Prank Wars Page 23

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Day 112

  2054 hours

  “I’ve been called a lot of things in my lifetime, but a liar isn’t one of them. Although maybe that’ll change…because what I’m about to write I wouldn’t believe if I hadn’t written it myself.”

  —Madeleine’s War Journal Entry (Monday night, June 4th).

  It was the usual Monday night after FHE. Kali and Lizzie lay on the fort they built, passed out in the living room. Kali wriggled her toes in her tie-dyed socks, the only sign she was alive. Dry peanut butter sandwich wedges and school books lay scattered between them. It was the most peaceful I had seen them in a long time. Ever since Kali declared her love for Blake, she had redoubled her efforts in an even lengthier and dirtier battle with his apartment. Strangely, I found this prank war escaping from me. The black hole—as we were now dubbed—embarked on unauthorized missions without me, and the twins were an unstoppable force in return. It seemed that none of these self-proclaimed soldiers needed me…or Byron anymore.

  It was time to hang up my combat boots and try out what I had going with Eric, except I couldn’t get Byron out of my mind. I stared up at the starry ceiling; it was covered in glitter. The crickets chirped softly in our apartment. What made Byron decide to be so strict on his one promise to me? It was flattering in a way, but so stupid. He was worse than a guard dog; he would never follow my orders. And yet? Maybe he had reason to be wary. I had to see things unclouded. Logical. I gulped. What would it be like to be free to feel instead?

  I rested my chin into my hand, staring out the window into the storm. It was darker, blowing occasional gusts of rain into the mysterious night. Anything could happen out there. A soft wind whispered against the window. I stared at the leaves dancing under the streetlights. It was one of those haunting nights where—except for the ghosts of lingering memories—I felt so alone. What had happened to me anyway? As a kid, I never envisioned listening to the snores of exhausted soldiers and waiting for my enemy’s next move, an enemy that I wasn’t sure was mine. I just wanted to feel real again—not just to have love, but to be capable of giving it. Now I couldn’t be sure what I felt...or who I felt it for. It meant I had to clean up my life. Start afresh. My sigh got lost in the howling wind. The storm had picked up and through it, I heard a tapping against the front door. My senses, heightened by these past months, tingled with the danger.

  The door. I glanced over and fell back with a start. It had cracked open. I sat up on the couch, watching it creak slowly more so, leaving an even bigger gap between the wall and the black world outside. It was either the wind or a very dramatic terrorist—or—I held my breath. We were in the middle of a prank war. No one had locked it. What were Kali and Lizzie thinking? I took a shaky step, willing myself to go to the door, knowing I had to slam it shut on whatever force driving it open. But on what? If I opened the door and saw eyes staring back at me? No, I wouldn’t look. Just shut it. I couldn’t get my mind off thoughts of ghosts and masked intruders. I forced one foot to follow the other and placed my hand on the hard wood of the door. I should slam it shut, I opened it instead.

  Tory screamed out at me, jumping from the darkness. I screamed with her and my hand went to my head then my heart. “What are you doing?” I shouted. “You are one scary girl! Do you know that?”

  She nodded. “Just keeping you up your training, captain.” She brushed past me into the apartment, looking like she was ready for bed in her black sweat capris. I read her green t-shirt: Mean people are mean. You could say that again. The rain from outside pelted me from outside and I pushed the door shut on it, shaking my head. Tory went to the window and peered out. “There’s Thanh,” she said.

  I joined Tory at the window, seeing the dainty black-haired girl. The rain pelted over her, soaking her. Her small feet clad in striped Prada heels splashed through the quickly forming puddles. Her matching umbrella seemed purely decoration. Oh, poor Thanh. She came back from the school this time of night? It was the sad lot of a grad student. Tory pulled away from the window, fixing her damp red hair at our mirror at the end of the hall. “The guys are going to strike tonight,” she reported.

  “Yeah? So what?”

  She glanced back, looking confused. “What did you say?”

  “Let them. This war isn’t exactly…uh—” I saw her face turn wary. “It isn’t going anywhere,” I finished lamely.

