Only Shadows

Chapter 6

Izzy

"You sure the video's pulled?" Izzy asked as Caleb navigated the gray Camry off the highway.

He stopped at the end of the off-ramp and took a right down the hill. "Pretty sure. I mean, I wouldn't know if James had a backup somewhere, but I pulled it from the site."

"How many people saw it?"

"It only had a couple dozen views or so. From the comments, they seemed to think it was a prank. A couple of them were pissed."

Brie popped her head in between them from the backseat. "So you're, like, a hacker? I had no idea."

"I'm not a hacker," Caleb said, turning onto the river road. "I simply used my computer skills to get into his account and remove the video."

"Sounds a lot like hacking to me, bro" Brie said, leaning back. She tried to open the window, but it was locked. She clicked the button back and forth a few times. "Good thing he didn't have too many subscribers. That'll help keep it on the down low."

"I think he had a lot more than that, but the live stream was in the middle of the night and just for their Patreon. He was supposed to repost it later," Izzy said.

Brie popped between them again and began fiddling with the vents. "Does this AC go up any higher? I'm burning up back here."

"That's as high as it goes," Caleb said.

"Is that a CD player?" Brie said, turning it on. "How old is this car anyway?" The White Stripes came pounding through the speakers.

"2003," he said, batting her hand away from the dashboard and turning the music off. "Did you finish the math review?"

"Mostly," she said, rolling her eyes and slumping back. As they drove along the river, the building shifted from restaurants and art galleries to bars and industrial buildings. "I think we're almost there anyway."

"How do you know she's gonna be here?" Izzy asked as Caleb pulled into a large parking lot.

"She practically lives here."

Brie jumped out of the car and stretched her arms, checking out the sign hanging over the double glass doors. "Rock On: Adventure and Climbing Gym. The name's a bit cringe."

"I think one of the owners was in a band or something," Caleb said as he and Izzy got out. He locked the Camry and they walked toward the electric blue and green building.

"I never even realized this place existed. Like, how did I miss it?" Izzy said.

He snorted. "Unless you frequent this part of town, it'd be easy enough to miss."

"I guess." Izzy glanced at Caleb. In the bright sunlight, his bruises were more obvious. He'd told everyone he crashed his bike on the way home in the dark the night before, hitting something hidden in the road. Despite the heat, he'd worn a baggy long-sleeved shirt and jeans today, but there was no way to cover up the scratch that ran down the side of his head and the nasty bruise that formed around it.

They passed through the doors into a reception area. A college-aged guy looked up from a laptop at the front desk. He was tan, wearing a fitted t-shirt with a picture of a guitar over a mountain that showed off his buff, lean physique. His nametag read: Travis.

"Welcome to Rock On! Ready to get pumped?"

"We're just looking for a friend," Caleb said.

"Sorry, bro. We can't just share the private information of our clients."

"We're here to meet her," Brie piped up.

Izzy looked at the pricing board behind Travis helplessly. Rock climbing, personal training, "Ropes Course! We're gonna do the ropes course with her."