Twisted Wonderland 2

Careless

"Okay, so..." Ruggie scratches his neck as he glances around. "This is where you last saw Deuce?"

Jack has led the boys to the mines. They walk through the winding tunnels in search of any signs from the blue haired boy.

"Yeah." Jack nods. "He forgot his pickaxe and said he was gonna go get it, so we split up at the entrance. He said he'd come straight back to camp. But I didn't see him when Vargas dismissed us for the night. I asked around after that, and no one in any of the clubs have seen him since noon."

"And that's when you came to us." Ruggie concludes.

"Right. The other Track Club guys laughed it off and said he was probably ditching out like Ace." Jack sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "I get it. Track's not exactly a team sport. They're assuming that because they don't know him all that well. And sure, Deuce has one brain cell, just like Ace, or maybe he doesn't even have that much. But still... I can tell you, without a doubt, that he's no slacker. Something's definitely wrong."

Epel holds his arm. "Yeah... I agree with you there."

Jamil brings a hand to his chin in thought. "In that case, we should probably assume something's happened to Ace and Leona as well."

Ruggie flicks an ear. "It's hard to imagine anything happening to Leona. Well, we don't know where he and Ace could be, but we have a lead for Deuce, the mines. Let's see if we can find 'em. It'll just be more work for the rest of us if we don't bring them back to camp now."

"No kidding." Jamil sighs. "With you-know-who not being here, I never imagined I'd have to deal with so many headaches!"

Floyd laughs. "Now this is what I call fun!"

Jamil quirks an eye. "You're having fun?"

"Facing the unknown? Of course it's fun!" Floyd scoffs. "Teeny fairies don't put up a good fight. Maybe now we'll get to tangle with a whale-sized one."

Jamil shakes his head. "I'll be hoping for the exact opposite, thanks."

Jack's ears perk up in recognition. "Hey, I think this is the place. Deuce would've come here for the pickaxe. Deuce!"

Jack's voice echoes through the mine but is only met with silence.

"No answer." Jack frowns. "Guess he's not close by."

"Let's go a little further." Ruggie suggests. "Keep your eyes peeled."

As they walk further into the mines, something catches Epel's eyes. "Wait, hold on..."

"What's up, Guppy?" Floyd tilts his head. "Find somethin' neat?"

"There's something propped up against that rock..." Epel walks over to the rock and picks up the item.

Jack's eyes widen. "That's the pickax!"

Ruggie lowers his ears. "He didn't take it with him...?"

"Does that mean he didn't make it this far?" Jamil says.

"Yepperoni." Floyd places a hand to his hip. "That boy disappeared."

"Oh no..." Epel brings his hands to his chest in worry. "So then, did the same thing happen to Leona and Ace?"

Jamil frowns. "We should leave. Now. Going any further is just asking for trouble. We need to sort things out first. I think we'd better talk to Coach Vargas again."

"Agreed." Ruggie nods. "This has taken a real bad turn..."

The boys walk out of the mines and into the dark woods. Walking up the hill, they reach the cottage. The small house is dark and eerily quiet.