Finding Maisie

Finding Maisie: Chapter 19 Part 1

Finding Maisie

Chapter 19 Part 1

As I looked around at my family something was different. This used to be a family full of laughter and happiness. Everyone used to have a smile stretched over their face whenever our family got together, but now... My family wasn't the united group that it used to be. I mean, I was only a young girl and even I knew something was up. There was a clear divide in the group of people I loved so dearly.

My dad was sitting with Maisie's. They seemed to be having a serious discussion. Our mothers were staring at them with worried and confused looks on their faces. I was anxious in looking at them. What had happened to my once happy parents? The three of us used to be as thick as thieves but for some strange reason it was not so anymore. It couldn't have been because of something I had done, could it? There couldn't be some reason that could mean they were fighting over me. Maybe I misbehaved and this caused them to argue. I shook the feeling off. No, I hadn't done anything. This wasn't my fault but something that I didn't know.

I looked along the rest of my family. Adam was still not talking to me and for some reason his mother had something against me. Adams father and my own still had tension between them from their constant bickering and they weren't talking. The rest of my family were off in little groups, chatting quietly to themselves. We used to be able to all sit around in a circle and chat freely to each other. But it was different now.

This family was falling apart.

I thought about those feelings as I ran down the stairs. That was exactly how I was feeling now. I was born into a broken family and there was no denying it. Although there were people in this treasure hunt who I was not related to, the main root of this whole thing was my family. Although I didn't know who, the people I loved had turned against me. Adam, the abductor - although I didn't know who he was - and even Callum. I couldn't hold back the tears that so openly slid down my cheeks. I didn't remember the way to the warehouse but I had a sat and nav in my small car. I ran outside into the still hot air - when was it going to rain? - and spotted my car in Joshua's large driveway. I sat inside it and typed the address name into the sat n nav - I still had the envelope with the address on it from the first time I went there. I began the engine and followed the instructions to the first warehouse. The journey didn't take as long as it did last time. The first time we went to the warehouse there was traffic on the motorway but that was not the case for this time. Also I was driving a lot faster than Callum was previously. Overall it only took me an hour to get there.

When I left the motorway and started driving on the dirt roads, I kept my eyes open for anything strange. I had reached the climax of the treasure hunt; this would be the time for the abductor to be at his most clever and cunning game. I had to expect the unexpected. It was hard to see around me, though, with nightfall covering up any secrets that the abductor may have laid about. After looking around cautiously for a while, I finally spotted my destination.

The warehouse.

It may have been because it was night or because I was on my own and didn't have Callum, but the warehouse looked a lot spookier the second time around. It was still the same warehouse though - it had the same bordered up windows and metal roof - but the night just emphasised the darkness in every shadow. I started walking towards the large garage doors that would open to allow vehicles to enter. That was the way I entered the warehouse last time but now it was closed. How was I supposed to get in? I couldn't exactly try lifting it up as it was way too heavy and I couldn't bang on it as it would cause too much noise. I wanted to go unnoticeable in there for as long as possible. I needed to avoid facing the abductor for as long as I could as I was pretty sure that when he would try to kill me, this would be the time that he succeeded.