LOOK WHO'S UPDATING REGULARLY - because I'm procrastinating homework - Wooooo! This chapter wasn't part of my original piece, so pardon any errors (and possible KAEL thingies I forgot to replace with his accented name) and point them out~ 

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          Sora snapped off the last ribbon of tape, completing her storm proof piece with an exhausted sigh. A set of steel grey eyes stared back at her through the window of sticky plastic, its awkward smile settling on thin lips to pull off your typical school photo.

          This particular picture had been blown up to a pixelated mess and stamped on a hundred sheets, 'MISSING' jumping in bold black letters to grab any passerby. 

          She bit her lip, still lingering on the poor word choice.

          Missing was for cats and dogs. 

          Missing was for things that didn't come back due to strange circumstances.

          Kidnapped was for her best friend.

          She squinted at the thick letters, skimming her phone number plastered at the bottom as a second punch at her idiocy. Now everybody in Iridis could blow up her phone. But she didn't exactly have a number for his uncle, and she had to sell her act.

          She slowly peeked over her shoulder. A couple was down the street loitering at the local cafe, one tall and lean built man rigidly holding his partner's gentle hand, her tight wound bun of burgundy hair bobbing as she chatted. 

          As they pretended to look at the menu.

          In reality, that same couple had pretended to look at the books in the library while Sora tacked up a poster on the community board. They had pretended to pass through the school's bounding field just as she left with a warm package of fresh flyers, only glancing at her as the principal's booming voice praised her spirit and offered his condolences. 

          They had pretended as if they hadn't changed their clothes three times that day.

          Paranoia had of course, haunted Sora's conspiracy for the first half of the day. With summer reeling in like a scorching inferno, Iridis' small cluster of estranged and off the beaten path tourists were filing into the streets. But these ones were here for more than the 'UFO landing rock that had unruly visitors trekking through the rear end of Káel's acreage.

          Sora bit at her cheek, keeping from staring at the couple. She wasn't being paranoid.

          She hugged the papers to her chest, schoolbag slung over one shoulder with the contents of her locker emptied into it. Iridis had seen an entire force of well off city folk gawking at their sub-par attractions, the bulk of them lingering with well polished black cars and a few packs of equipment. They'd come along a little after Káel's disappearance, and hadn't left since.

          Thankfully enough she hadn't crossed paths with that eerie woman and her twin guards. but this couple was hardly a better substitute. Sora scraped along the dusty sidewalk, cutting through the stretch of empty road and swiftly passing them. 

          "But they don't have decaf."

          The man grunted, his voice dipping to his partner's before Sora made it around the curb. "Let's look somewhere else then."

          Sora sucked in a breath as a set of casual footsteps tailed her, never passing her composed stroll while she didn't dare to peek over her shoulder. She'd looked up social security after that woman's visit, and although she was renowned as the only person that managed to befriend Káel, they would never go so far as to tail her like secret police.

          "This town really is beautiful in the summer," the man said, his voice carrying far enough to keep Sora in the bubble of their chatter.

          "It's boring."

          "Alright," the man chuckled, a taunting chime clinging to his words. "Dear."

          "Do you think there's more coffee shops around, Honey Bun?" the woman bit back, nearly tugging at Sora to catch their expressions.

          "We could ask."

          Sora's heart jolted at the man's proposition. She was the closest help. 

          But not for long.

          Her gaze zeroed in on a naked light pole, quickening her strides to an awkward shuffle as she closed in on the sanctuary. Papers pinned to the grass by her bulging bag, she slid a single sheet out, trying to hide her shaking fingers as she framed the sheet at different heights. 

          The couple passed.

          "It's always that with you."

          The woman scoffed. "Caffeine makes me sleepy."

          "Weird."

          Sora heard a padded smack as the woman took her frustration out on the man's shoulder, their backs plain in her peripheral as they strolled up to Casey's Bakery and stopped. Sora kept to her task, slowly drawing a length of tape over the top and listening to the soft chiming bells as they entered the shop.

          She snapped off the ribbon, speeding up with her manic thoughts.

          What on Earth did they want?

          Her heart squirmed into her throat, choking up nervous lumps as she shakily snapped off another ribbon of tape.

          Did they know Ray?

