Chapter Two: This Can't Be Happening.
Austin's POV:
I don't think I have ever run so fast in my life. My parents weren't home, so I didn't have a vehicle, and I had to go to Ally's house. I don't know why, but I just had to. And I ran, and got there in a good amount of time. Parked outside of the house were a police officer, and some other unmarked vehicle that I didn't recognize. I knew I probably shouldn't bother them, but I don't know what came over me. I ran up to the door and pounded on it until Ally's father opened it. His face was red from crying and it looked like new tears were forming at the sight of me.
"Austin." He sighs, "Come in." I walk in quietly behind him, suddenly hit with the reality of this situation. This is real; the news didn't get her name wrong, or it wasn't some sick joke. It was real, Ally was taken.
The officer is seated the dining room table next to Ally's mother, and the guy that drove the unmarked vehicle is sitting across from them. I think he is an investigator, or reporter. The cop looks at me and stands up, sticking his hand out to shake my hand, "I'm Officer Clark, and are you the boyfriend?" I don't know why, but when he asks that, it almost hurts.
I shake my head, "No, I'm her best friend, Austin Moon." I say.
"Well, take a seat Mr. Moon." He points to the chair at the end and I do what he says.
Ally's mom gives me a sad smile, but I can't react, I can't move. I stay frozen in my chair, staring at the reporter guy writing down in his notebook. This can't be happening…
"I don't know if you know what happened to your friend Ally…" Officer Clark starts to say to me. I just shrug, because I don't really, I just know what I saw on the news before I left. Dez went home to tell his family.
"Well, to be honest, we don't really know either. I assume you know Ally's friends Kira and Trish?" he asks.
I've been so upset about Ally, I totally forgot about Kira and Trish. I nod, "Yes."
"Well, they said that the three of them were eating at the food court and Ally went to the bathroom, and she never came back. After about ten minutes, they got suspicious and went looking for her, and she was nowhere to be found. She left all her stuff at the table with them so they had no way to contact her. They say that Ally isn't someone that would just run off, right?" He says.
I nod, "Ally would never do that. She would never want anyone to worry about her like this."
"Yes, which is why the only thing we can come up with is that someone took her. There were no witnesses, so our team is searching the bathroom and around there for clues." The reporter says.
Ally's mother lets out a loud sob and Lester wraps his arm around her. I stare out the window to my right, staring at the different things going on; a hummingbird flying by, cars zipping past at god awful speeds. Everything is just normal for them, they are going to work, or coming home, going to their families even, and here we are; two parents are suffering because their daughter is missing and there is nothing that they can do, and then there's me, her pathetic best friend who's barely talked to her lately because he was too busy with his girlfriend. I squeeze my eyes shut to stop a tear from coming out.
After a while of talking, Officer Clark and the reporter leave. I stay for a little bit with Ally's parents, trying to talk some comfort into them, even though I know nothing works right now. When Ally's mom decides to go to bed, Lester drops me off at home.
When I get into the house, my parents sit me down and ask me if I'm okay. I tell them all about what happened at Lester's house and they look as worried as I am which I'm sure they are. They are very fond of Ally, but who isn't?
I go upstairs to my room and lie down on my bed. I hear my phone beep and I take it out of my pocket. I have a bunch of missed calls from Kira. I don't really feel like talking but I know that I should call her back. I press her picture and put the phone up to my ear.
"Austin! It's about time you answered." She says.
"Sorry, I was at Ally's house." I tell her.
"How are her parents holding up?" She asks.
"Not good." I tell her.
"Of course not, I feel so bad, it was so horrifying! She just never came back and Trish and I couldn't find her." She says all at once.
"I know. I can't believe it." I say.
"It's like, you just think you're safe and then something like this can happen." She says.
"Yeah, Kira I just want to go to bed alright? I'll call you tomorrow." I tell her.
I know that I won't be sleeping at all. How could I? Ally is out there somewhere, and I'm trying to block out my thoughts of what could be happening to her right now. How could anyway hurt or want to hurt Ally? She is the most kind, nicest and beautiful girl in the world; she is the last person that deserves this. I wish it was me instead of her; I'd do anything to take her place. I know Ally; I bet she didn't even want to go shopping. If only I would have done something to stop her from going, if only I could have done something, anything to prevent this.
Ally's POV:
I open my eyes to complete darkness. I let them wander all around, searching for any sign of light; but they find nothing. I can feel something though, I feel like I'm moving, and the sounds match up with that idea. My hands are free and I feel all around; a trunk, that's what I'm in.
Is it still daylight, or is it night? How long have I been out, where am I heading? A thousand questions flood through my brain, but there's one question that has an obvious answer; I've been kidnapped. I can't believe this is happening. Where is he taking me? What's he going to do? Tears flood my eyes and fall like a waterfall. I start to panic, hitting the sides of the trunk. I could scream, but no one will hear me; he'll hear me, and what will he do?
