Alfie looked at the clock, finding that Jerome had been gone for twenty minutes. He went into the living room. "Has anyone seen Jerome?"

"No," Fabian answered.

"He has been gone for a while," said Nina.

"I think something bad has happened to him." Alfie was worried.

"Just give him a few minutes. I'm sure he'll show up."



Rufus walked around the front of the car, then opened the passenger's door. He grabbed Jerome's shirt collar and pulled him out of the seat. He led him into a warehouse, his hand gripping the boy's arm tightly.

The building had one large room and one small room, which was in the corner. Jerome was put here. A chain was bolted to the floor. On the other end was a cuff. This was in the middle of the room.

Rufus had obviously planned on kidnapping Jerome and bringing him here, for the chain and cuff had been put together by him. He forced the young man into a sitting position, putting the cuff around the ankle of the unscarred leg.

Music suddenly began playing.

"What's that?" Rufus asked.

"My phone."

The man took it out of Jerome's pocket, checking to see who was calling. "Alfie." He put the phone to the boy's ear and pressed the 'talk' button after commanding, "Do not say a word about where you are."

"Hey, mate. What's up?"

Alfie sighed with relief. "I was so worried about you. Where are you?"

"My mum picked me up and is taking me to my grandpa's funeral. We're gonna stay with my relatives for a few days."

Rufus smiled at his quickly-thought-up lie.

Alfie knew that Jerome hasn't seen or heard from his parents since he was five. He also knew that all of his grandparents had died before he'd turned fifteen. "Is something wrong? Did something happen when you met Rufus?"

"Yeah. I'll tell her," Jerome said, glancing at Rufus, who was urging him to end the call. "I gotta go. See ya."

With that, Rufus hung up the phone.


"Jerome? Jerome, wait. Je-" Alfie stopped talking when he heard the dial tone in his ear. He hurried into the living room, where Nina, Patricia, Fabian, and Amber sat. "Sibuna meeting. Now." He went to the room that he and Jerome shared, followed by the other members.



Rufus put the cell phone into his pocket. "Pretty good liar, huh?"

Jerome didn't say anything. It's not like he was proud to be good at lying.

The man pulled two pieces of cloth out of his pocket. He tied one around Jerome's mouth, using it as a gag. The other was secured over his eyes.



"What's this about?" Amber said.

Alfie spoke. "Jerome's in trouble."

"What happened?" Fabian asked.

"I don't know."

"Then how do you-" Patricia began.

"I called him, and he was acting weird. He said that his mum is taking him to his grandpa's funeral. But he hasn't talked to his mum since he was five."

Nina spoke. "Maybe she-"

"All of his grandparents are dead," Alfie stated.

Everyone exchanged worried glances.

"Okay," Nina said. "What exactly did he say while you were on the phone with him?"

"He said that he and his mum were going to stay at their relative's for a few days until the funeral. I asked him if something happened when he met Rufus, but he only said, 'Yeah. I'll tell her.' Then he had to go.

Everyone thought about this.

"Something was wrong. I could tell in his voice."

"Wait a second," Nina said. "After you asked if something happened, he said 'yeah'. Maybe Rufus was around. What if Jerome was trying to cover up the answer so Rufus wouldn't get suspicious about what the question was?"

"I'm confused," said Amber.

"Are you saying…" Patricia paused. "Are you saying that Rufus kidnapped Jerome?"



"Hello, Victor," Rufus said into his cell phone.

"What are you calling me for, Rufus?" Victor said.

"I just wanted to make a trade. I want that elixir."

"I don't think so."

"Not sure? How about now?" Rufus put the phone to Jerome's ear and commanded him to talk.

"Hello?" the boy said.

"Jerome? Is that you?" Victor said.

Rufus took the phone before he could answer. "So how about that trade?"



"What are we gonna do?" Alfie asked.

"We could look around the campus for clues tomorrow. It's too late tonight; we won't be able to see."

Rufus gave Victor twenty-four hours to get him the elixir. If he didn't, Rufus would kill Jerome.

Currently, Rufus was leaning against a wall, reading though Jerome's text messages. "Who's this 'Mara' girl? You fancy her?"

The boy didn't answer. Instead, he knowingly asked, "You're not gonna let me go…are you?"

Rufus grinned. The young man couldn't see this, but he understood because of Rufus' silence.

Jerome's voice cracked. "Why?"

"You know way too much."

"I won't tell anyone. I promise."

Rufus gave another reason. "You double-crossed me."

Tears formed in the young man's eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I bet you are."