Nova P.O.V

Date: December 15, 2238 

"This is insane," Stacy grumbled, jamming her keycard into the card reader slot to unlock the door. She cracked open our dorm door before whipping around to face me. "How do four students go missing? Just How?!"

I sighed and shook my head. "No idea. There were no witnesses, and we couldn't even check the cameras because the power was out. This whole situation just seems foul to me."

"Me too." She nibbled on her bottom lip, looking off to the side, but suddenly looked back at me. "And poor Maverick. He's probably losing it right now."

I nodded. "Want to go keep him company? Try to keep his mind off things?"

She smiled for the first time since the news broke of their abduction. "Yeah. Let's put our stuff down, then go."

"Okay."

Stacy pushed the door open further and flicked on the light switch but stood frozen in the doorway.

"What the..." My jaw dropped as I gazed around our dorm.

Our dresser and desk drawers were wide open. Their contents spilled out and on the floor, mixing with the piles of crumpled clothing. Our mattresses lay halfway off the bed frame with their sheets askew.

I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself at the thought of someone so effortlessly violating my personal space and things.

"What happened? We definitely didn't leave our room like this when we left on Thursday. Did we?" Stacy ran her hands through her hair as she peeked through the open bathroom doorway. Everything inside seemed to be in a similar state as our room.

"No, we didn't, Stacy!" I exclaimed in disbelief at her hazy memory. "Someone must have broken into our room."

"C-check if you're missing anything. Then we'll go to the security room and report this."

"Okay."

**********

As Stacy and I approached the security room, we spotted Troy and Jax coming from the other end of the hallway.

"What are you two doing here?" Troy asked as we met at the door.

"Someone broke into our dorm room," I answered, struggling to keep my voice from wavering.

"What?!" Troy grabbed my arms, eyes raking over me from head to toe. "You alright?"

No! I felt violated. Someone had entered our room and rifled through our stuff. And for what reason, I didn't know. Nothing had been missing. Not that anything was worth taking in the first place, so... why?

The locket my parents gave me was always around my neck except when showering. Although I doubted they could have been after it. The only other reason I could think of for a person to break into our room was for pleasure. The thought alone made my flesh crawl.

"Yeah, just a little shaken. That's all." I said, somehow managing a smile. While that wasn't the complete truth, it wasn't a direct lie either. Physically, I was unharmed, but mentally was still up for debate.

Troy breathed a sigh of relief, pulling me in for a hug.

"Wait," Stacy said, eyes shifting back and forth between Jax and Troy. "Why are yall here?"

"Someone broke into our dorm, too," Jax muttered, loosely folding his arms.

My eyes widened in shock, and a chill ran down my spine. What are the odds that both our dorms get broken into? And on the same night at that?

"Nothing was missing from ours. What about you guys?" Stacy asked.

"My camera glasses," Jax said.

"That's it?"

He nodded once.

"Dang, I was hoping this was just a random pervert that wasn't involved with what's been happening lately," Stacy huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Hold on. If that's what they were after, maybe they searched our room first," I said, wagging my finger between Stacy and me. "And couldn't find it. So they searched you guy's room."

"Seems like it." Troy lazily shrugged one shoulder. "But we can't be certain until we see the security footage."

"But why did they wait till now to steal the glasses? We've already seen the footage."

"Timing, maybe." Troy guessed. "Our neighbors would have noticed someone going into our rooms. The games created the perfect time for them to take the glasses. Everyone is running around getting ready to go to the arena so they could have easily blended in with the crowd without anyone noticing."

"Yeah, but that is still a long time to wait," I muttered, unwilling to let it go. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. "You aren't going to report Jax's camera glasses missing, are you?"

"Nah, that'll only lead to more questions. We're just going to tell them about the break-in."

I started to reply, but the security room door flung open, and Maverick stepped out.

"Why are you guys out here?" He asked, eyebrows drawing together as his eyes trailed over each of us.

"Someone broke into our dorms," Troy told him.

"Both of you?! Are you serious?!"

Troy nodded.

"Damn." Maverick stepped backward and released a ragged sigh. "What is going on today?"

"Hell, if I know. But maybe the security tape will reveal who did it."

"Yeah, yeah. Hold on, let me pull up the footage." Maverick said before he ducked into the room and returned with a silver tablet.

Troy leaned against the wall, ankles crossed, and watched him fiddle with the device. "Are you going out to help with the search?"

"No, he's staying here. We got all the help we need." Ross answered, appearing behind Maverick. His firm tone made it clear the topic wasn't up for discussion. "Now, why are you here?"

"Someone broke into their rooms. I was just about to check the footage." Maverick explained.

"Let me see." Ross held out his hand for the tablet, and Maverick passed it to him. He tapped on the screen and watched the video, his face revealing nothing the entire time. When he was done, he lowered the tablet and eyed each of us with his lips pressed together in a thin, flat line but said nothing.

"Umm... are you going to tell us who it is?" Stacy asked after the silence dragged on long enough.

