Cruel & Blue (Eyeless Jack story)

Chapter 46

"Where is he?," Kayla grumbled, arms crossed, foot tapping.

"Maybe he got caught up with class work, or he's just using the restroom," I guessed.

"Nah, nah, I saw him walk out of class on my way here," Kayla stated, "Plus he wasn't going in the direction of any restrooms."

"Counselor's?"

"No..."

"Orchestra room?"

"He wouldn't be taking this long if he was picking up his cello," Kayla murmured. She squared her shoulders and added, "Plus, I have this feeling that something's wrong."

"You've noticed he's been acting strange, too, right..?"

"Of course I've noticed. Xavier's been weird, too," Kayla sighed.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Have you figured out what's wrong? Did Craig tell you anything?"

"No," Kayla muttered, "Nothing. I don't get why he's being so secretive. And, I don't get how I haven't found out on my own what he's being secretive about! I'm losing my edge, Blue."

"Let's go look for him," I said. Kayla didn't have to say anything to agree, as she grabbed my arm and, without a moment to lose, the both of us hurried inside the school to look for Craig.

We looked in the suggested areas. Orchestra room was locked so no one could enter. Junior class counselor's office was open but the lady was talking with a couple of students, and none of them were Craig. We tried for the restroom but all we did was ask any guy coming out if they've seen Craig Holland. All of them said 'No, sorry'.

"I'm this close to heading for the administrative office and calling for him on the comm," Kayla said, pinching her fingers to barely an inch. "Then, when he finally shows up I'm going to kick his ass."

"Calm down," I chuckled, "I'm sure you won't have to do that."

"Which part? Calling him over the comm or kicking his ass?"

"Hopefully, not both," I responded. I looked around as the both of us were standing in the center of the school, halls spanning from this point, sky light seeping in above us. Then, I got an idea and said, "We haven't checked outside." Kayla stared at me for a moment, before wordlessly agreeing with my referred idea and rushing for the gym. I quickly followed after her.

Passing through the gym, we made it outside where the game field was. The only people around were the soccer team practicing and JROTC running drills. No one sat along the bleachers or hung out on the side lines. We peeked under both bleachers and found no one.

Kayla frowned and looked around, her thinking face on. "Let's walk around the school," I suggested. Kayla nodded and we started walking together. I checked the time on my watch (something I decided to use since I have no phone for time), seeing that we were past the usual time that we all leave. A few times, Kayla and I got stopped by security and we got asked what we were doing. We explained our situation to them, they gave us a warning, then we went on our way. After a while, we stopped walking, finding no sign of Craig through our trek.

"Dammit, Craig," Kayla murmured, "where the hell are you...?"

While Kayla stood in front of me, stressing out, something caught my attention behind her and I moved my head to the side. And, there, in a grove of trees, was Craig. He looked tempered but was not yelling. Quickly, I tapped Kayla's shoulder and pointed behind her. She turned and gasped, eyes going wide. Then, she opened her mouth attempting to holler but I grabbed onto her and covered her mouth. I dragged her up against the school building and whispered, "Something's happening so let's not get in the way."