⭐️Chapter 20: Al Rescate, Amigos
The next day was chaos.
The Infernos immediately noticed Bird was gone after all of them searched their houses in a panic, and even went outside to try and find her. They were praying that the scientists hadn't found her, or that she hadn't made such a simple mistake. However, they also had other suspicions that they held on to for later, when they got more proof to add to such claims. Upon their failure to find her through basic means, all four of them met up in the central parts of Laocrah Town and explained the situation, though they got more and more worried with each new set of information they had. They texted the Thistlins about this, which caused them to panic as well.
The Thistlins arrived a few minutes after that, huffing from running. The situation had gone from 1 (or perhaps 50 since Bird was already in danger) to 100 really fast, and they all needed to do something about it. What did their plans say about something like this happening, again? Oh wait, most of their plans revolved around the scientists coming to get Bird when the group was still AWAKE. Blast it all, how had they not thought this through?!
Well now they were on a ticking time limit to get Bird back...though there was also another question remaining. If the scientists truly HAD taken her back to the lab, would there be any more experiments that they'd have to free? The pressure to do the right thing gnawed at them...some more than others...but all those innocent lives...they deserved family. Unless they were rabid killing machines that were too far gone (or worse), the Infernos would probably save every experiment they could, as best they could. But right now, they needed to figure out just where they were in the first place.
Ryn honestly didn't know what to do, and it pained her quite a lot. There was too much pressure on her since she was the leader of her group, and she was sure Clara was either just as stressed, or doing better than her since she'd had her team longer and knew what teamwork was like. She wasn't about to ask though, because it'd probably just waste time in the stretch of things. Ryn's first plan was to do a large search, since her panic wasn't allowing her to think clearly and she was desperate to do something. Luckily for her, the group agreed to the plan, and if all else failed they would search farther.
Cosmo and Ella were sent to the forest area to look around for Bird, or any sign that she had been in there at all, for that matter. Although Jack, Silvia, and Sai were initially against it, they let them go after the two Octolings begged to do it themselves. After all, they didn't need to be treated like kids ENTIRELY (or so they'd argued). The two small ones ran off, talking to themselves on the way over about plans of what to do should they find anything or run into trouble. The remaining Infernos and Thistlin members then figured that pairs would be best for this in case something happened, and opted to split up with the promise to meet back or text should they find something.
Ryn and Clara searched more open places like parks and relaxing areas, where the sky was open and there were less trees than the surrounding forest. Even though there were numerous kids and others spread out around there, Bird wasn't that hard to spot. Ryn doubted she knew how to change her ink color so easily, since she'd seen it immediately return to her usual yellow after she played turf with the Infernos' color being dark red. Bird's hairstyle also didn't change, and Ryn had a feeling that Bird would come running up to the duo if she saw them. After all, they were currently her only source of protection against the scientists...unless she'd already found someone else to house with. Still, it was doubtful.
Jack and Sai searched the housing areas, though they were careful not to trespass where they weren't supposed to. Maybe Bird had gone out for a walk and gotten lost at which house was who's? They even asked some people at their homes if they'd seen Bird (giving a brief description as well), all of which responded no. Of course, the two didn't want to invade privacy, but they made sure to remember houses they didn't check. After all, they never knew if someone could be hiding Bird in their house with the lights off.
Silvia and Glade searched social areas like cafes and stores, and were on high alert nearly the entire time. If anything, SOMEONE must've seen a small girl wandering around, especially through a place like this. Even when it was nighttime or early morning, there was always bound to be a few people walking around town. Many people they encountered said they hadn't see anyone like Bird, but the duo wasn't giving up yet. As they kept going though, they started to realize just how hopeless this situation could be...but they still weren't giving up.
Oddly enough, the one thing the group DIDN'T see today was the Wave Crashers. They hadn't shown up at all in any of their searches, and the longer the two teams looked for Bird, the more suspicious it soon started to become. They weren't even that hard to find, even with adults and tall creatures around. If they were wearing clothing other than their dark purple vest and torn jeans with punk boots, or had a different hairstyle, their faces most likely would've given it away. None of the pairs saw any of that while looking, and they were pretty sure that by now that group of bullies would have shown up in some way, shape, or form.
The group had a sinking feeling they knew what was going on as they joined back up, especially after Ella and Cosmo came running back while shouting about footprints in the forest.
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Permafrost: Thunderbird
FantasyArc 2 of Permafrost! Series is inspired by Olive Waffles/Doggerwoofle's Shockwave! It's been a while since the Rinklings invaded, but Ryn and her friends are now peacefully... Okay, scratch that. Things aren't peaceful. They've been clashing over an...