A Ballad for the Lost

twenty-four

"Thanks for coming over, M.J. We really appreciate your support." Graham sighed. He was worried. Any parent would be.

"Of course," I smiled, "I'll offer any help I can to find Kade."

Graham placed an arm on my shoulder. "Thank you for the kind offer, but I think the police have it all under control."

I nodded understandingly, though I found what he said slightly rude. But what if Graham is right? Am I interfering with their family business? No, it's my business too. It's not like Kade and I were strangers. If not friends, we were at least acquainted. And I couldn't just stand around while everyone searched around for Kade. So I was going to help. But not on my own.

"M.J!" said a voice, and a pair of arms came to embrace me. "What are you doing here?"

"Ellis I—we need to find Kade." I told her.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, obviously. But how?"

"I don't think your step-dad wants me involved, but I really think I can help. Though I can't do it without you."

Ellis thought for a moment and let out a groan, giving in. "Okay, okay, fine." And then her voice quieted down to a mere whisper. "So what's the plan?"

_____________________________

So there we were, roaming around town in the dark, calling Kade's name and searching every possible place that he could be.

"I can't believe the police are so stupid," Ellis laughed, while walking. "Kade obviously isn't at home, so why are they still there?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, trying to keep up with her, "maybe they're still looking for clues or something that could hint as to where he could be."

Ellis rolled her eyes. "Instead of trying to predict where he might've gone, maybe they should try getting off their lazy butts and look for the darn kid!"

"Well," I grinned. "Kade sure is lucky to have a stepsister like you."

"Ha. Says you. It was your idea to get out and find him, anyways."

And I simply laughed. "That's the part that surprises me. Why am I the one to suggest that? He's not even part of my family. I would've thought you guys would have long been searching by now."

Ellis' gaze fell to the ground. We stopped walking. "I...I didn't want to wander around town by myself, I guess. Look, I know that might sound selfish, but―"

I cut her off. "No, no, of course not! I didn't want to wander by myself, either. That's why I brought you."

Ellis smiled. "I guess we're just meant to have each other's backs."

I smiled, touched, and hugged her. As we pulled away, I sighed. "We'd better keep going, we have a Kade to find."

We strolled along for a little while longer, before Ellis stopped again.

I looked at her. "What is it?"

"Oh my god," she muttered to himself before looking back at me, "stay here and don't move." And she disappeared into a sketchy-looking alleyway in between two stores. I couldn't help but think that something would happen. I could hear dramatic music playing in my head and I felt my heart beat faster and faster. Like only something that would happen in a horror movie. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood still and frozen in one spot.

All of a sudden, a cold hand grabbed my arm. I shrieked but my mouth was instantly blocked by another hand. I tried to say let go of me, but everything came out muffled. I bit the inside of the hand and it pulled away from my mouth. I turned around to find a masculine figure covered in black clothing. He started running after me, so I ran helplessly in any direction that would get me away from him. I could see him running after me from the corner of my eye, but I didn't dare look back.

"Ellis!" I yelled. "Ellis, help me!" But Ellis was nowhere to be found.

I ran into the same alleyway as Ellis, but the man appeared out of nowhere to block me. I turned to flee away, but he cornered me. He slowly walked toward me, making the space between us tighter with each step. I looked around helplessly with no place to go, but all I could see was him. I was experiencing an amalgam of emotions; fear, anger, defenselessness and turmoil all mixed into one emotion. There was no escape.

All of a sudden, he grabbed me again. I struggled to escape but his grip was too tight.

"Don't try and hide from me, Mary Jane." He spat in a raspy voice that sent shivers down my spine. "Because wherever you go, I'll find you―"

But on the spur of a moment, he let go of me and I fell to the hard ground. It happened too quickly for me to really see anything, so I brushed the dirt off my knees and stood up. Ouch, that hurt.

Right there before me were two men fighting. One of them was the man who tried to hurt me, and the other man's face was hidden by a red hoodie. He was holding the man against a brick wall at the edge of the alley, punching and kicking him mercilessly.

The other man tried to hit back a few times, but the red hooded man dodged them and hit back even harder.

It was hard to keep track of what was going on. So many strange men, and my head really hurt. All I wanted to do was go home and lay down for the rest of the night.

When the red hooded man finally gave him a chance to speak, his voice was crusty and he was scared. "Let go, man! I only need the girl."

"And you'll have to go through me to get her." He gave him another punch before letting him go, but he pulled him to his face by his collar. "Listen, I'm letting you go this time, but if you touch her again, I won't hesitate to kill you." My eyes widened. He....no. Kill him? But I didn't even know him.

The next thing you knew, vanished out of sight.

The man pulled back the hood of his hoodie revealing a familiar face. A face I had been looking for for so long, I almost forgot what it looked like.

"K‒Kade?" I gasped, then noticing my voice was crusty like the other man's.

"M.J!" Kade bent down and helped me up. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I guess." And then I hesitated for a few moments, taking in everything that had happened. "I...I got attacked...."

He took me gently in his arms, and I rested my head on his shoulder, finally feeling safe. "You were lucky I was here, M.J. You shouldn't be roaming these parts of town by yourself, especially so late at night. I don't even want to imagine what that guy would've done if I hadn't happened to be around."

"Speaking of which," I pulled away hastily, "what were you doing here in the first place? Your family is worried sick!"

"That's surprising," he mumbled to himself, and then raised his voice. "The only one who seemed to care enough to get out late at night and find me was...you."

I shook my head. "No, Ellis was here with me too. She just ran off for some reason."

"That's bizarre. You know what? She's probably returned home or something. And I think it's a good idea that we get back, too."

I nodded. "Oh, and uh...thanks for saving my life."

Kade just smiled smugly. "I'm always here for a damsel in distress. Now shall we return home, m'lady?"

I grinned. "We shall."

He took my hand in his and together we disappeared

into the shady night.