Mrs. Bennett was keeping Sophie in the dark about almost everything concerning the wedding which the girl most infuriating. She wouldn't be able to come up with a plan to ruin the wedding if necessary if she didn't know about it. Sophie fumed as she sat at her desk, idly spinning her pen and staring out the window. Her mind wandered over to Jamie. How was he getting on? Was the creep giving him a hard time? Sophie suddenly wished she had gone as well. It beat staying in the house with an all-too-cheerful mother who wouldn't let her know anything about the event. Finally, Sophie left the room and headed downstairs and out of the house. Wasn't Jamie taking the creep to the park? Perhaps she could go there and watch from afar or something without being seen by her brother. She grabbed her bike from its shed and was off down the road leading to the park. She did not notice the absence of the black car her archenemy drove which was usually parked in front of the house.

"Sophie Bennett!"

Sophie wobbled dangerously atop her bicycle, startled by the sudden sound of someone calling her. She halted and turned to see who it was. "Emily?" she said, surprised, as the girl who had disappeared for over a year ran up to her, waving and beaming. "When did you come back?"

"Yesterday," she replied. "I saw your brother earlier, with some man."

"Yes, I'm looking for him, too," Sophie said. "He went to the park, didn't he?"

Emily's brows furrowed as she tried to remember. "I'm sorry, I can't recall. But it did seem like it. Though I doubt he's still there, it was earlier this morning when I saw him."

"Well, he hasn't returned home," Sophie said, mounting her bike. "Well, I'd better be off. Oh, and thanks for everything!"

Sophie sailed off, keeping an eye out for Jamie. The weather was warm and a little breezy, so perhaps Jamie may have decided to stay longer at the park. Upon arriving, Sophie scoured the place in search of her brother but there was no sign of him. The patrons she questioned had either just arrived or they had not been paying attention to Jamie Bennett all the time and others didn't know him. Sophie finally gave up and headed home. Leaving her bike in its shed at the back of the house, she was about to walk in through the back door when she heard humming. Mrs Bennett was in the kitchen and Sophie had resolved to avoid her and her cheery attitude at all costs. She went round to the front door and was about to dash in and up to her bedroom when she stopped in her tracks.

Turning, she surveyed the front yard. There was something amiss. She ran through a quick mental checklist. Everything seemed to be in place, the fence, the gate, trees around, but there was still something missing. Just as she was about to turn and forget about it, a shiny black car belonging to a neighbour drove past and it registered.

"Where is...?" she trailed off. Mr. Bane's car was not there. He must've gone somewhere, then, but where? And what about Jamie? Did they come home? How did she not hear them? They must've left when she was showering or napping. And so, where were they? Questions churned in Sophie's mind. She sat on the doorstep and stared at the space where the car was usually parked, trying to sort it out herself. They left by car. Obviously that meant they were going somewhere far. Somewhere out of the usual walking distance. Definitely nowhere nearby. But why would Jamie suggest going someplace far? Or perhaps the guy suggested it? That did seem like it.

Sophie got up and hurried indoors. Halfway up the stairs, she had a strange thought. What if Mr. Bane lied, somehow? What if he took Jamie somewhere else, somewhere far, and just left him by the road or something similar, and returned with a story? Sophie chided herself for even thinking of such things. She shook away the thought, but couldn't shake off the feeling. But she was convinced the creep wouldn't do that, should Mrs. Bennett find out. Assuring herself that her brother was fine, she hurried back to her bedroom.

#

Chile to Argentina to New Zealand. Jack was grateful to the wind for always being willing to offer him a free ride whenever he needed one. The spirit perched atop a mountain in Australia, looking out over snow-covered parts and areas he had left untouched, wondering if he should surprise Bunny with a visit to the Warren. Jack smirked at the thought. That was one option, and the other was to head back to Burgess. The place was basking in the summer heat, however, and Jack doubted he would want to stay long. The Bennett siblings sprang to his mind. They were too busy trying to ruin a wedding, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to pay them a visit.

#

The first thing Jamie was aware of when he came around was the severe throbbing of his head. The next thing was the sharp pain in his arm.

Slowly, as he regained consciousness, everything came crashing back down. It had all seemed like a dream, but his broken arm and current location proved it wasn't. Jamie tried to sit up, but his arm complained. His legs were bound and his hands as well, behind his back. A piece of cloth gagged him.

I've been kidnapped! The thought caused Jamie to half-laugh and half-cry silently. It was something he had never expected to happen to him and at the same time, he wondered if he could make it out alive. Slowly, he maneuvered himself into a sitting position and studied his surroundings. The crates and boxes that sat around in an unorganized fashion, some opened to reveal they were empty indicated that he could be in a warehouse. As he struggled to remember, he could recall the warehouses and factories he had seen along that lonely, deserted street.

