how vee, quite casually, disappeared from the earth

chap 11 - sadness and chaos

Alyelle looked around at the dark room, and then at sini sleeping. She slowly tiptoed out of the plain, white-walled room and searched the first floor of the house for that basement key. Her elbow accidentally tipped a wine glass in the kitchen and she quickly steadied it before it fell on the floor.

She stared around the kitchen, wondering if she could open the door to the basement without the key. It didn't hurt to try; she just had to find the basement. Probably in the ground or something. Suddenly, she remembered something she once read; some houses had their basement doors in the ground- like the literal ground. She looked down at the floor and saw a tiny keyhole and rushed over to it- there was already a key stuck in it, somehow

Alyelle turned it and slowly stepped down the stairs, careful to keep the door open so she didn't trap herself in there. Hopefully sini didn't wake up soon, or she'd probably be in a lot of trouble. She grimaced and kept on walking down the stairs, getting darker with every step.

The torch was on the other side of the basement and she stepped carefully, hoping that she didn't step on anyone that was sleeping. Well, they should be sleeping, at least. She made it all the way without kicking anyone, and breathed a sigh of relief. She subconsciously touched her pink clips and ran her fingers on their smooth surface and then took the flaming torch delicately, my description sucks.

Holding it up high, she looked down at the people sleeping on the ground - ananya, vee, and serrie. Alyelle didn't even want to wake them up, but she had to- it was the only way they could escape without being caught.

But vee awoke by herself just as alyelle was about to wake up ananya. "Berri?" she whispered quietly.

"Oh, hi vee." alyelle whispered back quietly, "come on. Let's go; sini isn't awake yet. Can you wake the others?"

"Sini's going to come, she wakes up at around this time. Berri, you gotta go."

"How do you know?" alyelle whispered back. Vee opened her mouth, but it was cut off.

"Alyelle, what are you doing down here?" asked sini, walking down the stairs. Judging by how her high heels made a screeching noise on them, the stairs probably were metal.

"I- i was-"

"You were trying to escape?" sini answered for her. Vee bit her lip, and ananya and serrie were waking up too, because it was about that time.

Alyelle just stared. "Why do you even want them? Or me?"

"I needed them to get you, and I needed you to get back at mystery." sini laughed, covering her mouth. "since you seem to like them so much, why don't you stay here with them?" alyelle kept on staring, unblinking.

"What about breakfast?" serrie yawned, apparently not realizing that something had just happened.

"No meals today." sini said coldly, and shut the door behind her loudly.

"WAIT-" vee shouted, "HOLD ON-" sini opened the door, sighing.

"What is it?"

"What do you plan to do to mystery?" vee asked.

"Why would you like to know? Wait whatever who cares haha you won't even get out; i'll just blackmail them with alyelle or something. Like they gotta forfeit you know-"

Vee shook her head. "Is swc really this competitive?"

"Yes-" sini rolled her eyes and shut the door, locking it before vee got the chance to ask any more random questions.

Payton noticed something questionable in the casino - besides the fact that a random pumpkin, also called the talking pumpkin, was running around giving inappropriate song recommendations. Serrie hadn't came in a while... was serrie missing? Just like ananya and vee? Payton considered telling sana and yuna, but they were already stressed enough and also, they wouldn't understand because they didn't like serrie.

She could search for vee and ananya while she was searching for serrie; after all, that was one of their jobs as a punishment, anyways. Now she just needed cherry, who as usual, wasn't doing anything except gambling with cat. It was starting to get annoying because payton kind of needed cherry? Oh well, she'd find vee and ananya and serrie by herself.

She grabbed her coat from the coatrack with her feet and ran out the casino; it was evening and it was going to be midnight in about four hours, so- she was technically allowed to go out to search.

But where were they last found? Maybe she could check the jail. Vee had mentioned that she was going to go to jail to see sini a while ago or something. Payton walked toward the jail leisurely, casually hoping that something was in there, even though her body posture didn't really reflect that. This is getting so weird i absolutely cannot write-

"Hello?" payton asked, and she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.

Wow, sana and yuna time. "Wait, yuna," sana said, looking up from her paperwork.

"Hm?"

"I just remembered; didn't alba say that sini escaped from jail?"

"Did she? When?"

"When she was threatening alyelle, remember?"

"OH YEAH WAIT OMG-"

"Sini's escaped- who knows what she's up to know?" sana looked nervous.

"I don't know. But it definitely can't be anything good. We should tell the campers, right?" yuna asked, "they should know, you know, to keep an eye out."

"But... won't we be abusing the announcements thing?"

"You're overthinking it haha, breathe it'll be fine."

"Fine, but can we do it later?" sana was still nervous; she was kinda new at this leader thing.

Payton whirled around- she breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a guard. "Hey, why are you here?" he asked gruffly, my description sucks.

"I'm here to go find my friend? Near sini's cell, A6?"

"Sini escaped, didn't you hear?" the guard left, and payton's breath caught. Sini escaped? Did sana and yuna know about this?

Vee was going to sini; maybe sini kidnapped vee. And ananya, and serrie. She was certainly capable of it, considering what she did to misty.

Payton knew only one person would understand her problem- alyelle. But alyelle was kicked out of swc, so she had to be extremely careful.

She took her phone out of her jacket pocket. At least her phone privileges weren't revoked, though- she tapped alyelle's name, which she had saved in her quick contacts thing.

Alyelle didn't respond. Alyelle was probably asleep- she had told payton just before she went that she would buy a phone so that any of the campers could call her, because alyelle's old phone broke or something.

Payton dialed again. Still went to voicemail.

Payton dialed again- alyelle just didn't sleep this early. Out of range.

How could alyelle be out of range? Thats like... underground or out of the country- where was alyelle? Payton slid down the wall, pocketing her phone.

There had to be a way to get alyelle, vee, serrie, and ananya back. Somehow.

I'm sorry but i'm crying right now this is so sad ;n;