A/N: Hey, this is edited for once!
Aphmau's POV:
I hadn't told anybody about what happened back at the Base.
I hadn't told them about the mystery man.
The next day at school I had apologized to Emmalyn for making her cover for us. No matter how many times she said it was okay, I still felt bad.
That day was, strangely enough, normal. No fights, no clues, nothing. Well, except for one thing...
I'll get to that later.
And then Friday came along..
I slung my backpack over my shoulder and briskly walked to the back of the Library. No one was ever there at lunch, even the librarian was no where in sight. I plopped myself down on a beanbag in a secluded, dark corner and got out my journal.
Now, the scary thing about what that guy had said at the base wasn't just that he knew something we didn't, but the fact that the morning after I woke up with a text.
One that gave me the sinking suspicion it was from him.
What the text had read gave me chills,
History repeats itself, don't be the fool who gets taken by surprise.
I tried messaging back, even calling the number, but all I got was a message saying it didn't exist.
I was afraid sooner or later the others were going realize something was off about me, but I couldn't help but be stressed.
I couldn't fail again, not after last time. Before, I was so confident in myself when it came to missions, so sure we could take on whatever the world threw at us, but now?
I was scared.
Scared that I would fail them all like I did the night of the dance.
This is the only lead I've got, I have to take it.
I knew my journal had belonged to my mother, so it had pages full of things she had wrote. I was always too nervous to read, every time I tried the memories of the massacre flashed through my head, causing me to stop.
This time however, I had to.
Opening the book, I flipped the pages and stopped at a random one.
Anything I try won't work. Perhaps they were right, I'm doomed after all. He won't let me give up, but I already have. Maybe I won't live, but they will, they have to. All of us are tired, this war has gone on for too long. Understand this, you are the key.
I stopped reading after the first paragraph. It was strange, the writing seemed choppy, like she was carefully planning her sentences. 'Understand this, you are the key'? Who is she talking to? Did she know someone was going to read it? I was about to continue when a hand slammed on the book.
Not even flinching, I looked up.
"What's going on?" It was Zane.
"Come again?" I played dumb, not once missing a beat.
"Look, you know I know you're hiding something. Yesterday only confirmed my suspicions-"
"Were you following me?" I tried changing the subject.
"I happened to see you go in here and decided to follow-"
"So you were following me." I stated. He scowled and sat next to me. If anyone had been there to walk by, it would've looked completely harmless.
Smart move.
"I don't know what you're hiding, but I want in." Zane murmured, clear enough for me to hear yet quiet enough in case anyone was listening.
The fact that he did it even when we were sure we were alone showed he knew how to handle these situations.
"No," I assured him. "Believe me, you don't." I didn't bother acting inconspicuous, we were in an area where nobody could sneak up on us without us seeing them. The bookshelves were too thick to listen through, and the turn of the corner was out of earshot. Zane, as cautious as he was being, clearly didn't realize that.
"What's the worst that can happen?" He looked me in the eyes. "Me dying or something?" My silence was enough of an answer for him. His eyes widened as I looked away and swallowed.
"You aren't serious, right?" Zane spoke after a moment.
I didn't answer.
"You still want in now?" I tried to saying jokingly, but it came out solemn.
"Yes, actually, I do." I faced him and stared.
"What?"
It was strange seeing him be so calm and not nervous at all. With his squeaky voice, you think that would make him timid or something.
"You heard me. You sneak around school, always go to the nurse even when you're perfectly fine and, I'm not stupid," Zane looked back at my sleeve. "You have an actual gun up-" I clasped my hand around his mouth and shushed him out of reflex.
"No so loud!" I hissed. "I mean, no one's here, but still!"
"Zane," I started, dropping my hand. "Trust me, you do not want to get involved in this mess."
"I got myself involved the second I dropped that note for you to find." He leaned back. "At this point, I'm too deep into this to go back and forget this ever happened
"I deserve to know." His voice was firm, like he was prepared to not stop arguing if I objected.
"Fine," I sighed, giving in. I decided I would tell him the truth-
But not the whole truth.
I brought my knees up so they were at chest level but still a little far away and leaned my elbow on it. Propping up my head with my hand, I turned to Zane.
"Tell me," He insisted.
I sighed again, thinking over my next words carefully.
"Let me tell you the story," I began.
"Of a man named Disaster.."
***
"Ouch!" I pulled my hand, sucking my finger where it was pricked. "Stupid old sewing machine, I really need a new one." I sighed, giving up on the new scarf I was trying to make.
"What else can I do?" I huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of my face. Pushing back my wheelie chair with my legs, I moved closer to the door and leaned back.
