Serene

15

~Odeo~

I open my eyes and look around. Everyone's lying on the ground. I slowly get up and see Valerie and Gabby do the same. Doctor Fernand Villa and Herce Vanjosten are gone. I help the girls up and we struggle towards the car.

Cal's back to pick us up. We get inside the car and wait.

"What happened?" I ask, still dizzy. My head's pounding and I feel blood running down from my right ear.

"A bomb went off. Again." Cal answers grimly.

"Also, Serene's gone. After the second bomb exploded, I ignored your orders to stay here and went looking for her. All I found was this knife." Cal says, unwrapping a piece of cloth. "I didn't touch it. You can get the fingerprints. I'm pretty sure this was the knife of the man who stabbed her."

"Wait. You saw that?" Val asks.

Cal shakes his head.

"Overheard some men talking about it as they staggered towards the ambulances and police. They reported a man by the name Harold Fin, stabbing a girl." Cal reports. "Also, I got the doctors out. They're at the hotel waiting."

We all look over to the ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars. There's a large crowd of people, most of them still wearing long dresses or suits.

"Do you really wanna go into that?" I ask Gabby.

She analyzes the scene.

"Cal, take us to the police station. Contact Carlos and Gabe. We need these fingerprints to be sure it was Harold. And to see if Harold was the only one who touched it." Gabby says, her tone serious and emotionless.

Gabby's back in her mode. And so is Val.

Val's taking pictures and videos of our surroundings. Cal speeds away after Val's done.

In a few minutes, we're standing in the police station asking for help.

"We'll see what we can do. May I ask for your number so we can call you for any information?" The lady at the desk asks.

Gabby gives her number, ignoring Cal's protest.

"It could be my number." He mutters.

"Cal, we don't want them tracking you if ever they hack in here." Gabby whispers. "Better they get me."

Val shakes her head and sighs.

We head out of the station and Gabby calls her brother.

"The lady at the front desk said they'll do it when they can, but I don't think it's fast enough." She says, getting into the car. "And tell Carlos. The last thing people saw was her being stabbed by Harold Fin. I want to know where she is and where she's going."

Gabby turns off her phone and looks out.

We end up staying in the hotel for the rest of the night. Which isn't actually much since it's already midnight.

We talked to the doctors who gave us more information. Harold Fin knew everything about their project. All the doctors knew was that it required getting special kids, specifically girls, from the school program and making them specialized spies. But it required brainwashing them or removing their memories. The first one to try this was Serene. Also, Harold had connections with Belle Corp. who funded a lot of their experiments and school needs, and if they lose Serene, they lose Belle Corps.' assistance and help.

Gabby hides her faces in her hands and Val paces the room.

I, on the other hand, don't know what to do.

I stare at the mirror blaming myself. It's all I can do, I think.

"She wouldn't have gotten kidnapped if I didn't make her go on this adventure or whatever you call it." I mutter.

"It's because of you!" I tell myself, pointing to the man who made yet another big mistake in his life. Losing another girl he came to care about.

I bury my head in my hands. "Odeo. You're so stupid. You can't even do anything to find her. You are so useless."

I feel a hand on my shoulder and I look up. Val has a sad smile on her face and Gabby looks at me with the same sad expression.

"We're going to find her, Odeo. Both of the girls you miss." Val says, her tone slightly different.

"You have us." Gabby says, trying to lighten the mood. "And we're a pretty good team. We'll find them."

Val looks away.

"Val? Do you know something we don't?" I ask.

She looks at me, her analyzing stare making me feel nervous. Gabby's standing now with her arms crossed. Val sighs, running a hand through her messy red hair.

"Let me put it like this. When you find her, you won't be ready for the truth."