The hot air of summer lingered in Winter Oaks, despite the fact it was now September. The streets of this small town were full of life. Everywhere, the townspeople woke up: it was the dreaded back to school, back to work, back to life. 

Samantha Davis, a sweet-looking redhead glared at the somnolant town. It was as if it had resurrected from its summer death. No one in their right mind really stayed in this place when they could travel to Greendale, an hour from here, or the beach, another two hours from here. She glanced down at her wrist. It had been 1460 hours since she'd seen her best friend. Two very long months. 

Samantha saw in front of her eyes the summer break unfold. The first day off school, Babylon had vanished. At first, Miss Olympus at thought her daughter had gone out with friends. Only she wasn't with Samantha, nor was she with Blake and Liv. Days had passed. Cops were called. A missing person's warrant went out. Everything at the Olympus household was normal... Except for the fact that all her daughter's stuff was there, in her bedroom. Her phone, her essentials— sketchbook, pencils, diary... It all pointed to something big. Something way too gruesome for a small town like Winter Oaks. 

The redhead shuddered. She remembered meeting up with Blake and Livy, all crying. They had marks of sleepless nights on their faces— blue under eyes, bloodshot eyes... And the mark of grief on their hearts. It had been a hell like summer. Losing their best friend, just like that, for no apparent reason... The cops had no leads. She'd just vanished from the surface of the Earth. Despite searching all state, even asking if the FBI could help, they never found any trace of Babylon. 

The grieving girl held a sob in. It was her first day of 12th grade today, her last year of high school... And her best friend wasn't there with her. A small part of Samantha wondered if her bestie had died. She knew it was highly possible, if not sure. She didn't want to accept that foreign idea though. The town didn't either. Everyone still hoped that Babylon would be found, soon. 

Peters High School was the most bland and boring building ever built in Winter Oaks— heck, in the whole state of Idaho. It was made of beige concrete and washed off red bricks. A faded road led to its entry doors, where hormonal teenagers drank beer and smoked before going to class. There weren't enough personnel to stop them from doing it, anyway. 

Samantha arrived right on time. She'd been waiting in her car, her hands gripping the wheel. Teens passed in front of her truck, like a flock of sheep. They were all jolly, as if they'd forgotten about the fact that one of them had gone missing, Samantha thought a bit annoyed. Her knuckles were white, even as she walked to the school. Her backpack was tightly strapped to her shoulder as she pushed the double doors. With a sad look on her face, she walked to her locker, tapped the code in, threw a bunch of books in it and closed it in a slam. 

Babylon... Where are you? 

"Sammy!" 

A familiar voice called for the redhead. She turned towards it. The girl who called her was a beautiful brown girl with long dark hair. She wore a cute trendy outfit and ginormous hoops. She ran to Samantha, her voice so high pitch dogs from the other side of the United States probably could hear her and their ears could probably bleed. 

" Blakey!"

Samantha let a fake smile appear on her lips. That had been a screeching type of thing that they'd do with Babylon, back when... Well. That was something Samantha didn't want to think about. She could still hear her friend's laugh again... So clearly it was... Frightening. 

Wait. 

Why the heck was there Babylon in front of her locker?