Switchblade ~Part 1~

Liz

Finding Nemo had always been one of my favorite movies.  Lively, colorful, and humorous, it never failed in lifting my spirits.  It was a Friday night, which meant, of course, movie night.  I was lounging in the living room with my friends, Amara and Alexandr.  Those two had been a little more than friends, especially lately, but they were still as quick to pick on each other as ever.  Movie night was always at Amara's house, since she had the huge TV, and her mom was usually out.  Her house was roomy and cozy, with plenty of nooks and crannies to curl up with a book.  It was one of those houses where you just felt at home.  Maybe it was the sunny yellow walls, or the enthusiasm that always seemed to surround that household, but it was welcoming one way or another. 
"Hey," I said, as I got up from the big, plushy golden chair I was sitting in and headed towards the kitchen. "I'm gonna go pop myself some popcorn, want a bag?"
Amara looked up from the screen and smiled. "Sure! Thanks Liz."
Alexandr, with a mischievous grin, chimed in, "Hey Lizzers, I'll have some too!"
I glared at him. "Don't call me that!  God, what kind of person would nickname someone 'Lizzers?'"
His almost creepishly wide grin didn't even waver. "I do, obviously.  I've gotta keep things interesting to make up for your guys' boringness."
I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen.  Anyone else would have to stand on their tiptoes to reach the popcorn bags in the wooden cupboards, but I was tall, so I had no trouble.  I put the first bag in the microwave, and started browsing the fridge for something to drink while I waited.  Amara's house was the only house that I felt comfortable doing this in, I don't know why. I spied a pitcher of my favorite, peach tea, and grabbed a tall glass.  I sat on the counter, sipping the sweet tea, listening to the pair in the other room giggling and bickering. Typical, I thought.  I swung my legs, making little thrumming noises on the cupboards below.  After all three bags of popcorn were popped, I opened the bags and poured each into a bowl.  On impulse, I dumped a little more salt on Alexandrs' popcorn than necessary, as revenge on the cruel misnomer.  I returned to the chair, handing the two bowls to the couple on the couch.  For a moment, there was only the sound of seagulls on the screen squawking "Mine?  Mine?  Mine?" And then, Alexandr said, "Liz!!!!  You butthead!"  And soon popcorn was flying all over the room.  This wasn't an unusual event, but every time it happened we all ended up in a total laughing fit.  In the middle of one of these popcorn fights, my phone started ringing.
"Hold on guys!  I'll be right back."  I hurried out of the room, into the hallway, and looked at my caller ID. Strange, I thought. I don't recognize this number.  It had the same area code as everyone else around here, but it was unfamiliar. Hmm.  Maybe someone I know got a new phone number.  I thought, and answered. "Hello?"
At first, static.  Then, an intake of breath, and a voice crackled through the airwaves. "Hello Elizabeth Jane.  Remember me?"
I froze, almost dropping the phone. All at once, all of the memories I had locked up inside my head and sworn never to let out again burst free.

