The Sound of Silence - Yellowjackets

9. Kidnapped

"...wake..."

"...wake up..."

"Stormer, wake up!"

My eyes shoot open and my body tenses, immediately on alert. Knelt down beside me is Jackie, shaking my shoulders. "What's going on?" I ask.

I look around and the cabin is empty. I hear shouting coming from outside. "Danny is missing and Lottie is covered in blood and dirt!" Jackie says, frantic. I immediately understand.

Danny is missing and the others think Lottie had something to do with it? I bolt up and run outside, completely disregarding Jackie. I'll apologize later. This is more important. "What do you mean you don't know? Just admit it!" Taissa shouts, jabbing a finger into Lottie's chest causing her to stumble back a few steps.

Lottie looks like she's seen a ghost or something because her face is completely blank. "Not only are you covered in blood and dirt, Nat saw you enter the cabin in the middle of the night!" Taissa continues. Van and Misty look torn and Shauna has her arms crossed, glaring at Lottie.

"Not to mention that damn stunt you pulled when you bashed your head." A voice rings out from the crowd of people. I spot Elizabeth and realize the voice is hers. I have to avert my gaze because it's hard to look at her. Her jaw is swollen and her nose is covered in bandages, but they don't stop me from being able to see blood and purple bruises.

I thought Shauna just punched her once? Why does she have two wounds? Hm... "I don't know." Lottie mumbles, causing Taissa to throw her hands up in the air in irritation. I watch as Van discreetly places her hand on Taissa's back for a moment before pulling it away. I want to smile, but for some reason, I can't.

I feel sad. Probably because they can't really be public about their relationship. Not when the world is so unaccepting of such things. I clench my fists. Not the damn time. "Everyone shut up!" I shout, garnering the attention of everyone. "Has anyone seen Misty, Coach, and Travis?" I ask.

Everyone immediately looks around. There's silence. Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Don't freak out. There has to be a rational explanation. My eyes shoot over to Nat. "Is the gun in the cabin?" I ask. "I don't know. I'll go look." She replies, jogging into the cabin. I search the crowd and see another face missing.

"What about Javi? Anyone seen him?" I ask. Again, silence. "Stormer! The gun is gone!" Nat shouts from the cabin doorway. I nod. This doesn't necessarily mean something sinister happened. They could have gone hunting or scouting or something. But then what happened to Lottie and Elizabeth? I clench my fists, biting my lip.

Damn you, Danny. You better not be dead. "Elizabeth!" I shout. Renewed fury coursing through my veins. "What?" Elizabeth asks, approaching me with her arms crossed. "What happened to your nose?" I ask, keeping my voice as calm and level as possible. "Shauna punched me." She replies, rolling her eyes.

"Then what happened to your chin?" I ask. She rolls her eyes again. "Like I said, Shauna punched me." She replies. "Shauna, how many times did you punch her?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Just once, in the chin. I don't know what happened to her nose." Shauna replies. My gaze shifts back to a now nervous Elizabeth. "What happened to your nose?" I ask again. "This is bullshit!" She shouts. She is about to storm off but I stop her.

I wind my arm back and punch her across the face. She falls to her hands and knees to the ground. Coughing. I kneel down beside her. "What happened to your nose, Elizabeth?" I ask again, still keeping my voice calm and level. I can hear voices whispering in the crowd of people. She gives me the middle finger.