The Sentinel of dusk – Chapter 1

Heatherfield

"Has anybody seen Will today?"

Taranee stepped into the basement of 'The Silver Dragon' and took a seat on the nearest chair. She glanced at the three girls sat across from her, waiting for a response.

"She might be running late." Irma thought out loud, before shrugging. She looked back up at Taranee. "Speaking of running late, what took you so long?"

Taranee frowned slightly, pushing her glasses further up her nose. "I was studying in the library. We have a Biology exam in only five weeks!" she exclaimed, while Hay Lin tried her best not to laugh.

Cornelia rolled her eyes. "Taranee, you have got to loosen up! You're always so obsessed with your grades, and it's really putting me off!"

"Are you sure? Or didn't you just look in the mirror a few minutes ago?" Irma retorted smugly, earning a glare from the blonde. She raised her hands just above her shoulders, showing a sign of surrender. "Hey, I was only kidding with you."

"I'm going to call Will right now." Hay Lin interrupted, sensing an argument about to form. She fished out her cell phone from her jacket pocket and put it close to her ear. The line was dead.

"Huh. That's strange." She ended the call and turned to face the others. "There's no answer."

Cornelia narrowed her eyes. "She might be grounded. You know how Will and her mom are always at each other's throats."

Taranee shook her head. "But we were supposed to meet up to have our weekly check in Meridian. Some of Phobos' followers are still out there somewhere. Will would've contacted at least one of us by now."

The others soon noticed her point and nodded in agreement. Finally, Irma stood up and made her way to the door.

She turned to face the others. "Well then, I say we go and check up on her."

The girls soon filed out of the restaurant basement, through the back doors, and walked over towards the direction of Will's apartment.

Susan was a mess. Her hair was muddled on her head, and her makeup was smudged. But that didn't matter right now, because Will was gone.

Susan had only left for the supermarket, ten minutes away from the apartment building, to buy something for dinner. When she returned home, she had never expected to walk into her daughter's room to find the window fully open, and Will nowhere to be found. It felt like her world had shattered, and she was treading over the broken pieces, devouring the pain and suffering that came along with it.

"Ma'am...Do you need anything?"

Her gaze landed on the police officer nervously approaching her from the other side of the room. He had a leather notebook in his hand along with a pen, his lips pursed tightly together.

Susan closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to prevent her voice from breaking even further. "I just want my daughter to be brought back safe."

The man nodded sympathetically, as he replied in a much more soothing voice. "We'll try everything we can to get to the bottom of this, and return her safely."

He nodded once again, before turning back and walking over to another police officer, both discussing the possible scenarios.

Susan watched them for a moment. Normally she wouldn't have called the police if Will had rushed out through her bedroom window – she had seen her daughter do it countless of times before, shrugging it off as a rebellious stage of being a teenager. But this was different. Will had been missing for almost five hours. Susan had even called the parents of the other girls that Will seemed to be in contact with far too much, but to no avail. Their daughters were all either home with them, or occupied in something else. They had each then called up their own daughters, just to make sure they were safe, but decided not to mention anything about Will just yet, as nothing was confirmed.

Susan reached out her now shaking fingers towards the glass of water on the coffee table. She tried to grip the handle, only for it to tumble from her grasp, and onto the floor, breaking into a million little shining pieces.

She closed her eyes once more, before falling to her knees and picking them up with her bare hands. The glass pierced through her skin, but she continued to clear away the mess, with more vigorous movements.

The police officer, that had just left her, rushed over and pulled her up from the floor. He grasped her by the arms and moved her a few feet away from the glass, his face full of concern.

"Ma'am-"

"Let me go!" Susan pulled her arms back, as the man tried to compose himself, looking at her in bewilderment. She sprinted across the room and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. The voices from outside had now been drained out of focus, being replaced by hushed whispers and utterances.

Susan leant against the bathroom sink, the blood now staining the floor with sharp drops. She started to pant slightly, peering at herself in the mirror. Was Will safe? Had Will finally grown tired of her mother fussing over her constantly? Was she even a suitable mother at all? Where had Will gotten to?

Dozens of questions and 'what ifs' plagued Susan's mind, as she felt herself getting faint. She turned the tap and washed her hands softly, trying to calm herself. A numb feeling started to grow within her, as she dried her hands, unlocked the bathroom door and proceeded to exit the building for some fresh air.

Hay Lin suddenly stopped in her tracks, as her gaze landed upon the few police cars parked awkwardly across Will's apartment building. The door was wide open, with a figure in black and white standing guard near the entrance.

Irma was the first to break the silence, as they all had now stopped walking, too. "What..."

Taranee abruptly gasped as Susan clumsily made her way outside the building. She dragged herself a few feet away, before her gaze landed on the four girls in front of her. Her lip quivered as she buried her face in her hand, blubbering like a baby.

"Miss Vandom!" Hay Lin rushed over to her, grasping her arms and trying to keep her steady, whilst trying not to break down in tears herself. Her sensitive personality had resurfaced. "What's...Why are there..." She glanced from one police car to another, choking on her words. She felt a pair of strong arms moving her aside, as her watery eyes peered at the back of Cornelia's head.

"Miss Vandom, is Will-"

"She's gone!" Susan exclaimed, startling the girls, who had now taken a step back in disbelief.

Irma's eyes widened at the sudden revelation. She felt an ultimate surge of guilt rush through her body, for no apparent reason. It wasn't her fault that Will wasn't here, but she still couldn't help but feel slightly responsible. If Will was like a sister to her, and she had suddenly disappeared, then Irma concluded that a part of her life had also withered away, and out of reach.

A/N: That concludes chapter one! Thank you to storyLover58 and Lexvan for your reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed reading the previous chapter. Lexvan got it right! Also a thank you to x-Tee1996-x and winxcarrie for following this story and favouriting! :)

We now know that Will ran away, and has been missing for quite a while.

The reason why the girls' parents didn't tell them about the disappearance just yet, is because they didn't know much themselves, and if it did lead to something important, then they would have done it later.

I'm not usually this fast in updating, but I guess this is what procrastinating does to you. Speaking of which, I think it's time I studied for my Chemistry test, which is in a few days...

-Ashley