The phone rang three times.... paused.... then rang three more. Zed groaned, rubbing his face in an attempt to stimulate his eyes to open. They felt heavy. He could just go back to sleep.

RING

RING

RING

"Zed." Addison mumbled, snuggling deeper under the covers. "Phone."

"I know." Zed muttered, reaching for the nightstand and feeling around for the phone. When he finally grasped it, Zed hit the button and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Zedka! (Zed!)" Bonzo's frantic voice echoed into the phone. "Gozreas Kenzska!? (Where's Kenzie!?)"

"Kenzska? (Kenzie?)" Zed repeated groggily. "Bonzo, Kenzie is in her room asleep."

"Zon. Zon. Gu greez raz! Zozay! (No. No. Go check on her! Now!)" Bonzo told him. "Brayka zet Ezmaska ig greezig! (Brayden and Ezmae are missing!)"

Zed shot up immediately, though his head still felt foggy. "What? How? Hold on, I'm getting up."

"Ag gra'zon zo. Zazig grozeg az wogzi. Agru zagorag ze garseepig gan. (I don't know. Just open a window. It will let out the sleeping gas.)" Bonzo explained anxiously.

Zed got himself into his chair, nearly dropping his cellphone. "Sleeping gas? Is....Is that why I feel so tired?"

"Za. (Yeah)." Bonzo admitted. "Non grodge. (Not good.)"

Zed wheeled himself across the hall, opening the door to Kenzie's room. His heart plummeted when he saw her bed empty. "Kenzie? Kenzie!"

He opened the closet door. Empty. Zed looked under the bed. Nothing but toys. He opened the window, checking the yard before hurrying back into his own room.

"Addison, wake up! Kenzie's gone!" Zed shouted, throwing open their bedroom window.

"What?" Addison shot up, staring at him with wide eyes, fighting the urge to go back to sleep. "What do you mean gone!?"

"Her room is empty. She's not answering me. Bonzo said Brayden and Ezmae are missing too." Zed growled, punching the wall, leaving a crack. "Someone came into our home, took our daughter, and I couldn't protect her!"

Addison covered her mouth, choking back a sob. "We have to find her. How do we find her?"

"I don't know." Zed admitted, looking out the window. He saw patrol cars pulling up to their house. "Let's get downstairs and see what the police have to say."

The two of them got dressed, then quickly rushed outside. They took a deep breath of fresh air, clearing some of the fogginess from their minds. Dale approached, and Addison collapsed into his arms.

"We'll find them, Addison." He promised. "We won't stop until we do."

Addison sobbed. "Why Dad? Why us? Seabrooke is supposed to be a safe place."

Dale sighed, rubbing her back. "I wish I could answer that, sweetheart. But until we find them, we may not know. Bree and Bonzo are on their way over, and I've called Wyatt."

"But what about your patrol officers?" Addison questioned. "They were supposed to be watching the house."

"They're being questioned now." Dale reassured her.

Two officers approached them. One officer handed over a small device in an evidence bag. "We found this attached to one of the air units, just like at the other two homes."

Dale sighed, examining the device. "Well, this proves the kidnappings are all connected. We're likely looking for one perpetrator."

"What is that?" Zed asked.

"We're going to have forensics examine it further, but from what we can tell, this device was used to send an airborne sleep agent into your home." Dale explained.

Addison shook her head in disbelief. "So someone knocked us out so they could take Kenzie?"

Dale nodded. "Seems so. Whoever did this clearly thought this through."

"But who?" Zed questioned. "Who would take three kids in the middle of the night? What do they have to gain?"

"That's what we plan to find out, Zed." Dale told him. "Officers are going to search the house for evidence. While they do that, can you tell me what you remember from last night?"

"We got home around 6:30pm." Zed explained. "We came straight home from Zoey's after talking with you. Kenzie fell asleep in the car, so Addison carried her up to bed. We both tucked her in and then kissed her goodnight. Afterward, we went to our room to change into pajamas. We were going to go back down to eat, but we were both tired, so we went to bed. I don't remember anything else until Bonzo called this morning."

"Same with me. That's all I remember." Addison told him.

Dale frowned. "Is it normal for you to go to bed so early?"

"No." Zed admitted. "But we both worked yesterday, then we went out for date night. We had dinner and then hit the dance club. Just figured the day had caught up to us."

Dale nodded, writing it all down. "It's possible the device was installed before you came home. That would explain why you grew tired so quickly."

"But I still don't understand. If your men were stationed outside the house all night, how is it they didn't see someone taking our daughter!?" Zed questioned angrily.

Gus came to stand beside Dale. "I may have an answer to that. According to the officers, a man in his 60s came and knocked on their car window last night around 1am. He said his dog had gotten spooked and ran off. They searched for about 20 minutes before finding the dog running around in someone's yard down the street."

"20 minutes." Addison repeated. "That's more than enough time for someone to sneak in and out, isn't it?"

"If they knew what they were doing, then sure." Dale nodded, turning to Gus. "I don't believe in coincidences. Take the officers back to the station and have them work with a sketch artist. I want this dog owner found."

Gus nodded. "You got it. I'll call when we have something."

"Sounds good." Dale agreed.

Gus took off with the officers just as two cars pulled up. Wyatt, Eliza, Bonzo, and Bree all got out and rushed over.

Wyatt hugged Addison first. "I'm so sorry. We're gonna find them. I won't stop until we do."

Addison hugged him tight. "I know. Thank you. I just can't believe this is real."

Bree placed a hand on her shoulder. "I wish it wasn't."

Zed hugged Eliza. "How are you holding up?"

"As well as I can be." Eliza admitted, hugging him back. "But I'm going to hack every camera and every phone until we find them."

Zed pulled away from her. "Don't go getting yourself arrested. You won't be any help to Ezmae or us if you're locked up."

"You're right." Eliza sighed. "I just feel so helpless right now."

"I feel you." Zed nodded, looking to Bonzo, who hadn't uttered a word. "Bonzo? You with us, man?"

Tears ran down Bonzo's cheeks. "Ag....Ag zozig. Ag zozig rah. Ag zoziga zagba. (I....I failed. I failed him. I failed my son.)"

"Oh, Bonzo...." Eliza hugged him. "You didn't, and haven't, failed Brayden. None of us have failed our kids. We're going to find them."

"Gozay? (How?)" Bonzo sniffled.

Eliza stood determinedly. "That's what we're going to figure out."

Author's Note

Shoo. Things are going down. Where are the kids? Who is behind this? Stay tuned to find out.

                 -Meloetta246