The Beta Female

Ten

I tried to go back to relaxing and having fun on the beach, but I couldn't shake off the feeling I got when I pictured those two girls. Where had I seen them before? Where had I heard their names?

And then everything clicked.

"Oh my gosh!" I instantly ran back to our stuff. Kiera and Trinity looked confused but followed.

"What's up, Baleigh?" Kiera asked.

I didn't answer. I plopped onto my towel and ruffled through my bag. I found my phone at the bottom and pulled it out, quickly typing in the girls' names. I wasn't sure what I was going to find, but I had a feeling that it might be huge.

In seconds, pictures of the girls popped up. My eyes widened. "Guys! Adelyn and Taylor are on missing persons list! They've been kidnapped!"

"What?" Trinity ran over and grabbed my phone from my hand.

"No way!" She handed my phone back. "I bet those guys were the kidnappers!"

"What's going on?" Sydney said. She took off her sunglasses. "Is everything ok?"

"We just met two girls who happen to be kidnapped! And we let them get away!"

Sydney dropped her book and glasses and slowly sat up. "What? Oh my gosh!"

"We have to go find them!" Trinity exclaimed. "They could still be on this beach!"

"I'll pack up our stuff!" Kiera said. "You and Trinity go look."

I nodded. "Let's go. They might already be at the parking lot by now!"

Trinity and I raced up the hill towards the sidewalk. We looked around for the girls but didn't find them anywhere.

"You go left, I'll go right," Trinity said. "Meet back up here."

I nodded. We both took off in our directions.

My heart was pounding as I ran down the sidewalk and onto a sand dune. I can't believe I let them get away! I could have helped them get back home! I turned right towards a parking lot and looked out at the cars. I didn't see anything that would strike me as kidnappers.

I turned back around and continued along the sand. I ran until I couldn't run no more. My legs felt like jelly as I collapsed on a small sand dune. My breathing was fast. I tried to slow it down.

How I could I let this happen? Why did I let it happen? I thought of the mother. The girl who was probably sitting by their doors, waiting to see them come out in their princess gowns. Waiting to see them get off the bus after a long day at school. All of that, gone. Taken away. And I was part of it.

My breathing eventually slowed down. I relaxed a little, still sitting on the sand. A thought came to my mind. Why did Adelyn seem so set on leaving? And what was she hiding? Something seemed up about that girl. Did she know something?

I sat up, my legs burning from all that running. I brushed off the sand and began to jog my way back to where me and Trinity first split. I saw her standing there, spinning in circles as if she was looking for me.

"Oh my wolfsbane!" She shouted. I was instantly embraced in a giant hug. "Where the heck have you been!"

"Sorry. I got lost," I lied.

Trinity nodded. "I didn't find them. I assume you didn't either."

I shook my head. "I feel so bad. I can't believe we let them get away."

"Hey, we didn't know. It's okay."

"No, it's not. I did. I saw their faces on a missing persons ad on TV and I didn't even realize who they were!" I placed my face in my hands.