like he's about to throw up again. "I'm going to go lie down."
The sun outside is so bright that you can almost dismiss what happened as a bad dream. But then you feel an echo of the alien presence. You stumble, trying not to fall to your knees.
You're halfway back to the dorms when you hear someone call your name. "Wait up, Bomomsay Clestenrogo!" It's Manish.
You wait for him to catch up. "Something on your mind?"
"You saw it, too, right?"
You nod.
"I can't stop thinking about it, Bomomsay Clestenrogo." Manish's eyes are dark pits. "It was so…so…"