  “What did he do to you?” Tory asked. “Byron’s messing with your head, isn’t he?”

  “Oh please, Byron? It’s not Byron.”

  “Oh yeah? He took your fighting spirit. You can’t let him do that to us. When did he turn from public enemy number one to a person of interest, huh?”

  “Tory! I don’t want to ruin your fun. It’s just…it wasn’t Byron anyway. Maybe Eric. I don’t know.”

  “Eric? That’s even worse.” Tory paced the room. She reminded me of myself two weeks ago and she was making me dizzy. “Are you crazy? He’s not your type.”

  Now I was surprised. “You don’t even know him.”

  “I don’t need to. There’s nothing there. You need someone low maintenance, someone more your match like Byr—, uh...” Now it was her turn to look sheepish. “He’s totally wrong for you, okay?”

  “Yeah, because everyone’s wrong for me, but that’s not the point.” I glanced back out the window at poor Thanh struggling with her bags and trying to balance her umbrella. She was getting hopelessly wet. “Healthy relationships aren’t supposed to be love/hate,” I argued. “They’re not hopelessly stimulating from finish to end. Not the ones you can trust anyway. Love just happens between two normal people. What’s attraction anyway, but a trick of the moment? I mean, you have to be attracted sure, but love takes time and work. Pure emotion can’t be trusted.”

  “Well, that’s boring.” Tory crossed her arms.

  Tory’s pep talk wasn’t helping anything. I had a problem. First step was admitting it. Second step was doing something about it. I had to date. I had to step down as their leader. “Tory, I think I’ve led you astray…” I watched Thanh come closer to the apartment. Bright headlights came the other direction. They slowed as they neared her. “We can’t cut out guys completely. It isn’t going to help us.” The car stopped next to Thanh. It was a silver sedan. It was all I could make out in the rain. Thanh kept walking. The car kept up with her. That was weird.

  “Well, we can cut out the stupid guys,” Tory said. “I don’t know why you—?”

  I stopped listening. Someone got out of the car and followed Thanh from behind. I couldn’t see any of this very clearly. The rain was getting worse, but I think Thanh didn’t like it. She broke into a run. I plastered against the fog of the window, trying to see better. Whoever was behind her caught up to her and grabbed her by the arm. She screamed, trying to get away. “Did you see that?” I shouted at Tory. I ran for the door. “Let her go!” I reached the porch and ripped past Sandra’s potted plants into the pouring rain.

  Before my very eyes, Thanh was tugged into the car. I ran down the steps, trying to get to her in time. The car sped away, water spraying out behind its wheels, leaving me behind. The rain soaked me in a matter of seconds. I ran after the car before realizing there was no way I could catch it. I didn’t even have a license plate number. This was crazy! Did I really just see an abduction?

  I ran back for the apartment and got a paintball bullet in the leg. I gave a frustrated shriek. Tory was right. The guys planned an attack. This wasn’t Byron though. It wasn’t his usual signature; it lacked imagination. I zigzagged around the hostile fire, recognizing a few gamers from below Byron’s apartment. They were all in black and they were armed. Where were they when Thanh got taken? “You idiots!” I shouted. “Do any of you have a cell phone?” I got hit in the back for my efforts. I ran back up the stairs, shrieking for Tory.

  Tory was already outside, Kali behind her. “Don’t worry!” Kali shouted at me. “We’re on it.” She rushed past me in her daisy pri
nt pajama bottoms, brandishing a potato gun.

  “You don’t understand!” I shouted.

  One of the twins grabbed Tory. It was hard to tell which one, since his face was covered with a black hoody and contrasted dramatically with his blond hair escaping out the sides. Adam? I was positive once I noticed his precious Zoom Vomero shoes. The rain ran past their faces. Tory gave out a little shriek, trying to beat him away. Kali gave one too, but it was because she wanted to be taken. Blake looked more than happy to do the job. Lizzie came out of the apartment, rubbing her tired eyes. Her hair was curly and free from its usual confines. She stood on the porch, careful not to get wet. “Lizzie!” I was out of breath when I reached her. “Thanh got kidnapped. I mean for real! She got kidnapped. Where’s your cell phone?”

