Immortal Bodies

Chapter 14-Riley Missing

"Okay--I'm sorry, there, will you talk to me now?"

Annaliese shook her head, taking out her Math book.

Christian sighed. "I haven't seen Riley today, do you know where she's at?"

Annaliese put her chin in her hand and stared ahead at the board, ready for class to go ahead and start.

"Annaliese, how many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

"Until your vocal cords get ripped out of your throat which will sadly never happen unless you keep bugging me," Annaliese replied, determined not to show him his anger.

"Okay, graphic," he said, taking a seat beside of her. "But I felt awful after doing it, if it makes you feel any better?"

"Really?" She turned to him, clenching her fists. "You felt awful? Christian--I got home yesterday to see an ambulance in my front yard, leaving me to think my Uncle was dead or something, only to have some woman drug me to sleep and wake up four hours later to be in a some white room at a Mental Facility all because of you!"

Anger seemed to flare through his eyes, too. He may have said something awful, back, but must've never got the chance, because Isaac came up to them at that very moment.

"Are you okay? I heard you had to go to a Mental Facility yesterday--and I was worried...." his eyebrows narrowed in curiosity.

With a sharp glance at Christian, Annaliese stood up, (picking up her Math textbook, as she planned to move as far as humanly possible from that monster as she could get) and led Isaac to the back of the room.

"How'd you hear about that?" she asked.

"Oh--Hailey saw you walking out of the Facility," Isaac said with a shrug.

"Whose that?" They took a seat together.

"School gossip? Has her own blog and everything?"

"Oh, and I suppose everyone reads her blog?"

Isaac nodded. "Yeah...But she also put that someone mistaked you for seeing demons....I'm just glad its not true, I mean...That's horrible, to go through that sort of thing with the Facility and all."

Yeah, you wish, Annaliese thought bitterly. "I'm surprised you still want to--"

"Can I grab you for a second?"

Annaliese twisted in her seat to see Dylan, pale and stricken-looking.

"Um...Class is about to start," she replied, keeping her sight on Mr. Hanks, the Math teacher, grapping papers off of his desk at the front of the room.

"It's really important." He narrowed his eyes.

She suddenly realized that this was about that thing--the demon-monster-gatekeeper thing. "Yeah, Isaac, this is an emergancy."

She got up yet again.

Dylan looked at Mr. Hanks. "She's wanted at the office."

"Okay, the both of you, go," he said in a soft voice. He was one of the nerdy teachers, with the beige dress pants and wore a red bow tie, with his hair slightly tossled.

Annaliese walked out of the class with him, and they started walking down the hallway together.

"Riley's missing," he finally said, raking a hand through his hair.

"What?" Annaliese couldn't hide her shock towards the sudden predicament.

"Yeah--ever since last night. When she went home--her dad called me and said she didn't come home last night, and asked if she was with us, thought it was three in the morning. And I haven't seen her at school either."

"Look, maybe she was just trying to get away. I mean, I would. Finding out the Gatekeeper wanted me to spill blood on the Holy Altar? That's a big--"

Dylan cut her off by laying a hand on her shoulder. "Do you smell that?"

"Smell what?"

"Demon blood." He coughed. "It smells like--like something died."

"Well they're demons," Annaliese pointed out.

Dylan rolled his eyes. "This way." He grabbed her hand and led her down the hallway towards that locker chamber.

And stopped.

And Annaliese saw why.

Written in dark crimson--almost black, were the words that no one wanted to see. The words that made Annaliese's whole body shudder with fear:

Thanks for giving Riley to me.

--Courtesy of the Gatekeeper

"Dylan," Annaliese whispered.

He turned towards her. "No, Annaliese. We have to get more answer before we do anything."

"How are we going to do that?" Annaliese asked, feeling her throat contract.

"We need to pay a visit to our Aunt."