Is anyone looking for me? They must be. I bet they are all worried. What did Trish and Kira think, are they freaking out? What's going through Austin's head? Austin… We haven't been close lately, I've given him his space so that he can give Kira all his attention, but I have to admit I've missed him, and I'd do anything to be writing a song with him in the practice room right now.
Austin's POV:
As soon as I get out of bed, I get dressed and walk over to Ally's house. I notice officer Clark's car is there again. I knock lightly on the door, and Lester greets me again, "Hey Austin." He says.
"Is there any news?" I ask.
He shrugs, "Yes, come in." He says.
Officer Clark is seated at the table, but Penny is nowhere to be seen. Lester and I sit down, and Officer Clark smiles at me, "Good morning Austin." He says.
"Hello Officer." I say.
"They found Ally's hair clip just outside of the bathroom door." Lester blurts out.
"Does that help anything?" I ask.
"It could mean that there was a struggle outside that door. A few officers have been watching the security tapes and we may be able to see what happened." Officer Clark says, "There was a security camera in the corner of the room that we hope picked up something. They are calling me when they find something."
"So we just have to sit here and wait?" I ask.
"I know it sounds bad, but it's all we can do in this situation right now." Officer Clark says.
"How is Penny?" I ask Lester.
"She's not good, she's in bed still." He says.
"Shouldn't you be in school son?" Officer Clark says. I look at the clock and it's almost ten.
"Yeah, I guess I just forgot." I tell him.
"It's understandable. Do you need a ride?" He asks.
I shake my head, "No it's okay. I'll walk."
When the final beg rings, I walk over to my locker, ignoring all the stares from most of the student body. I can hear them whispering things like, "His best friend is missing." Or "I feel bad for him." And even the occasional, "he must love her to be this upset." I open my locker door and stick my head in it, trying to block out everyone. Of course I love her, she's my best friend.
A tap on my shoulder makes me jump and I turn around. Kira is standing there, looking like she does every day; perfect. But it's not even that good perfect. It's more like that fake perfect, like a Barbie doll. Her clothes are always expensive name brand clothes and match perfectly. Her makeup is always perfect, too. I thought maybe she wouldn't look like that today because of what she went through yesterday.
"Hey boyfriend!" she says happily. That's all she's called me since we have officially been going out.
"Hi." I murmur and put my notebook into my locker.
"So what are we going to do?" She asks.
I turn my attention back to her and raise an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"Are we going to go out to eat, or hang out at my house?" She asks.
"What? I'm going to Ally's." I tell her.
"But I thought we had plans?" She asks calmly.
"That was before." I tell her. I can't believe that she would expect me to go on and act normal like this. I don't think I'll be normal until I get my Ally back.
"Okay…" She says, and I walk past her and out of the school.
Ally's POV:
I feel the car stop, causing my heart to feel like it stops, too. I stay still, and hold my breath. I hear the car door slam shut, and then footsteps. The trunk opens, the bright sunlight blinds me and a man comes into view, but before I can get a good look at him, there is another towel over my mouth and I fade into unconsciousness.
Austin's POV:
I let myself into Lester's house this time. There are multiple cop cars in the driveway, and I know something must be up. I walk into the dining room, but it's empty. I jogged into the living room and everyone's sitting around, talking. Lester looks up at me and just nods. Penny is crying hysterically and a female police officer is trying to calm her down. I walk over to Officer Clark who is leaning against the stairway.
"What's going on?" I ask him.
"The security cameras captured Ally getting taken." He says.
I feel like my heart might stop at any moment, "What happened, did you see the guy who did it?"
He motions for me to follow him into the dining room to talk in private. Penny probably couldn't handle hearing the news all over again. Officer Clark picks up a wax apple from the bowl in the middle of the table and moves it around in his hand, "The man was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, so we couldn't see his face, plus the camera angle wasn't that good. But we can take some information from it. Do you want to know what happened?" He asks. I just nod.
"Well you can see the man leaning against the wall outside of the bathroom door, which means he was waiting for her, possibly had been following her. She walks out and feels someone behind her because she turns around slowly, and that's when he grabs hold of her shoulders and puts a towel up to her face, obviously filled with chloroform because she gets knocked out quick, and he carries her out of camera view. There's an exit close by, I don't know how anyone didn't witness it. He's good." He says.
I should have told him I didn't want to know. Just picturing someone doing that to fragile Ally, she's so small, sometimes I'm afraid to hug her incase I break her. I brush my hand through my hair and tug at it a little. My chest starts to tighten and I feel like I'm having a heart attack, I can't breathe. What is that guy doing to her right now? Where did he take her?
"Are you okay son?" Officer Clark asks, putting his hand on my shoulder.
I shrug it off and run out of the house, needing fresh air. I take a deep breath and sit down on the curb. I brush both hands through my messy hair and keep them there, trying to breath. This can't be happening.
Author's Note: I probably won't update again this fast. I just wrote a bunch today because there was snow outside and i had nothing to do. I hope you enjoy it!