  Lizzie looked confused and I ran past her into the apartment, searching for my own cell phone. I found it in my mess of a room and dialed 911 with shaky fingers. For as much as it was engraved in my mind, it was possibly the only time I had ever dialed it. I got an operator. “My neighbor’s been kidnapped!” I shouted into the phone.

  The operator seemed incredibly calm after such a stirring announcement. I gave our address and tried to describe what had happened. “I didn’t get a license number, but the guy just took her.” I was babbling, trying to figure out how we could ever find her.

  “What direction were they headed?”

  Uh, I tried to think of the direction. My thoughts weren’t coming in straight. I pointed and tried to mentally think where I was. East. The mountains were east. “East!” I shouted. The lady gave a distraught noise. I think I hurt her ears. “East,” I said in a softer voice. “Then they turned south.” I heard the sirens before I saw the red and blue lights flash against the walls from the living room window. “You’re here!” I said in relief. I wasn’t sure what any of us could do now, but we had to try. Her life could be in danger.

  As soon as the police were on the scene, the activity halted on our front lawn. The guys from the bunkhouse took off with their weapons. Some of the girls chased after them. I watched Sergeant Brady and Officer Oliveira get out of their car, surrounded by the remnants of battle: silly string, water balloon fragments, a huge paintball mess quickly getting washed away by the storm. I ran down the steps, my zebra-striped pajamas slapping over my ankles. The water trickled down my face. My hair drenched.

  The officers didn’t have their usual condescending look—until they saw me. “What’s going on?” the sergeant asked. He didn’t have his notebook this time. He was almost as wet as I was.

  “You remember Thanh, right? The girl who’s place was really messy. Okay, someone just pulled her into their car.”

  “She got in their car?”

  “They took her,” I explained in frustration. “She didn’t want to go.”

  “Was this part of your game?”

  “What?” I recognized the condescending expressions all too well. “No, this is totally different. She’s not even involved in this…uh game. I hardly even know her. We have to find her!”

  One of the officers moved to the stairs to find some shelter from the rain. The wind tugged at us. I was freezing. “Where was she when they took her?”

  “Just by the curb to the side over there!” I pointed out into the street.

  “Where were you when this happened?”

  “In my apartment.”

  “The third floor? And you saw her kidnapped in this storm?”

  “Yes!” I couldn’t believe they were doing this. They just saw me as the crazy girl who got locked out of her apartment with an overactive imagination. We were wasting valuable time and it was all my fault.

  “And she didn’t want to go?” Oliveira prompted.

  “Look, do you want me to find her myself!” I threw my arms around myself, trying to keep warm. I shivered uncontrollably. “It happened just like I said.”

  “What did the car look like?”

  “It was dark, I don’t know. It was a sedan…a silver one. I don’t know what make.” Even I was frustrated with my answer.

  “So, we’re looking for a silver sedan?”

  “Yeah! I’m sorry that’s all the information I have. I didn’t see it very clearly, okay? Hypnotize me to get the make of the car out me. I don’t know. But she was taken. Don’t you get it! She’s gone.”

  Tory peeled out of the shadows, looking sheepish. “No, I’m back!”

  The officers relaxed. “Is that her?”

  “No!” I wanted to scream, but I forced my voice to be calm. “That’s Tory. Thanh’s a girl from Vietnam with long hair and a big black backpack. Don’t you remember her?”

  “What’s happening?”

  The cops glanced up and visibly relaxed when they recognized Byron. His dark hair was wet and he was out of breath. He wore black jogging shorts like he had been running. It was terrible weather for it. He pulled the black hood from his face. Water drizzled down his face.

  “We’re investigating a kidnapping claim. Are you a witness?”

  “No.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Byron’s dating her. He has her number. Call her! See if she answers.”

  Byron looked confused. “Who?”

  “Thanh.”

  It wasn’t the time for Byron to look annoyed at the dating accusation, but he did anyway. “What happened to Thanh?” he asked.

  “This girl saw her taken away in a silver sedan,” the cop filled him in. “You have her number, young man?”

