Searchlight (Crystal 1)

Chapter 13

A loud hip-hop beat interrupted Mr. Powell’s droning about the rhyming structure of a sonnet they were studying. It took Crystal a moment to realize it was her phone’s ring tone. She reached for her purse and dug the phone out.

“Switch that off!” Mr. Powell snapped.

Crystal looked at the screen. It was her brother, Caleb. Caleb never called her. And he should be in school right now.

She rejected the call and sent him a text: what?

“No texting in my classroom,” Mr. Powell roared.

“Okay.” Crystal slipped the phone into her pocket. Geez!

She stared at the sonnet on the smart board, unseeingly. She still felt like her head was stuffed with cotton wool, and her body ached all over. She should be at home in bed. But her parents had said that the SOT could track her down anywhere, even at home, so she may as well go to school. They were right—becoming housebound wouldn’t deter those freaks, but it still sucked.

Her phone rang again. Mr. Powell glared. Crystal slipped it out of her pocket. Caleb again. A sick feeling that she didn’t understand washed over her. Caleb never called her. Something was wrong. “Sorry, I need to take this.”

Mr. Powell yelled for her to come back as she left the classroom. She let the door slam behind her as she answered the phone. “Hello?”

Nothing.

“Caleb?”

“Hello, Crystal.”

Crystal’s heart jumped and lodged in her throat. That sounded like… “Randall?”

“I’m disappointed in you, Crystal.”

“What are you doing with my brother’s phone?” Crystal demanded, fear making her blood run cold. “Is he there? What are you doing to him?”

“He’s not here and I have no idea where his phone is. I’m calling from my own phone but making it appear as though it’s from his phone. I thought that would make you pick up.”

“Clever you,” Crystal spat.

“You told your parents, and you gave another police statement.” Randall’s voice became a few shades colder. “Remember the ritual you did? Remember the picture you chose?”

Crystal frowned. She didn’t remember.

“As promised, bad things are about to happen, Crystal.” A smile crept into his voice and Crystal could imagine the brute smirking. “Very bad things. And more bad things will happen if you do not comply with us.”

Crystal didn’t know what to say. Her heart was hammering. She needed to call her parents.

“Do not tell your parents about this conversation,” Randall threatened. “When you get home, you will be tempted, but do nothing and say nothing. And close your police case against us. We will take that as evidence that you are willing to comply with us. Then the bad things will stop.”

There was a click and the line went dead.

Mr. Powell stepped out of the classroom. “Crystal Layton-Washington—”

“I have to leave.” She turned and ran toward the double doors at the end of the corridor.

“Young lady!” Mr. Powell yelled. “Just where do you think you’re going?”

Home. She had to get home or to the police station. Or maybe to Caleb’s school to check that he was okay. She burst through the doors and ran to the stairs and hurried down. She called her dad as she went. His line was busy. She tried her mom. Her line was busy, too.