Miss‧ing

word count: 2379

Miss‧ing

(of a person) absent from a place, especially home, and of unknown whereabouts.

“Malory, hurry up! You can’t be late again!”

Malory Allister groaned, but soon she shouted a reply to her mother. “I’m almost ready!”

She sat up in bed and looked at her clock. Staring until her eyes adjusted and she was able to see she had to leave in five minutes.

Gasping, she sprang up and ran to her closet. Or at least attempted since her feet got tangled up in the sheets and she tripped, and landed on her face. She groaned, pulled herself up and finally managed to get dressed. She rushed downstairs and grabbed a poptart, hugging her mom before grabbing her school bag.

“I’m off, and almost on time. Make-up is more important than brushing my teeth anyways.” Malory laughed at her mom’s shocked expression. “I’m kidding. I’ve got gum.” And off she went. Out the door and running to school. It was a five minute walk on a normal day, and a two minute run on a late day. Like today. And every other day this past month.

Bursting into the building with the last remains of her poptart in her mouth, Malory ran to her first class. The bell had just rung, and she was thankful that she was sensible enough to get the books she needed from her locker yesterday.

She slipped into her seat and pulled out her science book.

Let the chemistry class begin.

A few more classes later the bell rung for lunch. Malory packed up her history book and joined the rest of the students out in the hall. On her way to the cafeteria, her friend Darcy joined her in weaving between other students.

“I swear, I can’t wait until we graduate and I don’t have to take another trigonometry class again.” Darcy groaned, receiving a laugh from her friend.

“Sorry to break it to you, but we don’t graduate for another year. That’s about one hundred and eighty math classes left.”

“Killjoy.” Darcy mumbled as Malory shoved open the cafeteria doors and the two girls headed for their usual table.

While Malory claimed their spots and pulled out her packed lunch, Darcy filed into line to get her meal. Some tapped Malory’s shoulder, causing her to jump. She turned around, tucking her long black hair behind her ear to see who exactly startled her. She formed a polite smile seeing Lucas, a boy from a few of her AP classes.

“Hi, Luke. How are you?” She turned her body more to give him her direct attention. She and Luke normally don’t talk. She was curious what brought him over here, especially all by himself.

“Hey Mal. I was just wondering if you have heard any news about Averey. I mean, you guys were best friends and all.” Luke shrugged, gripping nervously to his lunch tray.

“You mean are. But no. I haven’t heard anything new yet. But it hasn’t been long.”

The seventeen year old boy in front of her gave a sympathetic smile. Something caught his eye, though, and he excused himself, walking away quickly. Malory turned back, and just went back to unpacking her lunch when Darcy sat down across from her.

“What did Luke want?” She asked, confusion laced her voice.

Malory waved a hand dismissively. “He just asked about Averey.” She picked up a lemon slice and stuck it into her mouth. Sucking it like it were an orange.

Darcy crinkled her nose. “I don’t know how you can stand that.” She commented, looking at the yellow fruit. Malory shrugged in reply. “Anyway, he’s been gone for three days. That’s long enough to make him practically a star around here. He’s been all the gossip since his parents filed a missing persons report.” Malory rolled her eyes at her friend’s tactlessness and pulled the now dry lemon wedge out of her mouth. “We’re his best friends. We already know all this. And we know that Averey’s parents got into an argument with the police officer whether it was possible he ran away or not.” She kept her voice low to keep from prying ears. “Which it isn’t.”

Darcy shrugged, eating a bit of- what she hoped was- chili. “I don’t know, Mal. I mean, anything is possible.”

“Well, I know him better than you.” Malory snapped. She didn’t mean to be so harsh, but she didn’t like the thought of Averey having a reason to run away. Darcy didn’t say a word, but gave Malory a cold stare as she picked up her lunch tray and left the table. “Wait, Darce. I didn’t mean it like that.”

But her friend continued walking. Malory groaned and rested her head on the table.

Darcy still wouldn’t talk to Malory after school let out. So Mal was forced to walk home alone, despite the fact the two girls walk in the same direction. A week ago, she would have been walking this same path with her two best friends. Now, it felt like she lost both. She headed home, trying to think of every possibility of where Averey could have been. Suddenly, a thought struck her. And she knew Darcy would want to help her, whether she was mad or not. So, making a quick stop home, Malory headed to her friend’s home just six houses down. She knocked on the door, bouncing from one foot to the other in impatience. When the door opened, and she was greeted by her pale friend, she hurried past her into the empty kitchen. Words in an incoherent jumble as she tried to talk. Finally after one deep breathe, she managed to articulate what she wanted to say.

“I know you’re mad at me and stuff, but I need you to listen because I just had an idea and I think you’ll want to hear it.”

Malory pulled her apple laptop out of her school bag and opened it on the kitchen bar. Once it was turned on she opened a new tab. And even though she was mad at her, Darcy came and peered over Malory’s shoulder curiously.

“You remember three years ago when that child snatcher broke out of the jail near here and a couple kids went missing?” Malory asked, not even looking up as she searched the internet and news pages.

Darcy nodded. “Yeah, they called him Sephtis, but he was killed last year. What’s your point?”

“What if he’s not actually dead?” For the first time since Darcy opened the door, Malory looked up at her.

Darcy cocked her head to the side, saying Malory needed to continue.

“It took the police over two years to ‘catch’ him. People were freaking out. What if that was just a cover-up because they couldn’t actually find him?” Malory smiled, her stomach making flips like a trapeze artist from excitement.

“Mal, I think you’re reaching.” Darcy said doubtfully. A frown hinting at her lips.

“No I’m not. He’s out there. He kidnapped Averey.” Malory’s expression turned grim.

