Summary: The first semester of college isn't showing any promises for the gang. In fact, it's showing the exact opposite… Pure hopelessness.

University of the Damned

Prologue

Brittany slipped on her pink hoodie, pulled up her track shorts, slid into her white Keds, snatched her duffle bag from the ground, and hauled ass out of her dorm

Not once did she look back.

The air was crisp, but the atmosphere was warm as she darted down the empty street and towards the dorm Alvin occupied. Sweat covered her face as her walking turned into a brisk jog, and once she heard the snapping of twigs off in the distance, she sprinted for her life through the campus. It was such a shame that Alvin lived on the opposite side of the enormous campus, or else she'd be home free by then.

Her feet carried her through parking lots with asphalts waiting to cave in, wooded areas with tree roots that reached her knees, and she danced her way through the campus's river. Boy, was the princess hot and irritated, to say the absolute lease.

She could see Alvin's dormitory tower in view, putting the extra charge in her energy to make it in one piece.

With all her might, Brittany burst through the entrance and hooked a right towards the elevators, and as she did so, a group of boys congregated by the entrance, and one narcissist of the group sneered a, "slow down pretty lady; won't want to wear yourself out for when I get to you tonight. Get with me and you can be hotter."

"Screw off!" she shouted remorselessly without breaking her stride.

She reached the elevators just as they were to close, hit the button for the seventh floor, and took that time to catch her quivering breath.

The doors opened with a beep, and she pushed through and headed towards room 706. Like rapid fire, she knocked on the door until the door knob began to twist.

She stepped back to see a wide-eyed, hatless, topless, breathless Alvin in the doorway, his hand gripping the frame ever-so tightly. Brittany must admit, he looked good enough to eat, but at the moment, she knew it was the last thing that mattered.

"Oh my gosh, Alvin!" she exclaimed as she pushed past him and threw her duffle bag to the ground.

"Uh… Britt," he began with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. "I'm very busy right now, if you catch my drift…"

"With what?!"

A petite female suddenly emerged from the bedroom with a hoodie that looked to be Alvin's wrapped around her breasts, her cheeks red and impatience in her eyes. "I see how it is. Bye Alvin," she snooted unsparingly, and she left like a ghost, slamming the heavy door behind her.

Alvin growled at Brittany before switching on the lights. "Uh, with her, you dunce! I was busy with… whatever her name is!"

"Forget about her! I need to stay here!"

Alvin scoffed as he reached for his cap that sat on his desk and crossed his arms. "I'm not studying tonight! I don't study on Fridays!"

"That's not what I'm here for!"

Alvin checked her out from head to toe, legs wet and hairline drenched in sweat. His lips curled in disgust. "What's the matter with you? Why did you bring all of your stuff?"

"Alvin, I need to stay here for a while!"

A look of pure confidence, suaveness, and cockiness came over his expression. "Why, I'm flattered, Miss Brittany Miller."

Her dim eyes squinted as she brushed shoulders with "Romeo" and headed towards his couch that sat by the window and looked out onto the poorly lit campus. "Alvin, I'm serious! You were right… what they're doing on the eleventh floor isn't cool…"

A gasp escaped Alvin as he rushed to Brittany's side, taking her by her shoulder, digging his stare into her soul. "Did you go up there… like I asked you not to?!"

"No!" she insisted, clearly offended. "But what they're doing… it's starting to affect all of us who leave in Stevenson Tower 2!"

"No way…"

"Way, Alvin! Everyone's been getting food poisoning, the smartest girl on my floor is failing her classes, and when you turn the water on, it comes out black! I haven't showered in days, and you know I'll absolutely die without shampoo and conditioner! I'm Brittany Miller, damnit! I'm the hottest thing walking, and I wanna maintain that!"

"I don't wanna sound like Simon, but," Alvin gestured with a shrug. "I think those things can be explained."

"How so?!"

"The food hall might have sucky food, the girl is probably tweaking beyond belief, and you just need to complain to the tower manager about the water!"

Brittany hid her face in the palms of her hands and wept silently, and Alvin being Alvin, felt a wave of awkwardness taking over the ambiance. Assuring others in their time of need wasn't exactly his forte. "Al, that's what I've been telling myself, too. But… Sarah, a girl who lives on the fifth floor only eats what her parents send her, and only drinks water bottles. She's vegan and getting sick like the rest of us."

Nervousness took Alvin by a tight grip.

"The girl failing classes? Sure, it seemed normal at first until they kicked her outta here. She went from A's to F's in a week. How? How is that possible? No one knows."

He sighed with an uncomfortable smile.

"And the water… it's always black…"

She hopped to her feet and paced the floor.

"And Alvin… this boy I was riding the elevator with who told me about everything on the eleventh floor, since he lives on that floor; he was so scared, he was shaking, and he said he didn't want to go up there, but that he needed his sleep… I haven't seen him since…"

Alvin rolled his eyes and gently sat Brittany into the couch. He arched his eyebrow and pondered at the drama queen… or so he assumed. He didn't want to admit that, quite possibly, she wasn't out of her mind. "Here, I'll be nice; get in the shower, and I'll make you coffee."

He started towards the bathroom before coming to halt. Turning on his heels, he faced the distraught Brittany; bags underneath her eyes, ice-blue eyes dimmed to gray, and her hair harbored split-ends up the wazoo, and what was the most frightening characteristic in the usually cheery, bodacious girl was the blue veins that protruded from her temples that have never been seen before. He felt sorry for her, but hated to get all gushy and nice, but it was Brittany; a close friend who seemed to be on her deathbed.

"Everything will be okay." He cracked a small smile, thinking twice about what he wanted to pass his lips. He let them anyway. "You're with me now. I gotchu."