"I'm sorry I can't help you." The sheriff responded to the group. They had arrived about ten minutes ago and told the man what had happened about a half an hour before. Actually, they've had to tell the story several times now as the sheriff seemed to ignore their pleas.

Nate stared at the man bewildered. "Why can't you?"

"There is no evidence to support your story."

They all stared at the man angrily. "But the text is right here! Nate shows the sheriff his phone for about the third time now.

"I'm sorry, but since there is no number I have no proof that you or one of your friends didn't send the text for some sick joke." He tells them gesturing to Mitchie and Alex.

"You know already that my best friend is in danger and you need more proof?!"

"I'm sorry."

"No, no you're not." The boy storms out of the police station.

"Nate!" Mitchie yelled after him but he was already out the door.

Mitchie and Alex saw that there was no stopping him. They ran out of the police station behind him. In order to not get left, both had to jump in the back of his truck. He was that mad, not that Mitchie nor Alex blamed him. The sheriff was being unreasonable.


They soon arrived at the Jonas house. Nate gets out of the car and slams the door behind him. He hurries into his house. He doesn't even acknowledge that he left the girl's outside nor does he acknowledge Shane. The girls scramble out of the back of the truck and into the house. They follow Shane who is now following Nate up to his room.

"Nate, what is going on?" Shane asks his younger brother.

The boy doesn't look up as he responds. "The police won't do anything about Miley." He opens his sock drawer.

Shane looks at the girls behind him confused and the fill him in on what's been going on all morning since it was obvious Nate wouldn't.

Shane turns back to Nate. "What are you thinking about doing?"

Nate still doesn't look up and opens another drawer. He finally finds what he was looking for, his favorite pocket knife. "I'm going to find her. Someone has to." He pops out the blade with a flick of his wrist and checks to see if it's sharp the way he wants it.

"Nate, doing something like that will be extremely dangerous. Besides, you don't know where she is."

Nate flips the blade of the knife back down. He turns from the drawer and leans against the dresser finally looking at his brother. "Maybe not, but I have to try Shane. I just have to."

"Nate, the desert is a big place. It would take weeks to cover all of it, if you don't die of dehydration first." Alex points out.

"You all can stay here if you would like, but I am going to find her no matter what it takes. I promised her." The boy pushed passed them and then turned around once in the door way. "Now, are you coming or staying?"

"You know I'm coming with you." His brother responds without hesitation.

Nate faced the two girls in the room.

"Ok, we're in." Mitchie answers for the both of them.

"I'll get the cooler from house and fill it with water." Alex tells the group.

"We'll also need a map, some binoculars, some stuff to start a fire on cold nights; sorry bro, I'm not sleeping in your truck." Shane chuckles slightly. "I'll get those no problem."

"I'll get tents, blankets and anything else that we think of while we are packing the truck." Mitchie says.

Nate smiles a little. "Thanks guys."


They quickly packed everything and soon started off. Nate decides to make a quick stop before they begin searching. About 10 minutes later, the truck stops in front of a house.

"Umm, why are we at Taylor's?" Mitchie asks from her spot in the back of the truck.

"I'm going to see if he wants to join us."

"Why in the hell would you want to do that?" Alex asks. "You're just wasting your time. In case you forgot, he doesn't give two shits about Miley."

"I didn't forget. I know we all hate the boy but chose to ask anyway. Maybe finding out Miley went missing earlier gave him a change of heart."

"Ha, yeah right, once a dick-head always a dick-head." Mitchie retorts.

Nate ignored her and went to knock on Taylor's door.

Taylor opens the door with an icepack on his jaw. Under the icepack a black, blue and yellow bruise, the size of Nate's hand, had appeared. "What do you want Gray?" He asks nastily. "Don't you think you've annoyed me enough today?"

"Look I'm sorry-"

The other boy interrupts him. "I highly doubt that."

"ANYWAY, I was wondering if you wanted to come help us look for Miley."

"Now, why on earth would I want to do that? Only a moron would enter the desert to look for someone. Besides the police are looking for her. Let them find her."

"Moron or not I'm not going to let her die out there. The police are hardly doing squat anyway and she could be dead before they finally do something."

"Whatever, I'm not going out there. She and I are over. Whatever happens to her now I don't give a damn. She could rot out there for all I care."

"You really are a low life bastard aren't you?"

Taylor rolls his eyes. "I hope you die out there. All of you." He slams the door before Nate could say another word.

"Dick." Nate mumbles under his breath.

"I didn't think he would come." Shane says to Nate when the boy opens the car door.

Nate sighs. "Not now Shane, just shut up ok?"

The older boy holds his hands up in defense. "Sorry."


The ride to the desert was quiet. No one really wanted to say a word. Not just because they may anger Nate but because they could also start coming up with worse case scenarios about what could happen to either them or Miley. Though, that didn't stop them from thinking about it. Soon they entered the desert. They turned on the air conditioner as high as it would go, the boys took off their shirts and were now in muscle shirts and Mitchie went ahead and passed out water bottles to everyone. About 15 minutes in, they come to an old abandoned ware house type building. It looked like an old storage house as the ground around it was littered with old tires, scrap metal, old wheelbarrows and other junk that probably hadn't been touched in years. A car was parked near it.

"That's Brandi's car. What are they doing out here?" Alex asked to no one in-particular.

Nate parked beside Brandi's car and everyone got out of the truck.

"Brandi?" Mitchie calls out toward the seemingly empty warehouse.

Brandi and Braison come out from behind the warehouse. "What are you guys doing out here?" Nate asks them.

"Well after we checked every place in town and no one answered at Alex or Mitchie's house, which I see they are with you, we came out here. We just got here about five minutes ago. Why are you guys out here?"

"The girls will tell you everything. I want Shane and I to go ahead and take a look around."


About half an hour later, Nate kicks a scrap of metal in frustration. "She isn't here." Shane puts a hand on his brother's shoulder. Nate turns around to face him. The boy looks like he wants to cry. "Promise me we'll find her alive Shane."

The older boy instantly pulls the younger boy into a hug. "We will find her."

The other boy pulls away a little so he could look into his brother's eyes. "Promise me."

Shane puts his forehead to his, but hesitates a moment. "Ok, …I promise, we will find her alive." He pulls his brother into a hug again.

'I hope.' He thinks to himself.

I know it's kind of short but hey on the plus side part 10 will be realllllyyy long as it was originally the last part of this series. :)