March 18, 2011.  Almost a year ago now.
The day my world was turned upside down.  I was a junior, and much more naive than I am today. A year ago, our class was extremely close knit.  Of course, we had the occasional drama among the catty girls, as every class does, but we were different.  The lines between cliques were faded, smeared, undefined.  We were always there for each other, whether we were good friends or not.  That's how I see it anyway.  Things were like they would be during any midterm, trying to find the balance between a social life and getting good grades, while at the same time maintaining good hygiene and getting at least 8 hours of sleep.  And, for about the second time in my whole life, I was, (and I hate to admit it) in love.  But even then I was not sure if that's what it was…I'm not very in touch with my emotions.  I didn't have much faith in love before, but as of recently, I was having strange, fluttery feelings in my stomach, which was alien to me.  Being NOT the type to accept this behavior, I kicked myself often.  Save it for adulthood.  I thought.  It won't last now anyway.  But the feelings wouldn't go away, so after a while I just let go a little bit.  In our class, we had twins.  Their names were Mason and Luke.  They were so opposite, you wouldn't even believe it.  Luke was the athletic one, perfect hair, perfect teeth, perfect follow-through on every free throw and the one responsible for most of the wins.  He was also very confident, which was really nice, unless you weren't one he favored.  And then there was Mason.  He was quiet, with longer, tussled brown hair, and played guitar.  He was tall, icy blue eyes and a cute, lopsided smile.  He walked silently, he didn't usually say a whole lot, but that means he has a louder mind.  I can imagine the ideas, the lyrics and melodies that run through that loud mind of his.  I was helplessly infatuated, much to my annoyance.  Things got good after that.  He seemed to pick up on my "vibes" that I gave off…that's how he worded it anyway.  We'd started talking, and I was thrilled, though I don't think I ever showed it.  I remember one time when we went out for coffee.  It was a cold, pre-spring afternoon, that in-between of seasons where it was sunny, but still bitingly cold and frosty.  I hastily pulled on my jacket and boots, scuffling down to the little cafe.  I'd tried to find that "perfect balance" between casual and dressy, and I wasn't sure how close to the mark I was.  I just crossed my fingers and hoped that he wouldn't think a little eyeshadow was out of character/extremely unnecessary/a stupid thing to do.  I remember the deceiving sunlight, because it had to be in the 30s outside, despite the brightness.  I opened the door, listening to the cowbell jingle as I did so, and stepped inside timidly, rubbing my numb fingers.  I glanced around, and concluded that he wasn't there yet.  I slid quietly into a two person booth and focused on calming my nerves and getting the feeling back into my nose and hands.  The cowbell jingled again a few minutes later, and in another second Mason was sliding into the booth across from me, smiling lopsidedly and rubbing his hands together.
"Hey Liz!" He said breathlessly. "Man, is it cold out there or what?"
I grinned, trying really hard not to giggle like the girls in movies do when they're on a date. "I know, right?  I still can't completely feel my hands." I  passed him a menu shyly. "So what do you want to eat?"
His pretty eyes scanned the menu, and then he pushed it back. "Eh, I think I'll just have some coffee.  What about you?"  He looked up at me then, and I shrugged.  "I'm not really in the mood either.  Coffee for me too." I smiled.
He looked at me, raising his eyebrow mischievously.  "Didn't you say that your hands were cold a minute or two ago?"
A little confused, I said hesitantly, "Yes, but-"
"Give them here,"  he ordered.  This time, I couldn't help but giggle like a 5 year old as I gave him my hands, and probably inventing a new shade of red.  I definitely lost it when he intwined our fingers and stared at me, willing me to crack a smile, and when I did, he laughed a little too.  And it might of been my imagination, or the cold from outside, but his cheeks seemed a little more rosy than they had been before, though I'm pretty sure my face was about to burst into flames.  He let go soon after that, and he ordered a caramel mocha, and I went for the mint chocolate mocha, one of my favorites.  I remember being so happy, not to mention on cloud 9.  I loved his eyes, his little smile, not to mention the fact that he was totally adorable.  The way he was able to persuade me into things so easily amazed me.  I insisted that I didn't want dessert, but soon enough we were both chatting away over a sundae, before I even really knew what was happening.

That was March 15, 2011.
I remember how he held my hand all the way to my house.
I remember how he kissed my cheek before he left.
And I never saw him again.

March 18, 2011.
The day that Luke and Mason disappeared.  No one knows what happened.  They went out to go shoot targets, or something of the sort, and just never came back.  Their parents were in hysterics.  Every police officer in a 50 mile radius must of been there, getting information and searching the surrounded wooded areas.  Nothing was recovered.  The truck they left in, the twins, simply gone.  Masons' guitar abandoned, Luke's letterman's jacket, covered in clanking medals and patches, hung up in his room as it always was when he wasn't wearing it. Our school was confused and devastated, especially our class, and especially me.  I was miserable.  I could pull out ok at school, but the second I crossed the threshold into my house, I lost it.  I just didn't understand what could of caused this.  The worst part was not knowing where Mason was, not knowing why he was gone, or if he was even alive.  As the weeks and months went on, it became old news.  Soon enough everyone was acting as if it never happened.  I never forgot, even for a second, but I have to admit that I did get better.  I was better to the point where I didn't cry anymore, and I tried to move on.  I haven't been on a single date since that day at the coffee shop, but I didn't want anyone else.  I threw myself into my friends and school, and made sure I was occupied as often as possible so I wouldn't get the chance to think about it.  So I forced myself never to think about those sweet memories again, because they would just raise pain and questions no one could answer.

