"Cole!" The Cliffhangers were out in full force, searching the woods for any sign of Cole. Peter, of course, had organized the mission. "Cole!" Sarah yelled again. She was supposed to be paired up with Shelby, the old buddy system, Peter had called it. But, in typical Shelby fashion, she had ditched Sarah for some one-on-one time with Scott.
"This is so stupid," she muttered. She had been searching the woods for nearly an hour now. She stopped walking and kicked a stone, hard.
"Ouch!" Sarah jumped at the sound of the voice. She looked around and there, leaning against a tree, was Cole. "Would you watch what you're doing?"
"Geez, didn't you hear us calling for you?" Sarah asked, exasperated.
"Well yah, but why would I answer?"
Sarah shrugged and sat down next to him. "I dunno, maybe so we could stop searching the damn woods and go to bed?"
Cole smiled slightly. "Sorry."
"That's alright." She paused, "so you really hate it here already?"
"No, not really. I just wanted to get away for awhile. It's not like I think I'm gonna get anywhere."
She nodded. "I know that feeling."
"So, you're a newbie too?"
"Correction – I was a newbie. Till you came along."
"Glad that I could help."
Sarah didn't know what else to say. She didn't feel like radioing Peter as he had instructed them to do. She just wanted to give Cole some time to be alone. She knew well enough how much Peter would be in his face when he got back to campus.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she again felt Cole staring at her.
"Okay, seriously, what's your problem? Why do you keep staring at me?"
"You look so familiar. I can't figure out where I've seen you before."
Sarah studied him. "Sorry, but I really don't think we've met before."
Cole was sure he knew her though. "Where are you from?"
"Everywhere. But I consider Michigan my home. I haven't been there in awhile though. I've been shipped around to a lot of different schools. Apparently my parents aren't really into this whole child-rearing thing." She paused. "What about you? Where are you from?"
"Georgia."
"Never been there."
Sarah was silent for awhile, and Cole was grateful, but he still couldn't fight the feeling that he knew this girl somehow.
"So do you miss it?" he asked, "home, I mean."
She thought for awhile. "I miss the freedom. The freedom to drink caffeine, the freedom to smoke…" She glanced at him while picking at the ground. "What about you?"
"I haven't even been here a day, there's not much to miss. But yah, I'd say I miss Darek, my best friend. This whole thing would be easier if he were here."
She nodded, thinking of how she had never really had friends before. She was shuffled around too much to get close to anyone. "Does he even know you're gone yet?"
He nodded. "Yah, he was there when I got arrested."
"What did you get arrested for?"
"Grand theft. Then there were some past drug charges. Guess I got off easy coming here."
"So Darek is just another one of your gang members huh?"
"No, I've known Darek since before I was ever in a gang. He's not into that sort of thing."
"So what sort of thing is he into then?"
Cole shrugged. "I dunno. He spends a lot of time on the streets. He lives with his mom, but his mom isn't all there, you know?" Sarah nodded and waited for him to continue. "He spends a lot of time talking about –" Suddenly, Cole remembered where he knew Sarah from. His eyes widened as the truth finally dawned on him. "Wait, you're her!"
Sarah, however, was more confused then ever. "I'm who?"
"You're his sister! He carries this picture with him, that's why you look so familiar! You're Darek's sister!" Cole was shouting by this point.
Sarah couldn't move. She was fixed to one spot. Darek. Cole knew Darek. She had found her brother after all this time. She needed to be sure. "Darek is your best friend? Darek Edenfield?"
"Yes!" screamed Cole.
At that point, Peter and Sophie came rushing towards the pair. Peter studied them, Cole, excited and yelling, and Sarah, looking shocked, just sitting on the forest floor. He wondered what was going on.
"Sarah, Cole, are you two alright?"
Sarah shot Cole a definitive look, and shook her head. Cole got the message, she didn't want Peter to know, and he instantly calmed down.
"Yah," Sarah answered, standing up. "I just found him. I was about to radio you when you came along."
Peter nodded, not sure what to think about the situation. "Okay, let's get back to campus. Cole, we'll deal with your punishment then. Sophie, can you round up the rest of the Cliffhangers, let them know they can go back to their dorms?" Sophie nodded, and Peter led the two teens out of the woods.
Sarah could not believe what had happened that night. She had found a link to her brother, what she had been searching for most of her life.
The only question was, what would she do with the information now?