And then there was Mr. Bane. As Jamie was aware of his condition, he wondered if Mr. Bane would end up being his bane. But what was his motive? What did he have against the boy? Jamie tried to call out for help, but his cries were muffled by the gag which he attempted to take off but his movements were limited. Also, he did not think there was anyone in the warehouse or out on that street who would be able to hear him. Judging by the soft light filtering in through several windows, he had been there for a long time, it was late in the evening and soon the place would be in darkness.

Jamie suddenly hoped Pitch would pay him a visit.

He leaned back against the wall, not ready to admit defeat but not sure what to do either. How long would it be before his mother found out about his sudden disappearance? His heart sank as he knew the man would definitely lie to her about his whereabouts, she would feel so disappointed in him, the wedding would happen and...

Jamie sat up, for a moment, ignoring the pain in his arm. The wedding! He didn't know why Mr. Bane wanted to marry his mom but for whatever reason, he could not let it happen! He felt sick at the thought of a union between his own mother and someone who would have people knock him out and throw him in a warehouse, bound and gagged. Sophie! What about her plans? Jamie was slightly comforted upon remembering that Sophie had her own plans, but he knew his sister would probably not execute them without him. Jamie groaned, the sound muffled.

Darkness fell like a shroud. Jamie could barely see a thing before a full moon came into view. It served as a source of light and Jamie couldn't help feeling a rush of gratitude.

#

Lies, all lies. Sophie didn't believe a word of what he said.

A disgruntled Mr. Bane had returned in the evening, muttering under his breath about terribly-behaved teenagers who think everything they did was right and Mrs. Bennett instantly concluded that their little outing had gone acrimoniously and she had seemed a little disappointed. Sophie eavesdropped on their conversation from the top of the stairs to find out that, apparently, Mr. Bane found Jamie a most disagreeable boy and they had had an altercation in which Jamie blatantly pointed out all of Mr. Bane's flaws and insulted him in many ways. The boy had then stomped off, but not without mentioning that he was planning to put up at a friend's place until the wedding was over and done with. He was considering not to even return once that passed. Mr. Bane had hung out on his own after the dispute, ruminating on what Jamie had said and apparently, plunging himself into the depths of despair. Sophie immediately made a mental note to nominate him for Best Actor of the Year.

Mrs. Bennett was horrified and the crestfallen look on her face after made Sophie wished she could just punch the guy in the face and send him flying to the moon. She didn't believe Jamie would do something like that. Well, yes, perhaps he would point out flaws, but he wouldn't do it in such a manner as Mr. Bane described.

The odd feeling that something bad had happened filled Sophie again as she trudged to Jamie's room. Rummaging through a bag by his desk which carried several belongings of his which he rarely used, she fished out a cellphone and switched it on, heaving a sigh of relief as the screen flickered to life. Jamie had gotten that cellphone from their mother for his eighteenth birthday, but he hardly used it as he saw no point in it. Anyone in Burgess he wanted to contact lived within walking distance. That one person he wanted to constantly be able to contact was not in possession of a cellphone or any similar device. Sophie scrolled through the list of contacts and called the first person on it- Caleb.

"Jamie?"

"This is Sophie, actually," Sophie said, her voice just above a whisper, the phone pressed to her ear. "Caleb, can you hear me?"

"Yes, but it's really faint. Can you speak up?"

Sophie raised her voice a notch. "Has Jamie gone over to your place?" she asked.

"Nope." Was his immediate reply.

"Did he say anything about staying at a friend's house? When was the last time you saw him? Have you seen him anytime between this morning and this evening?"

Caleb mulled those questions over before answering, "Nope, he didn't. The last time would be... I can't remember, I see him too often. But I can tell you I didn't see him at all this morning or afternoon, though I heard from that Emily that he was at the park with some strange guy. Is that your mom's fiance whom I've heard so much about?"

"Yes," Sophie replied. "Right, thanks, I've got to go." She hung up and decided to skip Claude, figuring that he would usually hang out with his twin. She hurriedly called the others; Cupcake, Monty and Pippa, but had negative answers. The day was darkening and Sophie was filled with worry, finally truly certain something bad had befall Jamie. She was in the dark about what it was and what sort of role Mr. Bane played. She got to her feet and was about to leave the room when there was the soft, familiar tapping sound on the window.

Another bad chapter. *buries self once more in a hole*

Thanks for reading, favouriting and following as well as reviewing despite the steadily decreasing quality of these chapters!