Waterline

Gone at a Ring

Molly waited patiently for the Heinen's to arrive. Clare decided to tag along, she wanted to meet the parents of Ashley. Both waited and listened to the intercoms for updates. It was past 5:30, so the plane should be here soon. Clare was on her phone as she waited, Molly was looking around anxiously. She was ready to get everything over with.

Mr. and Mrs. Heinen walked out of the plane and into the airport. They walked past the many busy people until they found Molly, waiting for them. She was sitting next to a strange girl that they didn't know. "Thanks for getting us, Miss Rodney" Mrs. Heinen spoke.
"It was no problem. Oh, and this is Clare, my roommate." Molly quickly got up and introduced her new friend. Clare looked up and greeted them with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Clare, I'm Martha Heinen and this is my husband, Stephen" Mrs. Heinen introduced.
"It's nice to meet you," Clare said, shaking each of there hands.
"We should go, you must be tired from the trip" Molly suggested.
"Yeah, we would like some rest," Mrs. Heinen said.

Ashley woke up with her phone blowing up with texts. She chose to ignore them until later. Ashley left the phone on the nightstand before getting out of bed. She went straight to the bathroom. Ashley almost forgot that she was staying over at Toby's place. It was quite small so she easily found her way around the place. The bathroom was clean but still had a tight fit. Ashley used the bathroom before leaving.

Ashley figures that Toby was still sleeping and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. It didn't take her long to realize that there was barely food. Sadly, it wasn't enough for her to make Toby something. Maybe she could order something for them. Silverfish had enough places that would deliver for breakfast.

Ashley sat on the edge of the bed and turned on her phone. Now she couldn't ignore the texts that she's been getting. It was all from her mom and none of it was good. Ashley mostly skims through it and knew she was in huge trouble. Somehow her mom figured out she was dating Toby and is currently staying in Silverfish. Her mom was demanding for her to come over or tell her where she's at.

Ashley figures that she should just try to stay under the radar. No matter what she does, her mom would want to take control over her. She didn't reply and instead looked for a place to get breakfast. She saw that one of her favorite restaurants delivers breakfast. Ashley called them and ordered two breakfast burritos. She made sure both of them are different and got what Toby would like.

Now she had to wait for the burritos to be delivered. Ashley sat on the couch and turned on the TV. She made sure the volume was low so she didn't wake Toby. The time was almost 9 am, she wondered what time Toby wakes up at.

The doorbell rung, Ashley jumped up and answered the door. She expected it to the delivery person with their breakfast.

Toby woke up with a furious knock on the door. He got up wondering what it was. Walking out of his bedroom, he found a pile of stuff on the dining table. On top of it was a post-it note. Toby picked it up and read:
"I had to leave early, so I ordered your breakfast. There should be enough money on the envelope. Also, watch my book for me"
-Love Ashley

Toby found the note to be a bit strange but went with it nonetheless. The door continued to knock furiously. Toby grabbed the money from the envelope, then quickly answered the door. He apologized for his tardiness and paid for the breakfast burritos. He sat them on the table before looking in the bag. There were two burritos in the bag, something seemed wrong. Why would she buy him two burritos?

Toby decided to text her and let her know that he could only eat one. He started eating one of them and decided to just put the other in the fridge. Ashley didn't text back. That only perked his suspicions. After finishing his breakfast, Toby examined the stuff that he was given.

The book was important to Ashley, she wouldn't leave it unattended. Then Ashley bought two burritos, no one could eat two huge breakfast burritos in one sitting. Was she planning on eating with him? Something was completely wrong. Toby got dressed then collected the book and keys before going into his truck.

Toby went to PJ's house first. He was greeted by Scooter running around his feet. PJ knew nothing about Ashley since he left the hospital.

The next house was Conor. He had just woke up since he had bedhead and is only wearing boxers. Conor also knew nothing about Ashley.

Toby went to Penelope's house to ask the residents if they had seen Ashley. Mae and Penelope knew nothing. He still had a lot more hope for the next house.

Libby should know where Ashley is. She knows a lot about her and stays by her side 24/7. Toby hurried up the driveway of her house. He ran out of the truck and quickly knocked on her door. Libby didn't take too long to answer the door. She was fully dressed and wide awake. "Hey, Toby! What brings you here?" Libby asked, filled with energy.

"Oh, I was wondering if you'd seen Ashley today?" Toby asked. Libby's facial expression quickly changed to concern. "No, I've been texting her all day and there was no reply. When was the last time you saw her?" Libby asked, clearly worried about her friend.
"Last time I saw her was last night," Toby said.
"Where were you?" Libby asked out of curiosity. Toby didn't say anything to, bleach the mind of Libby.
"I'll explain everything in the truck. Right now, we are going on an adventure" Toby says.

Libby got excited then said, "Wait, I need to get my camera!"
"Why?" Toby quickly asked her.
"So, I can take pictures and put it in my scrapbook!" Libby answered before running back in her house. Toby nearly laughed at her for having a scrapbook but he wasn't really surprised. She had her camera draping from her neck.

Toby and Libby both got in the truck. The first thing that Libby noticed was the book that belonged to Ashley. "This is Ashley's book, why do you have?" Libby asked. She was never allowed to see it or ask about it. She found it strange that Toby had the book. "I have a lot of explaining to do" Toby sighed as he pulled out of the driveway.

Toby explained how he started dating Ashley the night of the incident. He also had to tell about Ashley's true identity. There was a lot about Neptune creating Silverfish, and the siren project. Then about the five children and the ritual that needs to be performed. Toby did a good job at explaining about Salacia and Venilia, any every detail about them.

Libby's reaction was much calmer than his Toby expected. But she did get excited when Eddie was announced to be one of the Rhodes. Toby had to finish off with the endangerment of the people of Silverfish if they don't find Ashley.