So as I stood there, holding the phone to my ear, feeling everything I'd so carefully hidden from myself rush back, I literally didn't think I could move.  Or speak.  I just stood there and after a few moments, choked out, "Oh my God."  I heard a nervous laugh on the other end of the line. 
"Take that as a yes." The voice said.  "But it isn't that simple."  Now, a note of fear slipped into Mason/Luke's voice.  "Something happened.  All I can say is…one of us isn't….here…anymore."  The voice was choked with emotion, but I honestly couldn't tell the difference between Mason and Lukes' voices, especially a year after I'd ever heard one of them speak, and especially over the phone.
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.  Please don't let this be happening to me. I prayed.
I gripped the phone, palms sweating, tears running down my cheeks. "Please, please just tell me who you are.  I can't take not knowing anymore." 
Silence.
Silence.
Then the voice said, "I'm really sorry, Liz.  But if you want to know everything that happened, you're gonna have to do something for me."
Ok, now I was getting mad.  After I'm finally ok again, this kid just calls me, tells me bluntly that one of them isn't "here" anymore, and then won't even tell me who is who?  And better yet, he just expects that I'm going to do whatever he asks of me?
Bull.
"Look."  I snapped.  "Do you really think that I'm going to help you, no questions asked?  Do you have ANY idea what I've had to go through this whole last year because of this?!"
By this time, Amara and Alexandr has overheard my voice getting higher and higher pitched, until I was practically screeching into the phone, and were completely silent, listening, eyes wide.
Hesitation on the other line.  I could imagine Mason scratching his head, thinking of what to say-no. I stopped myself.  Don't think about it.  He may not be the one on the other line.  He might be the one that's "not here".  What the heck does that mean anyway?  Far away? Dead?  But he can't be dead…!  I clenched my teeth.
The hesitation was interrupted.  Luke/Mason said, quietly, "I'm really, really sorry.  But I know you'll help me, because you want to know who I am.." He paused. "Whether I'm who you want me to be or not, you still don't know.  I know that you are dying to know who is who, so it's a trade.  If you listen to me, you will know everything.  Why this all happened, who I am, and what you need to do."  He stopped and took a breath. 
I sniffled.  Ew.  "What do I need to do first?"
Luke/Mason said simply, "194 Southern Street. The key is under the potted plant to the left of the door.  Go inside, and you'll know what to do from there.  This is only the beginning.  I'm warning you."
I contemplated this, searing it into my brain.  "Ok. So you're sure that I'll know what to do?  Will I hear from you again?"
The voice said, still a little nervously, "Yes...maybe sooner than you expect."
And with that, he hung up.

I was out the door and getting into my car before Amara could stop me.  I yelled "Call you later!" As I slammed the door, not really knowing if I actually would.

Amara

"That…was kind of scary." I murmured to Alexandr.  "What the heck just happened?"
Alexandr shrugged.  "I don't know.  But I have to agree that it was pretty weird.  Who do you think could have called to get that reaction from her?"
I bit my lip, wondering the same thing.  "I don't know.  But I'm really worried.  I've never seen her do anything like that, let alone cry like that.."  I scowled at the Finding Nemo scene that was playing, thinking of what could've happened and not coming up with anything reasonable.
Alexandr slipped his arm protectively around me and said, "Didn't she say that she'd call you?"
"Yeah, she did." I replied.  "I guess if she's planning on explaining herself in the morning, maybe I should just leave it."
He sighed.  "Sounds like a good enough idea." 
"I just hope she's ok."  I worried.  "Because I know her and nothing I've ever said or done has made her react that way, ever."  Something isn't right here.  I thought.  There is definitely something going on, and I sure as heck am going to get in on it.
Alexandr nodded.  "I agree. Wait for her call, it'l make sense then."
"Ok." I yawned. If she hasn't called by 12 tomorrow afternoon, I'm tracking her down, my business or not.  I vowed to myself.

