Opened Hearts 2: Levody

Chapter 17: Important Intel

April 23rd, 2017

Zane awoke in a cold sweat. He put his hand to his face and groaned, laying back down. He had received yet another nightmare of the day Melody was kidnapped. He had seen the whole thing happen on the security cameras, over and over. His mind reeled.

Before he got too far in thought, his phone buzzed. He picked up his phone, which was next to his alarm clock, which read 9:45 am. He turned his phone on and unlocked it. Pulling down the menu, he saw that Travis had sent him a text.

We've got a kid that was kidnapped. Her name's Ally. She knows where the others are headed. Meet us at IHOP at 11 am sharp. I really think we've got a break through in this case.

Zane hadn't felt so alive in months. He jumped out of bed and quickly got ready, even eating a good, solid breakfast of a bowl of cereal. He got into his black and grey jacket and black jeans, plus black converse sneakers. Aphmau called him as he jumped in his car.

"Hey, Zane, how are you feeling this-"

"Aph, Travis found one of the 32 kids who went missing along with Melody. She knows where Melody is and where they're going! I'll call you back!" He said before hanging up. He made a point to call her back later.

It took Zane a little bit to get there. Traffic wasn't the best this morning and he was in a rush, so, of course, it took even longer. All he could think about was Melody, if she was okay, and if she was scared or not.

He pulled into the IHOP parking lot and locked the car, walking in. He spotted Gene, Travis, and- his eyes widened. It was Zianna's student, Ally, and what he assumed to be her family. He went over and shook hands with them. Ally waved at him shyly. He took a seat and they all ordered food. They made easy, 'breaking the ice' chatter until the food came, they ate, and then Zane pulled out his notebook and recorder.

"Ally, I'm going to need you to relay everything you remember please." Zane said softly.

The girl nodded. First, she listed off the names of everyone on the truck except her. Melody, Levin, Garret, Kennedy, Laim, Hailey, Gilroy, Ivette, James, Libby, Oliver,  Rowan, Steven, Taylor, Tyler, Lenora, Gizmo, Madison, Vector, Jessica, Chris, Katelyn, Carter, Abigail, Lucas, Khadija, Malborn, Jessalyne, Valkoor, Destiny, and Nigel. Zane wrote down each name. She told him their ages as well. He'd have a scan done to see if the kids had been noticed as being missing.

"Do you know where Jackson's taking them?"

Ally looked down and shifted. "J-Jackson's, u-um," She looked up briefly. "D-Dead..."

Zane was puzzled. "Then who's keeping them from escaping?"

"T-there was a group h-helping him...O-One girl was n-named Fallon..."

It snapped into Gene's head. "The Black Poison." He mumbled. Ally nodded.

"T-that's them."

Zane scribbled the name of the group down, then Fallon's name and description as Ally informed him. She filled him in on other details. Everthing. After, Zane treated her and her younger brother to ice cream and headed to the police station to put in the data and run Fallon through the system.

Around six in the evening, Zane collapsed on his couch, excited,but comepletly drained. He had skipped lunch on account of a large breakfast. He looked at the photo of him and Melody on the end table. Don't worry, baby. Daddy's coming. He thought to himself. He heard his door open. The only one who had his key was Aphmau. He used this to keep himself on the couch, his mask, shoes and jacket thrown off of him. He was breathing slightly heavier than usual, and his whole body burned with tiredness.

"Zane! Are you okay? I've been calling you all day! Did something happen?" Worry filled her voice.

"One of the kids escaped, she told me-us, that Melody is alive, and, pretty calm too."

Aphmau's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with one hand, tears coming to her eyes, they were filled of relief mixed with pain.