Music thundered through the fraternity house hard enough to make the walls vibrate.
Colored lights swept across the packed rooms while sweat, alcohol, and body heat blended into a heavy atmosphere.
College students filled every available space.
Some danced in the living room while others shouted over the music, carried red plastic cups, or disappeared into the hallways with strangers they had met only minutes earlier.
This was the scene Charlie, Zoe, and Madison encountered when they arrived.
Unlike Charlie, who had little experience with parties, and Zoe, who had always lived a relatively sheltered life, Madison entered the house as though she owned it.
She looked over the crowd with confidence before raising her voice toward the nearest group.
“So how does a girl get a drink around here?”
“I’ll show you!”
A young woman recognized Madison almost immediately.
She grabbed the actress by the hand and excitedly led her toward the center of the party.
The fraternity members soon noticed that a celebrity had entered their house.
Although Madison’s career had already begun to decline, she was still a beautiful Hollywood actress whose face had appeared in movies, magazines, and entertainment reports.
Their conversation quickly became vulgar.
“Now this is a party.
Madison Montgomery is unbelievably hot.”
“Anyone think they can take her home?
I’ve never been with a movie star.”
“Archie, she’s way out of your league.”
“You don’t catch anything if you’re too afraid to cast the line.”
Archie Brener touched the small packet hidden inside his pocket.
He had brought it to the party for a reason, and Madison’s arrival provided him with the perfect target.
A confident smile appeared on his face as he followed her through the crowd.
Meanwhile, Charlie and Zoe gradually adjusted to the party.
Madison’s effortless confidence had helped them move past the entrance without feeling too out of place, and the loud atmosphere soon encouraged Zoe to loosen up.
She stood close to Charlie with both hands resting on his shoulders.
Her movements remained slightly shy, but the smile on her face showed that she was beginning to enjoy herself.
Charlie held her by the waist as they moved with the music.
He had no talent for dancing, though Zoe did not appear to care.
Across the room, Kyle Spencer noticed her almost as soon as she arrived.
Kyle was one of the more responsible members of the fraternity and an engineering student who took his future seriously.
He had been watching Zoe for several minutes, but the sight of her dancing with Charlie made it obvious that she was not available.
His disappointment did not last long enough for Charlie to notice.
Charlie’s attention was focused on someone else.
“Where did Madison go?”
Zoe stopped moving and searched the nearby crowd.
“I don’t know.
She was talking to people near the drinks a minute ago.”
Charlie’s expression tightened.
Madison had attracted attention from the moment she walked through the door.
Her celebrity status, beauty, and arrogant confidence made her the center of the party even in a room filled with students desperate to be noticed.
Charlie had tried to keep track of her because he already knew what happened during this part of the original story.
He had looked away for less than a minute, yet Madison had vanished into the crowd.
Zoe noticed the concern on his face.
“Is something wrong?”
“A woman who comes to a party alone can attract the wrong kind of attention,” Charlie replied.
“Being famous only makes it worse.”
His explanation was vague, but Zoe immediately understood the danger he meant.
She had no particular affection for Madison yet, though she was too kind to ignore the possibility that something had happened to her.
“Then we should find her.”
Charlie nodded and took Zoe’s hand.
He already knew where to search.
They moved through the crowded living room and headed toward the staircase.
Several drunk students tried to stop them or invite Zoe to dance, but Charlie ignored them and continued toward the second floor.
Madison had left the main party earlier to smoke in a quieter hallway.
She showed no interest in Archie when he approached her and treated him more like a servant than a potential companion.
When she demanded a drink, Archie gladly agreed.
Madison never considered that a college student might be dangerous to her.
She was a Salem witch with powerful telekinesis and had killed a man without touching him, yet her arrogance prevented her from noticing the powder Archie mixed into her cup.
Within a short time, the drug overwhelmed her.
A mixture of cigarette smoke, sweat, alcohol, and something chemical hung in the second-floor hallway.
Charlie caught the smell as soon as he and Zoe climbed the stairs.
Several bedroom doors were closed, though the sounds coming from behind them made it clear that the rooms were occupied.
Charlie ignored everything around him and moved deeper into the hallway.
He had no interest in judging the students for drinking, smoking, or spending the night together.
His only concern was finding Madison before the scene followed its original course.
Charlie and Zoe rounded a corner and spotted a group of fraternity members near the far end of the hall.
Several young men wore matching shirts with their fraternity letters printed across the front.
They were carrying an unconscious Madison between them while laughing and encouraging one another.
Charlie’s expression turned cold.
“Hey!
What do you think you’re doing?”