After Alexandr had hugged me goodnight and went home after the movie, I crawled upstairs to my room.  My light purple walls were a perfect mix between feminine and sassy, in my opinion.  Every other thing in my room was leopard print, and my walls were splattered with mirrors, pictures, and stick on designs.  My prom dress hung in its bag on my door.  Some call it a "princess room", but that's not how I see it.  I see it as comfortable.  I wiggled into my favorite leopard print pajama pants and a t-shirt, and slipped on my moccasins.  I promptly plugged in my headphones and listened to my favorite band, The Ready Set.  Tonight was strange, I thought absently.  I tugged on my messy French braid, twirling it around my finger.  I thought about what could of caused Liz's freakout earlier, but again, I couldn't think of anything that would make any sense.  She'd said something like "Please tell me who" and "Do you know what I've had to go through?"  But that didn't shed much light.  Tomorrow should be interesting, to say the least. Soon my eyelids started drooping, and I listened to Love Like Woe one more time before falling asleep completely.

Liz

It was late at night as I slowly cruised down Southern Street, looking for address 194.  When I saw it, I glided into the curb and cut the engine, rubbing my temples.  My head ached from thinking so much, not to mention the amount I had been crying.  I sat in the driver's seat, taking deep breaths and wiping my eyes before opening the door and stepping out onto the asphalt.  I paused, looking around for any suspicious activity, detecting no movement.  The house was like any other, obviously a middle class house with cream colored paint and one story, full of windows.  Great, I thought sarcastically. Nice and exposed, perfect for getting into a house without being noticed or caught.  I tiptoed up to the porch, looking around cautiously.  Not only was I going to potentially dangerous places without my parents knowing, but I had also not told anyone where I was going.  The fact that it was the dead of night didn't help.  Oh, and the last thing Mason/Luke said to me before he hung up didn't exactly make me feel any less tense.  Sounded like a bad combination to me, but there was no going back now.  I noted to myself that this was the most rebellious thing I had ever done.  I spotted the potted plant to the left of the door, and crouched down to lift it.  I pried the key out from underneath and stood, turning it over in my hand.  I slid the key into the deadbolt lock. Chink.  I turned it and heard the lock click.  Getting jittery, I opened the door, still not knowing if anyone lived here or not.  The musty smell that hit me as I stuck my head in pretty much answered that question for me.  At least I won't have to worry about that.  I walked in slowly, still feeling a strong sense of wrongness.  It was pretty dark, since the house probably didn't have its power on.  I saw the kitchen and hurried toward it, suddenly feeling the need for a weapon.  The counters, the furniture, everything was covered in dust.  I opened drawers and cabinets, looking for any utensil that might serve as a weapon.  I stopped abruptly when I saw that one of the drawers I opened had a stack of papers in it.  And, more unusual, they weren't touched with a spot of dust.  I carefully picked up the top sheet of paper.  It was a hand written note, and it said:
"Monday. Meet me at the local cafe downtown at 1:30 p.m.  School doesn't matter at this point.  You've gotten yourself into something much bigger."
I glanced down to the bottom of the note.
"Flip over-->"
I flipped it.
"TAKE THE PAPERS AND RUN."
Oh God.  I grabbed the stack of papers and stuffed them into the pocket inside my jacket, yanking the zipper shut, breaking it towards the top, but I didn't care at this point.  I scrambled through the drawers, finally finding something….forks? How am I supposed to possibly defend myself with two rusty- Thunk.  Thunk. 
Uh oh. Blocking the way to the front door stood a figure, who it was or the gender I don't know.  They stood in the shadow, watching me.  My throat was closing, my heart racing in a massive adrenaline rush.  I tried my best to stay calm, and spun the forks in my hand as if I were wielding two knives.  The figure stayed put a minute longer, then rushed at me so unexpectedly I screamed.  Without thinking, I swung both forks downward with a lot more force than I expected.  The adrenaline made my reflexes lightning fast, eyes darting everywhere at once.  I realized that I had just stabbed whoever it was with a couple of household dinner forks.  One stuck from the shoulder, the other from the ribcage area.  Just in case, I brought my knee up as fast and hard as I could, confirming that my attacker was, in fact, a male.  He fell, moaning, and I delivered a kick to his face before scrambling towards the door and out, slamming the door in my momentum.  What the HECK did I just do?!  I screamed to myself.  Since WHEN am I so violent??  I leapt into my car and revved the engine, spinning around and speeding away. 

