William helped Kyra onto the couch, then sat beside her. He pulled out his backpack, along with his school work to help Kyra keep up in class while resting at home. She leaned against William, feeling a protective arm around her. Brock sat on the chair next to the couch while Sam paced the room. Ali had taken Ella to stay with Zane and PIXAL, so she wouldn't become a target of the killer or be injured. She had yet to return. Neither had Jason.
"Why don't you just take a seat?" William asked.
"Because Jason said he would meet us at home," Sam said. "He should have called us by now. It's been almost three days since we've seen him."
"I'm sure he's fine," William said.
"Sorry, Will," Brock said. "But I'm with Sam on this one. Jason isn't one to normally be like this. If he said he would be here to meet us, he would have been here or called and told us otherwise."
William looked and saw Kyra had fallen asleep in his arms.
"What do you think we should do?" William asked Sam.
"Call him," Sam said. "Maybe he ended up elsewhere, like his parents."
"He could have run into trouble too, though," Brock said. "Who knows?"
"I'll call him," Sam said.
He pulled out his phone, only for his ring tone, "Stressed out", started playing.
"It's Zoey," Sam said, looking up at the others with confusion.
"Answer it," Brock said.
Sam shrugged and answered it, putting it on speaker.
"Hey, Zoey," Sam said. "What's up?"
"It's Jason," Zoey said, sounding panicked.
"What about him?" Sam asked, waving for Brock and William to keep silent.
"I think he's been kidnapped," Zoey said.
"Why's that?" Sam asked, looking up to see Brock and William exchange worried looks.
"I just found his phone at the park," Zoey said. "It was dropped on the ground."
"Maybe he just dropped it?" Sam suggested. "He was just out for a walk and he would have been in that area."
"Maybe, either way, you should come and get it," Zoey said. "I'm suppose to be meeting a friend here and if I leave, she might get upset because we've had this planned for a while now."
"Alright, we'll meet you there in a couple minutes," Sam said.
He hung up, looking at Brock and William.
"I'll stay with Kyra," William said. "She is kind of asleep on me anyways. You two go. I'll call you if Jason comes home."
"Alright, come on, Brock," Sam said.
Brock jumped out of the chair and chased Sam out the door. Sam paused, glancing to see that Brock was following him before they both sprinted down the street.
"Which park is this again?" Brock called out to Sam.
"The one a couple blocks from the school," Sam replied.
Brock caught up to Sam as they arrived at the park. Brock shivered, forgetting his jacket at home in the rush. Sam was fine, his element making him used to the cold. Sam and Brock looked around for Zoey or Jason, unable to spot either.
"Are you s-sure th-this is where sh-she is?" Brock stutter from the cold.
"Pretty sure," Sam sighed. "But not certain."
Sam glanced around again before spotting Zoey sitting on a bench, way on the far side of the park.
"There!" Sam pointed to her.
Brock nodded as both boys started running to her. She looked up as Sam and Brock stood before her.
"You're here," she sighed in relief.
"Where is his phone?" Sam asked.
"I found it on the sidewalk over there," Zoey said.
She pointed towards the sidewalk near the northern gate to the park before handing it over to Sam. He turned to Brock as Zoey stood up.
"Do you think he's OK?" Zoey asked.
"Jason is strong," Sam said. "He should be able to hold his own if he's caught."
Zoey nodded, worried. Then a beeping sound echoed from Brock's wrist.
"Oh no," Brock gasped. "We need to go!"
"Why?" Sam asked.
"Is something wrong?" Zoey asked.
"The others are calling about an emergency," Brock told Sam.
"What about Jason?" Zoey asked.
"He should be fine," Sam said. "We have to worry about Kyra and William at home."
"But Jason might be in more trouble!" Zoey cried. "Do you not care about him?"
"We both care deeply for Jason, but we have very little proof that he is kidnapped," Sam frowned. "Meanwhile, we have an emergency at home we have to get to. If you wish to find Jason, call your brother and get him to help you."
Sam and Brock turned and darted off in the direction they came from. Once they were away from Zoey, Sam pulled out Jason's phone to look at it again. Something was telling him Jason was in danger, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Not yet.
William laid Kyra down on the couch, her eyes fluttering open. She moaned, sitting up and looking around.
"It's alright," William smiled to her. "We're at home and you're safe."
"Where are Sam and Brock?" Kyra asked, looking around.
"Out looking for Jason," William said. "His disappearance has all of us worried."
"Why didn't you go?" Kyra asked.
"I won't leave you alone," William told her. "I can't leave you alone. I want to protect you."
Kyra smiled, a faint blush on her face. She looked down to see a math worksheet and a french vocabulary sheet on the table before her.
"Homework?" Kyra asked.
"Yup," William sighed. "That's only the first round. You didn't finish yesterday's after you fell asleep. You will have today's if you finish that too."
Kyra moaned, reading over the french vocabulary.
"Passe Compose," Kyra sighed. "We've been doing this for nearly a month!"
"I know," William said, sitting down beside her. "We have a test for it on Monday."
"So I have five days to study for it," Kyra sighed. "Alright, how about you give me a verb and I conjugate it."
"Alright, let's try manger," William said.
Kyra thought about it, remembering how it goes.
"J'ai mangé, tu as mangé, il a mangé, nous avons mangé, vous avez mangé, ils ont mangé," she listed.
"Great job," William smiled.
Then they both tensed up as a loud thump was heard from upstairs.
"Someone's here," Kyra whispered.
William nodded, tapping the emergency button on his communicator to call the others back. He slowly got up, motioning for Kyra to stay down and silent. Kyra watched him closely, listening for movement upstairs. William hid behind the wall against the stairs, waiting. He motioned for Kyra to join him. She slipped to her feet and silently darted over to him. William pulled her close, hearing someone coming down the stairs. Kyra bit her lip, holding back a scream of terror as William held her behind him.
The movement stopped, the house silent. Kyra and William held their breath, waiting for someone to move. Then a black cloak flashed before the before disappearing. Whoever it was had gone around the corner towards the kitchen. William peeked around the corner, Kyra following his motion. Both of them quickly ducked back out of sight. Tears of terror now filled Kyra's eyes. The masked stranger was back. And in their house.