Vestige (3 page)

Next, she spent close to twenty minutes combing her wild auburn hair. She yanked at it until her scalp hurt. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a professional cut. Once detangled, she pulled her hair into one long, crooked braid that draped over her shoulder. Clarke inspected her work in the mirror. “Blah…I look like Katniss.”

She undid the braid and tried a simple ponytail. But the rubber band couldn’t contain her unruly tresses, and it snapped apart. Finally, she fastened the sides of her wavy locks to the top of her head with a tortoise-shell clip. This time, when she looked into the mirror, she was satisfied. She wouldn’t win any beauty contests, but at least she didn’t look as if she lived in an underground cave.

Finally, Clarke opened her sock drawer and pulled out an antique heart-shaped locket. It was heavy, but the chain was long and thick. She slipped it over her head; its weight pulled on her neck. She opened the heart and looked at the two faded pictures inside, one of her father’s mother and one of his grandmother. Her dad had given her this locket on her sixteenth birthday, but she had yet to wear it. Before this, she hadn’t received a gift in years.

Maybe she shouldn’t wear it today. What if she lost it? She couldn’t bear the thought, so she closed the heart and returned the heirloom to her drawer.

Clarke made her way down the massive walnut staircase, past the living room, and back to the kitchen. Every morning after changing her dad, she fed him. Since he had trouble swallowing, this ordeal could take forever. Some mornings he gagged on his food and threw-up. Whenever that happened, Clarke had to change his clothes all over again. On those mornings, breakfast for her was an after-thought. Today, she had plenty of time.

She made a pot of coffee and poured herself a cup. As she sipped her steamy beverage, she made a batch of pancakes. It had been years since she had pancakes for breakfast. Her mom used to make them all the time before….

Clarke ate five huge pancakes smothered in butter and syrup. She poured herself a second cup of coffee and did the dishes. Before she left for school—just to be on the safe side—she picked up the phone and dialed 911. “Hello, I’m not sure if this is an emergency or not, but my dad is missing. He has MS and can’t get around by himself. I’m starting to get worried.”

“Ma’am, we’ll send a car over as soon as one’s available. We are receiving a high volume of calls this morning. Let me get your name and address.”

As Clarke hung up the phone, she felt as if she had been released from prison. Even if it only lasted a couple of hours, she was free.

Chapter Three

At the beginning of first period, an unfamiliar voice made an announcement over the PA. “More than half of the administration and almost all the teachers are absent today. Therefore, your regular classes have been canceled. Students with last names starting with letters A through J should report to the cafeteria, letters K through T to the auditorium, and U through Z to the library. Please bring your work because you will be expected to remain quiet and busy for the duration of the day.”

Micah made his way to the auditorium. He forgot his backpack at home, so he didn’t have his books or homework with him. This would have been a good opportunity to catch up on some late assignments. At least he had his phone. He would be able to text Jess and smooth things over before lunch.

Once in the auditorium, Micah took a seat in the last row of the balcony, as far away as he could get from the two teachers stationed on the stage. He pulled out his phone and saw a text from his mom.

You need to come home. It’s started. I have so much to tell you. You’re not ready. Get home before…

Before what? That’s it? What…did her battery die mid-text? She had reached a new level of drama. His mom was crazy to think he’d go home now only to deal with another one of her imaginary crises.

Micah looked around making sure no one saw the text. Then, without answering it, he deleted his mom’s message and sent one to Jess.

Hey babe sory i didnt go 2 the park plz dont be mad c u at lunch luv ya

Micah put his phone back in his pocket, slouched down in his seat, and closed his eyes.

By the time the lunch bell rang, he was certain that everyone had chilled, so he made his way to the school courtyard and to their usual table. As he approached his friends, he could see that Jess was crying, and then he noticed Dustin’s arm draped around her shoulder.

“Hey Jess...What’s going on?” Micah put his hand on her shoulder and pushed Dustin’s arm off.

