Hell on Earth

Chapter Two - The Mystery

Cynthia sat on her bed with a journal. She was writing furiously. She didn't know what she saw last night, but it was weird and strange and not from this world. She looked at her clock and saw that it was almost time for her to go. She didn't know where Dustin was. That only scared her a little bit. If he wasn't home by the end of the day, she was calling anyone and everyone to try and find him. She got off her bed, grabbed her backpack and headed off to school.

When she got there, Jonathan's car was missing, but she expected that. Joyce and Jonathan were going through some tough shit. Cynthia went through her day. Right before Chemistry, she saw Jonathan by the bulletin board.

"Hey, Jon," she walked up to him. "You okay?"

"As good as I can be," he said. "Mom and I printed out some flyers. We're hoping that it might help us find Will."

"That's a good idea," she said. "With these up, you'll find him in no time."

Jonathan didn't answer her; he just put a flyer on the board.

"Hey," a soft voice came from the side.

Both Cynthia and Jonathan and turned and saw Nancy Wheeler walking towards them. Cynthia bit the inside of her cheek. She couldn't help but remember when her and Nancy were really good friends. Until Cynthia had to go and ruin it.

"Hey," Jonathan seemed to be surprised that Nancy was talking to him.

Cynthia shouldn't be shocked. She knew that Jonathan had the biggest crush on Nancy.

"I just...." Nancy seemed to be tripping over her words. "I wanted to say, you know. I'm sorry about everything."

Cynthia glanced over Nancy's shoulder at the small group she had come from. Barbara seemed to be the only one who seemed to be actually worried.

"Everyone is thinking about you," Nancy continued. "It sucks."

"Yeah," Jonathan nodded.

"I'm sure he's fine," Nancy tried to be reassuring. "He's a smart kid." Jon

The bell rang.

"I have to go," Nancy said. "Chemistry test."

"Yeah," Jonathan nodded.

Nancy started to back away, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Jonathan said.

Cynthia started to walk after Nancy, "Nancy..."

"Yeah," Nancy looked at her.

"Was Dustin at your house last night?" Cynthia asked. "I didn't see him last night or this morning. This whole Will situation is kind of freaking me out."

"He was there last night," Nancy told her.

"Thanks," Cynthia said. "I'll see you in Chemistry. Good luck on the test."

Nancy nodded at her, "You too."

As the day drug on, Cynthia found solace in her books and the prospect of art class. She was fortunate that had a good handle on Chemistry otherwise that test would have been hell. At the end of seventh period, Cynthia hurried to her car. She was going to make a stop by the Wheeler house before going home. She knew that Jonathan had plans to visit his father and that her brother had no intention of going home until it was dark.

"Where you heading, Loser?" some faceless jerk said from the crowd. There were other taunts, but Cynthia ignored them. She didn't believe them. So what if she had no friends except Jonathan, spent more time in the art room than anyone else, and didn't take shit from anyone.