BEASTLY || CHASE STEIN (EDITING)

chapter twenty-five

“Phase one of the mission’s complete.”

Chase and Nico being the two out of the three who were wearing layers of clothing and were sweating a large amount quickly drank some of the water they had just bought. The blue bags they were carrying are now on the ground as Molly looks around and asks, “So what’s next?”

“Uh, what’s next is goodbye,” Alex answers looking over at Gert who stood next to him, “Someone isn’t coming on the rest of the mission.”

“What? But she’s good!” Gert cries not wanting to say goodbye to her linked friend, “She-she doesn’t chase squirrels. She poops in the trees. We’re a team! Okay, she helped us last night and everything! Can we at least vote?”

No one spoke up, no one even made it look like they’d protest to be on the girl’s side. Gert looks over at her younger sister and quietly questions what she thinks.

“It’s not safe, Gert. We’ll get caught, or she will. She’s injured too, let's have her rest.” Molly softly says not wanting to hurt her sisters’ feelings but knew it was best for everyone.

“Yeah. No thanks to Garfield.”

“Hey, it’s not his fault he had no control over what happened. And Old Lace gave as good as she got so if anything they drawed.”Chase defended not being happy with Gert blaming Garfield.

In having to accept the truth of leaving her dinosaur, Gert had a moment alone to say goodbye. After the tearful goodbye came the first big step in getting Karolina back, going to Timely Coffee where there was a weak link in the Dean’s church.

Entering the coffee shop no longer wearing last night’s clothing the teens hid in a corner of the shop while Nico went out to the counter and picked up the coffee cup of the man who was complaining to the barista. The man, confused as to why someone had stolen his coffee, made him follow after Nico and in finding the teens around the goth girl who was drinking his coffee.

Nico, not prepared for the bitter amount of espresso shots, disgustingly looks at Vaugh, “What the hell is this?”

“Six shots of espresso. Don’t judge me.” Vaugh tells the girl who yet again takes another sip of his drink. “Caffeine is the only vice I have left. What is this?”

Looking around the teens standing before him, who he of course did not know. Gert in her green wig answers, “We’re friends of Karolina’s. She’s in trouble. We need your help.”

“What happened? Is she okay?” Vaugh asks worriedly for the blonde he secretly yet not so secretly has a crush on.

“Hoping you could tell us,” Gert shared as she stood between Alex and Chase.

“And have you seen a six foot something, curly haired brown boy lying about?”

“Urm-no?”

“We think they’d be held in the church.” Alex adds, making Vaugh’s brain start to quickly work.

“Well, I’ll call Leslie,” Vaugh quickly voices, making Nico and Molly walk up to him to stop him from walking away.

“She’s a part of it.”

Being stopped by Nico, Vaugh looks down at her confused, “Part of..what?”

Alex sighs before telling the truth, “You ever notice that every year one of your young parishioners goes missing?”

“They’re runaways,” Vaugh reports in a ‘duh’ tone, “sometimes they, you know, run away.”

“Yeah, except these kids aren’t coming back. Same time of year, every year,” Chase stresses, making Vaugh shake his head and Molly seeing that he wasn’t believing what they were hinting at makes the girl comment, “They’re dead.”