After three of their friends disappear without a trace, Cooper, Bonnie, Kevin and Madilyn hit the road, determined to find out what happened to them.
*****
After graduating, three...
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Madilyn's dress flapped in the summer wind as she walked through the glass doors of the church. It was an old car dealership years ago, but someone at the church bought it out when the place went out of business. Before this, Madilyn and her parents had to go to church in an old gym of an unused middle school from the 1950s.
Her dress was so bright with yellow dandelions dancing and overlapping with each other that she could be seen from a mile away. Her hair was usually dirty blonde, down, and wavy, but today it was in a bone-straight ponytail down her back. Her white cloth wedges popped against the hot pavement as she made her way to her car. She smiled at her friend and turned her back away from her parents. She grabbed the handle of her tiny blue car.
Schreech.
Kevin's silver car flew into the space next to hers. His car was parked sideways and somehow covered almost five spaces. He didn't even turn the car off; he just slammed his hand on the unlock button and popped out. He ran around the front of Madilyn's car.
"Oh, my goodness, Kevin. What's the rush?" she smiled.
"I thought I was gonna miss you!" he giggled as he propped himself on the hood of her car.
Madilyn's parents drove by, giving a strange and cautious look through the window. Kevin nodded and waved, hoping they'd just keep driving. Madilyn turned to them and smiled, knowing it would let them leave the parking lot.
Kevin made an awkward smile. "Uhhh, sorry I'm so cringy," he said out the side of his mouth.
"No, they're cringy. Believe me..." she rolled her eyes.
"Oh, I know, girl."
"So, what's up?" she dropped the fake smile.
"Charlie."
Madilyn loosened her grip on her annotated Bible and let it drop to the asphalt.
"He's alive?" she asked. Her bright green eyes shot open wide.
"Well, I don't know... maybe," he leaned in. "They're out there, Madilyn. They have to be."
Madilyn's eyes filled with tears. She grabbed Kevin by the shoulders. "I prayed for this. I prayed that some door would open so I could have Charlie back. I prayed for answers... here they are," she put her head on his chest and let her tears roll.
"Well, it would be me and Bonnie and Cooper, and you. We'd figure out some info on it and just take off. We're going to find them, or at least what happened to them... So you're in? You want to really do this?"
"You don't even have to ask," her voice was muffled in his shirt. "My parents will be a pain to get around, but I don't care. I'm going to do whatever it takes."
"We're 18..." Kevin paused.
"They're so strict, Kevin. You don't understand," she leaned up from his chest. "We're not all lucky to have parents like yours."
Kevin grinned, knowing she was right.
She grabbed her door handle. "So how do we even start?"
"Cooper's going to ask the sheriff's department secretary out on a date. He's gonna get some tea from her."
"Tea. You and your slang," she chuckled and wiped at her nose. "So, Cooper is gonna use his hots and flirt with the secretary to find out more?"
"Yeah, hopefully he can pull it out of her."
Madilyn opened her door. "Kevin, shut up. He's gonna get the tea."
Kevin laughed and gave her a hug before she got in her car.
"Thank you, Kevin."
"No, thank you, Madilyn," he said.
The next night, Cooper was going to try to get the info they needed... but he didn't know what else he'd run in to at that restaurant...
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