7:00am (43,200 Seconds Remaining)

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   Three hours later, Kelly and I still had no idea where we were. We had walked all the way down that industrial road until we hit a dead end, had to turn around and walk back up it, and then had somehow managed to take about seven lefts and ten rights... Or was it seven rights and ten lefts... And now we were completely out of our minds lost.

We probably wouldn't even be able to make our way back to my car if we wanted to.

"What are we going to do now?" Kelly asked, overwhelmed and annoyed. I didn't blame her. She, as well as I, was painfully aware of the seconds that were just ticking by as we walked around here, aimlessly. We were supposed to be on our way to find Macy, not admiring the scenic route of Greenfield, Massachusetts.

"I have no clue," I said, turning around and squinting my eyes, adjusting to the light that had now started to break through the clouds. It was morning. The sun was coming out.  

And we were no closer to finding Macy.

"Great," Kelly said, looking down at her phone. It's seven in the morning, Max, I'm really starting to stress here."

"I know, I know. I'm stressed too, but we have to keep our heads screwed on straight. Freaking out is not going to get us anywhere. And besides, we have until 7 pm tonight. That's still a good twelve hours away. Just breathe."

"Well we've been doing this for a good three hours, Max, and we have got nothing to show for it except a couple of ankle blisters. We can't keep walking around when we have no idea where we're going. We have to do something."

"What do you suggest?" I asked, because I partially agreed with her. We were lost. There was no denying it. It would most likely take us another three hours to get back to the car, let alone find the field. I hated to admit it but if we didn't do something, and fast, we could run out of time.

And running out of time was not an option. 

"I think we need to call somebody," Kelly said, throwing her arms up in the air. "I think it's our only option. I know you think Macy would disapprove of this but isn't finding her more important than sticking to her rules?"

"Yes, okay. Yes, finding her is the most important thing. But, this is already complicated enough without dragging a whole other person into it. And besides, who would we even call?"

As if on cue, my back pocket began to vibrate.

Kelly and I looked up at each other, dumbfounded. I pulled my phone out from my pocket and looked down at the screen. 

It was a blocked number.

"It's blocked," I said, debating whether or not I should answer. I mean, what if it was Macy's Mom? Or worse?

"Oh my God, it has to be Macy!," Kelly said, walking over to me and looking down at the screen. With that, I slid the green bar to the left and put the phone up to my ear, trying to hold my hand still. "Hello?"

"Hey, uh, Max?," a man's voice answered.

"Yeah, this is Max," I said, trying to keep my voice even.

"Oh, good. For a second there, I thought maybe you'd changed your number," he said with a laugh, though I still had no idea who I was talking to.

"No, this is still me. Um, may I ask who's calling?"

"Oh, yeah, my bad. Hey, Man, It's Sam."

At that moment, I froze. Stone solid, I couldn't breathe. All I could do is stand there and stare at Kelly. "Who is it?" She whispered, her eyes wide.

I covered the bottom of my cell with my free hand and mouthed to her, It's Sam. She covered her mouth with her hands and just stared at me. Sam however, oblivious as to what was going on, kept right on talking.

"Anyway," Sam continued, "I hate to bother you so early in the morning but I just got an alert on my phone about my Jeep. Apparently someone set off the alarm."

"Oh, really?" I asked, trying to sound calm. "When was this?"

"About ten minutes ago. I called Macy's cell first but she wasn't answering her phone and then I tried the home number and got the machine. I happened to remember I had your old number saved so I figured I would give you a shot. You were hanging out with Macy last night, right? The whole scavenger hunt thing?"

"Yeah," I said, my eyes locked on Kelly's. "Yeah, I was with Macy last night."

Kelly, moved her hands from over her mouth to the top of her head, neither one of us could believe this was happening right now.

"Oh, cool. Do you happen to know if she went home last night? I know your classes don't start until eight so I just found it a little weird that she didn't answer. She usually does," Sam said, and I could hear the lightness in his voice. He was calling me to check up on Macy. To make sure she had gotten home safe last night. The alarm had gone off on his Jeep. For all he knew, someone could have busted into it but his only concern was to make sure Macy was alright. 

That had been enough for me.

I took a deep breath and nodded my head at Kelly. Sam was Macy's cousin. He was family. And right now, he was checking up on Macy, just like I would have done. I was now one hundred percent sure telling him would not prove to be a mistake.

"No," I said, my voice cracking.

"No, she doesn't usually answer?" Sam asked, confused.

"No, she didn't go home last night," I clarified. "None of us did."

Sam was silent for a moment.

"What are you telling me here, Max?" Sam asked, and this time I could hear the distortion in his voice.

"I'm telling you Macy's missing. She never showed up at school yesterday and when I went over her house afterwards, she wasn't there."

"What are you talking about? I just saw her. She came by to visit me last night."

"Macy never misses school, okay? She just doesn't. So when she didn't show up, I went to the house looking for her and instead I found an email she sent telling me that I had twenty four hours to find her or—"

"Or what?" Sam asked, and right then I could hear it in his voice that he too, had known something was off about Macy yesterday.

"Or she's going to kill herself," I finished. And I couldn't breathe. I felt sick all over again.

"Where are you?" Sam asked, and I could hear him shuffling around his room, probably trying to find shoes and his motorcycle keys.

"We're in Greenfield, Massachusetts," I said, instantly feeling relieved. I knew that Sam was going to help us find Macy. I knew that I had done the right thing.

"Where?"

I looked around for a street sign, and for the first time tonight, I truly believed there was a God.

"Beacon Street," I said, looking over at Kelly.

"Stay there," Sam ordered. "I'm on my way."

And then the call ended, and he was gone.

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