1:30 am on Saturday

All the teens were gathered in the clearing. Fog was beginning to hang in the air. The light that was attached to the awning became the spotlight on the groups as they awaited for the girl to arrive. Katie was crying, sitting on the ground with her head in her hands while Charlie rubbed her back, talking encouraging words to her. Chris was standing by Amber, a cigarette balanced between his lips as he listened to John talk. Mikie stood off by himself, watching Charlie as she offered Katie some food. Jamey and Wyatt were huddled in the center, coming up with something. Shawn and Kyle were flirting with Rosie as Wyatt draped his arm around Katie, kissing her hair.

When the groups arrived, Autumn was nowhere to be found. They were met with silence. A silence that left an awkward mist that lingered in the air. The hair on their arms were standing on end as each group slowly walked out of the woods. Fear began to creep up on each teen as the seconds ticked by and Jade was still not there. At first, some presumed that the girl was just lost, especially when Mikie said that she had ran off on her own.

A few others thought that the scream heard earlier was infact from the girl, which sent Katie into hysterics. It wasn't long before the adolescents were holding their phones in the sky, searching for service, for some way to get in contact with Jade. Tension was high between the teens as they argued with each other before eventually splitting up like they were now.

Jade and Wyatt broke their huddle, trying to get the attention of the others. "Okay! Listen up! What we're going to do is go back into the woods together and try to find her. Maybe she used the little bit of common sense she had and went to that shed or the treehouse if she got lost."

Wyatt nodded his head in agreement, "We need to stick together."

Shawn, Mikie, Katie, Rosie, and John all agreed, but Kyle didn't like the plan, "I think we should all just go our separate ways and hope someone finds her or that she finds her way out. It's getting really late."

Katie stood up, stomping over to Kyle. She grabbed the collar of his shirt, hauling him down to her level, "Listen here, Fire Crotch. My best friend is out there by herself. She is probably cold, lonely, scared, and her hair's a mess. Not to mention, she hasn't reapplied her sunscreen so she's probably going to get moon burn! So, we are going to go back in there and find her, and you can either come with us or I'll personally see to it that you're the one left out here alone. And trust me, no one will be out here looking for your sorry ass." With that, she forcefully shoved the boy away from her, her voice cold and heartless as she stood up for her friend.

Everyone seemed shocked that Katie had that in her, and Kyle looked like he was about to shit bricks. He visibly gulped, "O-Okay, L-Let's go."

"That's what I thought," Her voice was clipped as she hauled her bag over her shoulder. She looked around at the teens who had formed a circle around the two. She raised an eyebrow, daring someone to contradict her. When they didn't, she turned towards Jamey and Wyatt. With a nod of her head, she joined in line with the others, clearly waiting for them to carry on.

"I'm down for rescuing Princess, but can I go take a piss before we go?" Chris asked, stomping out his cigarette.

Rosie nodded her head, "Yeah, Over there will be the little boys room," she pointed to her right, "Over here will be the little girl's room," she pointed to the left.

Katie looked over to the left where Rosie gestured, but when she didn't see a bathroom she got a puzzled look on her face, "I don't see it. Is it behind the trees and bushes?"

Chris placed his hand on Katie's shoulder, "No, it is the trees and bushes."

Katie's face contorted in disgust, "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope, let's go so we can hurry up and go find Jade," Jamey said before grabbing Katie's wrist and followed the other girls behind the bushes while the guys went the opposite direction.

"I have toilet paper," Charlie said as she pulled a roll out of her bag.

"Where's the seat? How am I supposed to pee if there's no place to pee?" Katie asked.

Charlie rolled their eyes, "You squat," she deadpanned.

Katie's eyes bugged out of her head, "I'm not an animal! My bottom needs a place to sit!"

Jamey huffed, "We need to hurry up, so either squat or hold it."

They three girls began to go behind different trees and do their business while Katie stood there and weighed her options. She could either pee like an animal or she could suffer for who knows how long. She decided to just hold it.

We can't be out here for too long. We're just going to find Jade and then go home, she thought to herself before walking away from the "little girls room" and meeting the boys back at the clearing.

"What's taking them so long?" Chris asked in frustration.

"They're squatting," Katie said with distaste.

They guys laughed a little bit at that, "And you didn't squat?"

Katie turned her nose up, "Absolutely not. I'll just hold it."

They laughed a little more before the rest of the girls joined them.

Jamey untied her button up from around her waist and put it on, taking a deep breath as she rolled up the sleeves on her flannel, "Let's go find Jade."

-----

QOTC What would your plan be to find Jade?