Vanished

Chapter Five

The next morning, Bella heard Jason groan from the couch. She spotted him jolting up on it and looking around her white living room.

"Calm down," she said in a soft voice.

She was frying some pancakes that her mother taught her to cook. She watched him stand, walking toward the kitchen, where he looked at the grey countertop with strawberries and blueberries.

"Do you like strawberries and blueberries?" Bella asked.

"Where are the plates?" Jason asked, smiling.

Bella pointed to the white cabinet above her as he reached out his hand to open it. He grabbed two white plates and set them down. There was a grey island set with black high stools. He placed two of them down, taking a seat.

"Stressed again?" she asked, grabbing the plates.

She knew he had a lot on his plate with everything going on, especially with those Uden Academy people. They would probably come back and twist the orders that they ended up making between the sides.

"I need to check in with Ilya and Zane. Has Mark been checking on them?" Jason questioned.

"Mark came by last night to ask how you were. I believe he spoke about someone protesting about people with abilities," Bella sighed.

Jason leaned his head back on the chair, slouching in his seat. He probably didn't have the first clue where to start with this whole mess.

"Xander saw some Uden kids collecting food," she remarked.

Bella placed the pancakes on his plate, then grabbed her own. She placed her pancake on her own and sat across from him. He slowly cut his pancake with his eyes lowered.

"I thought of something last night," she started. "What if something is trapping us here? You know, like getting stuck in a room without a door? I just don't get why everyone older than fifteen vanished. Did something cause this?"

It was the main aspect that was a mystery. How did people suddenly vanish? Was it some magic or something someone caused? Uden would at least know something.

"That's one thought I haven't wrapped around my head. Plus, what happened to Ashley?" He asked, dropping his fork on the table.

She watched him run his hands through his hair. Maybe that substance was just some leaked chemical that fell out of a truck or something from the power plant.

"Melany said she'd let me know how she's doing," Bella said.

"I want to discover if something is caging us in," Jason remarked as he ate the rest of his pancake.

She took the plate from him and began washing it in the sink. She had no idea if dishwashers still worked, but that could be the truth.

"Let's go look for Mark," he said, standing.

Bella placed the dishes on the drying rack, turning on her heel. She smiled, even if fear twisted her insides. If they really were trapped, how did they get out?

The two walked the streets, searching for Mark. Normally, he would be in the plaza, helping or burying kids at the park who had died. Many newborns have been found dead in houses due to starvation. There was one who had died from their supernatural ability, which was another topic in the unknown.

"Mark!" Jason called.

Mark was standing in front of Foodland beside a sixth grader from Uden Academy. She watched the sixth grader walk toward the red Home Hardware building, known as the hardware store, for all the essential tools if they needed any.