Amara

I dreamed about tacos and riding a moose.  I tend to have strange dreams sometimes, and last night was no exception.  But the images of the moose disappeared when I glanced at the clock sleepily.  10 a.m.? I cursed myself.  I probably have a ton of missed calls from Liz about last night, and I didn't pick up. Lovely.  But when I checked my phone, all there was was a good morning text from Alexandr.  I had a bad feeling about this.  I would give her exactly two hours, and then I was going on a hunt.  I replied to Alexandr and rolled out of bed.  I waddled downstairs, slowly getting out cereal fixings like a zombie.  I sat at the table in silence, crunching on Cheerios and attempting to wake up a little.  After that, I jumped in the shower for a good 20 minutes.  I went upstairs again, slipping on black skinny jeans and a light purple thermal, decorated with keys.  I slipped my thumbs through the holes, looking at how my whole hand was covered by the sleeve besides my fingers.  I put on a pair of leopard printed socks and zipped back downstairs to prepare my face and hair for the day.  I blow-dried my dark hair and straightened it, then putting it in a high, sleek ponytail.  I drowned it in hairspray just to be safe.  Then, I put on black eyeliner in the cat eye style, and lots of black mascara.  It was my usual dramatic daytime look, and made my eyes look much brighter brown than they already were.  I had big eyes, but my makeup showed it off in a way that I liked.  Of course, it took me forever to be satisfied with this process, so there wasn't much time left by the time I was ready.  I had charged my phone while I was getting ready, and I checked it before slipping it into my pocket, still with no new messages or calls from Liz.  I texted Alexandr about my dilemma, and he sounded just as concerned as me.  He agreed to pick me up at 12:15 and go to her house to see if she was home.  If she wasn't, well…we decided not to think about that.  I called her, and her phone was on, but went to voicemail.  Strange.  I told mom my plans for the day, leaving out the "Find Liz" part.  Alexandr got to the house around 12, and we contemplated different possibilities over sandwiches and peach tea.  Nothing we managed to dream up sounded even remotely like it could be correct.  At one point in the conversation, Alexandr said "Makes me wonder what happened with the twins last year.  People around here seem to vanish quite often lately…"
I shook my head.  "No…that wouldn't make any sense.  How could a phone call to Liz possibly tie her to a pair of missing teenage boys?"
We both stopped.
"Mason."  Alexandr exclaimed.
I nodded. "Mason."
With that settled, we jumped up and bolted out the door.

On the way to Liz's house, I thought out loud.  "Ok, even if Mason or Luke has anything to do with this, how did it happen?"
Alexandr shook his head, watching the road.  "Good question.  They haven't been heard from in almost a year, so we have nothing to go off of besides the fact that one night they just disappeared."
I wrinkled my eyebrows, thinking.  "Yeah, we can't get anywhere if we have no information on where they are in the first place…"  I didn't say anything, but my intuition was telling me there was more to that than we knew, and probably should find out.  Of course, if Liz was at her house, we wouldn't need to.  We pulled around the corner and stopped in front of her house.  Thankfully, her car was in the driveway.  Sighing, relieved, I jumped out of the truck and knocked, then went in remembering that her parents weren't home this time of day.  I walked in, Alexandr right behind me, and we both thumped up the stairs towards Liz's room.  My heart stopped thumping when I saw her asleep in her bed, but I became concerned again when I saw that she was still in her clothes from last night, including her jacket, which looked lumpier than usual.  Alexandr and I exchanged worried looks, and I tried to wake her.  Her eyes snapped open and she bolted up in bed as if she had just woken up from a nightmare.  She saw that it was just Alex and I, and slumped back against the pillows in relief.
"You guys scared me," She murmured sleepily.  "I thought you were that guy in black."
Alex looked taken aback. "Woah, what?  You thought what?"
"Just let me wake up first and I'll tell you the whole story."  She said calmly, rubbing her eyes.