The group stopped and looked back.
One of the larger fraternity members released Madison and stepped into Charlie’s path.
He was nearly six feet three and had the muscular build of a college athlete.
“Get lost,” he said.
“This doesn’t involve you.”
Charlie glanced past him.
Madison’s head hung forward while two other men held her beneath the arms.
“She can’t even stand.
You drugged her.”
The young man moved closer until he towered over Charlie.
“Mind your own business before you get hurt.”
“You’re about to commit a serious crime,” Charlie replied.
“Walk away while you still can.”
The fraternity member laughed and grabbed the front of Charlie’s shirt.
“You think you’re some kind of hero?
Go back downstairs before I throw you down the steps.”
Zoe started forward to help, but the situation changed before she could reach them.
Charlie drew the Glock 17 from beneath his shirt and pressed the muzzle toward the man’s chest.
His movements were quick enough that the athlete did not understand what had happened until he felt cold metal against him.
“Take your hand off me.”
The young man froze.
Sweat appeared across his forehead as his fingers slowly loosened around Charlie’s shirt.
The arrogance vanished from his face in an instant.
“Oh God.”
“Hands where I can see them.”
He raised both hands without hesitation.
Charlie had never fired at another person and had no desire to begin tonight.
Still, he understood that appearing uncertain would encourage the group to challenge him.
He kept the Glock steady and looked into the man’s eyes.
“You had plenty to say a moment ago.
Do you want to repeat it?”
“No, man.
We’re good.”
“Get on your knees.”
The fraternity member obeyed.
The other young men finally realized something had gone wrong.
They turned and found Charlie pointing the weapon in their direction.
Panic spread through the hallway.
“Don’t shoot!”
“Take it easy, man.”
“We can explain.”
“No one needs to get hurt.”
The gun had accomplished what reason and decency could not.
Every person in the group became cooperative the moment his own life was in danger.
Charlie kept enough distance to prevent anyone from reaching him.
“Put Madison down carefully.”
The young men hesitated.
Charlie adjusted his aim.
They lowered Madison onto the carpet without argument.
“Zoe, get her away from them.”
Zoe hurried forward and pulled one of Madison’s arms over her shoulders.
She struggled beneath the unconscious witch’s weight, but Charlie could not help without taking his eyes off the men.
Archie watched his intended victim being taken away.
Whether the drugs, alcohol, or his own twisted desires had clouded his judgment, he still did not understand how much danger he was in.
“We could work something out,” he said.
“You can go first.
We won’t stop you.”
The hallway fell silent.
Charlie stared at him in disbelief.
Zoe reacted before he could speak.
She shifted Madison’s weight onto one arm, stepped forward, and drove her foot between Archie’s legs with all the strength she possessed.
Archie’s face turned white.
He released a strangled sound and collapsed onto his knees.
Both hands clutched his injured groin as he curled forward in agony.
Every man in the hallway winced.
Even Charlie felt a brief wave of sympathy before remembering what Archie had suggested.
Kyle Spencer arrived moments later.
He had noticed Zoe leaving the main room and eventually followed when she did not return.
“What happened up here?”
He stepped around the corner and stopped when he saw Charlie’s gun.
Kyle immediately raised his hands.
“Easy.
I’m not trying anything.”
Charlie studied him for a moment.
Kyle appeared shocked rather than guilty, and his clothes showed none of the disorder visible on the other fraternity members.
He lowered the Glock slightly but did not holster it.
“Your friends drugged Madison and were carrying her into one of the bedrooms.”
Kyle’s expression changed.
Charlie gestured toward the men kneeling against the wall.
“They planned to assault her while she was unconscious.
Does your fraternity recruit anyone with money, or do you specifically search for predators?”
Kyle looked toward Madison.
Her face was pale, her eyes remained closed, and she could barely remain upright even with Zoe supporting her.
The sight removed any doubt from his mind.
His jaw tightened.
Zoe glared at the fraternity members.
“They drugged a woman at their own party and tried to attack her.
What kind of people do that?”
Kyle had no answer.
He looked at Archie and the others with growing rage.
Several were his friends and fraternity brothers, but the scene before him made their intentions impossible to deny.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
No one responded.
Kyle stepped closer to Archie.
“You drugged her?”
Archie remained curled on the floor.
“It wasn’t supposed to—”
Kyle grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him upright.
“What wasn’t supposed to happen?
You getting caught?”
He shoved Archie back against the wall before turning toward the others.
“You were all going along with this?”
The fraternity members avoided his eyes.
Kyle’s anger exploded.
“You disgusting pieces of—”
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