The One Who Was [ON HOLD]

Disappearences and A Mysterious Book

A/N I am entering this in the Watty Awards 2012. Please, please comment, vote, fan and reccomend this story to your friends. I love all 5 of you that I know are reading this, and I'm hoping there are more out there. Thank you to

ILoveBooks1234522

TwistedWords37

MickeyNotMouse

pieisyummy1313

DoctorStalker424

for the votes, comments and fans. I am also writing a new story called "Deafening Whispers" If you enjoyed this one I hope you'll check that out too eventually.

Love,

           Monkey423

P.S Dylan's name is not pronounced (Dill-in) it is pronounced (Die-Lan)

-------------------Subtle Disappearances---------------------

"What?"

"Yeah what do you want us to see?"

I was staring down the road at where the car should have been. Where the car vanished, along with its passenger. I didn't hear their confused questions.

"Earth to Clara!" Shouted Katherine waving her hand in front of my face.

I slowly turned and stared at them with vacant eyes.

"What?"

They looked at me and slowly asked,

"What.Did.You.Want.Us.To.See?"

I nodded and told them about the car, feeling as if my body was there but my mind was not. As I described it to them I realized something else about it. The car made no sound as it drove away. The occupant could have easily been watching us for a long time. And kidnapped Dylan as he walked away from us.

Now I was creeping myself out and I had to admit that it was an unlikely possibility, but it all fit. Except the disappearing car thing. I had finished explaining my self by now and had fallen silent. Katherine was looking at me calmly like this was completely normal, and Kathleen was freaking out again. Trying to shake Katherine's unnatural calm, I dropped the bombshell.

"It didn't make a sound. and Dylan's gone too."

Kathleen flipped. She started hyperventilating and walking around in circles. I hadn't managed to startle Katherine, but I had made Kathleen flip out. Great, just great. Katherine was staring at Kathleen in exasperation, with her hands on her hips.

I knew that expression. any second now Katherine was going to--

"Ow!!"

I sighed. Katherine couldn't stand any type of nervous energy so whenever anyone panicked she would grab their hair and yank it. Hard. As you can probably imagine this did not work in most cases so she would do it aga--

"OW!!" "Quit it already! What was that for?

Katherine grinned and replied as she usually does.

"Panicking for absolutely no reason."

"What do you mean no reason?! Dylan disappeared and there's a creepy car that doesn't make any noise stalking us!" I think that's reason enough!!"

Just then the school bus finally pulled up and everyone lined up to get in. Right before entering I cast a final worried glance at the sky. Once everyone was seated the bus started up. It lurched slowly in the direction of our school. As it inched through the streets the temperature began to drop. By the time we reached the first light I was shivering and my teeth were chattering. I reached into my backpack and pulled out a sweater. I was putting it on when Katherine hissed at me,

"Are you crazy? It's like a million degrees in here."

"No it's not it's freezing!!!"

I pulled my sweater over my head. It didn't make much difference, because just then it started hailing. Pieces of ice the size of coconuts were slamming into the bus. Huge dents were appearing wherever they hit, and yet no one was reacting at all. If this was part of the 'vision' I was seeing, I wanted no part in it. But, it seemed to realistic for a vision. I grabbed Katherine's arm and pulled her off of the seat she was sitting on with Kathleen.

She looked at me angrily, but must have seen the dread in my eyes because instead of yelling, she asked in a soft comforting voice,

"What's wrong?"

I pointed out the window hoping that this time she would be able to see it, but she shook her head.

"I already told you that I couldn't see it. Explain with words please."

I stuttered out an answer.

"Hail...H-huge h-hailstones. As big a-as c-coconuts. S-slamming holes in the b-bus."

She nodded, and pulled Kathleen over too. They both looked intently out the window looking for a sign of anything out of the ordinary and sure enough, they found it.

"Look Clara! We actually got to school in less than half an hour!"

I grinned and looked out the window with them. Through the lashing rain and wind I could make out the 3 gray, stone buildings that formed Riverstone High. It looked darker and even more forbidding than usual with the lightning flashing behind it. As the bus pulled up to the front of the main building, I thought I saw a face duck down from behind one of the few windows.

The bus driver slammed on the brakes, causing me to lurch to the side and lose sight of whoever it was. All 50 or so 9th graders on the bus stood up and shoved each other in order to get to the door. When I finally got there, I stepped down and headed to the back building for my 1st class,art. As I struggled through the rain I hoped that no one would be able to see how wet I was, because I was a really awful liar.

I pulled the building door open and climbed up the stairway to the 4th floor. Legs aching like always, I walked down to the end of the depressing gray hallway and entered the class of Mrs. Pritchard. I took my seat in the back of the room just as she walked in.

"Good morning students."

"Good morning  Mrs. Pritchard." The class chorused unenthusiastically.

Mrs. Pritchard took attendance silently, and began passing out paper, paintbrushes, and paint.

"Today," she drawled, "You are going to paint a hurricane. Make it original, and entertaining to look at. Make it actually look decent."

At that last sentence she cast a glance at me. I shrugged.

"Begin."

The class went by quickly, and Mrs. Pritchard was suprised at the end of class that my painting was the best in the class.

When the bell rang I had free period. I ran down to the 1st floor where the library was, and walked in. I was always the only one there. The library was like my safe haven, where I lived with friends as dear to me as KAtherine and KAthleen. I had finished the book I was reading yeaterday, so I walked along the bookshelves trailing my fingers over the spines. I was about to go ask the librarian for something to read, when something caught my eye. A thick book, bound in black with the title written in red cursive. That was it. No picture or author only the words, A Book of Darkness. I reached out for it and pulled it off the shelf. It was suprisingly heavy as if inside there were bricks, and not pages.

Cradling it to my chest I ploppled into a large green armchair, opened the book, and started reading........

A/N Next chapter is where it gets interesting, so bear with me here.

And...who can guess what the book is about? And why its important? Whoever guesses gets a vote fan or comment on a story of their choice.