Syrenthia slammed her hand on the counter. The rest of the people in the lobby turned to look at her, but the girl didn't care. Her only focus was getting someone to help her.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but until your friend has been missing for 24 hours we cannot report this as an official kidnapping," the police officer at the desk repeated.

"But I'm sure that's what has happened to her," Syrenthia protested. "And the longer we wait, the harder it will be to find her."

"Ma'am, if you actually saw the kidnapping or received a phone call from the kidnappers, we could do something."

"As I already told you, I was out on an errand when she went missing," Syrenthia started to speak, but the officer interrupted.

"Then, how do you know that she was kidnapped? Maybe she just stepped out to take care of something or had an emergency to take care of or was called into work."

"I know she was kidnapped because I was attacked!"

"Who attacked you, ma'am?"

"He was...it was...I mean..." Syrenthia faltered and trailed off.

She knew that she couldn't tell the police what had happened. No one would believe that her writing agent had turned into a strange creature with scales and a tail. She hardly believed it herself. If she told the police, she would probably be put in an insane asylum, leaving no one to rescue Catalin.

"Look, I'm telling you the truth. My friend was kidnapped, but if you won't believe me, then I'll just go find her myself," Syrenthia said.

"Ma'am, I would advise against taking any rash actions..."

Throwing open the door, Syrenthia walked out on the rest of the officer's speech into the bright daylight. As she moved down the street, her mind raced frantically. She had to think of a way to find Catalin. Syrenthia slowed down and sat on a bench.

"Okay, think. Think. There has to be a clue somewhere," she muttered to herself. "Eamon must have taken Catalin to a place and then come back to kidnap me which means that she can't be far. Unless he had help."

Syrenthia sighed. There was one option. Her only lead was Eamon. She had to track him down and force him to tell her where he had taken Catalin. Standing up, Syrenthia signaled a cab and gave the address for Eamon's office. While the taxi sped over the blocks, she tried to formulate a plan. She had put her mace and Taser into her backpack with a few other supplies. As the car ground to a halt outside of a tall office building, Syrenthia took a deep breath. She had beaten Eamon before, and she was going to do it again. Opening the front door, Syrenthia walked over to the receptionist.

"Hello Kathy, how are you doing?"

"Miss Larkin, nice to see you," Kathy replied looking up. "We were not expecting you today."

"I'm here to see Eamon Walsh. I know that I don't have an appointment, but it's urgent."

Syrenthia glanced around furtively while Kathy clicked a few keys on her computer. After a moment, the receptionist looked back up.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Larkin. It appears as though Mr. Walsh isn't in today. He's actually been absent for several days now."

"Do you know where he is?"

Kathy sent Syrenthia a slightly reproving stare. "I don't make it a habit to question the CEO's decisions especially when it comes to personal matters. If you would like though, I will send him an email saying that you dropped by."

"Thanks, that would be great."

Syrenthia started for the door when an idea struck her. Turning around, she walked back to the reception desk.

"Actually, I was hoping to just leave this in his office." Syrenthia held up a blue folder. "Eamon asked to read my new pages as soon as possible, so I thought I might as well drop them off now since I was in the area. I'd like to leave them on his desk if that's possible just to make sure that no one else sees them except him."

"Of course." Kathy stood up. "Please follow me. Mr. Walsh's office is just down the hall."

Syrenthia racked her brain for a way to get rid of the receptionist once she was inside Eamon's office. As she set the folder down, Syrenthia caught sight of a large stack of unopened letters on the edge of the large wooden desk.

"Okay, well I guess that's it," she said.

Quickly, Syrenthia spun around so that her elbow knocked off a cup of pencils.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized. "I'm so clumsy."

"Let me help you," Kathy offered.

While the receptionist bent down, Syrenthia whipped out her phone and took a picture of the letter on top. After apologizing a few more times, she left the office and signaled a cab. Pulling up her photos, Syrenthia zoomed in on the letter's address and called it out to the driver. Eamon's house was in a small neighborhood in New Jersey. The area seemed to be fairly quiet.

"Okay, just stop here," Syrenthia instructed.

"Are you sure?" the driver asked. "The address is actually around the corner."

"Yeah, I know. Here is fine."

Opening the door, Syrenthia shoved a wad of bills in the driver's hand before taking off. Carefully, she walked to the corner and peered around. No one was on the street, but Syrenthia still clutched her mace in one hand. Eamon's house was the fourth one on the left. It didn't appear as though his car had been driven in at least a week. The leaves and dust had gathered on the windshield and roof. A stack of unopened newspapers was on the front porch. Bracing herself, Syrenthia approached the door and tried the handle. Surprisingly, it turned easily, and the door swung inward. Syrenthia stepped inside and gently closed the door behind her. Adrenaline rushed through her body as she walked silently down the hallway. With a deep breath, she slipped around the corner into another room.

"What happened here?" Syrenthia gasped.

The place had been completely wrecked as though a fight had taken place in the middle of the living room. The side tables had been knocked over, the couch cushions were slashed and ripped, and the television was lying on the ground. Cautiously, Syrenthia moved into the living room. Broken glass crunched under her boots. Bending down, she examined the ground. There were a few crimson drops on the beige carpet. Syrenthia's heart sank as she realized the sticky stains were blood. There were more droplets leading to another room. The girl followed the trail to a table in the dining room. The blood ended at a rug situated under the table.

"I wonder..." Syrenthia murmured.

Pushing the table away, she picked up the large rug and tossed it to the side. The wood floor underneath seemed to be completely normal until she caught sight of a small hole. Syrenthia pushed two of her fingers into the opening and heaved upwards. A large panel pulled away revealing a deep pit beneath with a rope ladder dangling down into the darkness. Hastily, Syrenthia pulled an LED flashlight from her backpack and clipped it onto her jean's belt loops. Stepping onto the first rung, she carefully made her way down to the bottom.

Once her feet had reached solid ground, Syrenthia unfastened her flashlight and shone it around. She appeared to be in a tunnel of sorts. There were long metal strips on the ground in front of her that resembled train tracks. A large steel cart was standing on top of the tracks. Syrenthia walked over to the tracks and shone her light as far as it would reach. The tunnel went much farther than her flashlight could reach. Hoisting herself into the cart, Syrenthia glanced around. There were two floor pedals at the front of the cart and two at the back. Still standing, the girl pressed down on the left pedal at the front, but nothing happened.

"Well, let's see what the other one does."

Syrenthia stepped on the right pedal, and the cart lurched forward. Bright lights beamed from the front down the tracks. The harder that she pressed on the pedal, the faster she sped along. After a while, Syrenthia could see the headlights shining on a wall up ahead. Quickly, the girl hit the left pedal and ground to a halt a few yards away from the wall. Leaping out of the cart, Syrenthia walked over to the wall where a tall metal ladder was attached and began climbing upwards.

"Hang on, Catalin. I'm coming."

Thanks for reading on! Do you think Syrenthia has what it takes to save Catalin or will she end up captured too? Let me know what you think in the comments!