The Missing Linck

• TWENTY TWO •

I tense, unable to shake off the eerie cold feeling surrounding my neck.

"Mom!" I yell.

"Yes, dear?" her voice sounds so far away that it doesn't sound like she's right behind me.

What or who's behind me then? I turn around in one swift moment but there's nothing behind me. But what about those footsteps? Did my ears and mind play a trick on me then?

"Um, where are you, Mom?" I reply cautiously.

"What do you want, Quin?" she sounds annoyed.

"Nothing, I'm just bored. Can I leave?"

"And do what? Quenna isn't picking you up for another hour so why don't you get ready and then dawdle around if you still have any time inside the house?" Mom yells, her voice followed by a crash and her swearing.

"What was that?" I yell, getting up and moving towards the sound of her voice.

"This phenomenal cabinet crashed down after I tried to keep something on it. Come here, I'm stuck, I can't move," her voice comes from another direction.

Now I'm confused. I follow the new direction only to wind up being more confused as she yells at me to hurry from the first direction. I head back in the first direction only to have her shouting at me from the other direction. My heart begins to beat faster as I'm unable to really make out where she is.

"Mom, keep talking! I can't find you!" I yell at the top of my voice so she can hear me.

"Can't you just trace my voice, Quintasha?!" she sounds quite irritated now. I jump when I realize her voice is coming from another direction.

"That's why I'm telling you to keep talking, Mom!"

I'm exasperated now as she keeps rambling about something and I follow her voice which leads me in completely another direction.

I reach a wall and her voice immediately sounds in the opposite direction I walked in, making me run in that direction. Fortunately, I find her and manage to pull her out from under the cabinet and straighten it up.

"Damn, Quin, we probably need to take you to a doctor for your awful hearing sense!" Mom exclaims, rubbing her arm while frowning at me.

I scowl at her and tell her to get ready.

"Ready? For what?"

"To go out," I reply minimalistically, walking out of the room after her.

"Um, honey, Quenna's picking you up in fifteen minutes. We can't go out," Mom reminds me gently.

"I remember. You're coming with us," I respond, not wanting to leave Mom home alone after what happened. It certainly spooks me out.

"Quin, I thought you two were going to shop to bond, you know? I really don't want to intrude upon your relationship with your friends especially since she's one of the first you've made here. Honestly, I'll be fine right here," she tries to let me down gently but she fails, as usual. She isn't too good with displaying emotions and the kind.

"Mommy dear, I want you to come with me because I don't really know Quenna. I mean, she's nice and all but we barely know each other yet. Besides, if she is going to become a close friend of mine, then it would make sense for you to know her as well. So go pull on a nice top and let's leave!" I speak while putting my hair up in a ponytail.

"Quin, come on! I was really looking forward to having some downtime," she groans.

"Please, you're going to be bored being alone, Mommy! Come with me!"

I feel really queasy about leaving her alone right now, what with my mind and imagination running wild. She's easy to fib to for she doesn't realize it when people are lying in any sense. Plus, I'm pretty sure she'd brush off my concerns as merely me being paranoid if I told her the truth.

"Quintasha! No means no!" she yells and storms off to her bedroom but not before reminding me to lock up behind me.

Sighing, I come to the conclusion that she's not going to listen this time. Maybe I am being a little paranoid right now. After getting ready, I see there's still some time until Quenna is to arrive so I switch on the television, the screen surprisingly not filled with static.

Oh, it's Quenna's TV show! I watch as her character gets all made up and then drives while singing along to some peppy songs. Upon arriving near a house seemingly in the middle of nowhere as it sits alone between what seems like a web of boughs and boughs of several trees, she pauses and checks her teeth in the rearview mirror before walking until the door.

A blonde girl wearing a black mask on her face opens the door and greets Quenna as the latter presents her with a beautiful rose. They head out to the car and settle in, almost leaving when a scream erupts from within the house.

I jump when the doorbell rings in my house and the screen fills with static. My eyes trail to the clock to realize that Quenna has arrived exactly on time. I rush to open the door, smiling at the big smile on her face as she presents me with a rose as pink as her cheeks when I compliment her on how beautiful she looks.

I yell up the stairs that I'm leaving and lock the main door before running to Quenna's car while she laughs loudly as she attempts to catch up with me. So far, everything has been different from what was portrayed in the TV show so hopefully the last part I saw won't be the same too.

Settling down in the car, I'm about to suggest we catch a bite to eat first when I catch note of Quenna's flustered expression as she tells me how much she likes me, that she loves me but I barely comprehend her words for my ears are attuned to hear a sound that I pray I don't.

I don't hear it. At least not immediately.

- - - - - - -

Yello, this chapter has been in my works for so long that I can't believe it was incomplete! Anyways, are these cliffhangers becoming too much? Let me know what you think?

- - - - - - -