Riley stood there dumbfounded and watched as one of the masked intruders stalked over to Maya, and her blue eyes widened in fear and Riley knew what was about to happen. She quickly ran over to the intruder and kicked him hard in the back just as he reached for Maya,
"You stay away from her, Maya Run!" Riley screamed to her best friend as a hand was clamped over her mouth, the young brunette tween struggled and stared with pleading eyes at her best friend as if begging her to get away and hide. Her light brown eyes filled with tears as she let out one final shout at Maya before the person who held her hit her upside the head with the butt of their gun causing Riley to fall to the ground. Maya blinked at the man who lifted up an unconscious Riley, She knew who it was behind the mask, and it caused her so much pain. Maya quickly turned however and took off up the stairs towards Riley's bedroom where she found Farkle sitting on the bed holding Riley's brother Auggie comfortingly as he cried. As soon as Farkle met Maya's gaze he knew something terrible had happened, he felt a pang in his heart as Maya closed the door quickly behind her and bit her already bleeding lip nodding slowly at Farkle who looked down at Auggie and scooped him into his arms as he stood up.
"What do we do Maya, they are going to be here any minute, and we can't let them get-" Farkle glanced down at Auggie and back at Maya with sad eyes.
Maya walked up to the two boys and ruffled the little boy's hair and kissed Farkle on the cheek "I need you and Auggie in that closet, scoot Auggie as far back as you can and stay as quiet as possible."
"What about you?!" Farkle quickly exclaimed with worry.
"I will uh.." Maya scanned the room until her gaze hit the single bed "I will hide under here, quick let's go we don't have much time!" she pushed Farkle towards the closet and dropped down to the ground and slid underneath the messy bed. She bit her lip as the door squeaked open slowly, Maya hoped Auggie would stay quiet as her mind kept flashing to downstairs and wondered if Riley were alright.
Maya held a hand over her mouth as he watched as someone strolled into the room, she saw a pair of boots walk around the perimeter of the bed, and Maya stood silently with her hand still over her mouth as she was sure the person was going to find her. Maya's heart was pounding when she heard a noise and looked up to see the closet door squeak open partially, and her heart skipped a beat as the unknown assailant rushed to it and swung it open revealing Farkle who was huddled in the front his foot had accidentally kicked the door. He was grabbed by his hair causing him to yell out, and Maya tightly closed her eyes hoping Auggie would stay safe and not make a sound, Farkle kicked and knocked over the lamp in Riley's room before a loud bang was heard in the hall which caused Maya to jump. Soon the house was silent, and Maya quickly but silently came out from under the bed and rushed to the closet,
"Auggie?!" Maya exclaimed in a panic as she looked around, her eyes settled on the little boy's small frame which huddled underneath some clothing. She felt her heart tighten as Auggie scrambled to form the hiding spot and clung to her, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist as his sobs echoed in the dark closet.
"Maya! Who were those people!"
"I don't know Auggie…" Maya lied as she hugged the boy tighter and did her best to hold him as she walked them quietly down the stairs. She wasn't sure if the people were gone, but they had to get out of the house. As they made it down the stairs she froze in fear as she looked around the destroyed living room, her mind replayed Riley's screams as her gaze fell on a small trail of blood that led out the front door. Maya kept Auggie close to her tightening the grip she had on him more as a bright light shined on the two, she felt her heart begin to race until two police officers and a smartly dressed woman come rushing into the destroyed apartment. Auggie whimpered, but Maya stood still perhaps there was hope that Riley and Farkle had been saved and this terrible night would be behind them. The smartly dressed woman walked over to them as the two officers walked in and out of each room yelling "Clear" as they exited. The woman smiled although it was hard to see In the dark living room she knelt down in front of Auggie and Maya,
"My name is Officer Ramirez, and we are going to get you two to the hospital. Can you tell me your names?"
Auggie looked up at Maya and bit his lip, he was still shaking and crying from what happened, and Maya simply stood silently as if she were a million miles away.
"Alright, perhaps I can get your names after… come with me" Officer Ramirez said kindly as she led the two kids out of the apartment and into the dimly lit street outside.
As they walked towards the waiting ambulance, a woman's voice called out, and suddenly Auggie yelled out
"Mommy!"
Topanga Matthews rushed past the police tape that was already being placed to signal that the place was a crime scene. She reached the kids with a look of worry as two officers grabbed her,
"He's my son, let me see him!" Topanga cried as she looked at the officer
"Can somebody please tell me what the hell is going on? Cory said as he ran up to his wife and looked at Maya and Auggie.
"Mrs….and Mr…" Officer Ramirez began
"Matthews.." Topanga said quickly, just wanting to hold her child.
"Right, Mrs. Matthews. You and your husband are going to have to follow us to the hospital; I'm afraid there's been a home invasion at your residence tonight."
"What, what are you saying.." Topanga looked at Maya and blinked just realizing that Riley wasn't with her. "My daughter, where is my daughter?" and Maya's heart broke more, she had failed her best friend and her best friends parents. She looked down at the ground as the officer handed Auggie to Topanga.
