Boy of the Cult

Gone

Luz and Vee have their after school clubs, so hunter usually is walking home by himself. He usually feels relatively safe, it was a small town.

It's not like anything bad could have happened. right?

He decided to walk through the forest this time. It was a longer route home, and he enjoyed listening to the birds.

As he was walking, he hears a rustling in some bushes nearby, he thought nothing of it, gravesfield had plenty of possums or racoons, maybe it was a rabbit. He continues walking. Suddenly, something feels off, like a presence was lurking behind him. He stops. Just before he is able to turn around, something grabs him, he tries to scream, but a hand covers his mouth. He feels a prick in his arm, like a needle. He feels drowsy. He blacks out.

Meanwhile at the noceda residence:

Luz and Vee arrive home, they had walked the normal route home.

They walked through the door and they see their mother with a worried look on her face. "Is hunter with you?" Camila asks her daughters. "Uh no... doesn't he usually walk home before us?" Vee says.

"He's not here, he don't arrive when he said he would." Camila said. Hunter was a very punctual kid, he liked to be on time, it was usual for him to be late.

Vee and Luz talked to the rest of their friend group, amity, Gus, willow, wren, and archer. None of them have seen him outside of school today. They were all starting to worry even more.

Camila calls the police, they arrive, get statements, and organize a search party. They searched through the woods that hunter walked through, the searched everywhere. But they couldn't find him.

Eventually, it was nightfall. With abductions, especially stranger abductions, the odds of survival are decreasing with the hour. Panic was setting in.

They had been searching for a little over six hours.

In the forest, one of hunter's sneakers had been found. This led the authorities to believe that it was an abduction. They tell the group that they believe hunter may have been abducted.

"I think I know who did it." Wren says.

"What?" Says an officer.

"I was working at the Wendy's, then this guy came in, he was old, white, he had greasy hair, he sounded British too. The fuckin weirdo kept saying  "Where is my nephew? Where is Hunter Whittebane? "At first I had no idea what he fuck he was going on about, but then it clicked... I think it was Hunter's uncle. His dad's brother." Wrens says

"Wait was that the weirdo that threatened to slit your throat?" Archer asks.

"Yeah, that guy." Wren confirms

By this time, the kidnapper was already out of state, Philip Whittebane drove his dilapidated vehicle through northern Massachusetts, it took much longer since he was avoiding the main roads. 

Hunter's eyes slowly opened, it was dark, he felt cramped, his wrists were tied together. And then, a bump in the road, its jostled the vehicle, and Hunter hit his head agains the side of the trunk, he blacked out again.

Hunter woke up again, the vehicle he was in the trunk of had come to a stop, a door opened and closed, and then the trunk opened. As soon as it opened, Hunter started screaming, desperately for someone, anyone to hear him and save him. "Quiet boy!" The person who had taken him was  his biological uncle, Philip. Hunter had been saved from Philip when he was seven, but Philip found him. Philip struck him as he told Hunter to shut up. "Nobody will hear you! Stop your wailing or I'll hit you again!" Philip said. Hunter stopped, there was nothing he could do. Philip pulled Hunter out of the trunk, and dragged him to an old wooden shack. He took Hunter inside, he took him down a set of stairs to a metal door, he opened the door to the cold basement. Philip there Hunter to the ground, he put shackles that were connected to the cold concrete floor, on Hunter's wrists, they were tight, they hurt.