The Color Line

Caught

Bile rises to my throat as I stare helplessly at Harmony's blue phone case. I snatch the phone before throwing the kid to the ground.

"I'm not going to ask you again," I say as I stalk to the boy who is anxiously trying to pick himself up. "Where is Harmony Waters?"

"I don't know," he squeaks. "I just found that phone on the ground next to that house." He points to an old house at the end of the road.

That house. It's Ana's house. I knew she was a jealous bitch, but I didn't think she was bold enough to kidnap Harmony.

My vision blurs as I run to the house at the end of the road. The closer I get, the faster my heart beats and the angrier I get.

I bang on the door of the old, semi-broken down house, hoping and praying that Harmony is inside unharmed. Ana answers the door and shoots me a devilish smirk. Harmony has to be here.

"Where is she?" I growl.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't act dumb," I take a step closer to her. She steps back. "Where is Harmony?"

"She's not here," she chuckles. "Why do you think I'd want her in my house?"

"Her phone was outside of your house Ana. She's here. She has to be here."

"Well she's not," she crosses her arms over her chest. I push past her and barge into her house.

"Alex get out! Now!"

I ignore her as I tear through the small house. A chill creeps up my spine when I find that Harmony is no where be found. There's no trace of her.

"No.." I pull at my hair violently as I pace the room.

"What the fuck is wrong with you Alex?"

"She has to be here. Her phone was outside... I need to find her." Before Ana can say anything else, I storm out of her house, running into the street like a mad man.

What could've happened to her? Everyone in this town hates her so there's no telling who could have taken her. I have no idea where to start. This town may be small, but a good amount of people live here and I know that everyone won't just let me barge into their home.

An idea hits me and I sprint home in hopes that this doesn't blow up in my face. Once I get home, I grab my dad's shotgun. Neither my dad or the police department will help find Harmony so I have to take matters into my own hands.

I start at the house next door to Ana's. Toys litter the front lawn, causing me to instinctively lower the shot gun. My heart rate speeds up. Am I really about to barge into a home full of kids with a gun? An image of Eve blurs my vision. I see her big brown eyes filled with tears as a gun is pointed towards her. Soon my eyes start to water and my stomach turns.

I can't do this...

Almost everyone in this town has small children. None of them would have been able to take Harmony.

At least I hope they wouldn't be able to anyway.

I sit on the sidewalk with the gun sitting securely in my lap. Tears form in my eyes as I think of what could have happened to Harmony. I can't give up. I have to find her. She could be hurt or worse...

A scream creeps up my throat and the tears are now streaming down my cheeks.

I feel a small hand on my back, causing me to jump and clutch the gun. I turn quickly to see Eve standing behind me.

"Where is she?" She whimpers. Jessie and Jacky must have taken her with them when they searched for Harmony. I told them to look and let the police outside of this town know of Harmony's disappearance. I thought it would be helpful just in case whoever took her left town.

"I...I don't know Eve. But we'll find her," I assure the crying five year old.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

I look into her eyes. Those young, once playful, eyes are now filled with so much pain. She clutches what appears to be Harmony's bracelet in her hand as tears flow down her dark brown cheeks.

"Eve? Wh-where did you get that from?" I point to the bracelet that Harmony never takes off.

"Over there." She points across the street to a couple of bushes. I get up, walking towards the area.

It doesn't make sense. How could her bracelet be here and her phone be on the other side of the road? 

"Shit..." I whisper to myself. Whoever took her seems to be bragging or trying to throw me off.

"Eve, go home and tell your mom and dad to lock the doors and not come out."

She nods in understanding, wiping her tears and running home. I watch her to make sure she reaches her parents before I go home to think of a plan. Whoever this person is seems to be playing with me and it wouldn't be surprising if they had help from people in this town.

Walking into my home gives me an uneasy feeling, as usual. I never know what's gonna happen so I'm always on edge.

There's no sign of my parents, which is strange considering that the car is outside. I decide to look around, just in case. The kitchen is clear with no indication that my mom has been cooking. My parent's room is clear and so is the living room. Just as I'm about to check my own room, I hear an unfamiliar voice followed by other voices.

Lifting the shotgun, I creep back downstairs and search again. I open the basement door and slowly descend down the creaky stairs.

Just as I reach for the light switch, a hand grabs my arm and I pull back quickly, finding the trigger.

The lights flash on revealing my father.

"You scared the shit out of me!" I yell with the gun still pointed at my father's head. He's wearing this white robe thing that has a pointy hat. I remember seeing this outfit throughout my childhood. I get a familiar chill down my spine. Bad things always happen to innocent people when he puts that on.

"What the fuck are you doing with my gun?" He questions.

"Nothing." I lower the gun. "Why are you wearing that? What's going on?"

"Don't worry about it." Just as he says that, I hear a scream come from the basement. I try to runs towards it but he stops me.

"Get the fuck out of my way," I bark, pushing him into the wall. I run down the stairs, hearing my father's footsteps behind me.

Once I'm in the basement, I see ten other people wearing the same white outfit, one of them being my mother. She glares at me before I break into the circle of bodies surrounding a girl tied in the middle of the floor.

My heart stops when I see that the girl is Harmony. She's covered in blood and her hair is a mess, sticking to her face and neck. She's crying and the sight of her has me weak in the knees and ready to explode at the same time.

I lose my shit and fire three bullets into the ceiling, causing everyone but my father to drop to the ground.

"Let her go," I say slowly, looking my father straight in the eyes. He grins menacingly.

"This nigger is going to die, Alexander. Her and her disgraceful family."

His words pierce through me and my blood boils. My vision is red as I lunge towards him, allowing my fist to collide with his jaw over and over.

I'm instantly pulled off of him and thrown onto the ground next to Harmony. I attempt to grab her. I need to comfort her and assure her that I'm going to get her out of here. Instead I'm hit in the face several times until my vision starts to blur.

I can hear Harmony screaming for them to stop, and the last image I see is her bloody hand reaching for me as her tears flow like a waterfall down her face, soaking her shirt even more. Then my entire world goes black.