Friends Till the End Right?

Chapter Three: Is Anybody There?

       Lauren strided to the kitchen and grabbed a cup of freshly made coffee. She pulls her phone from her pjs and texts the groupchat. "Find anything?" All of their responses came in at the same time consisting of the same answer. "No." Kiana texts "Meet up at school?" "Yeah." Liam quickly answers.

        She wont stop screaming for her friends and her little boyfriend. I'm here,it's just us. We only need each other. I'm getting real sick of her not realizing how much better I'm treating her.

    They meet up in the cafeteria at the table in the back. "The police are investigating and interviewing us after school. After all that is over,they're supposed to be having a search thing near the club around six. Most of the town is coming." Liam spoke. "Goooood morning alin robins! I am sure you have heard about the tragic news of Paige Loom. We have been cooperating with authorities to ensure her safe arrival back home. The Alin Police Department is hosting a search party on 47th street tonight. If you decide to come, dress warm, it's cold! It will start at 4 PM sharp and end very late tonight. Good luck today robins,make me proud." Principal Jaquet exclaims on the intercom. The look on everybody's faces was priceless. Ding! Ding! Everybody scurries their way through the red and black hallways to their first period class.

    It's dusk with stars lighting up the dark sky. The whole town was almost there because of Paige. What if they find something? No they wouldn't... I don't think I left anything besides that one shoe mistake.  Right..? Kiana,Lauren,Charlotte and Liam meet up in a circle all talking about Paige. "I hope she is okay. The group wouldn't be the same without her." Lauren whimpers. Liam hugs her tight while whispering "It's okay,don't worry."

       The club has been closed since the disappearance,and won't be open until the police are completely done investigating. "Flashlights and water bottles! Flashlights and water bottles everybody!!" a muscular man walking past yelling to the crowd.  They all grab a flashlight and two water bottles each. While strapping down a headlamp Kiana brought from home she mutters "There's four of us. We can split up in pairs so we can cover more ground. If you find anything,text the group chat first and then blow your whistle." "Okay." the group says in unison. "Charlotte you're with me." Ki says while putting the whistle around her neck. Charlotte stumbles over to Kiana while Lauren squeezes Liam "I guess it's us together."

    "I really miss her Ki." Charlotte whispers with the autumn leaves crunching under her boot. "I know,we all do. She'll come back or we'll find her. I just know it." Kiana proudly says.  They're deep within the forest breathing in humid air, "Char! Come here,look at this." She says shining her flashlight at a piece of black plastic on the ground. The two girls squatting and Charlotte picks it up. It clicks in their mind, "Paige's phone." they say in unison. The phone they hold in their hand is cracked with no sim card. I couldn't have had them tracking down her phone. I thought I brought it with me down here. "Text the group chat,I don't want to look at it without them here." Charlotte whimpers with a few tears escaping.

    Lauren is hugging Liams left arm while walking together laughing at some dumb joke Liam made earlier. Ping. They pull out their phones to Kiana texting the groupchat her location a half mile away with a text reading "COME NOW." They immediately start heading in their direction with the foggy flashlight in their hands. "What do you think it is? Her other shoe,her phone,it could be anything." Liam says solemnly. Lauren shrugs her shoulders walking in the crunchy leaves.

    "Is that-" Liam attempts to say before Charlotte interrupts saying "Paige's phone? Yeah. We were waiting for you guys to even open it." Kiana holds the phone and clicks the power button with a bright screen appearing,they exhale with relief. The last thing that was opened was a voice memo? They're huddling around the phone nodding to Ki as she clicks the play button.

    "Please don't hurt me. I'll do anything. I have money,just please. PLEASE IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?" Paige lets out a blood-curdling scream. "No no that would be too boring, you're coming with me darling. I've always wanted to be this close to you. You look so precious under this milky moonlight." a deep grumbled voice says. It goes quiet and all of a sudden you hear a big bang and something heavy falling to the ground. They all jump. Then you hear the assumed phone falling and the recording ends.

"Paige...." Liam says crying  "You were so smart for recording." The rest were all speechless as Kiana clicks on photos. The most recent pictures are mostly dark,she clicks on them. They show Paige tied up with some rope near a bush. I had to do it,or she would have run away. There's mascara staining her face where tears were. They scroll and scroll seeing almost the same picture after another. They stop on one taken before the others.  It's dark but if you zoom in just right,you can see a man's face looking directly at the camera.  They all blow their whistles simultaneously.  Shit.