The Absolutely Insane Life of a Completely Normal (not really) Girl

That night...

...Jane was travelling to Uston every five seconds. It started getting annoying, so after about the thousandth time I finally restrained her.

"Let me go, Lydia," Jane hollered.

"No," I shouted back, "I get that you're worried about Katie, but Sally will let you know when the tracker's done."

Sally had confirmed that there was a way to locate humans if you have something that belongs to them (which I can get), but the machine hadn't been used in years and needed serious repairs. Once the machine was fixed, it would take a week for it to find her. It wasn't as fast as we had hoped, but it's better than nothing.

"What if for some reason the message doesn't go through," Jane continued to argue, "We need to find Katie as soon as possible. By the time it takes to get the message to me Katie could be seriously hurt or worse."

"I know," I said solemnly, "But what good are you going to be to Katie if you waste all your energy going to and from Uston. And you keep forgetting that you have an actual life on Earth, Jane. What are your parents going to think if they see you passing out every five seconds?"

Jane stopped struggling. She remained silent for a few minutes before she turned around to face me, tears streaming down her face.

"I know," she choked out, "But every time I close my eyes, all I can see is Katie, trapped in some dark room, having who-knows what done to her. How can I go about daily life when Katie's out there being... being... I don't even want to say it." Jane collapsed into my arms, large droplets rolled down her face. I patted her on the back. I'm not used to comforting someone, but there's a first time for everything.

"Shh... I know, I know. I see the same thing every night when I go to bed. But let me tell you this, Katie is one of the most fearless people I know. She could tackle any hardships head on with nothing but her wit and a barrel of puns. If I know Katie, which I do, she's either having them rolling on the floor laughing so hard that can't do anything, or she's being so annoying that they refuse to go near her." Jane laughed and gave me a sad smile.

"Thanks, Lydia," Jane said, "I really needed that."

"Anytime," I replied, "Let's go find Trust Squad.

®

By now everyone had heard about Katie. She hadn't been around the amphitheater all that much, and mostly stayed with Trust Squad, but without her it seemed like a cloud of gloom loomed over the place. Whenever I walked past someone, they would ask if I was doing okay and/or told me they were sorry about what happened. I have to admit that it was nice to see everyone so supportive, but it started to get tiresome after a while. During a break, I walked over to Kathryn, Sophia, and Eli to try and get away from everything.

"Hey guys!" I shouted as I walked over.

"Hey, Lydia," they said in unison. They seemed uncomfortable. Probably because of... you know... Katie being kidnapped and suddenly being in the presence of her best friend with anger issues.

"I... uh... I heard about Katie," Kathryn started, "...I'm sor-"

"I swear to god if you say I'm sorry, I'll scream," I interrupted, my anger growing by the second, "The only person who I want to see apologizing to me is the person who kidnapped Katie! And that's right after I punch him in the face!" I was breathing heavily, which gave me a second to calm down. Kathryn and Sophia slowly back away, but Eli just stared at me.

"Do you want to... uh... go somewhere and talk for a minute?" he asked. I thought about it for a second. I didn't really know Eli all that well, and I kinda wanted to be alone right now, but I also wanted someone to talk to without annoying them, and he was offering an invitation. And besides, we weren't going to be needed for another ten minutes.

"Sure," I answered.

We walked down a short path to the bridge over the creek. We stood there in silence for a few minutes, me not knowing what Eli wanted to say and Eli not knowing how to word it.

"Look, I know that not having Katie has around has been hard," he started, "But I can't help but feel like there's something more to it. Do you mind if I ask what it is?"

I stared in disbelief for a second. I didn't really think that Eli payed all that much attention to me, but here he was, figuring things out that even Jane (the freaking mind reader) hadn't. Of course there was more to it. I really liked Katie, the longer she was gone the more I realized it was true, but I didn't know if I really wanted to tell anybody yet.

"Not really," I replied. Then he gave me this look. It's that look somebody gives you when they know you're lying, but amplified times ten. I had a sort of staring contest with him until I gave in.

"I'll you what," I started, "If you guess correctly, or you're in the right ball park, then I'll tell you."

"You and Katie are dating," he replied immediately.

"Why does everyone think that we are dating?" I retorted. Seriously, when everyone first meets us, they think we're a couple. It's basically a joke at this point. Thinking about this made me become solemn again.

"You're not far off, though," I continued, "I really like Katie. The more I think about it the more certain I am. But I never got the chance to tell her. Now all I think about is what if I never get that chance? What if something really bad happens to her? I don't really expect you to understand, but without her in my life, friend or otherwise, I don't what I would do."

Eli placed his hand on my shoulder and gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry," he said, "They'll find her. And you'll be able to tell Katie how you feel."

"Thanks, Eli," I said as I pulled him into an embrace. At first he was unsure of what to do, but he eventually returned my hug. We heard the sound of people running towards us and separated. Jane and Ash ran towards us hand in hand. Wait...

"Are you two... together?" I asked.

"Maybe..." Jane and Ash replied together.

"Took ya long enough," Eli said.

"I was thinking the same thing," I replied, "Well, I guess we'll leave you two lovebirds to do your thing. Come on, Eli." Eli gladly followed me. As we walked away, I punched the air in triumph. I've been waiting for this to happen for a while. When we reached the amphitheater, Kathryn came running towards us.

"Have either of you seen Sophia?" Kathryn asked.

"Last we saw she was with you," Eli answered.

"Oh dear," she replied, "I went to go to the bathroom, and when I came back, she was nowhere to be found. Do you think that she could have gone down a path with someone?"

"Maybe," I answered, but I already had a sinking feeling that I knew what had happened. This is the second time in the past week that someone had disappeared. Both have been in Trust Squad. Both knew about Jane and Uston. I was beginning to think that my mom was right. The government must have taken them.