Nervously tapping his foot, Pete pushed his food around on his plate. He and Stephano were sitting in the cafeteria, waiting for a while until they thought it was safe to check on Chase and Barrel. Pete looked up at Stephano, worry shining in his pink eyes. "What do you think's keeping him so long?"
"I don't know. But I'm going to go find out." Stephano got up, grabbing his tray. He motioned for Pete to follow and walked over to a trash bin, dumping the food he didn't eat. Pete quickly did the same, and they set their trays on the top for the cafeteria employees to pick up later.
The pair made their way to the room where the camera was set up. The door was open. Pete looked at Stephano in confusion. "Wasn't the door shut?" He whispered. Stephano only nodded. The two males cautiously entered the room. Stephano immediately noticed signs of a struggle.
A few chairs were knocked over, and table's were moved. Pete walked over to the plant and looked down, seeing the broken camera. "Stephano…" He whispered, looking up at the blonde with unshed tears.
"Merde…" Stephano breathed as he looked around. He picked up the broken camera, trying to see if he could get the device to work at all. However, with the shattered screen and the plastic body cracked, it only sent a shock into his fingers, making him flinch.
Pete, seeing the other flinch, moved toward him. "Are you okay?" He murmured, kissing the blonde's fingers lightly.
"I"m fine." Steph gave him a faint smile. "C'mon. Lets see if we can find where they went." Grabbing his hand, the blonde pulled Pete toward the door, hoping that no professors or janitorial staff happened to walk by while they were there.
Quickly gathering any evidence that they were there, Steph and Pete placed the camera pieces into the bag they brought it in and made their way to the door. Peering around the corners and making sure the hallways were clear, Steph pulled the pinkette out of the room and quickly walked away as if they were never there.
The duo searched the hallways close to the classroom, only finding other random students. A couple people noticed their determination and asked if they needed help, but everyone was denied. If they knew that Barrel or Brogan were involved, they would immediately wuss out. The two passed by Jennifer who asked them what they were looking for.
"We're looking for Chase." Pete told her. "Have you seen him?" Jennifer giggled, nodding which made her hair bounce around.
When Jennifer didn't say anything, Stephano sighed and started to walk away, shortly followed by Pete. That is, until his sleeve was grabbed and he was turned around. Jennifer, for once, had a completely serious look on her face. Stephano and Pete were instantly on guard.
"Okay… So word around the school is that the nerdy kid in Chase's Algebra class saw Barrel carrying a sleeping Chase out of the school building." She murmured quietly. If Jennifer was good for one thing, that was gossip and which rumors were true and which ones were false.
"So Barrel has him…?" Pete hissed lowly, hands clenching into fists. Stephano unconsciously tugged the pinkette close to himself to calm Pete down. It worked, somewhat. Pete was no longer clenching his fists so tight but he was still glaring icicles at the bubbly blackhaired woman.
Jennifer nodded. "Geek boy said it looked kinda like Chase had been knocked out, but he couldn't exactly tell from being too far away." She twirled a part of her hair. "I know where Barrel might have taken him, but you have to do something for me or I wont tell you." She giggled evilly.
Stephano sighed. The bubbly girl probably wanted her homework done again. "What do you want from us?" He instantly regretted agreeing by the excitement that rolled off the woman in waves.
"I know you're close friends with Pewds and I want a date with him!" She practically screeched. Pete winced and the level of her voice. He knew he was loud, but he definitely wasn't that loud.
Stephano exhaled through his nose before starring the woman down. "I can't promise anything but I will talk to him about it." He reluctantly said. The next thing he knew, he was being hugged tightly by the bubbly woman. A long, loud stream of 'Thank you's came from her.
He patiently waited for her to let him go and when she did, Pete stood in front of the blonde possessively. He didn't mean to, it was just his instinct. Stephano told the raven haired girl to tell them where Barrel might have taken their beloved Chase.
"A bunch of kids say they see Barrel head into the woods next to the campus. Sometimes with Bro, other times just alone. Nobody ever sees him come back out, but he's always in class the next day so he must come out at some point." She skipped down the hall after explaining.
Stephano and Pete headed towards the woods. Nobody ever went into the place due to it's creepy look and haunted atmosphere. The forest itself was thick enough to hide in, but not enough to where you couldn't see through branches and undergrowth. No matter what time of day, it was always pure darkness. And it was eerie due to the thick fog that covered the ground and made your skin crawl. Sounds of animals constantly surrounded anyone in the area, giving off the feeling of being watched as fear would make you walk faster.
There were multiple stories about young adults being lost in the woods, never to be found. Recently where the Water Monster victims had turned up. As Stephano and Pete traveled deeper into the dark forest, they felt apprehension and fear cling to their very beings. With each step, they felt as though more and more creatures were watching their every movement. It was unnerving to say the least.
Pete stopped the blonde before he could walk into a branch that would have left a nasty scratch on his face. Stephano smiled in thanks before they continued their journey. Stephano stopped soon though, staring down at something on the ground.
There were footsteps in the mud and plants that looked to have been crushed under a shoe. Stephano crouched down and studied the footprints. Motioning Pete down, they both exchanged a few glances that told each other what they were thinking.
"So, we follow these, we find Chase?" Pete asked. Stephano nodded, and they continued walking, this time following the footsteps imbedded into the mud. They were confused when they reached a little pond and the tracks ended there. They looked around, hoping to find more tracks when a familiar scream made their blood run cold.