Needless to say, we rushed her downstairs and got her a cup of coffee to get her talking in coherent sentences as soon as possible.  Soon enough, (well, not for us, but that's not the point) she told us the complicated quest she had been on since the phone call that caused her to get so upset.  After she had escaped from the creepy man in the house, she had driven to her house, claiming to her parents that she was at my house watching movies, but then had fallen asleep until late, and had come home as soon as she woke up.  She then basically collapsed from exhaustion in her bedroom, still wearing her jacket containing all the papers and files.
"So, what are the papers?  Files? Reports? Photographs?"  I asked eagerly, Alex nodding in agreement.
Liz blinked.  "Well, to be honest, I don't know.  I didn't get a chance to look through them before I saw that creepy guy standing behind me."
I picked up her jacket and pulled out the huge wad of papers, some wrinkled from being stuffed in her smaller pockets. 
"Weird…"  I said thoughtfully.  "It looks like these papers contain some pretty confidential stuff that I don't understand, but mostly photographs."
There were at least 20 pictures, each one looking like it had been taken candidly.  They weren't clear enough to determine faces, but they looked like they were in some sort of organized group.  I looked at the back of the photos, looking for any clue to who it may be, but there was nothing besides the dates, which claimed that these were taken over a series of months, the most recent being about a week ago.  Most of the pictures took places in unpopulated areas, such as alleys, or abandoned buildings which appeared to be used as a meeting place for whoever these people were.  Though I didn't see any familiar faces at this point, I did notice that the same people repeated appearances in many of the photographs.  Then, the last photo contained something much weirder than the others.  The brown hair, the  tall, athletic build…oh no…in this photo, he was standing in the corner of the frame, holding what looked like a beer bottle in one hand and was among the rest of the group as if he were a part of it, which, come to think of it, he probably was.
I gasped quietly.  "Guys.  Look.  I knew these guys were involved somehow!"
Liz snatched the photo from me and gazed at it, concentrating.  Finally, she declared, "It's definitely one of them.  But the problem is, I still don't know which one of them it is."  She looked down, looking unusually depressed and confused.  I felt bad for her, but this event was just beginning, based on my intuition.
"Well, since you have until Monday to meet whoever this is, let's do some detective work and research, shall we?"  I said brightly.  Alex perked up.  "If I trace the origin of these legal documents," He said.  "I think I could get us some useful information about who these guys are, what they're doing, and why.  If we can figure that out, we should be able to locate their whereabouts."
He's so cute when he's being a nerd.  I thought.  Then I said, "Good thinking.  If you can do that, then I can spend today preparing Liz for her part in this."  She looked up at me, confused and suspicious.  She should be.  "Liz," I continued. "If whoever is writing you these notes is taking you on a possible wild goose chase, chances are whoever it is is keeping tabs on you, and watching.  Being the violent one-"  I glanced at her, making sure she caught on to my sarcasm.  "Whether you want to or not, you're going to need something to have with you at all times that you can use for protection, because sometimes, forks just won't cut it."  That was a pretty good pun, I thought to myself.  I thought for a moment more, then said, "In fact, now that we're all in on this, I think we all do.  I know just the thing we need."

