I was having a near impossible time paying attention to the lesson Mr. Douglas was teaching about physics. I could not tear my thoughts away from what Liam had told me last night about that boy going missing, being erased, just like Stiles was.

I pulled my eyes away from my notebook that I had been staring at for the last 30 minutes when I heard Mr. Douglas break out into a fit of coughs.

I sat up straighter to see him hunched over the experiment he was showing the class, his face red as deep coughs came from his throat. He almost seemed out of it for a moment as he banged his fist on the desk before grabbing his water bottle. Turning away from the class, he took a sip of the water and let out a deep breath.

As if nothing had happened, he turned back around and continued his lesson. This time, I could not tear my eyes away from him, something about him intrigued me and I needed to figure out what it was.  His coughing fit once again caused him to pause the lesson. Without saying a word he walked to the back of the classroom, ducking into one of the closets.

I looked over at Liam with a worried look, half afraid our teacher was about to die in the classroom. Liam returned the look as he stood up from his seat, approaching the door where Mr. Douglas' deep, almost gag like coughs could be heard.

The sound of him fumbling with something metallic caused Liam to look back at me with confusion, "Mr. Douglas?" he called, receiving no response, "Mr. Douglas?" he repeated, moving towards the door handle. Before Liam had a chance to open it, the door swung open and Mr. Douglas emerged.

"Okay," he said with a smile, "where were we?"

----

After the rest of physics class going off without a hitch, or another coughing fit for that matter, I had made my way to gym class, which had also been normal. Well, normal up until the end of class when we were all getting changed.

A simultaneous beeping and buzzing filled the locker room as we all received the same message, "Lacrosse Party- at Nathan Pierce's house- Be there!"

I rolled my eyes as I shoved my phone into my back pocket. I knew as one of the players girlfriend, I was essentially obligated to go, and I hated parties, especially when the entire school was invited.

My hostility towards the party soon vanished as the loud slamming of a locker caused me to turn my head in curiosity.

"Where is it!" one of the girls in my class-Gwen, yelled, frustration in her voice, "Where's all of her stuff?"

I grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder as I walked across the room towards her, "Gwen, what's wrong?" I asked softly.

"Someone stole all of her stuff!" she exclaimed, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Who's stuff?" I questioned.

"Phoebe, my sister?" she said as if it was an obvious answer, "you've known her for two years." she continued, hoping I would clue in. Yes, I'd known Gwen for two years but I had zero recollection of her having a sister.

"I'm sorry I don't-"

"You don't remember her." Gwen confirmed, "You don't remember her, this school doesn't remember her, no one remembers her." Gwen exasperated, throwing her arms up as she walked by.

She was already gone by the time it clicked in my head. The same thing that had happened to Stiles and the kid Liam was telling me about happened to Gwen's sister.

"Gwen wait!" I called, rushing into the hall hoping to see her, but she was already gone. I cursed under my breath as leaned up against the wall trying to think of where she might be, "library." I whispered, figuring if someone needed to figure something out they would go to the library. I took off down the hall, afraid she might already be gone when I got there.

As I reached the library, I skimmed the aisles, smiling in satisfaction when my eyes landed on the tanned skin girl, she was holding one of our year books, flipping through the pages.

"What are you looking for?" I asked as I approached Gwen, which caused her to look up briefly at me and then back down.

"Anything." she replied shortly, "anything to prove that Phoebe's real."

I sighed as I reached out and placed my hands on the book, lightly taking it from her hands, "I believe you." I promised.

Gwen let out a small snort, "No you don't."

"Yes, Gwen, I do." I argued as she looked at me with a skeptical look which prompted me to continue, "One of my best friends disappeared, I'm the only one that still remembers him."

Gwen still did not look fully convinced as she fiddled with something in her hands, a bracelet.

"That was hers wasn't it." I observed, which resulted in Gwen giving me a small nod, "What happened?" I questioned.

Gwen hesitated for a moment before recounting the night her sister had disappeared, "We went to bed like any normal night. I got up to get some water and I thought I saw this man standing in our front yard, when I looked again there was no one there." I felt my heart drop as Gwen continued speaking but I couldn't register a word she was saying until she held up the bracelet, "I made this for Phoebe's birthday, mom forgot to buy her anything, she travels so much. This is the only thing I have left."

My mind was still stuck on the part of Gwen's description in which she saw a man in her yard, "Gwen, what did the man you see look like?"

"Um, he was tall, in all black. He had long black hair and was wearing a hat. That's all I could really see of him, it was dark." she answered, confirming my fears. The man Gwen saw was the same one I did, the same one Stiles did the day he went missing. There was a trend between the disappearances and these men-the Ghost Riders as Liam had explained to me earlier- and if I didn't figure out what it meant soon, I might be next.

My heart was still beating a mile a minute as my phone began to buzz like crazy in my pocket. I tried to ignore it, keeping my attention on Gwen who was giving me a confused look. When the buzzing didn't stop I gave Gwen a tight smile as I pulled it from my pocket, "Hello?" I mumbled, walking slightly away from Gwen.

"Syd, where are you!" Liam demanded, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm in the library with Gwen, why?" I asked, lowering my voice so I didn't freak Gwen out.

"Stay where you are, Mason and I are coming." Liam ordered.

"Why? Liam what' going on?" I questioned, fear starting to creep over me.

"I know why you saw that man, one of the Ghost Riders." Liam breathed, I could tell he was running now.

"Why?" I almost yelled.

"It means they're going to take you next." Liam explained, which caused my heart to drop. I slowly took the phone away from my ear, hitting the end button before turning to Gwen.

"Gwen, you have to listen to me. That man you saw, he's called a Ghost Rider. They take people and erase them so nobody remembers they ever existed. If you see one, it means you're next." I explained, hoping she would understand what I was saying.

Gwen scrunched up her face as she took a step away from me, "You're crazy." she laughed, brushing off what I said as she turned and left the library.

I felt my shoulders slump as Liam and Mason arrived at my side, "What happened?' Liam asked, referring to my demeanor.

"Gwen saw one of the Ghost Riders too, but she doesn't believe me." I explained, turning to look at my boyfriend and Mason, "We have to protect her." I added.

"How can we protect her when she doesn't believe us?" Mason asked.

"I'm not sure, but we better figure it out, quick."