Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally.

Warning: This story contains dark themes.

Radio Signal

Prologue

It had been a year. A long, agonizing year. They had been worn down to nothing, sorrow and defeat eating their bones. They were left to wait and wonder, hoping that something would change. Their whole world had been flipped upside down and the entire country had been shocked to its core.

One year ago, Austin Monica Moon had disappeared. It was completely out of the blue. There was no warning. Once his parents had reported him missing, the police adamantly waited for a ransom, a threat, anything. They had found signs of struggle. He had tried to fight off who ever attacked him. He was alone at home, his parents hadn't returned from work yet. Someone had broken in and taken him. Who ever that person was, they never demanded a ransom. They never stole any valuables. They never contacted anyone. It was like Austin and his abductor had vanished into thin air, never to be seen again.

There was a search, of course there was a search. Austin was famous. Everyone looked for him, missing posters were plastered everywhere. Ally, Dez, and Trish were all emotionally wrecked, shocked by the whole ordeal. His parents always cried, begging anyone who would listen if they had seen their son. Every lead ran cold and the search was eventually called off. It lasted much longer than a usual police search, simply because of the fact that Austin was famous and seemingly the entire world was demanding that he be found. So the search had been stretched out by time and by state. Even other countries searched for him.

That was a year ago. They were forced to accept it now. Austin was gone, his kidnapper never brought to justice. He was labeled as missing for the longest time, no one ready to accept otherwise. The ordeal had worn everyone down and was proving to be a lost cause.

Austin was kidnapped a year ago and now, on the anniversary of his disappearance, he was finally presumed dead.

The mortuary was full of weeping people who had all come for Austin's funeral. Ally cringed at the word. Was it really a funeral? She didn't see it as one. It was just closure. A day where they finally say goodbye and move on. She didn't feel that way. How was this moving on? They were burying an empty casket, marking a grave for someone who might not actually be dead. This wasn't really for Austin, it was for everyone else. It was so they could move on.

He could still be out there and now, no one was looking for him. They all thought he was dead. Ally felt empty. She felt no closure. She had lost her best friend and now had to try and accept the fact that she would never see him again. But there was still a chance, wasn't there? No one really knew if he was actually dead. Though there was that chance, she had long since stopped voicing it. People had lost hope a while ago. They had gotten it into their heads that he was never coming back and that was it. No more discussion.

Ally stood up from her seat and walked over to the black casket. A picture of his smiling face stared at her. With lost, sad eyes, she placed a red rose in front of the picture, her rose joining many others. With a half-lidded gaze, she looked down at the casket, knowing it held no body. She could hear the priest giving a speech about how her best friend was in a better place. She inwardly scoffed. Was he really? That man, preaching about how Austin was somewhere better, but he didn't even know if he was actually dead. Austin could still be alive somewhere, suffering, begging for help.

That thought was killing her. How could she accept this? How could she move on without knowing if he was okay? He could be alive right now, in pain. He could be hurt. No one knew if his kidnapper had injured him. He could have been beaten. He could be screaming her name, but she would never know. Guilt overwhelmed her as hot tears began to roll down her face. How could she? How could she give up on him. It wasn't fair.

Her body wracked with sobs as she stood over the empty casket covered in beautiful flowers. Her cries grew louder. Trish ran up to her, attempting to calm her. She shushed her, tried to tell her it was alright. Her words weren't very believable. How could they be? She didn't even believe them herself. Trish clung onto her friend as Ally dropped to her knees. She was sobbing loudly, her wails echoing throughout the room.

No one told her to move and no one tried to stop her. The priest stood at the podium, silent. Dez joined them on the floor. They held each other, crying. The room was silent. Her cries seemed to become a prayer. Everyone bowed their heads and wept with the broken girl.

There's the prologue. Tell me what you thought.