The room was dark, so dark you could barely see your own hand in front of your face. It resembled one of those dungeon things like in the video games. Lucas struggled. He struggled with the sights and the sounds and the smells as he desperately tried to feel his way around. And then he heard her.

"Help me!"

His senses heightened.

"Peyton!"

"Lucas!"

"Peyton, where are you? What's going on?"

He was frantic and her voice sounded tired and pitiful.

"Lucas, please!"

He couldn't see but she seemed to be fading away.

"Peyton!" he screamed out again.

"Lucas, help me! Please!"

"Peyton, where are you? I can't see you! I can't find you! Tell me where you are!"

"You have to find me, Luke. Please. You have to come get me. I need you. If you really loved me, you would save me."

The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention as goose bumps pimpled his entire body. He screamed for her again but there was only silence when he called her name. And then she let out one horrifying, lone, desperate, pain filled scream. Lucas knew someway, somehow he had to get to her. But he had no sense of direction. Then the room began to spin, slowly at first, then with more speed. It went around and around as he called out for her. And then it was over…

"Peyton!" he yelled as he sat up.

Lucas looked around. His eyes darted as he was out of breath. Outside the window, birds merrily chirped and the sun shone bright. He was in his room, safe in bed. Although the temperature had been set to comfortable, Lucas and the bed beneath him were soaked in sweat. He struggled to get a hold of himself as there was a knock on the door.

"You okay in here?" his mother peeked in. "I thought I heard you yelling."

Lucas leaned back in bed.

"Yeah. Um, sorry about that."

"Bad dream?"

"Yeah, it was a crazy nightmare."

Karen looked at the still distressed look on her son's normally calm face and instantly her motherly instincts took over. Rubbing her hand over the swell of and the deceased Keith's soon to arrive child, she waddled over to the bedside of her eldest before taking a seat next to him.

"Are you sure you're alright? You look really upset. We could talk about it, if you want."

Lucas took a deep breath. He did have something weighing heavily on his mind and he'd had no one to share it with. Keith was long gone and in his uncle's absence, his father, Dan, had been trying but Lucas still did not feel close enough to him for such a private heart to heart. And Brooke, who was still mad at him was out of the question along with Nathan, who had dismissed his older brother as paranoid and over anxious. Not wanting to alarm Haley, who had already suffered minor complications in her pregnancy, Lucas found himself all alone. His friends had teased him often. They playfully referred to him as the hero of the bunch. Lucas Scott was always taking time away from basketball and academic studies to save the world. Maybe Nathan had been right, which was why he hadn't said anything to Larry but after the dream, everything just felt different.

"Mom, I think Peyton is in trouble", he blurted out.

Karen's eyes widened.

"What kind of trouble? Is she okay? Have you heard from her?"

"No and that's the problem. No one has heard from her, not me or Hales or even her father. It's been days, Mom, almost a week. Somebody should have heard something by now. I keep calling her cell and it goes straight to voicemail. It's weird."

"Is Larry out to sea still? What did he have to say about all this?"

"He's worried. He asked me to look in on the house. Peyton was supposed to park her car in the driveway that night but I found it on the curb with the keys locked in it. And then her luggage was upstairs, the bags she had packed to take to L.A. I don't know, but something isn't right. I feel it."

"You know, Peyton has been through a lot lately. California was an excellent opportunity but maybe it was too much. Maybe she got scared and bailed. Maybe she's off on her own trying to figure things out."

Lucas shook his head.

"I thought about that at first but it doesn't add up. Peyton has changed a lot. She's really grown like we all have. She was so excited about this trip, I know she wouldn't just ditch it. And I don't want to overreact but I feel like if everything were okay, she would have called one of us by now."

"Is that what the dream was about?"

He nodded.

"It was dark and scary and she was calling out for me for help and I couldn't find her, Mom. She needed me and I couldn't save her. I know it was just a stupid dream but I don't feel better. Actually, I feel worse. If I'm being paranoid, fine. But what if I'm not? What if something bad happened to her? I don't know, Mom. Honestly, I don't know what to do."

"She's your friend and obviously you're very concerned. If it's bothering you that much, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to look into things. There is probably someone you can call to see if she arrived safe. That's the main thing, her being in Los Angeles. And if you find out she made it, then take it from there."

Lucas let out a heavy sigh.

"You're right, Mom. Thanks."

"Moms are always right", she said with a smile. "Not to sound superstitious but there are times I've had eerie feelings about things. Like when I was coming back from Italy. On the plane at around the same time you and Keith must have had the accident, I got a weird feeling. I couldn't explain it but I knew something was wrong."

"And it turns out you were right. That was pretty bad."

