a sister who's actions are untamed,
and a brother who's feelings are untamed.
With complete different personalities, yet an awesome bond, the siblings join a summer camp. She plans to fix her problems, he plans to make friends.
But while she's able...
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The sirens have been blaring through our neighborhood since an hour ago.
I saw Lelia's message ten minutes after she sent it. I rushed—literally, I nearly fell down the stairs—to the place she had last been. But all I found was her phone lying on the ground.
Just then, the police arrived. They were suspicious of me until I explained the situation. Then they started investigating the place, but no sign of Lelia and Thomas.
We lost them, again.
It's so confusing. They were right there a few minutes ago. They must've been.
Inside, a dead guy was found. It's not Thomas's father so I guess it's the dealer. I don't know what happened— they won't give much details yet, but it means that Thomas's father is the only one left with them... I think.
They could've gone into the cornfields. It just sounds crazy that three people went in there and never got out. So that either means something happened inside, or they got out, but on the wrong side, and can't get to our house.
Whatever. I'm just really overthinking everything that has happened and could've happened.
Who killed that man? Was it Austin, in a burst of anger? Did Lelia and Thomas do something? Was the guy doing something special that lead them to doing it, or did they just take their chance to get freed? Where was Austin as that happened? Why was her phone lying there like that? Why were there no trails of them?
The police are looking in the fields, but that's all they can do for now. Well, follow the clues, but I don't know if it will lead to much. They never noticed locations mentioned on the guy's laptop.
"I think they killed that man, so that's why they were able to take the phone from him," Eli states. We're sitting around the kitchen table once again.
"Mind games," Brenda repeats out loud. "I really think they were doing something like that. That that's why Austin was somewhere else."
"Weren't they tied up? Why would that guy untie them all alone? Did Austin plan for them to kill the dealer?"
"No one said they killed him," I say. The thought of them doing something like that scares me even though it shouldn't. That man deserves death and I'd wish he'd vanish off the earth, but still.
I hate that I'm never able to cope with violence.
"But they could have," Brenda replies. "Anyway, that's not the point. Where would they be right now?"
"They either ran off or got taken somewhere else by Austin," Minho says. "Or they got hurt."
Newt lifts his head, a harder look in his eyes. "Don't y'all remember a single bloody thing?" He asks offendedly. "We literally texted Austin to free Lelia and Thomas so they would think they were for real, as another mind game. Obviously, Austin was waiting somewhere outside for the dealer to set Lelia and Thomas free. But it took too long, so he reappeared just when Lelia was calling the police. They even told us they suddenly got cut off.
That's crazy. A crazily good theory. But a crazy one, and scary.
"And then?"
"Then they rushed up the hill and into the fields," Newt says. "Austin chased them. But what could've happened after that... I don't know."
"He gets angry pretty easily," Brenda comments. "If what you're saying is correct, then he must've been pissed about the fact they killed the druggie. He gets like ten times stronger when he's angry, and more dangerous."
"More dangerous because, obviously, he's stronger, or more dangerous as in... he's ready to harm even more?" Eli slowly asks.
She looks down. "Both."
It's silent for a long time. I think everyone has ran out of theories and we need some time to organize our minds, if that's possible.
"I— ehm, I had a dream," I start slowly, cringing at how weird my voice sounds, splitting through the silence. "Lelia was calling my name in the cornfield. I thought it was real. I ran around the whole thing, following her voice, but then I woke up."
"What does that mean? We need to give you some freaking sleep pills so your dreams will tell us where they are?"
I ignore that. "When I woke up, I was in the field. I had actually ran around."
Newt lies his hand down on mine. "Can that mean something?"
"Maybe. I mean, don't families have some kind of intuition? I've heard things like that," Eli says.
"Yeah," Brenda agrees. "Like, when a mother has a dream about something bad happening to their child, so they warn the child to get away. Later, it appears that something indeed happens on that exact place."
"Well, that's not going to happen here," I mutter.
"Where in the cornfield where you?" Minho questions, quickly changing the subject.
"Literally right in the middle of it. It took quite a while to get out of there."
Newt straightens his back. "Did you notice anything strange? It was this morning, right?"
"Yes."
"What time?"
"When I got back home, it was thirty past seven AM. It took like half an hour to get back, I guess. Everyone was still asleep and I figured it wasn't important, until now."
"And at what time did Lelia call?" Newt grabs my phone, unlocking it immediately. "It was thirty past six when she did," he says, frowning.
Why so early— I'm about to ask, but I don't think that's the biggest deal here.
"Are you sure it was a dream?" Minho asks sharply.
"I don't... I don't know. I figured it was because I woke up like that, thinking it was my bed," I start stammering, now unsure.
Brenda's eyebrows scrunch. "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Maybe you did actually hear her and ran into the fields because of that, half-asleep. Maybe that's why you don't remember very well. Or wasn't able to find her."
"Or," Newt starts, "he did find her."
"He would've remembered," Minho says.
"Not if something caused him not to," Newt says.
"What? Austin showed up, hit him in the head, then took Lelia, leaving... leaving Lyndon to wake up there, not remembering he actually found her?"
From being sarcastic to a realization.
I feel my heart sink. No. That's crazy. Way too far-fetched.
There's been an ache at the back of my head, but I thought that was from when I rushed down the stairs this morning and basically fell.
Brenda notices it. "Does it hurt?"
I touch the spot, wincing at the sensitivity. "Definitely."
"So Austin did hit him—"
"No. We can't immediately pull conclusions. But there's a possibility, yes," Newt says.
