The Reaper's Downfall

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I managed to calm down at some point last night. I wanted to call Riley and tell her how I was feeling, but I didn't want her to worry about me on top of worrying about Trey. I didn't even consider calling Maya, she was already torn up enough about this whole situation.

To make things worse, today was a school day. None of us wanted to go, but we couldn't exactly tell our parents that we wanted to take off to go look for our missing friend. It wasn't until the third period that I got a text from Matt.

I know where he is. Be at my place soon.

I almost jumped up when I saw the message. I texted Maya and Riley, telling them to meet me in the parking lot. The hard part was trying to figure out how I'd get myself out of this history class.

Ms. Richardson droned on about medieval history. I'm pretty sure no one was even paying attention. A few kids were dozed off. I shot up my hand and put on a weary face.

"Yes, Mr. Martinez?" she drawled.

I put a hand to my stomach, feigning a stomachache. "I'm not feeling so good, can I go to the nurse's office?"

She waved her hand impatiently as if I was interrupting an important lesson. "Yes, that's fine."

I got to my feet and slung my bag over my shoulder, still clutching my stomach. I nodded at Ms. Richardson before leaving the class.

I looked around, trying to see if our security guard was patrolling the hallways. I didn't expect him to, but I wanted to make sure.

I snuck out the back door and made my way to the parking lot. I waited by Maya's car for the other two to come out. I started tapping my foot and glanced at the time on my phone every few minutes. We need to go.

A few minutes later Maya came out from behind the school and rushed over to me.

"Did Matt say where Trey is?" she asked urgently.

I shook my head. "He just told me to meet him at his house."

She started scanning the area, looking for Riley.

"We're getting him back." She sounded like she was trying to reassure herself.

I spotted Riley running towards us and breathed a sigh of relief. Maya unlocked her car and the two of us got in the front seats. Riley sat in the back.

"Where is he?" Riley asked, closing the car door behind her.

"We're gonna find that out now," I said.

Maya turned her key in the ignition and started driving off. I decided to turn off my phone so Zoe wouldn't find out I ditched. I could probably explain later.

We made it to Matt's house in less than ten minutes and rushed out of the car and up the stairs. He swung the door open before we even knocked, rushing us inside.

"Where is he?" I asked as he shut the door behind us.

Matt looked unnerved. "Damian called me and told me to meet him in the warehouse if I wanna get Trey back. I've gotta go."

I nodded. "We're coming too."

Riley put her hand up. "Wait. This seems like a trap. Why would he want to meet you in exchange for Trey?"

Matt shook his head. "I don't care. If this is how we're getting him back, I'm gonna do it." He avoided eye contact with us. It seemed like he wasn't telling us everything.

"This is Trey we're talking about," Maya said. "He'd do this for any of us."

I put my hand on Riley's shoulder. "If you don't wanna come, that's okay."