          Sora flinched as her phone buzzed, her sweating palms nearly dropping the delicate contraption onto the unforgiving sidewalk as she fumbled through the code. It had nothing to do with Káel, which hardly pulled her throbbing heart back into its proper place.

          Deep down she knew she wouldn't get a call that they'd found him.

          She stared at the contact labelled Bella, a single reply popping a red one over the icon.

Here.

          Her gaze wandered to the message she'd sent. Ride. She'd been surprisingly quick this time around, providing a generous window of twenty minutes.

          Her thumbs flew across the keyboard.

Kk. Be there in ten. I'm watching them.

          She slapped on the last length of tape, flattening out the bubbles before paying the bakery a cautious glance. Just as she snatched her bag, her phone buzzed again.

Five.

          Sora let out an exasperated sigh, punching in a quick reply.

Seven.

          With that, she clicked her phone off and slid it into her pocket, burning towards the bakery with a hot punch of confidence to her steps. When she reached the door, her demeanor melted, playing to the proper role of a mourning friend as she hunched her shoulders and gingerly nudged her way in.

          A couple smiles greeted her, the regulars that knew her breakfast sandwich and two cinnamon buns order to heart. Ten minutes would have given her that luxury, but now she had to be hasty.

          "Um." She cringed as her voice came out a little too composed. She gripped one of the posters, holding it up with a bit of a shake. "C-can I?"

          Casey herself popped over the counter, sorrow stitched to her wrinkled smile as she quickly read over what everyone knew by now. She tapped a stretch of space on the counter. "Set a stack down dear."

          Sora nodded, placing the last of her efforts beside the till and fumbling around for one cinnamon bun's worth of change.

          "Cream cheese frosting and pecans?" Casey chimed, barely noticing the darting glances Sora paid the couple.

          Five minutes.

          Sora lightly chuckled. "You know it." 

          The older woman nodded, sliding the pile of coins back at Sora with a wink. "On the house, you look exhausted."

          Sora smiled, scooping the change up and dropping it all in the tip jar. She wouldn't be staying here anyways.

          Steaming cinnamon bun in tow she glanced at an empty two person table, then drifted to the couple that had snagged a cushioned corner of four seats. Her choice was definitely blunt, but with two ghost seats at the ready, it was practically an invitation.

          "Do you mind if I sit here?"

          The woman pulled away from her milky peppermint tea, a friendly smile fighting the curious squint to her almond eyes. "Not at all."

          The man gave her a warmer smile than the woman, still busy gorging on a thick chunk of caramel brownie as Sora nestled into the group. All three of them aware of the empty table they'd ignored for this very chance.

          "Sorry, I like having company," Sora started, toying with the small plate to line it up with her fork. "You really don't mind?"

          "Really," the woman replied, daintily sipping her tea and leaving a cherry imprint on the rim. "Talking to strangers is a breath of fresh air when you have to road trip with him."

          The man looked up, his answer muffled by the chocolaty obstacle he filled his mouth with.

          The woman laughed in disappointment, sizing Sora up and resting her gaze on the schoolbag. "I saw you putting up all those posters. Did you know him?"

          The man snorted, wiping off a stray smear of chocolate with his napkin. "Great question there. Butting your nose in the obvious like a classic reporter."

          Sora lingered in silence for a moment, the man awkwardly clearing his throat and turning to the company of his phone as the woman ripped a glare into him. 

          Four.

          "I did..." Sora muttered, poking at her cinnamon bun while she resisted the urge to grab it and stuff it in her mouth. That would completely ruin the act.

          "I'm sorry," the woman said, going back to staring at her drink.

          "You said you were a reporter?" Sora said, bouncing her head to the sides as she thought a little harder. "Or well... he did."

          "Hardly. I have a blog," she replied curtly.

          "Are you blogging about the kidnapping then?"

          "She's blogging about your guy's lovely erratic chilling in a field. Who knew glaciers were the work of aliens? I didn't."

          The woman pursed her lips. "Did you hear that though? I didn't know it was a kidnapping."

          A block of ice gripped Sora's back as the woman laced gazes with her. The police had dubbed Káel missing. Ray was a prime suspect, so she was allowed to add him into the last seen blurb on her posters, but no one had explicitly seen the blond kidnap him.