"But there have been times I was wrong. But I always go with my gut and right or wrong, that's the most important thing."

She gave his hand a sympathetic pat before standing and walking off. Lucas' eyes glanced around the room until they fell on a photograph snapped months before. It was at the Sparkle Classic. The night before had been hell. It had been mere weeks after Peyton's birth mother Ellie had succumbed to breast cancer. The brave blonde had toughed it out anyway and gone on the trip. She had ended up getting plastered with Rachel and had somehow ended up in bed with Lucas, an innocent situation but not much so in the eyes of his then girlfriend, Brooke. The competition, the seniors' last had been a must win, the chance for the Tree Hill High School cheerleading Ravens to take home a first prize trophy. But an agitated Rachel, a hungover Peyton and a few missed steps and finally a fall had doused all hopes of the dream. But the girls had made the best of it. The prize was gone but not the fun. So living it up in the last days of high school together, the very last time they would perform that routine, they had decided to just go with it. The MC Hammer, the Worm, the Cabbage Patch, the Robot and every other lame and silly dance ever created. And for a moment, shortly before the school shooting that changed everything and before the graduation ceremony that dumped them into the real world of adulthood, they, the players and cheerleaders had had one last night of fun. There in the picture was a smiling Peyton, as happy as Lucas had ever seen her. God, he loved that smile. And he missed it. Where was she? Did she really need help? Did she need him? Sitting up, Lucas reached for the phone. He owed her enough to try and find out.

"Thank you for calling Delta Airlines", chirped a cheerful voice on the other end of the phone line. "This is Margie, may I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Lucas Scott. I'm calling from Tree Hill, North Carolina. I was wondering if you could give me some information about the New Brunswick County National Airport."

"I can certainly try, sir. What is it that you need to know?"

Lucas reached over and pulled out the crumpled itinerary for Peyton's flight.

"It's about my friend, Peyton Sawyer. Six days ago she was scheduled to fly from that airport, stopping for a layover in Phoenix and ending up at LAX. The flight was 3567 and it was supposed to take off at 6:05 in the morning. I just need to know if she got on that flight."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Scott but for security and privacy purposes, regulation states that we cannot comment or give out information on passenger manifests. You'll have to talk to your friend."

He let out a deep breath.

"That's the problem, ma'am. Nobody has seen or talked to Peyton in a week. We're really worried."

"I am sorry to hear that."

"Look, I know you have your rules and everything but this is really important. I mean, what if it were a matter of life and death? I mean, a young girl's safety is at stake here. Couldn't you tell me something then?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I cannot. Listen, I'm sorry your friend is missing but if you think something may have happened to her, maybe you should call the police. Once a missing person's report is filed and the officers begin to investigate, they have the authority to subpoena from us the information you're looking for."

Lucas looked around, still disappointed.

"Okay. Um, thanks for your help, Margie."

"Thank you, sir. I apologize that I wasn't of more assistance to you. Have a nice day and good luck finding your friend."

With that he hung up. The operator did have a point and a good suggestion but what if it was too much? What if he was overstepping his boundaries? What if Peyton was alive and well and having some serious fun in the sun? How crazy would it be for him to just jump the gun and involve police? He leaned back in bed and at that moment swore to just leave it alone. But Lucas couldn't escape that sinking, nagging feeling looming deep in the pit of his stomach. There was one more thing to do, one more avenue to pursue that would let him know if Peyton had indeed arrived safely to her western destination. If she was there, at least he knew she was probably alright and there would be nothing to do but sit back and wait for her to contact them. But if she wasn't there…Lucas shuddered. It was his worst nightmare come true and one he wasn't prepared to deal with.

Hopping up, he made his way over to his computer. He tried to jog his memory as he hurriedly typed in several keywords to be searched. Finally finding the site he was looking for, he grabbed the phone. It would take several tries and several numbers before he finally reached someone who could help him. He just prayed for good news.

"Epic Records, this is Tony Netto."

"Hey, Tony, my name is Lucas Scott and actually, I'm looking for one of my friends. I think she's interning with you this summer."

"What's the name?"

"Peyton Sawyer."

"Sawyer…Sawyer…Sawyer, oh yeah. The girl from North Carolina?"

"That's her", he said with a hint of short lived relief.

"I was hoping you could tell me where your friend is. Peyton Sawyer never showed up. No call, no show, no nothing. It's a shame. You know how lucky she was? People would kill for that opportunity, it comes once in a lifetime and…"

But Lucas didn't need to hear another word. He had heard enough and none of it was good. The feeling inside only intensified as his heart pounded. Paranoia or not, something had to be done. He looked over again at her beautiful face smiling back at him in the picture and he felt a lump form in his throat. He had to find Peyton, he had to make sure she was safe.