Raising Echo

15

It was the day after the incident. Chris still hadn't heard from Desiré but other than that, everything was back to normal. Christine had gotten back to training Aeko, and Syrus was probably somewhere eating. Everyone else seemed to have forgotten about the presence that visited his home last night except Chris. He wondered if Desiré was in danger.

"I haven't heard from Desiré in a while. Do you think it has something to do with... the visitor?" Chris asked his aunt. They'd collectively decided to nick name the poltergeist "the visitor".

She shrugged, then thought about the possibility. "Check her social media, or ask her friends or something. But I doubt it has to do with yesterday. I think she just backed out. Don't prod too much. She could be avoiding you."

Chris didn't believe her theory for a second. He knew that Desiré was excited about helping him and Aeko out. Of course he checked her social media. He's been checking it hourly. The suspense was slowly killing him so he decided to call in reinforcement.

_

"Soooo, what do you want me to do again?" Syrus said as he slurped up some pasta. They were sitting outside of Chris' home in Syrus' car.

"I want you to find her friends. You said you saw them, get info on them so I can find Desiré," Chris explained as he exhaled a white cloud of smoke, dropping some ashes of the blunt outside of the window.

Syrus sighed loudly, rolling his eyes to the back of his head. "What is up with you and that girl? She's avoiding you, obviously," he groaned, looking into his container, fishing more spaghetti out with his fork.

"What's been up with you lately? I know we're friends but you still work for me," Chris argued, looking at his friend.

"I couldn't if I wanted to. I have something that I can't get out of," Syrus shrugged throwing his container in a plastic bag, tying it up. "You're on your own with this one."

Chris let out a huff before finishing off the blunt in just a few puffs before tossing the roach out the window. He got out the car and shut the door behind him, tossing his hood over his head walking inside.

"Chris," he heard the voice of his mother call. He hadn't noticed she came in just moments before.

"Hi momma, but not now. I have something to do," he dashed upstairs, trying to not let the weed smell linger in the living room any longer than it needed to and quickly shut the door of his master bedroom behind him.

_

Lyberti Dejesus and Nova Kennedy were the women Chris came across after only a few minutes of searching. Both of the girls had business pages. He decided to contact Nova first, as she was the one Desiré brought up most.

"Hello?" A soft voice chimed through the phone.

"Am I speaking with Nova Kennedy?"

"Yes, this is she, who's calling?"

Chris paced back and forth nervously. He wondered if he should reveal his identity or remain anonymous. He hoped that what his Aunt said wasn't true. In that moment he thought of all of the worse case scenarios that could occur.

"Hello?" She asked, slightly irritated.

"Sorry, yes I'm Chris. A friend of Desire's. I was just checking to see if she was okay I haven't heard from her in a while."

He heard a light gasp on the other end and then it went silent for a few moments. Like he was put on mute. Then sound came back in. "Desiré was... in an accident."

Feeling his heart drop to the floor, Chris lost his balance. A strange feeling of terror washed over him as he slowly sat on the edge of his bed. "I-is she okay?"