Saturday April 19th 12:24am
“Grace should have been back by now.” A tall muscular teenager with short blond hair stood up from the couch and started circling the family coffee table. “She can’t just leave without telling us. Dammit John we should be looking for her.”
“Don’t go working yourself up before you know what’s happened, it's not going to help” Replied John who leaned back while placing his feet on the table to stop the pacing before Mark could wear a hole through it.
Both Mark and John were clearly brothers but John was an inch or two shorter than Mark who was 6’4 and he also lacked the build and thick bone structure of his brother. His excessively long shaggy hair and general unconcerned attitude caused many to think that Mark was older by a year or two rather than the twins they were.
“I’m worried because I don’t know where she is, I know you don’t give a shit but I do.” Mark’s reply was brief but full of anger as he looked at his carefree brother with contempt.
“She’s my sister too.” John exploded up off the couch into Mark’s face, his fury on clear display. John quickly recognized his anger, he didn’t like the boiling in his heart, so he suppressed it and sat back down. “There’s no point in being upset over nothing, so until there is I’m not going to be.”
Startled Mark also sat down while staring up at the ceiling fan. “I’m sorry you’re right, but what will we do if she doesn’t come back? I’m just worried about her.”
“Don’t be, I’m sure she’ll be fine.” For all the confidence that he put into the words on the inside, John felt none of it. His sister Grace was missing.
Mark opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as headlights from someone pulling into the driveway shown through the front window. Both of them were off the couch and out the door before the driver even had a chance to turn off the engine. As John approached, he recognized the car as Gavin’s, a junior who when to Altims High School like them and a fellow member of the wrestling team.
Gavin was a loyal friend, but John found his lack of drive to strain their friendship and knew that Mark disliked him for it. Fortunately, Gavin had recently found a new girlfriend who had a positive impact on his life for once and he was becoming a better person. If Grace was with him then she was fine now but whatever led to their meeting had John nervous.
As Mark watched Gavin step out of the car he somehow felt both more worried and relieved at the same time. On one hand, Gavin the kid who drank and smoked weed instead of studying had brought his sister home. On the other, his sister was home.
“Where’s Grace?” Mark could see from Gavin’s worried expression something was wrong and some questions would need to be asked but making sure Grace was okay came first.
“She’s, she’s in the passenger seat,” As he spoke John circled around the car to retrieve Grace. The more Mark watch Gavin the more concerned he became, he was sweating too much for a chilly night like this and was doing his best to avoid eye contact. “I was at a party, down by the old mill, you know the one off Sherman road, that’s where I saw her, there was a guy with her, he was trying to get her to keep drinking so I chased him off and drove straight here.”
John appeared from the other side of the car with Grace leaning on him for support. She was clearly intoxicated but otherwise fine. It seemed like Gavin had indeed stepped in before anything truly bad could happen but Mark still felt angry swelling within himself like water boiling over in a pot.
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Mark stepped forward and placed his right hand firmly on Gavin’s shoulder. “What is his name?”
“Nick Bollins, he’s a sophomore, goes to Altims, I don’t know where he went, I’m sorry, I should have chased him, I should have found him and beat the shit out of him.” Gavin squirmed under the weight of his hand which Mark found somewhat gratifying.
Still, Gavin had saved Grace so he so shouldn’t be too hard on him. No, instead he should be grateful that he had been there. Perhaps he had been too hard on Gavin since the day that they met, either way, Mark was going to have to rethink the way he thought of Gavin.
“Thank you, go home Gavin. Take a shower and go to bed you look terrible. Also, if anyone asks, we never talked, you dropped Grace off and went home. I will take care of it. Good night.” Mark took his hand off Gavin’s shoulder and turned to walk inside. It feel good knowing that there was something he could do now, no more waiting or worrying, just action.
“What are you going to do?” Gavin called to him as he walked away. It was a fair question, but it had an answer he would be best not knowing for now.
“I am going to take care of it, good night Gavin.”
When Mark opened the door he came face to face with John whose calm expression was paper thin. “Do you need help or are you going to do this alone?”
There was no doubt about what would happen next, the only thing left was to figure out how. Whether both of them went or just one the outcome would be the same however it would b easier to jump Nick then run before getting caught if only one of them did it so the choice was obvious. “No, it’ll be easier if it’s just me.”
“Okay then, make the bastard feel it.”
Monday April 21st 11:30am
It hadn’t taken long to find out who this Nick was. A scrawny 5’6 130 pound 16 year old who dealt drugs mostly to the football team. It also hadn’t taken very long to find out that he had an AP chemistry class 3rd period in the 100 hall and a 4th period ELA class 300 hall. This meant he walked by several bathrooms during the break, bathrooms that someone could easily be grabbed and dragged into.
The hard part would be not getting caught as nearly every spot in the school had a camera, so there was no way to avoid being seen on one. However, if he wore all black with gloves, a hood, and a mask on then there was a decent chance the cameras wouldn’t recognize him.
Of course, any teacher would immediately be able to tell something was off by the way he dressed so he came in as early as he could before anyone was in the building. So here he was hiding in the last stall waiting for the 4th period bell ready to beat the shit out of a piece of shit before sprinting out the nearest exit.
Just like every day the bell rang and students flooded into the hallways, and just like every day Nick Bollins walked by. As he did so Mark reached out and grabbed the backpack pulling him in. The 130 lightweight was surprised and unable to resist the sudden yank as he was dragged into the bathroom.
Once inside Mark threw him into the nearest walk which he crashed into face first. Dazed and confused Nick stubbled back from the walk clutching a bleeding nose in both hands. As he was completely unguarded Mark took the opening and struck him straight across the jaw sending him to the floor. On the way down Nick’s head bounced off the sink with a solid thud and any chance of resistance faded with his consciousness.
The fight was over and the message was sent. Not that Nick would be able to remember it or anything else for the next couple of weeks. There was nothing left for Mark to do here so he walked away stepping on Nick’s chest as he went. A small crowd had begun to form outside of the bathroom and he had to muscle his way through. It was easy enough and once he broke free he sprinted out the exit. He kept running until he had crossed the practice field and made it to the woods.
Once there he looked over his shoulder and saw no one had even attempted to chase him. He took off the mask and looked around. The woods were so much darker than usual, it was as if someone had turned down the brightness of the sun. All the birds were quiet too, it was a strange uncanny feeling like one might feel during an eclipse.
It was then he first heard the squealing. It wasn’t noticeable at first, but the sound kept growing. It felt like someone had placed Mark’s head next to a pair of rusty car brakes as they tried to work.
As the noise increased Mark found the earsplitting sound even more unbearable. Mark threw his hands over his head and dropped to his knees hoping the terrible squeal would stop. It kept growing and growing until Mark felt a sudden wave of drowsiness and loss of consciousness. Little did Mark know that for about 6 miles all around him, every other person felt the deafening noise before abruptly passing out.