"I think it's best we spoke at the hospital." Officer Ramirez spoke as she glanced at Maya and back at Topanga. Topanga looked up at the dark apartment building and again at the officer as she held Auggie tightly.
"She's not…."
"No, but please we have to go now… it's better if we get the children away from this place." Officer Ramirez placed a hand on Maya's shoulder and led her to the ambulance while The Matthews' followed behind, soon they were heading quickly towards the hospital and what would be the longest night ever was soon to begin.
Topanga kept Auggie close to her as she wiped his tears gently with her finger, she occasionally glanced up at Maya who had a nasty bruise forming around her eye and a busted lip, the girl was shivering but seemed lost in her little world. The woman felt bad for her and nudged Cory slightly before nodding towards Maya, Cory glanced up and cleared his throat "Hey Maya, how are you holding up?" he placed his hand on Maya's knee but quickly drew it back as he noticed the girl tense up and cross her legs. He looked at Topanga with worry as Maya scooted herself into a small corner of the stretcher she was on. Once they arrived at the hospital, Auggie was taken into a room with Maya while Topanga and Cory were brought to a waiting room with one of the officers.
"Why can't we be with them? They need a familiar face…" Topanga said as she looked over at the room where the kids were being held.
"The children will be alright, but first I have a few questions, first where can we find Maya Hart's mother?"
Cory and Topanga looked at each other and back at the officer, "Katy Hart is Maya's mother." Topanga pulled out her phone "Should I call her?"
"That would be best; we cannot treat Maya until we have a parent here. Your son August Matthews however, is doing fine. He was not hurt he's not sure what happened tonight. We want to keep him a few days in our children's ward, you both can also stay. Later we will send an officer with one of you to gather some belongings from your apartment."
Topanga nodded as she dialed the number for Katy's cell and waited for it to pick up there was no answer, so she left a voicemail.
"Katy, I need you to come to the hospital something happened at the house. They can't tell me anything about Maya, but please come as soon as you can." she hung up and turned to the officer "She will get the message soon, and I'm sure she'll be right over, can you tell us about our daughter now?"
"yes, we have reason to believe that your daughter may have been kidnapped along with another boy around the same age, we looked on the security cameras and saw both being dragged out of the building. The two intruders wore masks so we couldn't make out who they were but we believe it was a man and a woman. We are going to try everything we can to find them alive."
Topanga felt as if her heart had just been yanked out, not only was Riley missing but Farkle had been there as well. "Why were Maya and Auggie spared? If they were all in the house."
"That is what we are trying to figure out, be patient and let us do our jobs alright? And while you are here I would call family and friends; you are going to need the support."
Topanga looked to Cory who already had his phone out to call his parents and Shawn, while Topanga quickly pulled out her phone to contact Stewart Minkus and tell him that his son was missing along with her daughter.
Soon a rush of voices came flooding the halls of the hospital, and Katy Harts panicked voice rang out above everyone.
"Where the hell is my daughter, let me see my daughter!" Katy yelled as two orderlies came over to see why so many people were in the hospital. Topanga rushed out into the hall and upon seeing the commotion quickly ran over to Katy,
"It's alright they are here for us…" she turned to Katy and hugged her tightly
"What happened Topanga, where is Maya.. is Riley alright?"
Topanga felt a lump form in her throat as she leaned back from the hug "Let us focus on Maya right now okay? I think they are waiting for your permission so they can look at her."
Katy nodded as Topanga led her to a room where Maya sat still as ever staring blankly at the floor while the officer's asked her questions.
"If you don't tell us what happened then we will not be able to help you, please tell us." one of the officer's said pleadingly. Maya kept quiet and kept her hands between her legs and bit the inside of her cheek,
"Maya! Oh god, my baby!"
Maya looked up to see her mother running up to her, Katy wrapped her arms tightly around the girl before pulling away only after Maya stiffened up, "Maya? It's okay…" she said lowly "its just me" Maya's face contorted as she kicked her mother in the stomach and screamed,
"No! No get away from me, leave me alone! RILEY!" one of the officers rushed to Maya's side and attempted to hold her still which only caused Maya to scream louder. Katy stepped back as Officer Ramirez, and a doctor ran into the room,
"What happened?" the female officer said as she went over to Auggie who watched In fear as the doctor inserted an IV and sedated the girl.
"Get her out of here!" Officer Ramirez shouted as she pointed at Katy. She knew something wasn't right and she would get to the bottom of this. The officer looked back at Auggie and smiled reassuringly "It's alright, Maya was just tired, so we gave her some medicine to help her sleep. Would you like your mom and dad to come in?"
Auggie nodded, and Cory and Topanga rushed in, glancing at Maya who was sleeping. Upon seeing his parents, Auggie became excited again and hugged them both tightly as if never wanting to let go.
"Mister and Mrs. Matthews, how would you say Maya and her mothers' relationship is?" Officer Ramirez spoke once Katy was out of the room.
"Katy loves her daughter, and Maya loves her mother, why are you asking this?" Cory said sneaking a glance at the window where Katy stared from outside, Cory never noticed before but Katy wasn't looking at her daughter with worry, She was glaring at the girl and this made him very uneasy.
