The Disappearance: Chapter 2

Also, some small part about blood is mentioned. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Chapter 2-Where's Seth?

I wake with intense pain in my head. The pounding hurts. A lot. The dizziness makes me so light-headed I have a brief feeling like I have to barf. 

My neck is wet, so I must be sweating.

I try to open my eyes, but every time I attempt to, the white lights burn into my eyes too much. So I just lay there, with my eyes closed shut. The pain slowly goes away. I can hear a television set somewhere. It sounds like the news channel, judging by how the reporters talk. They exaggerate the words a bit too much for my taste. "...So today, a  MASSIVE CROWD  waiting to see the OPENING NUMBER  of a  NEW POP STAR..." 

When I finally gather up enough will to open my eyes, I squint through the light and sit up. I'm at the nurse's office, sitting on a bed in the corner of the room. No one is here.

Except the television. 

"Hello? I'm awake now," I call, hoping someone will hear me. I hear rapid footsteps, like someone is running. Alex comes through the door, out of breath. For a moment, we just stare at each other, the only sounds in the room Alex's panting and the faint sound of the news. My face turns red.

"Um... hi," I say, breaking the silence.

His eyes widen. He seems to be too baffled to say anything. What's wrong with him? 

"What? What's wrong? Did I grow another head or something?" Oh my gosh, what happened to me? I'm suddenly cracking jokes to my crush.  

"How... How are you already awake?" Alex asks.

"What do you mean?"  The last thing I remember was being hit by something, and then passing out. Oh. And someone scooping me up in their arms.

"The nurse just gave you some medicine, not even five minutes ago. She went to go to the restroom, and I was walking back to my class room when I heard you."

He clears his throat.

"What happened?" I ask. He hesitates, but I look at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

"When you were at your locker, Doug tried to throw the football to Matt next to you, but... you know his aim. It hit you instead. When you fell, you hit your head on the floor, and it started bleeding."

My hand automatically goes up to my head, feeling where it hurts. I look back to him, waiting for more explanation.

"Then when you lost a lot of blood, you passed out. I took you to the nurse,"  Oh. It was him who was carrying me.  "and  she said you got a really bad concussion. You weren't supposed to wake up until later this afternoon, from the medicine she gave you. Let alone be able to talk and see clearly."

See, there  is  something different about me.

"I guess I heal fast?" 

He shakes his head. "I don't know. At least you're okay." He smiles, then turns red. 

"So, um, I guess I'll see you later. I'll tell the nurse you're already awake. Maybe stay here for the rest of the day, just in case. I doubt you'll be better enough to start walking and running. Hope you feel better."

I nod, my eyes becoming heavy. He leaves, waving to me before he disappears on the other side of the door. I lay back down.  At least I don't have to take the Spring Pictures now.

--------------------------------

I must've dozed off because the next thing I know I hear beeps. It sounds like..... the fire alarm.

My eyes instantly open. It all rushes onto me. I smell the smoke; I feel the burning heat. I try to get out of the bed as fast as I can, but I don't think and my injuries catch up to me. My head starts pounding. My vision becomes blurry again, and I can barely hear the television now. I stumble and fall flat on my face. I wince at the pain.  God. Where's the nurse when you need her?

With all of my might, I crawl to the door and slowly stand up. I lean on the white walls and reach for the door knob. Before I touch it, the door bursts open and hits me in the face. Again, I fall. This time I don't bother to try and get back up. I close my eyes, clutching my head and using all of my strength to stop myself from throwing up. Everything hurts right now.  I should just let myself die.  I hear someone yelling. It sounds like Seth when he's scolding me for leaving the oven on.

Seth. No, I cannot die. He needs me.  I open my eyes and try to get up again, when someone grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet. While I am being dragged out of the room, I look up to see who is pulling me. A blurry but handsome face with dreamy green eyes and brown hair is what I see. 

Alex.

What are you doing? Why are you saving me?! You should be saving Lane!  

We run-stumble through the hall, trying to get to the exit. The smoke becomes heavier and I start coughing. I hear Alex coughing, too, but he's still dragging me with the same amount of strength. Suddenly, he stops and turns to me.

"Rae, we'll get out faster if you ride on my back!"

I look at him. "Oh... Okay..."

He lets go of my arm and bends down in front of me. I wrap my weak arms around his neck and he supports my legs with his arms. He starts running again. I can feel his heart beating as fast as mine; I can feel his breaths in rhythm with mine. 

A piece of ceiling falls just in front of us, but Alex swiftly steps around it, not stumbling at all.

Thankfully, we turn a corner and burst through the exit. The spring sky is pouring out sunshine, and my eyes are blasted with brightness. 

As my vision adjusts, I start to take in my surroundings. I see the school's population's attention all on Alex and I. There's a silent moment as all of us register what just happened. In the silence, I can  feel  Lane's glare, even if I can't see it. It's really uncomfortable.

Finally, a teacher rushes over to us. "Are you kids okay?"

Alex gently sets me down. Even though the inside of the school was  really  hot, his body warmth leaves me as he separates himself from me. We both nod.

"The fire trucks are on their way. Come over here to where to where everyone else is standing, and we'll get you two to the paramedics, okay?"

"Okay." I say, my voice rough from the smoke.

---------------------------------

After Alex and I get cleaned up and checked, we are dismissed to go home. Both of us don't have any injuries, besides me having a concussion.

I'm still slightly dizzy and unsteady to walk, so the medic puts me in a wheelchair and orders Alex, or "my boyfriend", to wheel me home with a smirk on her face. Even though both of us protest, she doesn't listen. "Have fun!" She calls out to us with a smile plastered on her face.

