Social Experiment

War (Shawn)

"Has anyone seen Abbi?"

I'm encountered with countless shoulder shrugs and a few dead-toned "no"s.

My eye catches Mikayla in a corner, reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which brings a smile to my face.

"I see you're reading my book."

"Excuse me, did you write it?" She asks, still fixating on it's yellowed pages.

"No," I chuckle, "I guess not."

"And have you even read half of Where the Red Fern Grows?"

"Not quite. I'd say I've read about a fourth."

She looks up from the book. "Have you seen Abbi?"

I scold myself for being so distracted. However, Mikayla is a very distracting girl.

"Haven't seen her. I've been asking just about everyone that same question, and none of them have, either."

"Elle told me she and Zeke had gone off on some mission to lock Terrance up."

"Why?"

She shrugs.

"As much as I hate the guy, we can't really lock him up without good reason. Especially with West, one of then will be dead in a matter of minutes!"

Mikayla nods. "Should we try to find them?"

I hesitate. "No, we probably shouldn't. Just in case we blow it. I'll talk to people, see if anyone knows anything."

"Want me to come with?"

The offer is tempting (too tempting), and though I know her beautiful smile and blue-green eyes will not help keep my mind focused, I go against better judgment.

"Sure."

"Great! Let's start with Dameeka and Hailey."

We walk to the steel grey door painted with a bold red "H". Mikayla gives a knock. No answer. She reaches her slim hand up as the door swings open.

"Mikayla! What's up?"

"We were just coming to ask about Abbi... she's been gone a while, now. We're a bit concerned."

"Come in, have a seat."

The door swings wider with a melancholy creaking sound, while I sit next to Mikayla on the soft bed, so close I can hear her heartbeat.

"She went off to lock up Terrance." I begin, "that's all we know. Do you know why, or who else other than Zeke accompanied her?"

Hailey sighs. "I do hope she's okay. All she told me was that she had ten minutes to meet back at her room with Zeke, Yuri, and Irisha."

"Who's Irisha?" I ask.

She shrugs. "Beats me. She said that Terrance was looking for guns. Apparently he was building a small group of people to "overthrow" her."

Mikayla's brows furrow. "Where'd they take her?"

"I'm not sure. I know that Yuri and Irisha were claiming to be members of Terrance's group that weren't loyal to his cause."

"And were they?"

"I'm sorry. That's all I know."

"Thanks, Hailey." I say, getting up.

Dameeka turns out to have less details than Hailey. We thank her and return to the Matrix.

"I'm worried, Shawn, very worried."