Five teens. Kidnapped. To live out their darkest fears.
***
When five teenagers are abducted outside of the local nightclub, it sends shockwaves through the small town of Redstone.
How were they taken? Where are they...
Who will be there to take my place? When I'm gone, you'll need love, to light the shadows on your face." The Calling
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Maria Mansfield stopped outside the door to room fifty-four, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
It had been three days.
Three days since Detective Cartwright had shown up at her house to tell her the kids had been found. Three days since she found out her son had killed not one, but two people. Three days since her daughter had spoken a word to anyone.
And yet, it felt as though years had passed since her children were taken. She felt the relief of their return seeping out of her with every passing second, like all her colour was being drained.
Catatonic.
That had been the word they used to describe Kayla. For Maria, it was almost as bad as when she didn't know what was happening to them. How could she sit back and watch her daughter suffer in silence? How could she believe that her son was a murderer?
Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door to the room. Kayla was in the same position she had been in the day before. Her blonde hair fanned the pillow; her glassy eyes stared at the ceiling, unseeing.
Unmoving.
Maria sat down on the chair she had vacated only last night and took Kayla's hand in hers, trying her best to ignore how icy cold it was despite the layers of blankets.
"Noah's funeral is today," she started. "I'm not sure if he would have wanted me there, after everything."
Maria hated herself for the disdain she had shown towards her daughter's first love. Maybe if she had been more accepting of their relationship, she wouldn't feel the crushing weight of guilt that threatened to swallow her whole.
She had tried to deny her daughter happiness, wishing that Noah would disappear from Kayla's life for good. Now he had, and Maria hated herself for ever thinking that way.
Be careful what you wish for. She knew that first hand now.
"I'm going to go. For you. I know you would have wanted to be there if you could. I know he meant the world to you." She stifled back a sob, clutching Kayla's hand so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"Ryder's lawyer approached me to see if you would testify as a witness."
Maria had been hoping that this would be the news that would make Kayla finally react. But she had been wrong. Kayla remained as still as a corpse.
Maria had no idea how Kayla even felt about her brother. When the Detective had told her about the events in the room and what the kids had witnessed, she had felt as though the world crumpled beneath her feet.
