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

Chapter VIII

And then, almost as if to ruin my improving mood, Mia tells me, "That man got away with a hostage."

I groan. "Seriously!? ANOTHER abduction? Why didn't you guys stop him?"

"Y'know, I asked the same question," Mackenzie mutters.

At that moment, one of the judges walks into the gymnasium and asks for our attention. Then she tells us, "Okay, everyone. In light of this recent event, we will be postponing the competition for a later date. We apologize for any possible inconveniences."

Some people start moaning (and the very fact that they feel the need to is a little bit shocking), but I just shrug it off. I'm just too happy to still be alive to care.

"Wait a minute. Where's Zoey?" I hear my dance instructor yell out. A chorus of chattering and crying out begins. My entire body goes stiff.

I lean toward my friends and whisper, "What did the girl look like?"

"All I could tell was that she's wearing exactly what you are right now," Luke answers.

"Oh shit... that had to have been her..." I decide it's best not to tell my dance instructor. One way or another, she'll find out what happened eventually.

"I'm guessing you guys still don't want to do anything about these abductions?" Sam asks. Everyone else shakes their heads no.

"For now, still no. But I'm just saying, these kidnappings are starting to get more and more personal..." I answer.

MIA

Music: B-Doing Woods from Pac-Man World 2

"What a half-waste of a weekend," I joke while we're waiting at our gate at the North Las Vegas Airport. After the fiasco at the dance studio, we went back to our apartment, packed our things back up, and then flew straight here on the hovercraft. We've been here for basically the past two hours, just chilling.

"I wouldn't call it a waste at all. We got to participate in one of the competitions and got 2nd. Besides, we had fun, didn't we?" Avery asks.

Most people give half-hearted nods or murmurs in response. "I just want to go home and forget this trip happened," I mutter to myself.

"Oh, come on, guys. Sure, there were some... mishaps, but all in all, it was a nice way to spend our last weekend of summer break, right?" Avery asks, a gleam of hopefulness in her eyes.

Heath shrugs. "I guess you could say that."

"Guys, they're calling people for boarding," Sean announces. A few minutes later, our group numbers are called, and so we walk through the gate to climb aboard.

The flight itself, while not as long as our other two flights, is filled with a somber mood. Even though it's only in the afternoon, people use the flight time to take naps. It's also a lot more quiet this time around, which makes sense. I got a bit unlucky with who I'm sitting by this time, as on either side I have one of the girls from Avery's dance class, who are trying to talk to each other over me. Sean and Mackenzie are right behind me, with another dance girl between them. Thankfully, this girl offers to trade places with me, and I gladly accept the offer.

For about twenty minutes, we all sit silently, with only the occasional intercom announcement and some small chit-chat to fill the empty hole. Surprisingly, the person who starts talking first is Sean. "What do you guys think about what Avery said?"

Mackenzie and I turn to face Sean, and Mackenzie asks, "What do you mean?"

"She said these kidnappings are getting more and more personal. Do you think this means one of us could be next?"

I roll my eyes. "Sean, that's ridiculous. We were probably just in the wrong places at the wrong times. This shit does happen more often than you think."

"Yeah, but twice in a row seems just a bit too unlikely."

"Don't worry about it, Sean. We'll be fine," Mackenzie says, ending the short-lived conversation. Her tone and posture, however, say otherwise.

When we finally arrive back at the airport we first left from, a large cheer erupts from the crowd. I mumble, "Home sweet home," to myself upon stepping off of the ramp.

"One last time- thank you all for coming on this trip with me. It was really nice to have you all tag along," Avery tells us after we all get off the ramp. I'm about to grunt a response when I see how big the smile on her face is, so instead I choose to play along.

"Thanks for inviting us," I reply, giving Avery my best smile. She beams at my remark, and then runs off to find her luggage. I roll my eyes as I begin walking to find mine.

Our parents are already waiting for us when we exit the airport. When Mackenzie and I locate our parents, our mom asks us, "So, how was the trip?"

"Eh. Nothing terribly interesting happened," Mackenzie answers, yawning and stretching her arms out. "We'll tell you all about it on the car ride home." After she says that, I make eye contact with her, and she gets my message right away. Mackenzie shakes her head no.

Because the last thing our parents need to know is that some girls were kidnapped at both locations we went to.

Definitely one of the longest chapters I've ever written, if not the longest. I just couldn't think of a way to split this up any more that its current state. A lot happens in this chapter though, and I'm proud of the progress I'm making. Plus, I'm caring less about the writing being 100% spot-on, which is making it much easier to be satisfied with my end results. That's not to say I'm not caring about the writing, but I lowered my expectations by a little bit to make it easier to make progress.

Next chapter will be really short by comparison, and also introduce another key character who serves importance to the plot. Betcha can't guess who it is... (she's been in a story before)