The Beacon -Paul Lahote 2-

Chapter 15

THREE WEEKS LATER

Paul stood on the pier, his fingers skimming a piece of paper that was stabled into a post. It was a missing poster. Mavis's face was printed on the front. The recent harsh weather had caused the paper to fade and crumble.

It had been three weeks since she vanished in the middle of the night. Since then, they had not found anything. No clues or indications as to where she went. Charlie said it was a standard runaway case, but he thought differently. Mavis did not run away. She had no reason to run away.

Paul knew in his heart that she was in trouble, but there was nothing he could do. There was no scent to track. No footprints in the mud. It was as if she had simply vanished from her room.

He thought about the last time he saw her. Things between them seemed so normal. There was nothing that would have clued him in on the events that would take place only hours later.

"Hey," Jared placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her, man. I know she's out there somewhere." That was the problem. Mavis was out there, and she needed him. Paul felt powerless. He could not help her when she needed him most.

"Yeah," Seth patted his other shoulder. "We'll find her." That's what everyone had been saying for weeks, but it was clear most of them had given up hope. He had overheard Billy talking with Charlie. Charlie had said that they had changed the search from rescue to recovery. He had lost faith that Mavis was still alive. Paul couldn't accept anything closely related to her death. He refused to believe it. He couldn't imagine living in a world without her.

A car drove by, honking as they did. They were wearing graduation gowns. Today Forks high school celebrated the graduating class of 2008. Today Mavis was supposed to be graduating high school, but she wasn't.

Paul remembered how often she spoke of graduation. How excited she was to walk across the stage and receive her diploma. That would never happen now. Mavis was still gone. "Hey," Jared said. "Let's get out of here."

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Again, we can't imagine what you're going through," Headmaster Greene spoke to Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, and Alice. "Mavis was a bright light at the high school. We are honored to call her a student and now a graduate." He handed Carlisle the diploma. Although Mavis wasn't graduating, they wanted to give the Cullens her diploma because she would have.

"Thank you," Carlisle took the piece of paper. "We appreciate this."

"We are a community," he says. "If there is anything we can do. Please, let us know."

Alice studies the hallway, eyeing the lockers. Mavis's is open and empty now that they have collected all her belongings. She clutches the pictures she had hung inside her locker. They were all of Paul and her. Alice smiled at the photos.

Suddenly, she hears a phone ringing. The ringtone is one she is familiar with. It's Mavis's ringtone. Alice moved away from the group and began following the noise. The woman was frantic and hopeful that Mavis was there.

But she wasn't. The phone was ringing from inside a locker. It stopped as Alice dropped to her knees. "Alice," Jasper followed her. "What are you doing?"

Alice stared at the phone inside the locker. "That's Mavis's phone."

"What?" Jasper dropped to the ground beside her. He looked inside the locker and saw the phone. It started to ring again.

"It's locked-" Alice never had a chance to finish. Jasper snapped the lock off. Without any hesitation, he flung the locker open.

The dark-haired girl reached inside and grabbed the phone. The person calling was Rosalie. "Hello."