Dark Museum

Sophia

By the time Sophia found a working number for one of her relatives, Angel's and Diya's eyes had glazed over. They weren't watching TV or talking to each other, just frowning at the bedspread in bored resentment.

"Where the hell is that guy with my phone?" Angel muttered.

Whatever cheerful glow warmed Sophia's heart after having a full (not a hangup) conversation with her brother, fizzled when Diya snatched her phone back.

"You find someone?" She asked, wiping the screen with her sleeve.

"My brother—"

"Why don't they put phones in hotel rooms anymore?" Angel asked, now flop-lying on the bed. "Even the shampoo's bolted down."

Kieron peered behind the curtain. "He's not out there."

"Oh, don't even with the shampoo," Diya said. "How many days am I supposed to put hand lotion in my hair because they won't provide conditioner anymore? The future sucks."

Sophia joined Kieron at the window. Ajay had been sitting on the curb, but though they craned on either side to see, now he wasn't. The black square was.

"Hey," Kieron said, "I think your telephone's out there, though."

"My phone!" Angel lunged for the door to retrieve it, rubbing both sides with his sleeve on his return. "At least the screen's not broke."

"Did you see Ajay out there anywhere?" Sophia asked.

Angel switched on his phone, read something silently, and flopped back on the bed.

"What?" Diya asked.

Angel just waved his phone at her until she took it. She moved her lips while reading, sighing when she looked back down at him. For a moment, Angel and Diya typed on their devices, punctuated with intermittent chimes while Sophia and Kieron glanced at each other, frowning.

"He used my RIDE account to go to JFK!" Angel exclaimed. "Gonna cost me a fortune."

"Why would he go to the airport without us?" Sophia asked.

"Someone named Josh?" Diya said.

A smile sprang to Sophia's lips. "Josh is at the airport?" Sophia said. "We should go!"

"Josh wasn't rescued," Angel read from his screen. "We were attacked when we went to find help. He was captured and they said they'd kill my family if I told anyone. I've got to go home and warn them. I'm sorry I lied. Please forgive me." He looked up. "Then why would he write this?"

Sophia's heart hammered as Kieron cast her a glance.

"Because Josh means something to us," Kieron said. "I guess he wanted us to know while he was fleeing the country."

"How's he even gonna get a ticket?" Diya asked.

"Wasn't he was a pickpocket?" Kieron said.

"He was a Bollywood star," Sophia retorted. "Surely, he got in touch with someone back home who's helping him." She paused. "We're not just gonna leave Josh out there, are we?" Sophia asked, the words flying out before she could stop them.

"Are you suggesting a manhunt?" Diya asked.

∴

"Caucasian male, late fifties."

Police officers clustered around their squad cars in a small clearing in the woods. For all the shadows the trees cast, the sun shone high above.