  Byron nodded, looking grim. “It’s in my iPhone.” He tried to find it, but with a jolt I remembered why he couldn’t. His iPhone was lost. Byron gave up as soon as he remembered too. “I’ve got the number memorized.” He recited her number to the officer. So, Byron wasn’t dating her, was he? Liar. No guy would have a random number memorized.

  Sergeant Brady dialed the number. He waited, but with no results. Maybe now he would believe me. “She’s not answering,” he reported to his partner.

  Byron glanced over at me and then at the officers. He seemed to come to a decision. “Uh hey, I think I know a friend who might be with her. Could I use your phone?” Without hesitation, Sergeant Brady gave him his cell phone. Byron gave me a tight smile when he saw my eyes on him. Not only did he know her number, but he knew the number of someone who might be with her? Their relationship was turning from casual to serious in a matter of seconds. “Hey, this is Byron.” He readjusted the phone against his ear once he got an answer. “Um, the police are here and they’re pretty concerned about Thanh.” He waited a minute. “Yeah, they want to talk to her and they’d better or…yeah. She’s with you, right? Hold on. I’m giving them the phone. ”

  Byron handed Sergeant Brady his phone. “Thanh?” Brady asked after a moment. “Am I talking to Thanh? Oh, good.”

  I froze. That meant she was alright. I still couldn’t deny what I had seen. “Where is she?” I asked.

  The officer ignored me. “This is Sergeant Brady. We’ve got a concerned neighbor who thinks you might be in trouble. Are you in a place where you can talk? Are you alright?” He waited for a moment. “Your neighbor claims that you were taken by force by a passing vehicle.” I bit my lip. It seemed ridiculous now, especially if she was with a trusted friend, but still Brady drilled her. “You can answer in the affirmative if this is true.” He listened for a moment then turned to me, his expression unreadable “She’s okay,” he told me.

  Was she? But someone took her—except she was safe now. But what if she wasn’t? What if the friend we called had taken her? I knew it was ridiculous, but still these nagging doubts rushed through me. My hands curled into fists and I blew into them to keep them warm. “Are you sure?” I argued, but it was more with myself. I wanted to believe that she was okay, but my eyes had seen something else. “What if that isn’t her?” I asked. “That could be any random girl pretending to be her. Get her social security number! See if it matches!”

  Tory bobbed her head next to me in agreement; the water flew with her
hair.

  Sergeant Brady took a steadying breath. I knew I was driving him crazy. “One more time, Thanh, and I apologize for the inconvenience; we’d like to confirm this is you. Give me your full name.”

  “Social security number,” I urged.

  He shook his head at me, listening to the other line. Apparently she had a pretty long name, longer than any social security number I had ever heard. Still, it wasn’t enough for me. How were we to know that this was her or that she wasn’t being held by force? Maybe I had seen a lot of movies, but I wanted to see her and make sure a gun wasn’t being held to her back. “Where is she?” I asked.

  The sergeant was already irritated with me, but still he repeated my question. He passed the message on to me, “She’s at her boyfriend’s house.”

  “Oh.” I glanced over at Byron. He didn’t seem crushed. He looked antsy like he might leave us at any second. Maybe a girl was waiting for him at home. It was past curfew, wasn’t it? “Wait,” I grasped at straws. “Thanh can’t be at her boyfriend’s. She’s breaking curfew. Tell her to get back here.” Even Tory looked at me like I had gone insane, but it would be the perfect proof to make sure Thanh was okay.

  Sergeant Brady rolled his eyes. It was more expressive than I expected in a guy his age. “Well, you’re late for curfew then, young lady. Come home.” He hung up his phone with a decisive snap. “Happy?” he asked me.

  I had to be, but it just didn’t make sense. I thought my eyes had seen something else. Thanh didn’t want to get into that car, but maybe the boyfriend had been joking around with her in the rain or something? Byron wasn’t that boyfriend anymore. My spirits lifted and then I frowned. Why would that make me happy at a time like this? “Is there a way to take her in, so you can talk to her?” I couldn’t believe I was asking it, but I was. Tory backed away and I should’ve taken her lead.