“And you want to do what, exactly? Find him?”

Malory nodded.

“Malory Allister, we have been out here for two hours now. When will you give up?” Darcy called, somewhere behind Malory and a few trees.

“Two hours isn’t long enough! I’m telling you, he’s out here. We found his harmonica in his room, on his floor. He loves that stupid thing for some stupid reason, and he’s OCD. He wouldn’t leave it on the floor. So when he left the house it was either in great haste or not by his consent. Also his jacket in his closet had a wild lemon flower in the pocket. With a stem, meaning it was picked off. Around here those only grow in these woods and the blooms only last for a few days. Those days happen to be around the time he disappeared. He has to be here.”

Darcy rolled her eyes but kept walking without another word. In fact, Malory had been searching so intently, that until another hour had passed, she didn’t realize that Darcy hadn’t spoken anything. By this time it was dark out and Malory was using a flashlight, but she couldn’t find another beam of light wherever she looked.

“Darcy?” She called. No reply. ‘Darce, are you there?” She waited. “We can go back now if you like.” Her voice betrayed how worried she was, even to her. She decided there was nothing to do but keep walking.

Malory turned around and started walking back where she came. Fear gripping her throat as her eyes flitted around for any sign of her friend, or any other living thing. Behind her, too close for comfort, a twig snapped. Gasping Malory swung around to see what it was, but only met with a hard object to her head. Blackness took over.

Hazy and disoriented, Malory came to, expecting to be in the damp woods where she would find that a falling tree branch hit her. But her fantasy was smashed to smithereens when she felt the cold hard and very floor-like floor under her. Blinking a few times, she looked around, not seeing anything at all, really. Just a quite rusty simple sink in the corner closer to her head, an wrought iron table in the corner near her feet, Darcy crouched in the third corner and a limp body in the farthest one. A ladder was screwed in to the wall between the table and Darcy.

Malory shot up into a seated position, staring at her best friend Averey tied in the corner. Darcy didn’t even blink at Malory’s sudden motion, despite having watched her still body for the past five minutes now.

Malory began to stand up.

“Ah, ah, ah.” Darcy tutted. “Sit back down. Make yourself comfortable.”

Malory looked at her friend, a confused expression across her pretty face before she complied. Slowly lowering herself to a seated position as she stared at the kitchen knife in Darcy’s hand. “What’s going on?” she asked, speaking slowly so she didn’t startle Darcy.

“I thought you were smart. I thought that was one of the reasons everybody liked you. Was that you were smart. You haven’t figured this out?” Darcy waved the knife around carelessly, gesturing to the whole room, or maybe the whole situation.

In that moment of silence, Malory Allister of 13^th Phillip Street slowly put the pieces together. How three years ago in freshman year Darcy completely avoided her during what people called the Sephtis Shutdown. School was canceled until further notice and kids of all ages weren’t allowed to go anywhere without an adult. And she would keep making excuses not to hang out weeks after that. How all the kids who went missing were either in their grade or upper classmen but never younger. How the boys who were taken were always ones Darcy longed after, and the girls were always ones Darcy was jealous of.

“You kidnapped those people!” Malory whispered. Wide eyed and scared.

Darcy didn’t even say a word at first. “I tried to make them love me. I’d give them presents, send them texts, but for some reason they never did.” She mumbled. “So I took them. Aaron first, but when I couldn’t convince him to love me I took Jake. But you know he had that crush on Ruth, everyone knew. So I took her.” Darcy took the blade in both hands and gripped it. “I didn’t mean to kill her, but when he saw her I got mad. I wanted him to look at me that way. Me!”

Malory couldn’t say anything. She was too afraid.

“But that was it. After I killed her he said he’d love me. But after a while he started to seem distant. He didn’t love me anymore. So I managed to find out who else he liked and killed her too. And it went on like that.”

Malory felt her back pockets only to find her phone was missing. “Through all five boys and twelve girls?” Malory gasped, astonished. How could she have never known?

“I thought Averey would have loved me.” Darcy whimpered. “But no. He wanted you.” She glanced up and the look of malice in her eyes petrified Malory. “You with your AP classes, track team trophies, and weird habit of sucking lemon wedges.” She stood up and walked towards Malory, making the poor girl shrink back, but she was only going to the sink. “So you, Malory, are my thirteenth girl.” Wetting a cloth and going to Averey, she lifted his head and blotted a fresh looking gash on his pale cheek. Until now Malory wasn’t sure if he were alive or not, but his eyes were open, staring at Darcy with a look of pure fear.

Malory took this opportunity and jumped up. She grabbed her phone off the table and jumped onto the ladder shimmying to the top and undoing the latch as fast as she could. Knowing that at any moment Darcy could pull her down and kill her. She burst out of the bunker and made a mad dash into the pitch black forest.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Malory hit snooze on her alarm for the third time that morning. She knew she was lucky to have gotten those few days off of school, nonetheless she was in denial about going back. But still Malory managed to get ready in time to have breakfast and meet her best friend Averey at the end of the street.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Her mom asked, just like she did every morning for the past three days. And just like every morning for the past three days Malory lied and said she was fine. After all, her mother couldn’t understand the trauma of being kidnapped by your psychopathic best friend, then having to run through the woods as said best friend ran after you with a knife while you called 911, then lastly having to turn best friend in to the cops who were conveniently waiting just outside the woods. Nobody could understand. The closest exception would have to be Averey. Who was also kidnapped by Darcy. So therefore, even though they were friends before that, now they were friends-who-could-understand-eachother-on-that-deep-level-of-we-both-survived-a-kidnapping.