When the phone was disconnected, I sprinted out of the school and toward my house.
"Arianna, slow down! ARIANNA!" Rylan shouted as he followed me toward the house. Rylan had somehow caught up to me behind my trail. Throwing open the door, I stepped inside.
"Mom! Dad!" I shouted, starting to look around the house. The living room had been torn apart. The pillows were scattered everywhere, the couches were flipped over, and the television had been smashed. I didn't go into the kitchen but ran up the stairs with Rylan behind me. He didn't say anything, nor did he try to stop me from doing anything, as he, too, was now shocked and worried about what was going on. My heart felt like it would burst out of my chest any minute. I looked in every room and bathroom, but no sign of my parents. Everything was scattered across the rooms, and objects were broken.
"What's going on?" Rylan asked, softly standing beside me. I placed my hands over my mouth in an attempt to stifle my cries as I fell to the ground, pulling my knees up to my chest. Rylan quickly pulled me into a hug, cradling me.
"M-my parents called...." I choked out, removing my hands from my mouth. "They sounded scared and almost out of breath. They told me to run, run far away. Someone is after me, someone that I don't know about. My parents told me they were hiding information from me, important information. I last heard this loud crash and an unfamiliar voice saying she was coming for me."
"So, it's a girl? She must have taken your parents. We need to find them, but first, we must get out of here." Rylan soothingly stroked my hair. I sniffled, wiping away any of the tears that had spilled.
"We?" I questioned, looking at him. Rylan smiled, standing up as he held out his hand.
"Wherever you go, I'm coming. We're going to run together. I'm going to protect you."
"Thank you..." I grabbed his hand, jumping up from my spot on the ground. "But you're insane if you'll be coming with me."
"I'm an insane person. Pack anything that has not gotten destroyed yet, and let's get the hell out of here." He shrugged his shoulders.
I looked around my room, seeing that not everything was destroyed, but the essential items that were damaged did make me upset. I pulled out a bag, packing some clothes that were still left behind, my charger, a few pictures of my family, and other objects that were still intact. Wandering around the house, I hoped that my parents were okay and that whoever was after me would soon disappear.
Walking out of the house, I noticed that Rylan had already left and got his car from the school. I must have been taking a while inside for him to get his car that quick.
"I'm ready..." I mumbled, making my way toward the car. Rylan patted me on the back, nodding.
"It's going to be okay. I'm here." He smiled before opening the door for me. Once I was inside and buckled in, he got into the car and started to drive away as I stared at the house, watching it disappear from view.
"Where should we go? It's going to be a long journey." He looked over at me. I averted my gaze away from the window and looked at him instead.
"Don't you need some things too? What about your parents and the fact that we would probably have to go out of town, like back to my hometown? Maybe that's where my parents are."
"I'll just tell my parents something.... yes, it might not go as well, but you need me, Arianna, and I am not leaving you at a time like this. This is so bizarre." Rylan said, shaking his head as he pulled up to his house. "They're not home at the moment. I'll pack a few things and then leave a note. Stay here, I won't be long." He got out of the car and inside the house.
I sighed, leaning back in the seat as I stared into space.
I cannot believe that this is happening right now. This has to be a dream or something. Kidnapping is typical and shit but this? This does not seem normal. I have a bad feeling about this. I sat there, thinking as I ran my fingers through my hair. Turning on the radio to fill the car's silence, I crossed my arms, allowing myself to relax. I slowly drifted off to sleep if it wasn't for a voice interrupting.
"Do you think running is going to help you? Wherever you go, I can and will find you. You want to run so badly, go back to your old house. Everything you need to start with will be there." There was that voice again. The voice on the phone, but now she's in my head. It was dark, with no light guiding me in my dream.
Dream... This was all a dream. The voice laughed at me. It was one of those ' you're kidding me, right?' laughs.
'Oh, Arianna... this is not a dream. I can get into your head and see exactly where you are going. We're connected, my dear. Soon, I'll be able to take over your life." The voice cackled. Suddenly, everything started shaking as I saw an image of a girl my age. I could not see many details of her other than her long black hair and bright blue eyes staring back at me.
"I'm coming for you. You wait."
"No!" I shot up, gasping for breath. The sound of the radio had now been turned down, but the pounding in my head would not stop. Rylan grabbed hold of my arms, facing me to him. A confused yet worried expression took over his face as he examined me.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Rylan asked, rubbing my arms. I looked at him, seriousness etched into my voice.
"We need to get out of here... now."
....
"Are we there yet?" I asked for the millionth time. Rylan glanced over at me, and if it was not for the fact that he was driving, he probably would have reached over and choked me.
"Go to sleep..." Was his response. I shifted my body toward him, leaning over a bit.
"I already slept probably ten times this whole ride," I complained, giving him a pout. Rylan looked over at me, pushing my head away.
"Then play on your phone or something. I only slept like, what? Two times whenever we stopped for a bathroom or to rest...?"
I sighed, nodding my head. He had a point, though I always suggested that we could take turns driving, but he wanted to go. I leaned back in my chair, took my phone off the charger, and started scrolling through social media, though my mind kept drifting off to that voice. That girl... She must have my parents somewhere, and she must be close.
What is she waiting for? Why does she want to take over my life? I don't even know what she's capable of doing.
My phone started going off, the vibrating waking me from my daze. Glancing down, there was an unknown number flashing on the screen. I hesitated before finally answering the call, pressing the phone against my ear as I glanced over at Rylan, who was focused on the road.
