Thirteen Minds

Chapter 4: Disappeared

Kya's POV

I walk up to Serena and I's favourite ice cream shop. Of course I am a little bit late, but I'm sure Serena will understand.

As I make my way towards the door of the ice cream shop, I notice that it is vacant. The wooden door creaked eerily as I walked in. I swear you could hear a pin drop in the small ice cream parlour. I look around and notice that Serena isn't sitting in our usual spot...or in any spot. I also noticed that there was no worker insight either, which was strange since there is always a worker around.

Going against my better judgement, I walk towards Serena and I's favourite booth and sit down. I assumed Serena was in the bathroom so I waited for her. After about five minutes have passed, I start to get a bad feeling about the situation. Serena would never just leave unexpectedly without telling me.

I quickly head up to the front where the cash register is. I rang the bell that was beside it and waited for a response...

"Hello, how may I help you today?" A younger woman asked me as she walked up to the register.

"Hi, I was wondering if you have seen a girl walk in and sit down at that booth over in the corner near the window?" I asked the lady while pointing towards the booth I was sitting in moments ago.

"No, I haven't seen anybody come in or out." The lady told me slowly.

I knew she was hiding something from me. Serena would never abandon me or our plans. If she had to go somewhere, she would have told me.

"Please, think really hard. She has beautiful brown, curly hair and sparkling green eyes. She is my best friend and I am afraid something has happened to her." I tell the woman, begging her for any information she may have regarding Serena.

"Again...I'm sorry. I can't help you. I...I didn't see her." The worker said slowly again.

"Ma'am, I know my best friend and she would never leave anywhere we were going to meet without telling me. I know that you know something. Tell me or I am calling the police!" I yell. I am at the brink of tears. I know something has happened to Serena, and I'm never going to stop until I figure it out.

"Okay, okay...keep your voice down. I have no idea what happened. I only started my shift a few minutes ago. When I arrived, I went into the back room where we store our personal belongings while we work. Back there, I saw the other woman who was working before me, her name is Marcie. She told me that there was a man who came in and paid her to come into the back room and stay there until she heard a door slam. Soon after she told me, we both heard the side door slam. Marcie rushed out to the main area and saw that nobody was there. She checked the register to see if he had stolen any money, but nothing was gone. She had told me that there was another girl sitting in the booth that you pointed to, but Marcie figured that the girl had left. I fear that the man left took something, or someone, much more valuable than any money in a cash register..." The woman hesitantly told me while leading towards me.

"My best friend..." I said as I thought about what the worker had told me. At that moment, my world came crashing down. My best friend, Serena McAddoms, was kidnapped and I wasn't there to protect her. Tears start to form in my eyes. All I can think about is how it is my fault she was kidnapped. I wasn't here to protect her because I was late...my best friend is gone and it is all my fault.

"Don't cry...please don't cry! Maybe that isn't what happened to your friend, maybe we got it all wrong!" The woman told me, trying to reassure me.

"No...my best friend is gone and its all my fault because I wasn't here to protect her!" I cried out while tears fell down my saddened face.

"Don't worry, I will call the police and see what we can do, okay?" She told me as she walked round the counter. She placed her hands on my shoulders and said; "You are not alone. I will call your parents and her parents, I just need their phone numbers. I will have them come down here to the parlour and we will see where we go from there. We will find your friend, I promise." She told me as she brought me in for a hug.

I hugged her back as tight as I could. We stayed like that until my sobs turned into quiet sniffles. The worker told me her name was Katy and I told her mine was Kya. Soon after our hug, Katy grabbed the phone and sat down at a booth with me. We called the police, my parents, and Serena's parents. About 15 minutes later, everyone we called showed up at the ice cream parlour. Katy explained to everyone what Marcie had told her. The police said that it was too soon to file a missing person's report and told us to come into the station once it was been 24 hours. My parents told me not to worry and thanked Katy for her kindness towards me. Serena's parents told me that her phone must have died and that she would most-likely be home tonight. Katy went back to her job since a few other customers walked in, but before she did, she told me that I could come to her if I needed anything.

My parents took me home after the whole situation and told me everything was alright. My gut told me otherwise. I know that my best friend is in trouble, even though nobody believes me. I am going to find Serena and bring her home. I am going to find my best friend if it is the last thing I do.