"Was it the same thief that was stealing things a few months ago?" Jax guessed.

"We caught the thief a while ago." Ross's brow knitted. "You know it was your friend with th-"

"A friend of mine?! Who?" Troy demanded, glaring at the side of Ross's head.

Nope. No way would one of our friends be the thief. He had to be mistaken. I couldn't fathom or stomach the idea of someone we considered a friend hanging around us waiting to steal stuff.

"You know, the guy that was doing a piss poor job of distracting Dean Wilson while you three were breaking into his office," Ross pointed at Troy, Stacy, and me. "Ashley Stuart."

My brow furrowed as I tried to recall the guy's face. Nothing. Except black-painted fingers popped into my head. We were too busy trying to make our escape for me to focus on his appearance.

"That's not my friend," Troy ran his hand through his hair. Some of the tension seeped from his shoulders as he looked at Jax. "That's... Jax's friend."

"I don't know him either," Jax exclaimed, eyes bulging. When we all stared at him, his shoulders slumped as he gulped repeatedly. "Okay, he helped me once, but other than that, I've never talked to the guy."

"That's not the way he sees it. He made it seem like you were best friends." Troy said.

"Wait a minute." Ross chimed in again, holding up one hand. "You're not going to deny breaking into Dean Winston's office?"

"We didn't break into his office." Troy casually replied while scratching the side of his nose. "The door was open when we got there."

I covered my mouth with my hand, attempting to hide my laughter.

"What?!" Ross pinched the bridge of his nose and slowly exhaled. "Just because the door is unlocked doesn't mean you go inside the room. Damn, kids!"

"So, what happened to Ashley?" I asked, trying to get him back on topic.

Ross shrugged. "I don't know. You would have to go and ask Mr. Lennox. He stepped in and asked if he could handle Ashley's punishment."

"Figured he would do that. He also tried to step in when Dean Winston was interrogating me. The man's too nice. Well..." Troy tugged his ear, one side of his mouth hiked upward into a smirk. "When he wants to be, that is."

We all chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Maverick, grab one of the guys, then you two go and check their dorms." Ross instructed before turning to head back into the security room.

"Wait, wait." Troy pushed off the wall and stepped in front of the door, blocking it. "If you knew we went into his office, why haven't you turned us in yet? Are you involved in it? I mean...be honest."

"Be honest?" Ross scoffed, eyes locked in silent challenge with Troy's.

"Yes, some fucking honesty would be great right now."

Ross tapped the tablet against his thigh, checking both sides of the hallway before looking back at Troy. "Don't talk to me about honesty. Just be grateful I haven't turned you in. Cause I think you know as well as I do that somethings going on around here. So unless you want to risk your friends' lives trying to figure it out, I suggest you leave well enough alone. Alright?"

Troy grunted before stepping aside, allowing Ross to pass through. When the door shut behind him, Maverick turned to us.

"I hear what he's saying, and he's right, but I can't just sit here and do nothing. That's my family out there." He said, his voice trembling with each word until he took a deep breath before continuing, "And I know I might not find her, but I still have to try."

Stacy reached over and gently rubbed his back. "We'll help you."

"No!" He snaps. "I wasn't asking for your help. And I won't put you guys in danger for my shit."

"You didn't have to. And we know the risks. Besides, you're our friend, and we won't let you do this alone."

Troy, Jax, and I nodded our affirmation in agreement with her.

"Now, where do we start?" Stacy asked, rubbing her hands together with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"I think I have an idea." Jax fidgeted with the zipper of his jacket as his eyes flitted back and forth between Troy and Maverick's faces, checking their expressions.

"What is it?"

"Do you remember when you and Nova searched Dean Winston's office and found the Donner warehouse map?" Jax asked Troy.

"Yeah, Jax. What about it?" Troy questioned, dragging his knuckle across his left eyebrow.

"I saw that warehouse name scribbled on one of Mary's notebooks when Stacy and I went to her dorm."

"Jax, that could just be a coincidence."

Jax nodded and held up one finger. "But when Maverick left the door to the security room cracked open, I saw on the screen that they were looking at the area surrounding the arena, and Donner's warehouse just so happens to be in that area."

"Next time, start with that, Jax," Troy grumbled, grabbing the back of Jax's neck and squeezing.

Jax winced as he squirmed out of Troy's grip.

"Sorry." Jax mouthed.

"So, how do we get there?" Stacy asked.

"I think I know someone who can help us with that. I mean... I will have to ask, but I'm sure she won't mind helping us out, considering the circumstances." Jax muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"We have to be able to trust them, Jax." Troy firmly said, his shoulders tensing.

We nodded in agreement because we would be walking into an unknown situation and possibly risking our lives.

"We can trust her," Jax assured us.

Troy rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Alright, who is it?"

"Amber."

"How exactly is a girl in a basement going to help us?" Troy asked, tucking his hands in his pockets.

"You'll see. Just follow me." Jax grinned before turning away.