Changed Time

Chapter Twenty-Four

Since we were searching for Mia, we got the Charger. And since I am unable to legally drive alone, Sophie took the wheel.

Even though Wyatt is the same age as I am, he took his test way before I attempted to. And he passed the first try, while I on the other hand have failed two times. Though now, it seemed like a good thing that I don't drive since I could have a vision at any time, not just at night anymore.

"So, where are places your sister would go?" I asked after we drove around the whole town. Twice.

Paige gave me a look. "How would I know? It's not like we used to talk about how if one of us were to be kidnapped and the other followed them to a place, where should we find each other." She was getting stressed out.

Sophie pulled over and I gave her a strange look. She turned toward me, so Paige was in the side of her vision. "Let's think this through. If we were her, where would we go?"

I tried to think. "Where did she go last time?"

"The warehouse," Paige answered.

I nodded. "And since the police have already gotten to the warehouse, maybe she went to a different one. I mean, this town only has like three of them."

"Four, actually," Paige says. "Which means we should split up. The one that Jamie was killed has the cops crawling around it, leaving three left. There are three of us, we should split up, each take a warehouse." She was already grabbing her bag.

"Wait!" I protested. "The murderers might be back in Thorp, Paige! They'll be looking for a place to hide, and what better than a warehouse?"

She shook her head. "They wouldn't go to a warehouse." She opened the car door and got out, slamming it behind her.

"What?" I also got out, "Why wouldn't they?"

She sighed loudly, impatiently. "Because, the cops found out about the other warehouse, and the cops will probably be searching each warehouse. The murderers are smart, they won't be hiding out in a warehouse, it's too suspicious. They'll go to the motel."

My eyes widened. "That's were everyone else is! That's where Jessie is, Paige!" I ran my hands through my hair.

"Relax, I warned Wyatt, and he warned Zach. They won't let anything happen to Jessie, Drew. I promise." Her gray eyes were promising, trustworthy.

"I agree with Paige," Sophie said, breaking our conversation. I turned to her. "We should split up, meet back here."

I hesitated, then nodded. "Fine. An hour, we meet here. If you're late, we're going after you, no matter what. Agreed?"

The girls nodded.

"The warehouses are about a block away from one another, and about a half a mile from here, each." Paige said throwing her bag over her back. "Good luck, and if you find Mia, tell her, Hollywood. She'll understand."

Sophie and I exchanged similar confused glances before nodding. "An hour." I said, and they both nodded again.

And we set off in our different directions.

***

I arrived at my warehouse seven minutes later.

Fifty-three minutes left.

The warehouse looked just as deserted as the warehouse Jamie was killed in, but from the big garage doors, it didn't seem to have an office building connected to it. This warehouse was purely a factory, well, used to be a factory, it looked as if it had been abandoned for over a decade.

The siding on the building was chipped and falling off slowly, and just like in Jamie's warehouse, the windows were boarded shut.

I took a deep breath and strolled over to the entrance door. Unlike Jamie's warehouse, there were no chains or a lock.

Or maybe there was, and someone took them off, I thought to myself. I shook my head and opened the door.

If it hadn't been for the few windows that had pieces of plywood chipped off there would be no light. I had to allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness after I shut the door.

I pulled out my phone, clicked the app light and started looking around.

Most of the factory stuff had been moved out, but the machines too big for trucking out, were left in the dust. Literally. I had to put my shirt over my nose to stop myself from sneezing until I couldn't breathe.

I covered the whole floor and came up with nothing. No Mia, no sign that anyone had ever been there, or was currently there.

I was just about to leave when I heard a noise. But the noise wasn't coming from in the factory floor, but underneath it.

There must be a basement.

I quickly searched each door, looking for some sort of dust disturbance, something that would tell me that someone had opened it recently. Finally, I found one, but it wasn't because there was dust disturbance, but because a light flashed under the crack just before I was going to pass it. A split second later and I wouldn't have seen it, and a split second earlier, I wouldn't have noticed.

I opened the door with some difficulty, it was old and jammed, but with some brute force, I managed to get it ajared enough for me to slide in.

The stairs that led down to the bottom most floor were less than supportive looking. They were wooden and old and looked as if I took one step on them, they would fall out beneath me, but as I made my way down, they supported my weight.

I shone my light around, but nothing seemed to be down there, other than a bunch of boxes and even older looking factory equipment. But I knew what I saw. I saw a light beneath the door, and I heard a noise, now unless a rat could somehow figure out how to work a flashlight, then someone was down there.

I decided to try. "Mia? Mia, if you're here, my name is Drew. I know your sister Paige. Please, I'm not here to hurt you, I want to help you. And I want to get you back to your sister." Nothing. Not another noise, not a light, nothing to suggest that I was speaking to anything but the dust on the walls. I decided to try something else. "Mia," my eyes searched, but still nothing. "Hollywood. Hollywood, Mia." My eyes continued to search and for a few seconds, nothing happened, then a rustling came and before me, behind a few boxes, a shape stood up.

Standing there, staring back at me, were dull blue eyes, and similar dark brown hair. Mia looked like a younger version of Paige.

"Is my sister okay?" Her voice was Paige's voice only higher.

I gave her a small smile. "You're sister's fine, Mia.

"Take me to her."

I nodded. "Of course, but you need to put the gun down first."