Scream

Adelina Saylor

"Makai, it isn't funny anymore," I huff into his voicemail for the billionth time. I've decided to skip European history to try and reach Kai because I'm going to fail that class anyways. I sit in one of the picnic tables by the track in the shade of an old umbrella top. It's a nice spring day that would've been a lot nicer if, everywhere I looked, I didn't see imaginary blood splatter. I feel like I'm delusional. When I first sat down, I thought blood was on the umbrella. When I walked into the school and reached for the door, I thought blood ran down the handle. Everywhere I look there's a red splotch of death and I can't stop seeing it.

"I can't believe it comes to this," I sigh to myself as I dial Makai's mom. You're probably wondering why I have his mother's cellphone number. I can't really say I blame you. But my mom owns a large business, and one of her underlings includes Anthony Keanu –Kai's dad. The two get together for business purposes and Makai comes along – that's how we met, five years ago. Most of the time, the kid is a thorn in my side, but I love him...sometimes. 

Makai's always been a prankster. In fact, he claims to have his own line of jokes called-aren't-u Stupid. But if he's pulling a fast one on us at this time, then he's a sick bastard. He saw how shaken Allister and I were. If he's acting like he's missing or something, then it will take him a lifetime to be forgiven. 

 "Hello?" a frail voice questions. Makai's mother was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, and she's expected to finally fall victim to the disease later this year. Makai swears that she's getting better, but in her voice, I hear her health decline. 

"Hi, Mrs Keanu," I greet. "It's Adelina."

"Oh, hi Della," she says. Usually, she's ecstatic when she sees me.

"I was just calling to ask if Makai was home today or if he..." if he what? If he was dead? I'm coldhearted, yes, but I'm not suggesting that Kai is dead to his dying mother. "...if he skipped class."

Deeply, Mrs Keanu sighs and sniffles. "Makai hasn't been home since last night at the party. He won't answer his phone." 

 "Oh..." is all I manage as I run through all the possibilities of Makai's disappearance in my head. 

"Della?" Mrs Keanu says into her phone. "Weren't you at that party?" 

 "Um, yes," I confirm. "Something happened there and the police came. They took Masai in for questioning last I saw him."

"Did they take you, too?" she inquires.

No," I admit, feeling guilty for some reason. Guilt isn't a feeling I really associate with, so I don't know how to deal with it. I guess I'm going to have to start figuring it out soon.

"Allister and I were train wrecks. Makai volunteered to be questioned instead of the two of us." What if Makai never took our place, and I was missing?

 "Why didn't you stop him?" she questions. "Why didn't you go with him or save him?"Mrs Keanu's voice rises and rises. My phone travels farther and farther away from my ear.

"I'm sorry!" I protest. "If I had known what would happen, then I would've..." Would I have gone with Makai if I knew he'd be missing, along with Destiny? Would I really sacrifice myself for a chance to save Kai? "I'm sorry, Mrs Keanu. I'm trying everything in my power to make contact with him."

She scoffs at me through the phone – as much as a time-limited cancer patient can scoff. "Not hard enough."

I go to argue back when my phone obnoxiously beeps in my ear, telling me that Mrs Keanu has hung up. I grunt and dial Makai's phone once more, handshaking. 

"Hey, it's Makai Keanu," his voice mail repeats as it always does. Usually, I'm only half-listening, not absorbing all of the words. But now that the thought of him being missing orgone forever resonates, I take in all that I can. "But I bet you already Kea-knew that if you're the one calling me..." God, Makai loved making puns out of his last name. "Leave a message if you want, but I probably won't listen to it." I snort a small smile on my face at hearing his voice. Just as I start to bring the phone away from my face, there's a sound as if a door has shut. "Help," a whisper shakily begs. "It's not a voicemail. I'm being forced to act like it is..." 

"Are you on the phone, shit head? Because I swear to God if you are..." a husky voice threatens in the back.

 Kai's breathing comes in rapidly. "4512. Please, Della...help."

"I promise," I whisper as the phone clicks and he hangs up. I don't even know if he heard me. I don't care. I think I was promising myself that I would find him. I take a deep breath and scrawl on a piece of paper in my notebook. "4512," I say to myself as a tear falls onto my paper. I shut my eyes and put my head in my hands. Whoever is with Makaisounds like an animal. They sound like a grizzly beast who would tear Kai to shreds if they haven't already done so.

 4512 sounds like an address. How would Makai get to a house when he was in for questioning? Was there a bad cop? Was he taken on his way back home? Did he fall into some kind of trap? What if that wasn't really Kai on the phone, but the person who collects and splatters blood everywhere?

Do I tell Mrs Keanu about my discovery? No, she won't be able to take it well. She'll blame me for this happening, and the added weight of her words won't help me maintain a clear head to help me find Makai. Of course, I'll need help. 

 My phone buzzes and I open my eyes. For a second, I swear I see blood splatter on my notebook and I gasp and back away, tripping over my own feet and falling on the pavement, scraping my arm as I fall on my side. I take a moment to collect my breath and exit my state of shock.

Slowly, I stand, struggling to keep balance. My arm bleeds and my vision wavers but overall I think I'm okay. I go back to the table and notice there wasn't any blood on my notebook – shocker. "I just love psychosis," I sigh to myself as I look at my arm. The scrape is pretty long but not too deep. 

I direct my attention to my phone and notice there are three text messages.

Hanzo: Euro exam next block. You need to study to keep a C. 

Hanzo, always keeping us in line.

Allister: You okay? If you need anything, I'm here.  

Allister, always lending a shoulder to cry on.

Reyna: I know you're pretty shaken up. We all want to find Makai, so let's do it.

Reyna, the glue. She always finds a way to solve a problem, no matter the circumstance. She's resourceful and always manages to find her way through the worst problems. It's something I envy. Maybe that's why we were never the best of friends, to put it nicely. But now, I think that trait is something I admire and need. I'm dying to save Makai, and I think Reyna would be the perfect person to help me with that. Surely, Hanz and Al would help as well. And why not bring along Reyna's freak friend, Maren? She's odd and nothing about what's happening is normal, so maybe she will have a better perspective on this. 

 Just to see what happens, I text Makai.

You: Where have you been? You alright?

Three dots immediately appear on the screen, signalling that Kai is typing.

 Makai: Never better. I'm just taking a break from everything.

Makai was definitely forced to type that, or he isn't typing at all. How do I know? Well, it's simple. Makai never says or types "everything." It's always been "errything."

 You: Just making sure.

The school bell rings, startling me. In the corner of my eye, I see a few spots of blood, and I suck in a sharp breath. I rub my eyes as if trying to rub the illusions away, before packing up my things and heading to the second block.

"I'll find you, Makai," I silently swear to myself