Vanished

Chapter Eighteen

Bella's heart raced in the classroom. One of the many unknown classrooms she had never seen. This one had been cleaner, with four windows and maroon walls. A lot of the desks were missing, along with random shoes sitting in the corner.

"It had been a prayer room," Maverick implied.

Bella felt hazy seeing someone with curly brown hair. Seeing that he had nothing in his hands made her feel safer. Strangely, she felt herself sinking in front of him. Looking back and forth, she found herself falling into a hole. It was dark all around her, except for the small tiles she lay on.

"Stop!" she screamed with her eyes shut, shaking. Tears fell down her cheeks as she lay in the classroom.

Looking around, she spotted the boy again. There had been slight laughter from somewhere, but she wasn't sure who had been laughing. Spotting green running shoes, someone crouched in front of her. Maverick stood with a smirk on his face.

As the door opened, Bella heard a female voice. She had her arms and legs tied, so she couldn't even roll on her side. Someone flipped her on her back, seeing Eden with a smile.

"We've brought Eden to tell you about the Bible. God is especially important to her," Maverick implied, wearing a devious grin.

How many more Uden people would she have to stumble upon? Were there more people just lurking all over this place?

"I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from my fears; Psalm 34:4." Eden began reciting more verses. She continued to explain the creation story, but Bella failed to notice a dangerous look in her eyes.

Bella had begun to think she was going crazy. Maybe she was, with all these religious verses being fed to her. Every time she tried to think of a way to try and get out, there seemed to be some blockage to thinking rationally.

"Let's all pray!" Eden cheered, hands laced together.

Bella felt her head spinning around and around. Is this how Uden students felt during their lessons? Feeling sleepy, she shut her eyes, dazed.

"I think she enjoyed it, Eden," Maverick snickered.

"We must spread the great name of God!" Eden praised with awe.

Slightly opening her eyes, she spotted Eden near the window. Why did her mind and body feel slow? Had she been drugged by something? Maybe that thing that's been in the ditch ended up being an illness. The room had become quiet, and the floor was cold. Did she even fight her way out of this situation?

"Hey, slut," Luke snarled.

"Eden gave her some preaching," she heard Maverick's voice say.

Hearing Luke's voice made her close her eyes. The echo of the gun and the panic resting in Jason's eyes as he tried to revive the girl in Burger King. She wanted to move half her body, but she couldn't.

"Eden can numb people's movements and thoughts with talking," Luke laughed. "It prevents people from thinking rationally and moving."

Numb movements and thoughts? Wasn't that similar to what the dentist did to freeze a tooth? Or has it been more when your feet fall asleep? Both felt similar, except she could barely say words toward him. All of her body felt tired and weak.

"She enjoys having people learn about Jesus," he snarled.

Bella could barely even feel her own racing heart. All she could determine was that Luke held something in his hands, but she felt hazy. Did that mean if you had conversations with her, she could put you to sleep? It seemed similar to Nevaeh's power, where she could hear dark secrets.