Operation M.I.A: Missing in Action (IN NEED OF REVISING)

Chapter IV

Nods and murmurs of approval are spread around the group. Luke takes this opportunity to open his big fat mouth with, "Considering you're on the team, I'm not that surprised."

And just like always, Avery flashes an irritated glare in Luke's direction. "Did I ask for your opinion?" she asks rudely. Luke kinda has a thing for flirting with Avery despite not actually having a crush on her, and she never takes it that well.

"I mean, you kinda did," Luke replies, shrugging.

"Y'know, I'd be more than happy to break your non-prosthetic arm if you don't shut up."

"Can we get back on topic here? Thanks," Mia butts in, sighing.

Avery sighs, rolls her eyes, then shakes it off and goes back to the initial subject. "Anyways, quite a few girls weren't able to travel with us, and the last of them confirmed themselves and their parents last night. And it just so happened that we had exactly nine spots left over."

Just for the record, there are ten of us in this group total, including Avery herself. We exchange a few looks of confusion before Heath asks, "So... you want us to come along with you?"

"Even better," Avery replies, beaming. "I signed you all up!"

Now THIS is not news any of us are expecting. Several people begin giving off complaints. "Avery, you REALLY should've given us a chance to talk to our parents about this first," Shanna says.

"Well, I mean, consider it thanks for, y'know, saving me from captivity and all..." Avery replies.

Some members of the group just stare at her with expressions that say, "Did you REALLY have to go there?" and Heath, Luke, and I just stare at each other. I shrug and say, "Well, you have us beat there."

Then Mackenzie decides to step in. "Oh, come on, guys! It'll be fun! I mean, it's the last weekend of summer break, so what better way to spend it than have all of us go on another vacation together? It'd be a great way for us to spend some quality time together." She's sounding much more upbeat and cheery about this than what would be reasonable.

"Mackenzie, might we have to remind you what happened the LAST time we were all on a vacation together?" Sam asks.

"Sam, the adult supervision's going to be MUCH better this time. We're not going to have to deal with another separation," Avery sighs.

"Where are we even going?" Mia asks.

"NYC and Las Vegas, in that order."

"Wow... this must be a really big deal, then," Mia replies, chuckling as if she's nervous.

"Yeah, it is," Avery says. With that, she flashes a look at all of us and asks, "So, what do you guys say? You in?"

A few seconds of us looking at each other commences. Afterwards, we all give our replies. Most people nod or say something like, "Mhm," or, "Yeah." A few give actual sentences as reponses.

Heath: "Seems alright to me."

Sam: "Well, I do need to get out more often..."

Mia: "Sounds lit."

"Great!" Avery exclaims. "We're leaving Friday afternoon and we return Sunday evening. That gives you all two days to get everything ready."

Although I do nod my approval, I still think to myself, Are we seriously doing this?

Then again, I shouldn't really be surprised that the answer to that question is yes.

---

Music: The Ruin from Gradius ReBirth

That evening, as things were winding down all over town and the citizens were preparing for another relaxing night, one family in particular was heading to a local Applebee's for a quick dinner.

And that's where we shall meet Eghosa. Most of the group knows her by this point, as she actually goes to the same school as them. Her family's car pulls into the driveway, and the family of six hops out. No one takes notice of the black sedan that pulls into a parking spot right behind them, neither do they pay attention to the driver who hops out and then makes his way to the side of the building.

As the family quickly learns, the place is rather busy tonight. Two small groups ahead of them already have a wait in process, and Eghosa's family is given a 25-minute wait. Since it didn't seem like a good idea to them to just head to a different place to eat, they decide to just tough it out through the 25 minutes.

Eghosa decides to step outside to wait so she doesn't have to deal with the crowded benches inside the restaurant. She takes a seat alone on the bench outside and begins messing around on her phone. It's a rather peaceful night. A half-moon shines off in the sky as light clouds float past it. Every now and then, there's a slight breeze that blows through, but other than that, the temperature is rather comfortable for an evening in early August.

However, not everything about the night is soothing. There's an unusual lack of people near the front of the restaurant, and it's a little... too quiet. Eghosa, however, is completely naive to this situation, and doesn't express any signs of uneasiness.

Until the rustling begins.

Even though Eghosa is currently listening to music, the rustling of leaves from somewhere nearby is loud enough to catch her attention. She pulls out an earbud and looks around her. A quick scan of the area surrounding her shows no signs of what could've possibly made the noise, so she shrugs it off and puts the earbud back in her ear.

Then the noise happens again. This time, Eghosa sharply turns around in the direction of the noise. It appears to be coming from a pair of bushes just behind her, as she can spot movement within them. Starting to suspect trouble, Eghosa gets up and walks over to the other side of the building, then takes a seat there.

From there, no more strange occurrences... occur for the rest of the wait. In fact, the wait actually ends up being only 21 minutes instead of 25. Eghosa ends up getting a text from her mother telling her to come inside so they can head to their table. Without responding, Eghosa stands back up and begins walking to the front doors. For a brief second, she forgets about the weirdness that was the rustling coming from the bushes.

And it's this exact moment that one hand clamps around her mouth, and another grabs her by the waist. Eghosa gasps and tries to let out a scream, but nothing comes out. She's then pulled away by the two hands that grabbed her.

-

It doesn't take long for the rest of Eghosa's family to take a trip outside of Applebee's to see where Eghosa is. And what they find is a sight so horrifying it takes them a few seconds to regain control of their breathing.

Eghosa's phone and earbuds, lying down on the ground, with their owner nowhere in sight.

One of the more interesting chapters that I've written. Don't have much else to say other than that.

(also, P.S. Yes, Eghosa's IRL counterpart agreed to letting her character be kidnapped for this story. Just felt like I should point that out. OpieOP)