Dustin grinned at Micah. “Just comforting your girlfriend...”

“Jess...seriously...what’s wrong?” Micah wedged himself between Jess and Dustin, forcing Dustin to slide over several inches.

“My family...my little brother and sisters are gone. The police think some cult kidnapped them...all of them.” Jess buried her face into Micah’s shoulder and continued her sobbing. “Oh Micah, what am I going to do? This is the worst day of my entire life.”

Micah put his arm around Jess and kissed the top of her pink head. “So...I guess we’re not babysitting.”

Jess stopped crying, lifted her head, and glared at Micah. She pushed his arm away, picked up her things, and marched off. Amber shot Micah a disgusted look and ran after her friend.

“Smooth,” Cody said.

“What? I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to know,” replied Micah.

“Yeah right, jackass,” Dustin said. “You just wanted to know if you were still going to get some. Don’t you care about anyone but yourself?” Dustin smirked.

“What makes you think Micah’s getting any? This kid is still a virgin. Isn’t that right, Micah,” mocked Cody.

“It’s none of your business,” said Micah.

“Jess tells Amber everything, and Amber tells me everything,” said Cody.

Micah tried to change the subject. “Are we going to the park after school today?”

“Nah, man. I have to look for my dog,” Cody said. “He ran away or something. He’s been missing since last night. I let him out around 8:00, and when I went to let him back in, he was gone. I bet my dad left the gate open on purpose. He hates that dog.”

“That’s weird. My neighbor’s dog ran away too,” Dustin added. “He was yellin’ that dog’s name all night, ‘Daphne...Daphne.... Where are you girl?’ What a douche. I didn’t sleep at all.”

“I saw a lady looking for her dog this morning,” Micah said.

“Maybe the same cult that took Jess’s little brother and sisters took all the dogs too.” Dustin laughed.

Micah thought about the dog from his dream. It was still so clear. It seemed as if it had actually happened. He could almost feel the pressure of the dog’s teeth on his hand. He looked down at his open palm and gasped at the sight of two small bruises. Were those teeth marks? He turned his hand over and saw a matching pair on the opposite side. At first, Micah stared at the marks in disbelief, but then he thought about his hasty departure that morning. He must have grabbed a rough piece of wood or scratched himself on a nail.

“Let’s meet at the park tomorrow morning,” concluded Cody. “Micah, did you hear me?”

Micah snapped back to reality. “Yeah, sure...park...tomorrow morning.”

“Wanna ditch?” Since Micah wasn’t going to see Jess after school, he wanted to skip an afternoon of total boredom. He couldn’t stand the thought of sitting in the auditorium for another three hours.

“Nah, me and Amber are in the library together. She’ll be pissed if I ditch without her,” replied Cody.

“I’m in the cafeteria.” Dustin looked at Micah. “Jess is too.”

“Asshole,” Micah muttered.

“You’re on your own, Micah.” Cody stood and headed towards the school. Dustin gave Micah one last smirk and followed Cody.

“Fine.” As Micah slinked away in the other direction, he wondered where he should go. He couldn’t go home, and since he only had a fiver, he couldn’t hang out at the arcade. He eventually settled on the park.

Ever since Micah was a kid, he loved the park. It was just so…ordinary—an ordinary place where ordinary parents played with their ordinary kids. It became his refuge from the crazy. He would watch these ordinary people and take mental pictures, and these pictures would sustain his daydreams for as long as he needed them to do so. These people gave him hope that maybe one day he might have an ordinary family of his own.

*****

After about an hour of sitting in the auditorium with nothing to do but think about her dad, Clarke’s conscience overflowed with guilt. She couldn’t focus on anything other than what she had done; or rather, what she hadn't done. How could she have left without knowing where her dad was?

By the time lunch rolled around, she had convinced herself that something horrible had happened to him. If only she had stayed and waited for Mary.... But what if he wasn’t with Mary? What if God had answered her prayers and her dad was…gone? Knowing that she would regret her actions for the rest of time, Clarke now prayed for her dad’s safe return.

