Shatter My Heart

Chapter One - Missing File

News Reporter: "...Two teenagers went missing last night in the city of SilverLake. They both attend SilverLake High as sophomores..."

***
(1st Person P.O.V.)

The dim light of the lamppost grew farther away, getting darker at my every step. I know I shouldn't be afraid of the dark, but the air always seems colder and more frightening than in the light.
I looked behind my shoulder at the headlights that came my way, grateful for the small light they gave my eyes so I could see that no one was following me, and no one was hiding in the plants nearby.
The car slowed down in front of me. I looked to my left, noticing a house with a blue door and curtains. Realizing that this must be their stop, I picked up my pace to avoid awkwardness.
The car door opened and the driver got out, chasing towards me. I came to the realization that this was definitely not their house, but they didn't know that it wasn't mine.
I quickly hopped over the fence and into the backyard, where I then hid behind a tree. Not the best hiding spot, so I hope they can't see well in the dark.

***
(3rd Person)

After school hours, a seven year old girl walked to the front door of her house.
She tried to open it, only to find that it was locked. She groaned in annoyance, thinking that her brother had forgotten to unlock the door again. She rang the doorbell, but after a few minutes of waiting, there was still no answer. She went around the back, knowing that the back door didn't have a lock.

Once she got inside, the alarm went off as usual. She put in the code and it stopped, just like she was used to. "Xander!" She called, "You forgot to unlock the door again!"
She didn't expect him to answer, and he never did.

About thirty minutes later, she decided to go see what her brother was doing. She skipped down the hallway and poked her head into his room to see that he wasn't in there. "Xander!" she yelled throughout the house, "Where did you go?!"
She waited about ten minutes before calling his cell phone. He didn't answer, though once again, she didn't really expect him to. She waited for the "beep" to sound and once it did, she left her message.
"Hey Xander, Mom and Dad aren't home so you're supposed to be here. They said not to leave me alone, so... Yeah. Bye." She hung up and put the phone back down on the counter.

She waited an hour and he still didn't return. The silence was starting to get to her head. She played some music to calm herself down, but it didn't help much. She thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye, but it was just a shadow... probably.

She called his cell phone again. She expected it to ring once more, but a voice instead told her that the number had been disconnected. "That's strange," she muttered as she dialed his number again. She figured she must have entered the wrong number the first time.
"Sorry but the number you have reached has been disconnected."

.
.
.

***

News Reporter: "... Their names are Vivian Vasquez and Xander Hopkins. If you have seen either of them or know of their whereabouts, please contact the number on your screen..."

***
(3rd Person)

Cold and distant blue eyes stare down at a sleeping child. The child herself is unaware of who he is or why either of them are there. He snaps a small device into her hair, disguised perfectly as a simple hairpin. He carefully takes her finger and touches it to the hairpin; it takes her finger print and activates, glowing a bright blue color.

He walks out of the room with an evil glint in his darkened eyes. "This is only the beginning," he smiles to himself.

***
(Stephanie Banks' P.O.V.)

I wave to Emily as she walks into the lunch room. She walks over to me and sits down. "Have you heard about the two kids that went missing at our school?" She asks.
"Nope," I reply, "who was it?"
"Xander and Vivian," she sighs, "both were in music club..."
I wince at the tragedy. "Yikes. Hopefully they get found before next weekend."
Emily shrugs. "Yeah, now we don't have our drum player. If she isn't back by this weekend, Mr. Seate is going to cancel the concert. We can't practice without her, and we don't have anyone that could replace her... Unless..." She stares up at me hopefully.
"Oh no. You can't convince me to join your club," I laugh.
She rolls her eyes. "I won't try to convince you to join permanently, but at least play in this one concert?"
I shake my head. "I can't do that at this school. I'd be taking too many risks."
Emily lowers her head and I feel the guilt settling in. I reconsider for a second. "I guess I could if you really want me to..."
She instantly beams. "You really mean it?"
I nod. "I won't be seen as a nerd for playing in just *one* concert, right?"
She hugs me really tight. "Thank you, Steph!"