Vanished

Chapter Nine

One would say that seeing something disintegrate may be an amazing experiment. For Preston Ellis, it wasn't amazing in the slightest. Seeing how a tortured girl to the brim of death had a purple substance oozing out of her body seemed normal for a horror movie. Now, every drop seemed to have melted as if it were a spilled drink.

In horror, he looked at the huge hole in the classroom flooring Ashley had been in. Preston looked over at Oscar with wide eyes before they ran near the open hole. The substance had melted all the way down from the top floor, leaving a large pit on the ground. Only the scalded floor left while Preston saw Oscar automatically grip the pistol that he held.

"Luke is gonna kill us!" His voice still had a motto tone, despite panic filling both of them.

"Dear God, I hope hell has hot girls." Preston closed his eyes, repeating frequently.

"Who else knows we have Ashley?" Oscar asked.

They dashed down the stairs, searching the building for the girl. They ran down the wide halls, with the majority of the classrooms empty or trashed, but there was no sign of Ashley anywhere. She wasn't in any of the washrooms or even the nurse's office that they technically weren't supposed to go into.

"Greyson, Scarlett, and Luke, along with James and Emma," Preston rushed.

They kicked open a classroom door, spotting some Uden kids smoking pot in a classroom. They were all sitting near a small, open window that had a hole in the screen. This wasn't abnormal behaviour at this school.

"See a girl short with glasses?" Preston asked.

"The dyslexic one?" Mia asked, slowly coming over with a dazed smile. "Saw her take off toward Simcoe. Y'all need to calm down, since she's just some ugly girl."

She pointed a finger at both of them before doing what she often did. Swiftly, she lifted her black crop-top up so that it covered her face before falling smack on the ground. It revealed her pink lace bra which caused her to start laughing on her back.

"You always wear cute bras," Preston said.

When they arrived at the main entrance, they dashed to an SUV. They needed to find this girl before Luke or Greyson punished them.

Mallory Jonz, also known as Tumbles—someone given the nickname due to her sense of clumsiness—washed the vehicle down with cold water. She was standing beside a small bucket with a handle that was filled with soapy water and a washcloth.

"Tumbles, get in the car!" Preston exclaimed before she tripped over her own bucket of water.

Oscar kicked the plastic bucket to the side, gripping her wrist and grabbing the keys from her hands. Tumbles climbed into the backseat, with Preston sitting beside Oscar in the passenger seat. He fumbled with the keys in his hands that were shaking. He inserted the key, adjusted his seat, started it, and sped his way down the highway, looking left and right.

"We didn't kill her, right?" Oscar asked, glancing over at him with his body trembling.

"You saw it! The girl melted through the flooring!" Preston panicked.

Ahead, they spotted the town coming into view from the old trees and long grass that grew along the ditches. Even when they glanced right and left, she wasn't visible anywhere. Preston knew they were doing the main meeting today as Tumbles looked at them both, curious about the situation.

"Did you murder someone?" she asked, leaning toward them.

"Our hostage got away, and I'm pretty sure we're going to die," Preston said.