Murder in These Veins

Chapter Nine: The Killer Among Us

The cafe was quiet as Lucas and his friends sat huddled around the table, their faces drawn with worry. They had been waiting for Sylas for over an hour, and there was still no sign of him.

"Where could he be?" Nova whispered, her voice barely audible over the din of the cafe.

Kai shook his head. "I don't know. He wouldn't just disappear like this."

Ezra's hands were shaking as he stared down at the table. "What if something's happened to him?"

Just then, Lucas's phone rang. He answered it with a shaky hand, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Hello?" he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

It was Sylas's mom. She was crying, her words coming out in sobs.

"He's been missing for two days," she said. "I don't know what to do. Please, you have to help me find him."

Lucas felt his stomach drop. Two days? How could they have not known for two whole days?

"We'll do everything we can," he said, his voice firm. "We'll start searching right away."

As he hung up the phone, Lucas felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead. They were in way over their heads now. Sylas was missing, and they had no idea where to even begin looking.

Suddenly, the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. What if the killer was among them? What if they had been working alongside the person who had killed their friends?

Lucas looked around the table, his eyes flicking from one face to the next. Could he trust any of them? Or was one of them responsible for all of this?

The air in the cafe was thick with tension as Lucas and his friends sat in silence for a few minutes after Lucas hung up, each lost in their own thoughts and fears. They had a long road ahead of them, and they had no idea where it would lead.

Ezra's heart raced as she thought about the recent news of Sylas's disappearance. She couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible had happened to her friend. As she looked around at her friends, She couldn't help but wonder who was responsible.

Suddenly, Elijah spoke up. "I bet Lucas did it," he said, his voice low and menacing.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Elijah spat. "You were the last one to see Jayden and Olivia alive. And now Sylas is missing too. It all adds up."

"That's ridiculous," Lucas said, shaking his head. "Why would I kill my own friends?"

"Maybe to cover up your own involvement in their deaths," Elijah replied.

Ezra's jaw dropped in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was it possible that Lucas had something to do with Jayden and Olivia's deaths? And now Sylas was missing too?

But then, Ezra had a thought of his own. "What if you did it?" he said, turning to Elijah. "You were always jealous of Jayden and you liked Olivia too. Maybe you killed them both."

Elijah scoffed. "Me? That's rich. You know damn well I didn't do it."

The tension in the cafe was palpable. Lucas and Elijah glared at each other, each convinced that the other was responsible for the murders. And all the while, the fear of a killer amongst themselves hung heavily over the groups heads.

As the tension in the cafe continued to build, Nova looked around at her friends, her mind working furiously to come up with words to say.

"I think we're all just jumping to conclusions here," she said, her voice smooth and even. "We don't know anything for sure."

Kai nodded in agreement. "She's right. We shouldn't accuse each other without evidence."

Ezra frowned, not sure she liked where this was going. "But we can't just sit around and do nothing," she said. "Sylas is missing and Jayden is dead and Olivia--" Ezra looked down with a pained expression.

"We need to find out what happened." Ezra said with her hand in a tight angry fist.

Nova smiled sweetly. "Of course we do," she said. "But we need to be smart about it. We don't want to jump to conclusions and accuse the wrong person."

Emma watched as Nova spoke, her eyes narrowed. Something was off about her friend, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She decided to follow her after the group left the cafe, hoping to get some answers.

Emma followed Nova from a distance, her heart racing with every step. She watched as Nova walked past her own car without even glancing at it, which only fueled her suspicion. Emma knew that Nova was up to something, but she couldn't quite figure out what. She followed her down a quiet street and watched as she turned into a dark alleyway. 

 Emma hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should follow. But her curiosity got the best of her, and she slowly crept into the alleyway, trying to keep  her steps as quiet as possible. 

As Emma made her way deeper into the alleyway, she noticed that it was completely empty. Nova was nowhere to be seen. Emma cursed under her breath, realizing that she had lost her.

She looked around, trying to find any sign of Nova's whereabouts, but there was nothing. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air.

Emma's heart sank as she realized that Nova must have known she was being followed. She felt foolish for not being more careful and for underestimating her friend's intelligence.

Feeling defeated, Emma slowly made her way back to her car, wondering what she should do next. She couldn't shake off the feeling that something was seriously wrong, and she vowed to get to the bottom of it, no matter what it took.