AWAKEN ; benny weir [2]

nineteen

From the brightness of Ellie's computer screen, she and Benny both huffed at the panicked state that Ethan was in. Sarah still had not responded for an entire day.

"She hasn't responded to anybody since last night," Ethan miffed. "Can I freak out now?"

"Okay, okay, chill," Ellie settled, trying to think of viable excuse. "She's probably just... uh..."

"Yeah, I've got no clue," Benny commented. 
"Benny!"

"I bet nothing bad happened!" Benny countered. "Maybe she's out in the graveyard eating rats or whatever the hell she does at night... wait- do we know what she does at night?"

"This isn't normal for Sarah, guys," Ethan concluded as he bit his nail. "She always picks up her phone to—wait a second..."

"What?" Ellie asked.

"I've got an idea, but you two need to get over here," he explained.
"We'll be there in five."

Without a beat, Ellie hung up from the videochat, threw on her shoes, and stepped out her front door to make her way over to Ethan's house.
As soon as she stepped out the door, she felt this rush— a dark rush. Every street light had flickered down the concrete path to Ethan's home, and Ellie didn't know if walking there alone was a good idea, but she figured her magic could keep her safe enough to walk five doors down.

As she approached the last neighbored door from Ethan's place, the crinkle of a leaf stopped Ellie in her tracks. The bushes to her right moved awkwardly as she stood still, waiting to see the culprit of the movement.
Sensing her unwarranted edge, Ellie shook off the sound and tried to continue to reach Ethan's house... until the torso of a behemoth stood between her and the path.

"What the—!"
The giant of a man encased Ellie in his arms, throwing her over his shoulder as she thrashed and screamed in defense. "GET THE HELL OFF ME!"
Her eyes shone that bright magenta as she fought the giant's grasp, but it was no use. What was happening?

The sound of a car door delayed Ellie's fight, wincing at the pain of her shoulder hitting the backseat.
"CUSTODIAT ME ESSE—!"

"SILENCE HER!" A man from the front seat yelled to the back.
Before Ellie could finish her self-defense spell, a strong punch to the temple threw her face into the backseat once more, then the encompassing unconsciousness filled her vision.

------------

"What the hell? Where's Ellie?" 

Benny's voice bounced between the walls of Ethan's living room, frantically punching texts messages into his phone to his absent girlfriend.
"Her house was locked, her dad isn't home, her bike was on her porch; where the hell is she, Ethan?"

"That's super weird; she usually gets here before you do," Ethan teased, trying to lighten the mood.
"Oh, yeah! Thanks, Eth!" Benny huffed.

"Wait, dude," Ethan clicked, snapping his fingers against Benny's vision. "Doesn't Ellie still have that tracking app on her phone? It should still track her signal!"
Without hesitation, the boys raced up the foyer stairs and into Ethan's bedroom, hopping onto his computer for any sign of a clue.

After logging into the tracking app's whereabouts, Ellie's phone signal was pinpointed onto the Whitechapel street view. 
"Ethan..." Benny stopped. "That's the sidewalk out front."

Ethan and Benny bolted out of the bedroom, almost falling down the stairs to the front door to look for their lost mage.
The sidewalk was dark and lonely, giving off the unpleasant reality that no one was truly safe after dark, even supernatural beings. The boys searched along the street's sidewalk to find any trace of Ellie, until Ethan stumbled across the beeping of a familiar sound.