The world ground to a stop for Lenore. Despite the shocked whispers echoing throughout the class, only empty silence throbbed in her ears. It felt like she had been plunged into icy water, deep below the surface where no light or sound could reach.

Victor was... missing.

Missing.

How could that be?

She had just seen him! She watched him wave to her before he walked into the forest. The walk-through should have been short and simple. He had even texted her on his way home.

So how could he be...

Slowly, the chatter around her began to sneak into her thoughts. Lenore realised Mr Patterson had kept on speaking while she sat there, reeling, and now she was lost. She looked around, trying to get her bearings, but everywhere she looked were eyes staring back at her.

Her breath quickened. Everything—her clothes, the air, her skin—felt too tight, restricting around her. Her heart thrummed, and she clawed at her chest like she might be able to free the frantic, fluttering thing within.

I'm going to get blamed for this, aren't I?

For the first time, Lenore truly understood why her aunt had run.

There was a knock at the door, and everyone turned to look, finally tearing their eyes away from her. Lenore turned, too. Some part of her hoped that this was all some sort of misunderstanding and it would be Victor at the door. In her mind, she pictured him, sleepy-eyed, walking in and apologising for being late before stopping to wonder why everyone was so upset...

Of course, it wasn't him. Instead, it was a stern-faced officer, the same one she'd made eye contact with earlier in the hall. Now she understood the look he'd given her...

Suspicion.

She looked away and closed her eyes, though she could guess what was going to come next...

Mr Patterson breezed through the rows of students and headed for the door. After fumbling with his keys, he unlocked the door and greeted the officer. The two of them kept their voices low as they spoke, though Lenore was close enough that she could hear everything they said.

"I need to speak with one of your students," the officer said.

Lenore squeezed her eyes tighter. She dug her nails into the palms of her hand, hoping the pain would wake her from this nightmare.

"Of course, whatever you need," Mr Patterson said, in an eager, helpful tone that she'd never heard him use before. "Who do you want?"

"Lenor—"

"Sorry," a new voice interjected. "Can I get through?"

"No you may not," Mr Patterson grumbled. "We're in the middle of a conversation. And anyway, you're late," he practically spat the word, "so you can go collect a tardy slip from the office."

"I already have one," the girl replied, sounding unbothered.

Mr Patterson scoffed. "Then you can wait," he said before turning back to the officer. "Lenore, you said? I'll get her."

Lenore stood up before he even had a chance to call her name. There was no use in pretending she didn't know what they wanted from her. Once again, every eye in the room was on her as she grabbed her things and headed for the door.

"Well, uh, here she is," Mr Patterson said as she reached his side. "Take as much time as you need—don't worry about missing any class."

Lenore was about to say something before she realised Mr Patterson was assuring the officer, not her.

The officer stared down at Lenore. He was huge, easily six feet and then some. He had his formal hat tucked under his arm, and his muddy eyes were hard and probing. Lenore swallowed and averted her eyes, unable to hold his stare.

Her heart was racing again. She could only imagine the kind of questions he was going to ask her. And what was she going to say? She was going to tell the truth, obviously, but she knew that the truth didn't always count for what it should...

"Follow me," the officer said. "We need to ask you some questions."

Lenore nodded, head down.

What else could she do?

"Lenore."

Her head snapped up. Now that the girl's voice was closer, Lenore recognized it. She turned—

Fiona was standing there, just beside the door. There were dark shadows under her eyes, and her normally perfectly styled hair was in a rough bun at the top of her head. Her clothes were wrinkled as if she had slept in them.

"You can talk to her after," the officer warned Fiona, stepping away. He looked to Lenore, expecting her to follow.

Lenore lingered. There was so much she wanted to ask Fiona she didn't know where to begin.

"This way, Miss Watson," the officer reminded her. "Once I'm done with my questions you can speak with your friend as you wish."

"You don't have to go with him," Fiona said to Lenore, ignoring the officer. "You're entitled to have a parent with you during questioning."

"Not necessarily," the officer corrected. "If she's eighteen, she's considered an adult."

"She's not eighteen."

The officer tilted his head like he didn't believe Fiona. "Isn't she a senior? You're a senior, aren't you?"

"She is," Fiona answered for her. "But she skipped a grade."

Lenore just stared at Fiona in awe. Her steely coolness in the face of authority was impressive.

The officer still did not look convinced. He stared Lenore down. "Is that true?"

Lenore nodded. "I-It's in my school records."

The officer's face went stiff like he wanted to groan and roll his eyes but thought better of how that would look. "Then we'll contact your mother and have her come to the school—"

"I have a better idea," Fiona interjected before turning to Lenore. "Your mom's home, right?"

"I think so...."

"Great," she said, then turned back to the officer. "Then you can question her there."

The officer's face went red, his perfectly controlled facade beginning to crack. "Now wait a second. You can't do that!"

"You're not arresting her, are you?"

His jaw went tight. "No."

"Then it shouldn't be a problem." She smiled though it came out stiff and unnatural. "We'll see you there."

She grabbed Lenore's hand and began to drag her down the hall.

"FIONA!" the officer called after them. For a half-second, it looked like he might pursue them, but then he threw up his hands and raced off in the other direction.