"LAURANCE!" I yelled. Maybe I could give him a makeover, that's always fun. Even if he wouldn't let me, it's always entertaining to bug him. I waited for a reply but none came.
"Weird.." I mumbled. Getting up, I went to the wall.
"LAURANCE!" I made a fist and pounded on the wall. Our rooms were next to each other's, they were thin too so usually we didn't have to shout very loud so the other could hear us. "LAURANCE 'CASANOVA' ZVAHL!" I tried again, and again got no answer.
Now I was worried. I hurried out the door and to the front of his bedroom.
"Laurance?" I knocked softly, turning the handle.
He wasn't there.
My eyes were glued to the window that was open. His sheets were messy, as if he had hurried to leave his bed.
He usually stayed there for hours. I caught myself as I was about to sneeze.
I snatched some tissues out of the tissue box on his bedside table and blew my nose. I was sick, so I had to stay at home. Laurence was sick too. From what he said, he got it from me yesterday.
That's when I noticed something next to the tissue box, it was an envelope. It had already been opened, but the letter was still inside.
"I shouldn't.." I shook my head. No, if something happened to Laurance, this could be my way of finding out. Before I could change my mind, I swiped it off the table and took out the letter. It was plain white paper, ripped at the edges, and in the middle it had something written out in red, scruffy ink.
Shift:
11:00 - 13:45
Be there this time.
I shivered at the last sentence. It was so simple, yet so menacing, it almost sounded like a threat.
Why would Laurance have this? Did he actually go? He was never a bad kid, he only had one bad week and that was when he tried to join the Shadow Knight gang in freshmen year.
He got out of it and was fine though, right?
"Laurance.. What have you gotten yourself into?" I muttered, crumpling the note and stuffing it in my pocket. I rushed out the door and down the stairs, seeing my father in the kitchen.
"Dad?" I asked. "Do you know where Laurance went?"
"Laurance?" He turned around. In any other situation I would've laughed at his pink frilly apron. "He said he was going to help with soccer practice. You know him, a little sickness isn't going to stop him from helping his team. Now, what would you like for breakfast, Sweetheart?" He turned around to face the stove, waiting for my reply.
But I was already gone, up the stairs and back to his room.
Why would he go out the window if Dad knew he was leaving?
I tried to see if anything else was out of place, but my phone started ringing.
"Uh, Hello?" I answered it, searching under Laurance's bed.
"Cadenza Zvahl?" A female voice on the other end asked.
"Speaking, may I ask who this is?" I tried not to sound annoyed.
"I'm calling to ask if you know a Zack, no last name given?" I tensed.
"Zack is a common name," I replied. "You'll have to be more specific than that."
"The person who brought him in only said you were his girlfriend, that he's from Meteli, and part of a.. Council of some sort?" I took in a sharp breathe.
"Who brought him in?"
"Two people, the first didn't state their name, the second said he was his friend; Cloud." Now I was sure she was talking about my Zack.
"Wait, who even is this?" First my brother and now my boyfriend, I was trying to calm down.
"Phoenix drop hospital."
Those words made me forget my attempts to relax and cause my heart to drop. The next thing she said, however, made me feel like I was going to be sick.
"Your Boyfriend's in a coma."
A/N: For anyone who is confused, the flashbacks don't necessarily have to be in the POV that the chapter is in before the flashback. Also, I realized I spelled Zack's name wrong last chapter, so I'm gonna fix that.
Also, how have we managed to hit over 500 views already? We're- what - 12 chapters into this book? Something like that. I finished the last book with 41 chapters and when I ended it we were at 6k nearly 7k views.
That's crazy!
Now, if anyone has any theories on what happens next or ideas, then comment them. I also need a little help with that since I have a bunch of ideas, but I can't use any of them yet without moving the story along too quickly.
Funny enough, I have the exact opposite problem with my other story, where I written a bunch of chapters, but I feel it's taking too long to get where it needs to go.
So, yeah. I've got a whole summer to try and work this out.
I'm excited. Soon it'll be exactly one year since I started writing on Wattpad, and after that is when it will be exactly one yet since I started this series.
Only problem is, I don't have the exact dates, but I'll try to get it around the time.
Last thing, for the message Irene wrote, try to look at it carefully. The fact Aph said 'she was carefully planning her sentences' is a hint.
Just threw that in for anyone who likes secret messages and codes.
Don't worry if you don't get it, it's not actually important, it's just something you might be interested to see if you re a fellow theorist (Game theory or otherwise)
[Edit: Okay, so last last thing: Should I enter one of these books (either 'On the Case' or this one) in the Wattys? I don't really know much about it, but it seems like fun. And if I did, which one should I do it for? Just wanted to add that in]
And until next time,
I'll catch you guys on the Interweb,
BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!
-Onci <3