Gone

Chapter 4

Steph<3: I'm here honey, are you ok? x

I immediately run of my room and open the front door, I grab Steph's arm as she gets out of the car and we run inside. We go quietly back into my room and I make sure the front door is locked. "What's going on Neens, please, you're scaring me." She says anxiously. I can tell she is already scared. I tell her what happened when I got home from school, leaving out nothing and I show her all the messages. Steph's face turns to horror. "You need to tell the police." She says without thinking. "NO!" I respond and then lower my voice again. "You need to what if Caroline is in danger!" As I am just about to respond to her my phone buzzes. We both look at it and it's another blocked message. We look at each other and tears are falling down Steph's eyes.

Blocked ID: You told Steph. You're not going to tell the police anything. If you do, let me just say.....heads will roll. Oh and if you want to find Blondie, go to the party on Friday night.

I look over at Steph and now I am crying too. "We can't go to the party, it's too unsafe." She says to me with her head on my shoulder. "We need to go, what if Caroline comes home?" I say assuring her we will be fine. She ends up sleeping at my house and her head is on my shoulder the whole night. I move around a lot in my sleep but last night I didn't. For the next few days Steph and I stay quiet at school. Nobody knows she is gone. I mean, who would find out. Her parents don't care about her, and people are just thinking she took a few days off school.

On Friday night I pick up Steph at her house at 7:30 before the party. She's already ready as I pull up her driveway. She isn't smiling; she is walking really fast into my car. She opens the passenger seat and comes inside. She closes the door and presses the auto lock on the dashboard. "I'm scared Nina, you shouldn't have told me anything. I haven't been able to sleep. I know it's only been three days but, while we are going to a party and our hands are free, Caroline's are probably tied up behind her back on a chair and a rope in her mouth unable to speak." She says with tears in her eyes again. "Stephanie Marteson, you're being dramatic! This could be a joke with her in on it. I haven't received any more messages since Tuesday night so I don't know what to think. I hid her car so there is no suspicion for now." I say to her as I turn around to back out of her driveway. Her hair is in a high ponytail at the back of her head. I force a smile and start driving. The whole 10 minutes it takes to get to Mark's house, we are silent. The radio isn't even on. When we turn into Mark's street, music is pumping and there are cars filling the street. As we drive past his house, people are whistling at my car. I decide to turn on the radio, put it loud and rev the engine before I go find parking. I turn my radio off and park the car in the next street. We park and walk toward the party, on alert the whole time. "Hey, you girls came, where's Caroline?" Mark and Rick are talking to us. The mention of her name makes my chest pound. "She....she..." Steph stutters so I butt in. "She isn't coming tonight; she doesn't.....feel well." I say looking at Steph. She nods and the guys curiously walk away. They have been drinking so I hope they don't remember what we said. Just as we walk into the house Steph turns the other way. I grab her hand and get myself a drink. Steph takes the drink out of my hand. "I want to for tonight, forget about Care gone." She tilts her head back and skulls it down. I grab another for myself and take a sip. It is actually beer, pretty disgusting but it's better than any of the other things they have here. Just as we walk to sit on the couch, Maddie and Jess walk toward us. "Hey, where's Care?" They ask me. I have a feeling that will be asked to me a lot tonight. "She couldn't make it. Now that we are all together what do you want to do?" I ask them changing the subject. "Let's just drink and mingle" Jess says. She loves to be social. As we walk around I get a message. Jess and Maddie keep walking. I stop and Steph and I read the message.

Blocked ID: This is boring, I'm bored. Steph, go up to Mark, confess your feelings for him and kiss him. Nothing is happening and I like action. That or I'll kill your friend Maddie.

There is a photo of Maddie attached to the message and I look up. It's from the same angle we are standing in and I can see half of Jess which was chopped off the photo, she is with Maddie and they are talking to Rick and Mark. This person is near them. "Do I have to do this?" Steph says, she looks scared and

I know she doesn't like Mark in that way. I nod and she cringes. We walk back up to the Maddie, Jess and the guys. Steph goes up to Mark. "Can I talk to you for a sec, in the basement?" She asks him nervously. Just as he nods ok I get another text and so does Steph.

Blocked ID: I want everyone to see, kiss him here, or I will break your friend's neck. It would be a shame though, she seems so sweet, and she has a nice neck.

Steph looks at me. "Umm, it's ok if we talk here maybe just to the side a little." He nods again and they sit on the couch behind us. I look at Jess. Why her? Why does he or she have to target her as well? Why are they even targeting Care? She doesn't have any enemies; she is smart and friends with everyone. All of a sudden we all see Steph, all over Mark. "Oh god!" Maddie says looking at Jess and me. Just as she pulls back I see him smile. He enjoyed it? WHAT?! But he never even said anything to her. She gets up and speed walks out of the house. After she walks out I get another message.

Blocked ID: That wasn't hard. Now, what can I make you do?

Me: Nothing, why can't you leave me alone

Blocked ID: Because I have my reasons. The other day your friend Gavin is it? He joked and asked you out....again if I'm correct. Now this time say yes to him. Ask him out in front of your group, confess the feelings you have had for him, if he turns you down...well suck it up look upset and walk away.

Me: Gavin is my friend, I'm not going to do that.

Blocked ID: Okay then, I will just have to kill not only Maddie but also Jess; well I will just break her neck like I said before.

My chest hurts and my stomach is in knots. I run out and chase after Steph. I can't see her outside. I run to my car and she is leaning on the bonnet. "Why did I do that?" She asks with slight confusion in her eyes. She is turning her head a little bit so her eyes are looking at me. "You saved Maddie's life, this person is psycho and we don't know what they are capable of." I lean next to her. We can hear the music in the distance and it's dark. We are quiet for a moment but I break the silence. "After you kissed Mark, they texted me again." I show her the text messages. "I'm sorry Nina, but people need to know the truth I won't allow you to stop that" She says. "NO Steph, I can't tell them, they need to think I am being serious, if I do this we will hopefully be free and Care, well she will be back with us." I tell her. We get into the car and I drive her home. Before we arrive to her house she says something. "Look, Nina, I respect your decision but Monday, after you embarrass yourself, we are telling the cops. You have to." She gets out of the car and walks toward her house. As I back out of the driveway, I hear a loud bang. I run out of my car only to see a red spot growing fast on Steph's back. I call her parents out of the house and phone 911. After I hang up the phone, everything starts to fade and slowly turn to black.