Hold Me Close: An Ezria Story

Lost and Found

Spencer's POV:

We got in the car and just sat for a minute, not sure where to start looking. Where would -A take Aria? Then, all three of our phones went off at the same time. We looked up at each other in panic. We knew who it was when we all got a text at the same time. Slowly we opened the text. Emily read it out loud.

Want a hint? Belmont Street.
-A

"Go! Drive!" Hanna yelled.

I stepped on the gas and drove to the outer part of town. I parked one street away from Belmont just in case someone was watching. We all got out and walked to Belmont Street. We weren't anywhere near a residential area. It was all a bunch of old, worn down shops full of antiques. We walked along the sidewalk of the main road and looked in the windows of all the shops. Hanna walked ahead and pointed.

"Guys..look.." Hanna said as she disappeared behind the side of a store.

"Hanna..wait!" I yelled as Emily and I chased after her. I stopped dead in my tracks to see we were in a small alley. I looked around and gasped when I saw what Hanna was staring at.

Blood. On the wall to our left. I walked up and stood next to Hanna, Emily right behind me.

"Is that..." Emily started. But she didn't need to finish.

"Yeah..." Hanna said.

I stepped back and looked around a little more. I saw a single dumpster sitting in the corner of the alley. I walked over and saw a familiar stiletto poking out from the side.

"Oh my god.." I said as I tried to push the dumpster out of the way. Emily and Hanna ran over and Emily gasped. They helped me push the dumpster out of the way and we saw her. It was Aria.

She was unconscious and someone... -A, had wedged her between a dumpster and the wall. There was blood coming from the back of her head and staining the concrete. I knelt down beside her and moved the hair out of her face.

"Call 911!" I shouted as Hanna pulled out her phone.

"Hi... Our friend...sh-she was kidnapped tonight. We just found her unconscious in an alley on Belmont Street... Please hurry!" Hanna cried into the phone as Emily helped me move Aria's limp body out from behind the dumpster. Then, Emily gasped.

"Spencer..." She said, a twinge of panic in her voice.

I followed her eyes to Aria's stomach. Blood had seeped through her shirt and I could tell it was still bleeding.

I looked back up to Emily and then looked at Hanna. "I think she was stabbed.." I said, with confusion and fear in my voice. We heard a siren and saw the flashing red and blue lights. "We're gonna get you help Aria. Don't worry." I said to her lifeless body as Emily and Hanna stood up to meet the paramedics.