          "I think it was... I just don't have proof." She carved off a piece of her treat, savouring the sweet frosting and gooey clump of cinnamon bread. 

          It was getting harder and harder not to inhale the thing.

          "Em," the man said, his light tone weighted with seriousness as he tapped his wrist.

          The movement was quick, but Sora saw the strange gesture, the shining watch peeking from his crisp white sleeve flashing red before he hid it. With a sudden wave of interest the man placed his phone face down, folding his fingers into a hammock for his chin as he smiled at Sora. "Random rocks are boring, but I'm a sucker for conspiracies."

          One.

          "I don't know much," Sora replied, catching the baby blue of a car parking just outside. "I put everything I knew on the fliers. Our principal saw the guy though."

          Sora felt her phone buzz in her pocket, not cursing her timing for once. 

          "Sounds like an interesting piece," the woman chimed, clearly noticing Sora's hand as it slipped down to loop around the strap of her bag. "I feel like we could be here for a while anyways."

          The man grunted, fighting a laugh with a huge grin. "Yeah, twist it enough and you'll probably write some crap about him being abducted by aliens." He glanced at Sora, void of empathy to go with his words. "No offense."

          She slowly lifted her bag. "None taken."

          Káel was stupid enough to walk into a flying saucer anyways.

          Sora flinched as the car outside honked, slowly rising from her chair when a hand brushed her arm.

          The woman looked up at her, a gentle smile eerily pasted to her cold face. "Did you want a ride?"

          The alarm bells blaired, every hair on Sora's body shooting up to flee her pounding heart.

          The car honked again, laying on the horn for a couple seconds.

          "It's here actually," Sora said, swallowing past her fear and motioning to the blue vehicle. "But thanks..."

          The man did a little stretch, smiling as Sora grabbed the cinnamon bun with her bare hands and took a massive bite out of it. His voice was calm this time, cut with authority as he cleared his throat and stood up to pay her a wave. "We'll see you around."

          Sora nodded, "not likely" running through her mind on repeat as she hastily made it out of the bakery and nearly attacked the car's door to get in.

          The woman inside gave her a sour frown, leaning over the seat to crack it open and let the mess of sticky frosting and pecans in. She had her head turned to Sora, but was undoubtedly staring at the couple through the bakery window, her thick black sunglasses blocking the heat of her gaze from pulling their attention. "I said five."

          "And here I am," Sora replied, nestling into the seat and cramming the other half of the cinnamon bun into her mouth. She nearly choked as the woman jammed her foot down on the gas, forcing Sora to strap on her seatbelt as the car flew down the road. 

          When Sora got through the pastry with a painful swallow she snapped her head to the woman, the black straggles of hair that refused to be tucked into her bun flapping about in a mad dance from the open windows. "You're going to kill us! It's fifty!"

          "It's almost stardown," the woman replied blandly, somehow jamming on the gas even harder as the car whistled in the wind. 

          "Sundown. We have twelve minutes! That's plenty of time to get out of to-" Sora choked as her seatbelt rammed into her neck, keeping her body from flying through the windshield. 

          The woman ignored her coughs, patiently waiting for the light looming above them to turn green.

          Sora's frustration melted to confusion as the woman turned left instead of going straight through. "Why are we going this way?"

          Her lips thinned. "You'll see."

          Sora frowned at the strange caution to her voice, gluing her eyes to the window while the car pulled past Káel's house at a respectable speed. She turned again, hugging acreage as they bounced along a graveled road, then stopping in the shade of a couple towering oaks. 

          The rock was in plain view, just outside of Káel's field as a polished boulder a little taller than the car they sat in. It was an odd place to find a smooth rock, but even odder was the sheer amount of people hovering around it. Teams in uniform digging around it, scraping it, and even plainly staring at the attraction.

          "What are they doing?" Sora whispered, leaning out of the window for a better view.

          The woman shrugged, slamming her foot down on the gas again to throw Sora into her seat as they blazed down the country road. "You're on vacation."

          Sora frowned, checking the clock as the dipping sun faced them. She had seven minutes to soak in Iridis' enchanting boredom. "How long?"

          "Three months, until further notice."

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Quality Quip #7:

'Among your friends there is always one you can trust to be unworthy of your trust.'

~ Anon