"Hello?" I looked out the window, but I could feel Rylan looking at me. Luckily, we stopped at a gas station for a break. Opening the door, I jumped out of the car, letting the wind blow against my face.
"Hello?" I said a bit louder. Did the person not hear me or something? I pulled the phone away from my ear, but the caller was still flashing on the screen. Putting the phone back against my ear, I waited for a response.
"How long have you been running, Arianna?" The girl asked. I sucked in a breath, scanning my surroundings as if maybe she might be nearby. Ready to pounce.
"How do you know my name?" I cursed under my breath. That was a dumb question to ask. This is a question someone would ask in those horror movies.
"Easy.... I know you..." She answered with a snort.
"I don't know you."
"Oh, but you do, sweetheart. You don't remember, though."
I shook my head, quickly pressing the end call button before any other discussion was needed. If she was around, I do not want to stick around this place. Turning around, I went to call out for Rylan, but he was nowhere to be found. Panic rushed through my body, and I started looking around. Maybe he went inside the store to buy something or go to the bathroom. I looked down at my phone.
It was only eight o'clock. The sun had already disappeared behind the clouds, letting the stars and the moon take over. I ensured that the door to the car was locked, indicating that Rylan must have walked inside the store or got kidnapped afterward, but there was no way. I would have noticed, or I would have been abducted, too. Rushing into the store, I gave a nervous smile to the cashier before scanning the store. There was no one inside, but Rylan had to be somewhere.
"Did a teenage boy with dark brown hair and green eyes come in here?" I asked, looking over at the cashier who leaned against the counter staring at me. He nodded his head, pointing over at the men's bathroom. I sighed in relief before seeing Rylan coming out of the bathroom, wiping his hands on his jeans.
"You ran out of paper towels..." Rylan mumbled, fixing his belt. I ran over, wrapping my arms around his waist, catching him by surprise. Rylan awkwardly patted my back. "You alright?"
"You cannot leave me in the dark knowing someone is out to get me and could have been hiding in the bush or something! I got a call from the person, and it scared me very much, and then suddenly, I turned around, and you weren't there." I moved my hands around as if I were conducting a band or something. Suddenly, someone cleared their throat, causing me to pause and slowly turn toward the sound.
"Should I call the cops?" The man asked curiously as he stared at us. I smiled innocently, slowly shaking my head.
"No sir... we're perfectly fine. We'll grab some snacks and drinks and be on our way." I squeezed Rylan's hand before collecting a few candies, snacks, and drinks. After paying, I mentally glared at Rylan as we climbed into the car.
"What did she say? Do you even know her name?" Rylan broke the silence. I looked over at him, wiping away the crumbs on my face. " Don't be dropping crumbs in my seat, lady."
I rolled my eyes at him as I took another bite out of the pretzel. "No, but she knows my name and who I am, but I have no clue who she is. Not her name nor what she looks like other than black hair and, uh.... blue eyes. And her voice."
"I guess that is helpful. Right?" He looked over at me as he crumpled up his napkin. I shrugged my shoulders, finishing up my soda. There were still more snacks and drinks left for later on. "We'll need to find a hotel for the night."
"Do we have money?" I raised an eyebrow. Rylan narrowed his eyes a bit, giving me a dumb look.
"Nooo.. I do not have money. How'd we get food or gas, Ari? I have money, and I saved up. Did you save up?" He leaned over, tilting his head.
"Some of my money got stolen or burned by the kidnapper, thank you." I snarled at him before turning around and placing my hand under my chin. Rylan sighed, buckling himself in before driving out of the gas station.
"What's the nearest hotel?" Rylan asked Siri as he drove. I glanced over as Siri pulled up the closest hotel, which was not far, nor would it take us too long to get there. I leaned back against the seat, starting to play a game on my phone. However, I kept drifting back to my messages, wondering if any might pop up. Like from my parents, but I saw nothing but 0 messages on my screen.
"We'll find them, Ari. Don't worry..." Rylan reached over, placing his hand on my thigh, the nearest body area he could get. He must have noticed my movements to know I was not handling this situation well. My left leg kept bouncing; I would fidget several times in my seat and kept looking for any messages from my parents.
"How are we going to find them? We do not know where they are. Their location is off." I looked over at him, setting my phone down in between my legs.
"Your parents must be with the kidnapper."
"Yeah, and where is the kidnapper?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
There was silence.
"Exactly. We do not know who, what, where, and how about this kidnapper to find where my parents are." I gritted my teeth, getting frustrated. I need some sleep. Except I knew exactly where they might be. She told me where I needed to go, but even so, that was not enough information to go by.
"Ari, listen. Have you tried calling either one of them?" Rylan glanced over.
"I'm pretty sure their phones either got smashed, or the kidnapper has them," I answered.
"Okay, um... then how about we-" Rylan started, but I shook my head.
"I'm tired, exhausted. I do not want to talk about this right now. Can we get to the hotel and sleep?" I cut him off. Rylan pressed his lips together, contemplating before moving his hand from my thigh.
"Yeah... we'll talk about it tomorrow, okay?" Rylan continued to follow the road toward the hotel. Once we got to the hotel and signed in, I flopped onto the bed, climbing under the covers.
"You're not going to shower or at least wash-up?" Rylan asked, raising an eyebrow. I peeked out of the covers and narrowed my eyes.
"I'll do that tomorrow, but I am exhausted." I disappeared into the covers again. I heard a bit of shuffling before it was silent.
"Good night, Arianna. Sweet dreams..."