The Mystery Of Eastbrooks High

Chapter Fifteen: Back To Square One

BANG. BANG. BANG. AUSTIN'S HEAD WAS spinning as he ran towards the source of the sound, hit by a déjà vu. The three consecutive gunshots reminded him of the day Ruby died, so similar to this day. The weather, the forest, the gunshots. His heart thumped loudly as he closed his eyes and prayed for his friends. Please don't let anything happen to them.

His running shoes hit the ground with force as he ran towards the sound, the leaves crushing beneath their soles as he looked around for signs of something. Anything. He spotted Norah by the trees, Sabrina and Jason a little farther away, and Emma talking to an officer. He released a relieved breath.

But then he remembered who he was looking for, and his heart sank. Tamaya. Austin's hands shook as he closed his eyes again, praying. Tamaya and Austin have been friends since childhood; they offered each other companionship during boring ceremonies while their parents socialised. They even attended some of those stupid classes together, building a friendship over the classes. They did grow distant as they grew up, but she was his first friend. A close one too.

Losing Tamaya would make him free fall into a hole of despair and make him lose hope too. And it would destroy Shane. He didn't want to lose his friend. Hit by a wave of determination, Austin looked around, dead set that she was fine.

He called her, but the call wouldn't go. She must've wandered deep into the forest where the cell signal wouldn't reach. He refused to believe anything had happened to her. This was like Ruby all over again. The feeling of desperate helplessness kept washing over him like a tide. Just when he was about to move onto another spot after discussing where each person was going with his friends, nervous chatter interrupted him.

He turned around to find Tamaya's arm in Nazeera's and Kazuo's hand around her shoulder, supporting her. Everyone rushed towards Tamaya, her blonde and black dyed hair glinting in the pale sunlight. As Austin neared her, he could see her entire figure shaking, dried tear tracks down her eyes, and red blotches covering her cheeks. She seemed unharmed.

After people crowded around her with alarm and Tamaya panicked, the guards pushed the crowd away. She sat on a rock by a tree with Kazuo and Nazeera by her side. Austin hesitated but walked towards her in the end, giving her a concerned look. "Tamaya?" he asked tentatively, and her eyes flicked up. She smiled weakly, "Hi, Austin," she said shakily, and Austin released a breath of relief as he enveloped her in a big hug. He rubbed her back as he shut his eyes, she's fine, everyone's fine.

Tamaya had always been the dreamy one, lost in her creative world. But her face bore none of the dreamy happiness as she looked up at him. "Hey," he said, giving her what hopefully was a reassuring smile. "You weren't hurt, right?"

Her lower lip wobbled, "I thought I saw something nice, I don't even remember what it is now. I followed it. Ended up somewhere else. Just when I was about to call, I heard-" she hiccuped, shuddering. "Gunshots," she said finally, a tremor in her voice as she said the word. "I ran away," she said, setting a hand on her chest. "I don't want to experience that again," Tamaya's eyes shone, a tear slipping as Nazeera pulled her into a hug.

"Tamaya!" Someone shouted, and Austin looked behind him to find Shane. Shane Love ran towards his daughter, kneeling and hugging her tightly.

"Dad," Tamaya sobbed into his chest as he murmured something soothingly to her. A few moments passed, and Tamaya was ready to get herself interviewed by the cops. As two cops whisked her away, someone spoke out with dread. "Where's Shawn?"

Austin's heart stopped for a second. His eyes widened as he searched around with newfound determination. "Oh my god," Norah whispered beside him as she ran with him. They'd split themselves into groups of two now, not wanting to repeat earlier's mistake. While searching for Tamaya, they'd been so panicked that all of them split up, all the guards had dispersed too. Which must be why no one noticed Shawn's absence till the last minute.