As he pushes me on the chair, "I'm sorry" is what's able to come out of my mouth. He laughs. "For what?"

"For everything! The fire, the medic, and this," I say, embarrassed. 

"Was all of that your fault?" He asks me.

"Well..."

"Exactly. None of this is your fault. So stop apologizing."

I nod. I turn around in my chair to face him. "What happened anyway? Why was there a fire?"

"Turns out one of the science teachers connected the wrong wires together for an experiment, and started a huge fire."

"Oh. What were they trying to do?"

"I think they were trying to put back together an ancient phone from, like, the twenty-first century. It was called an Iphone from a company named after a fruit or something."

"Wow." Fires are common at our school. The science teachers always seem to mess up something and start a fire.

We walk in silence for a few minutes. I decide it's time to ask the question that has been bothering me since the fire.

"Why'd you save me?" I ask.

"Well, when the alarms went off, I saw the nurse making a mad dash for the exit screaming. Figured she left you. I ran to your room, and when I came through the door, I accidentally hit you. You were lying on the floor, almost unconscious. Were you trying to get out?"

I press my lips together and nod. 

He nods too. "Yeah. I would have done the same if I was in your shoes."

The sun is starting to set now. We come up to my house. Strangely, the porch lights aren't on yet. Hm. That's strange. Seth always turns on the lights when it gets dark. I'll ask him when I get in.

Alex wheels me up the driveway. I unsteadily get off the chair and go slowly up the stairs. I get the hidden spare key out of the bottom of the porch chair's seat cushion and unlock the door.

"Do you want to come in? It's the least I could do," I offer Alex, feeling rude if I don't ask.

"Sure. It'll give me a chance to wish your brother a Happy Twentieth Birthday myself. But what should I do with this stupid wheelchair?"

I lean against the door and laugh. "I don't know. Just put it somewhere." He laughs with me and puts it awkwardly by a bush. 

I open the door, suddenly feeling a bit nervous over Seth's reaction of Alex. Seth's a bit... overprotective.  Shoot. I should have thought this through.

I walk in with Alex next to me. My pain and dizziness suddenly fade when I smell our comfortable house's scent.

The house lights are all off. Again, strange. He always turns on the lights. I turn them on, half-expecting to see Seth jump out from somewhere. 

"Hey Seth! I'm home! You won't guess what happened today!"

I wait for a response. He doesn't call back.

I frown. I turn to Alex and whisper, "He's probably just playing with me. I called him a terrible singer this morning, and I think he wants to get back at me by scaring me."

He grins and raises his eyebrows. "Oh, is that so? You better be on the look-out then..."

I smile. I go to the kitchen and open the fridge door while Alex plops himself down in a chair.

"You want anything to drink?"

"Yeah, got any beer?" He jokes.

I glare at him. "Water it is." I say, tossing him a water bottle. He catches it with one hand and dramatically pouts. "Awww....."

"Shush."

I take out the birthday cake from the freezer.

"Hey Seth! Seriously, stop playing games! I got the cake out!" I call out, knowing this would get him to come out.

Silence.

"Seth!"

Silence.  My stomach twists a little. Seth doesn't usually play games like this. I set the cake down carefully on the table.

"Maybe you should check on him. He probably in the shower; I can wait here." Alex suggests.

"Seth doesn't take showers at night, only in the morning...."

"Oh. Maybe he went out?"

I shake my head. "He would have left a note."

I run down the basement stairs, hoping to find him in his room absorbed in a crossword puzzle. He's not there. It looks like he was here, though. His bed is wrinkled, like he was laying down. I go over to his bed and touch the sheets. Coldness. He couldn't have just been laying down.

Oh no....  I'm getting really worried.  He can't disappear like my parents. He can't.  "Seth! This isn't funny anymore!" I listen to see if there are any laughs from him anywhere. Nothing. I fast-walk to his bathroom. Empty. I go to his office. Other than a few stray papers lying on the floor, empty. I check the last place he could be in: the closet. It's a pretty big closet, and he goes there sometimes to think. He's weird like that. I open the door, desperate. Empty.

"SETH! WHERE ARE YOU?" I shout, panic in my voice.

Alex comes down the stairs. "Rae! What's wrong? Did you find him?"

Fear in my eyes, I shake my head. He turns pale. "Wh-Where would he be?"

"I don't know, Alex! This  can't  happen again! He  can't  disappear like my parents!" Adrenaline starts to course through me. 

I start pacing, running my hands through my hair, looking wildly everywhere, searching for a note. Anything. 

The wind picks up outside; I hear thunder in the distance. I feel a small breeze coming from somewhere. I turn my attention to where the unexpected wind could be coming from.

I gasp at what I see. By the window in the corner of the room, a small and scattered pile of glass lays. The curtain covering the window is blowing around. I walk over cautiously. Alex follows me. Slowly, fearful to what I think I will see, I open the curtain. As soon as I open it, a broken window greets me.

Oh no....  I look out the window. I spot a bloody knife on the ground, right next to the thick long trail going through the long grass into the forest behind our house. It looks like something was dragged out of this window. Or someone. I don't even want to think about what the knife did.

Tears fall down my face, and my knees sink to the ground. My hand drops. It happened. Alex appears in front of me, looking out the window, taking in what I just saw. He turns back at me. "Rae...."

I look up at his worried face, tears in my eyes.

"Alex, it happened. He disappeared...."

A/N: THANK YOU to the people who actually read to the end! Again, soooo sorry it was so long!!!! If there was a typo or something, sorry. My computer was messing up while I was typing. Okay, I'm going to stop this author's note now. That took a lot longer than I thought, and I'm really tired now.... Review :)

Until then.... Keep reading and writing! :)

~Renee