When she prayed for her life to be normal, she didn’t want her father to disappear. She wanted him to be healthy again. Heck, she would have settled for her mother’s return but not this. For the first time in her life, Clarke decided to ditch school. As soon as the lunch bell rang, she slipped out of the building, unnoticed. She walked home as fast as she could, trying to think of an explanation for her actions.

Once home, Clarke walked up to the front door of her house, gripped the doorknob, and took a deep breath. Heat rose to her face, and her heart pounded. She opened the door, half-expecting to find a bunch of people on the other side, but instead, she found no one. She heard whispers coming from the kitchen, so she walked back. There, she found Mary sitting alone at the table with her face buried in her hands. The whispers came from the TV.

“Mary...”

Mary looked up at her. Clarke couldn’t decide whether Mary looked worried or angry.

“Clarke…thank God, you’re okay. I called the high school several times but no one picked up. Where’s your dad?”

“He’s not with you?” Clarke’s voice cracked and her hands began to tremble.

“What?” Mary looked confused.

“I don’t’ know where he is. It’s like he disappeared.”

“So he’s missing…” Mary put her hands on the table and pushed herself up from the chair. She looked as if she couldn’t support her own weight. “Are you sure? Have you looked for him?”

“Of course I looked for him. I looked everywhere. I even checked the pool.”

“What’s going on?” Mary mumbled.

“When I woke up this morning, he was just gone.” If Mary only knew about her prayer…

Mary stared at Clarke for several seconds.

Clarke could taste her guilt. She felt as if she was going to be sick. “I swear...I didn’t do anything. He was just gone.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” Mary asked.

“I did, but you didn’t answer.” Clarke stepped towards the table. “What did the police say?”

“I didn’t call the police,” answered Mary.

“I did. I called them after I called you. The woman said that they would send someone over when they could. She said that they were really busy.”

“No one ever came,” said Mary.

“I don’t understand why they didn’t send someone. I told them that he has MS.”

“Have you heard the news today?” Mary asked.

“No. Why?”

“Here…sit down, and I’ll make you something to eat. PB and J okay?” Mary motioned for Clarke to sit and then crossed the room to turn up the volume on the old 9” TV. She played with the rabbit ears for a second, trying to get a better picture.

“Sure.” Clarke focused on the tiny screen as Mary went to the counter.

We are here in front of Park Elementary School where none of the students under the age of thirteen reported for classes today. School officials tell us that they have talked to the parents of the absent students, but they won’t disclose the details of those conversations.

According to an anonymous source within the police department, almost all the children absent from school have also been reported missing.

In about ten minutes, the chief of police and the village president will address the community. We hope to hear about what they think has happened to the missing children, and how they plan to look for those children.

“What’s she talking about?” asked Clarke.

“It seems that all the kids under thirteen have vanished. No one seems to know what’s happened to them.” Mary placed the sandwich in front of Clarke without looking at her.

Clarke stared at Mary for a moment trying to read her face. “Do you think my dad is with all those kids?”

“Eat your lunch,” said Mary.

Clarke picked at her food as they listened to the news. When the press conference with the chief of police began, Mary turned up the volume some more.

We have been receiving calls all morning reporting missing children. We have talked to many parents and the area schools, and it seems that all the children under the age of thirteen are, indeed, missing. We are doing our best to locate the missing children. We have all available officers working on this, but many of them are missing children of their own. Those officers who have a missing child or children have been removed from the investigation. Furthermore, we cannot expect help from the neighboring towns because they are going through the same thing...

“What about my dad? Mary they aren’t saying anything about missing adults.”

We’ll take some of your questions.

Do you think that this is an act of terrorism? Or could a cult be responsible for the missing children?

As of yet, we do not have any suspects.

Is it true that all the dogs in the village are missing too?

Many people have reported missing dogs. Animal Control is handling that issue. The police department is focusing on the missing children. Next question.