The Talisman

Richard thinks Jack should go back to New Hampshire. He goes to basketball practice and tells Jack that he’ll be back soon. Jack is surprised when Richard isn’t back that afternoon. When he looks out the window and there are no students in the quad, the campus feels silent and eerie.

When Richard returns, he says afternoon classes were canceled by the headmaster, Mr. Dufrey. He says they had a strange substitute basketball coach, a man with long hair who smoked and laughed through practice. Jack tells Richard that Mr. Dufrey might work for someone from the Territories. Jack also tells him that he thinks the earthquake in Angola, which destroyed the Rainbird Towers, might be his fault. Richard is incredulous and makes no effort to hide it.

Richard and Jack go to the common room. Everything is silent and Richard says he is scared. Nelson House is empty; Jack believes that all the students have vanished to the Territories. They find a group of upper classmen smoking marijuana outside. One of them is the senior, Etheridge. Half of his face is scarred. Jack thinks they are all Twinners of the students who were there when he arrived the previous day.