Jett

22

ALMOST 8 THOUSAND READS, I actually can't believe it, thank you all so much. I actually hadn't noticed that it had climbed so much, last time I looked it was like 300. 

*Undedited*

As a result of all the drama, Kayden had almost forgotten the real reason they had gone to the club the other night. He didn't know whether to consider their recon a minor success or a huge disaster. They had initially been trying to find more clues towards Samantha's disappearance and he guessed they had gotten somewhere. Kind of. They knew that she had last been seen with some guy at the club. They also knew that Shanks's men were somehow involved in it... but they didn't know where to find them or what their motive was. Though, as soon as they set foot onto the school grounds, Kayden knew that they couldn't let the other nights events distract them any further.

Another girl had gone missing.

That time, someone from his school. A junior girl he'd never seen before and he assumed that most of the school had never even interacted with but her absence still left a tense aura lingering throughout the hallways. People still crowded to talk in front of lockers but it was more hushed, filled with hesitant, almost suspicious, sweeping glances over those surrounding them. The fear in the air was almost palpable.

"Just... gone"

"No one knows where or why..."

"I'm actually kind of terrified"

"Do you think it's a serial killer? Like a Jack the ripper kind of thing?"

Kayden shared a look with Jett as they listened to the little bits and pieces they could catch from the other people's conversations.

"How many is that now?" Kayden questioned, his voice smaller than a whisper so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Too many," Jett muttered back through clench teeth, her tone was tight though her face remained quite neutral. "If the people responsible are who we think they are, then it won't be long until they move to another location." Jett sighed, "if they do, we're screwed. It took us too long to track them here." She finished just as they reached Matt and Chelsea, effectively ending their little exchange.

Chelsea looked quite exhausted, even for the early hour in the morning. With her flushed face and distinct lack of makeup it was likely that she had run to school that morning in order to make it in time. Mark was leaning next to her against a locker, his face blank rather than displaying his normal devil may care grin. His tense posture and unreadable features almost made him seem like the male version of Jett.

Kayden examined him carefully, trying to decipher what was running through his mind.

"Did you hear about the junior?" Chelsea asked them softly as she played with the ends of her pigtails. There was something about the way she asked that was different to the gossiping tone of the other students, it was almost vulnerable. Where other people wanted to be overheard talking about the latest turn of events, Chelsea seemed to rather the world swallow the words up before anyone else could hear them.

Jett seemed to pick up on that, her eyes narrowing the slightest bit. "Only bits and pieces," she replied, "why? Did you know her?" Rather than coming off as accusatory, Jett did quite a good job at keeping her voice light and curious. Which Kayden guessed was easy for her to do in her role of the new girl; she could get away with feigning cluelessness on just about anything.

At her words, Kayden noticed that Marks eyes immediately zeroed in on Chelsea, as if dreading her next words.

"Not personally... she just lived on my street," Chelsea started, not looking any of them in the eyes "we walk home the same way."

"Really?" Jett questioned with a quirked eyebrow, prompting Chelsea to continue.

Kayden could see what Jett was trying to do. "How come you never mentioned her? Did you guys ever walk together?" He questioned, hoping he didn't sound too demanding. Though, Chelsea seemed to distracted to really care about his tone.

Chelsea shrugged, " It never really came up... besides it was only sometimes when we'd walk together." She paused, pursing her lips.

Her lightly coloured irises flicked up to where Kayden was standing casually next to Jett. The swept over his features almost earnestly, as if looking for something, though he wasn't quite certain what. Regardless, he tried to make his face look as reassuring as possible.

"We actually did the other day." Once more Chelsea hesitated, as if carefully considering whether she should continue, she let go of her hair and instead rubbed her arm nervously.

"Did anything unusual happen?" Jett questioned gently

Chelsea groaned at the question, covering her face with her hands. "I actually feel so terrible about it..." she muttered, her voice muffled.

"About what?" Kayden asked, subconsciously leaning forward in anticipation.

Before Chelsea could say, the shrill sound of the bell echoed throughout the hallways, triggering the tidal wave of students rushing to get to homeroom. Chelsea took the opportunity to excuse herself and rushed off, leaving the three of them behind without glancing back.

Kayden noticed that the whole time, Mark watched her like a hawk.

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I realise that I may have drifted a little away from my original plot as I was a bit focused on building character personalities and relationships. So, I've made a conscious effort to get us all back on track, those girls aren't going to find themselves!  

Until next time, 

stay safe and treat yourselves kindly, 

Artemis.