Chapter 2

I let out a shaky breath as I step out of the car, followed quickly by the others. Amber quickly walks over to Ashley's car and looks into the driver's side window. "All of her stuff still looks like it's in there," she says with a heavy sigh.

Chloe slowly walks over and turns on her phone's flashlight. She reaches for the passenger side handle and pulls it, jumping when the door swings open. "It's…unlocked," she states confused and worried. She kneels on the passenger seat and looks inside. "Even the keys are still in the ignition…what the hell happened?"

"Look," Kaley says as we turn to face her. Her own flashlight is shining on the back left tire. "Her tire is flat. Do you think this is why she pulled over?"

"Probably," Chloe says as she comes around to look at the tire. "With how flat it is, she would have wrecked if she kept driving on that thing on the highway." I start to wonder around, looking for any clues as to where Ashely vanished. My heart stops when I notice a rectangular object on the ground next to a patch of shrubbery. I bend down to pick it up as Chloe asks, "What'd you find, Av?"

"It's Ashley's phone," I mutter, staring at the screen with hundreds of notifications on it.

"Ashley would never leave her phone like that," Kaley says. "She doesn't leave the room without it much less leaving it on the side of a highway."

"Someone took her," Amber whispers shakily as she starts to tremble. "She's been kidnapped." I wrap my arms around her as she continues to shake.

"You think we could go to the police now?" Chloe asks.

"Yeah," Kaley says. "We have enough evidence to show that something happened to her." She glances at Amber, "What do you think, Am?"

Before Amber can answer, I freeze. I drop my arms from around her and start to walk towards the woods. I catch a whiff of a smell and my stomach drops into my stomach. "Gasoline," I mutter as I dart in the direction of the smell. I hear the yells behind me but I ignore them as I follow the smell. Please don't be what I think it is, I think to myself as I continue to run. I force air through my nose to continue tracking the smell despite my lungs aching for more oxygen as I race toward the source of the smell.

As I enter a small clearing, I slow myself to a stop. The strong gasoline smell causes my chest to tighten as I try and force oxygen into my lungs. When I finally look up, I freeze. On the other side of the clearing stands an old barn, light barely flickering inside. Curious, I approach it, noticing the gasoline smell getting stronger. A yell stops me again in my tracks and a chill runs down my spine. I don't have to know what was said to recognize that voice. Ashley! I run full force toward the barn, ignoring the still burning of my lungs. The closer I get, the brighter the flickering light inside the barn gets. As smoke begins to rise from the barn, the sinking realization settles in my stomach. The barn is on fire…and Ashley's trapped inside. As I finally grab the handle to the barn, an explosion rips through the barn and I'm thrown back. As my head hits the ground, everything goes black.

"Aviana!" I yell out as Avi darts into the woods. "Where are you going?! Stop!"

"She ran off by herself?!" Kaley calls out as she and Amber turn to face me.

"Yeah," I say baffled. "She's too brave for her own good. She probably saw something she thought was a clue."

"Let's go then," Amber says as she starts to run in the direction Avi went. "She shouldn't be out there alone anyway. Especially now that she can't shift." My heart sinks a little as Kaley and I run after Amber into the woods.

As we follow the beaten path Avi left behind, Kaley freezes in her tracks. She starts to sniff before looking between me and Amber, "Do you guys smell that?"

Amber and I both stop as we catch our breath long enough to breathe in through our nose. My eyes widen, "That smells like gas." Without skipping a beat, the three of us continue to run.

As we come into a clearing, I freeze. My heart sinks as I see a barn in flames on the other side. That's where Avi is, I think to myself. I know it. I push myself to run even faster than I thought I could. As I can start feeling the heat coming from the flames, I notice a figure laying just a few feet away from the barn. Avi! My heart skips a beat as I rush over to her and kneel down beside her. "Avi?" I cry out as I shake her. "Can you hear me? Please say something!"

I hear a soft groan as she blinks her eyes open and furrows her brows before they widen as she takes in her surroundings. "Chloe…Ashley's in there," she mutters. "I heard her scream. I have to go save her."

"No, you aren't," I say, firmly keeping a hand on her shoulder. "Stay here, I've got her." I glance up and see Amber and Kaley approaching. I take a breath and stand head toward the barn. I notice a small opening in between the boards of the barn. I ball my hands into fists and go inside.