Lenore was too stunned to really absorb what had just happened. The officer knew Fiona? And well, she guessed, if Fiona wasn't intimidated by him. As soon as they were a good distance away, Lenore tried to stop, but Fiona kept pulling.

"Come on," she said over her shoulder. "They'll be hot on our heels. We want to beat them to your place."

Lenore let her lead. They ran through the halls and dove out into the still-raging rain. Fiona didn't even bother to cover herself, she just kept pulling Lenore in the direction of the student parking lot. Soon they reached a very shiny sports car that beeped and popped its locks as they neared.

"Get in," Fiona commanded, heading for the driver's side.

Lenore did as she was told and climbed into the passenger's side. She was still reeling from everything, though it all felt very distant and numb. It was as if everything had been pulled away and suspended over her head, waiting to crash down. It would, eventually.

As she pulled the seatbelt across her chest, she wondered why Fiona was being so nice to her. Didn't she blame me, too?

Apparently not.

Fiona barely even looked at her as she peeled out of her spot and raced off. As they left the parking lot, Lenore looked back and saw red lights start flashing across the lawn in the staff parking lot.

Fiona had been right. The cops were hot on their heels.

Lenore didn't understand it. Did they really think she had done something to Victor?

Was she considered a suspect?

"W-What the hell is going on?" Lenore sputtered. Her head was swimming, and she felt a little dizzy—not helped by Fiona's reckless driving.

"I'm sorry," Fiona said with a shuddering breath. "I wish you hadn't found out like this. I tried to contact you, but they took my phone to go over the messages—"

"What happened?" Lenore said. "Is he really—"

Fiona winced just a little. "Yes. He's gone missing."

"But I saw him yesterday!" Lenore echoed. "He texted me when he was on the way home! The walk isn't long! How could he just disappear?"

"I know," Fiona said. "He was texting me, too, but then he stopped replying. Apparently he never made it home, never made it out of the forest."

"I don't get it," Lenore muttered, mostly to herself. "How can he just be... gone?"

Fiona shook her head. "It was stormy. It was dark. Maybe he got lost. Or twisted his ankle and couldn't go on. Lots of things can happen in the woods."

The woods. The woods were a little wild, sure, but they weren't exactly dangerous...

Right?

"He has to be okay," Lenore muttered, her eyes stinging with tears. It was all starting to crash down around her. "He has to be."

"He will be," Fiona replied, but she didn't sound convinced.

Thanks to Fiona's reckless driving, they had made it to Lenore's house in record time. Fiona pulled into the spot beside her mother's car. As Fiona turned the engine off, they could hear the distant scream of sirens. The police were closing in.

"Let's go!" Fiona said, opening her door and throwing herself out into the rain.

Lenore wanted to question why Fiona was coming with her, but there was no time. Besides, there was still so much she wanted to ask Fiona about.

She opened her own door and followed after her.

The rain bit at her as she ran through it. It was no longer just water—it had turned to hail, hard and sharp. It had gotten much colder in the past few hours, even though it wasn't even midday.

Fiona waited for her on the porch, and Lenore hurried to open the door. Once they were through, Lenore slammed the door behind them.

"Lenore?" her mother called from somewhere in the house. There was a flurry of steps, and she appeared, leaning over the upper railing of the stairs. Her brow folded together as she took in Lenore's panic, but as she looked over at her companion, her eyes went wide.

"What the hell is she doing here?"

Lenore frowned back at her mother. Why did she have a problem with Fiona? Lenore didn't realise that she even knew her, though Eden was a small town where everyone at least knew of each other.

Fiona didn't bother with introductions. "I'm here to help. The police are on the way."

"What?" her mother snapped. She left the railing and raced down the stairs. Delilah appeared and followed after. "They're coming here?"

Lenore nodded. She couldn't will herself to open her mouth and explain.

"Why?" her mother demanded.

"Because someone has gone missing," Fiona said simply. She was expressionless, and her large, dark eyes had gone flat.

Her mother was stunned into silence for a moment before she dragged her hands down her face and swore under her breath. "Not this shit again...."

"Who was it?" Delilah asked, her eyes going wide.

For the first time, Fiona's cool demeanour faltered. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't seem to get the name out.

"Who?" Lenore's mother demanded. "Who was it?"

When Fiona was still unable to answer, her mother looked to Lenore.

Her stare was invasive, sharp. Lenore recoiled from it. But she didn't have to speak. Whatever her mother saw on her face told her all she needed to know.

"No," she said, her voice softening. "It was the boy from yesterday, wasn't it?"

Lenore nodded, keeping her gaze down.

Her mother's face went still, and she shared an inscrutable look with Delilah.

"You don't think they're going to...." Delilah began, her voice shaking.

"We can't know for certain," Lenore's mother replied, cutting her off with her sharp voice. "But I get the sense that they will."

"Then we have to—"

"You go ahead," her mother said. She swore under her breath again. "I have to stay." She closed her eyes and reset her shoulders, squaring them. When she opened her eyes again, they were bright and hard, like ice.

"Lenore, go wait in the living room," she said. "I'll handle this."