We piled in the car and drove to my house.  Luckily, my mom had gone to lunch with her boyfriend, John, earlier, so the house was empty.  We walked in, and Liz and Alex plopped onto the couch, as usual.  "I'll be right back."  I said, and bounded up my stairs and towards my brothers' room.  He was at a friends' house playing video games, or something ridiculous like that. Very Rick-like.  I opened all the drawers and looked through all the shelves until I found what I was looking for.  My brother was kind of a pack rat, so he still had a lot of stuff from when he was little, not to mention some stuff he didn't even know he had.  I found a drawer of random accessories, like hats and belts.  I decided not to ask why my brother had a drawer of this kind of stuff.  At the bottom, I found what I was looking for: four leather belts, with random pockets and sheaths.  I had seen them months earlier when my brother and his friends had some sort of mock sword fight, and they apparently needed these nerdy belts to do it.  I grabbed three of them and went back downstairs, where Alex and Liz had turned on SpongeBob.  "See these?"  I dangled the long, pocketed belts.  "These are my brothers', and they're actually going to be pretty useful."
I slid the belt around my waist, fastening it with buttons and little complicated slide in clamps, so it wouldn't come off if tugged on too easily.  There were pockets to hold small knives, and maybe some snacks, which I knew I would be using.  It wasn't bulky either, so it could be concealed easily with clothing, even if it was light or flowy.  Liz took one, inspecting it.  "Cool!" She said enthusiastically.  Her dark mood from earlier seemed to have lifted a little.  Alex slipped it around his waist, looking down to see if the belt was as concealable as it looked.  He grinned.  "Dude.  This is nerdy, but at least it's gonna serve a purpose."
I laughed.  "I know, it was the best thing I could think of that wouldn't be suspicious.  Or very noticeable."  I said, unlatching all the buttons and clamps.  "To be honest, I don't really want to be caught in public with this showing.  And if it is, it might as well have some knives in it or something.  That's what I'm going to use anyway.  You guys go with whatever makes you comfortable."
I went into the kitchen, pulling a medium sized knife out of its block, and seeing if it fit.  Strangely, it fit perfectly.  I shrugged and looked at the other pockets, seeing what they could potentially hold.  Across the room, both Liz and Alex were testing out their belts, looking through the pockets, Alex snickering about how he felt like some sort of ninja from a children's show, and at one point I saw Liz wrinkling her nose as if she had just discovered the nerdiest new fashion trend of all time.
"Oh!" I exclaimed, remembering my other idea.  "You know that big camera I have?"  The two of them nodded.
"Well," I said, "if Alex can get some information out of those legal papers, and we get their whereabouts, I could go in with my camera to give us all a visual of the area."
The two narrowed their eyes thinking, then Liz nodded.  "That sounds like a good idea, as long as you don't go at night or get yourself into any trouble."
"Pssh!" I waved the notion away.  "I can charm my way out of anything!  I'll be fine." 
Liz rolled her eyes, and Alex smiled.
Then Alex said, "I should probably get to work on that if I want to have any useful information for you guys before Monday, and it's already Saturday."
Both of us girls nodded in agreement.  "Good idea."  Liz said.
"So," I said. "I need to get my camera batteries charged up and such, so that'l take an hour or so."
"Do you want a ride home, Liz?"  Alexandr asked.
She shook her head.  "Nah.  I'll stay here with Amara, if that's ok."
"Just fine.  I'll get a hold of you guys when I find something useful.  Bye Amara, Lizzers."  He said, snickering, and went to his truck.
"I'll be in here if you need me."  I told Liz.
"Ok.  I'll be in here for another minute or two."
As I walked into the other room, I glanced back, and saw Liz sitting on the couch, biting her cheek and gazing at the last photograph, looking more wistful than I think I have ever seen her be.

Liz

A lot had happened in the last 24 hours.  But now things were moving normally, as if it were just another Saturday.  I scoured through the photographs, trying to figure out what was going on, but I ended up just staring at the last one in the pile before I even realized it.  Amara charged her camera batteries and made sure her memory card would have plenty of room.  Alexandr called a few hours later and told us that the files were some sort of police records, so our best bet was that the people in these photos had committed crimes before, and according to Alex, it included assault and illegal drug possession.  And based on the photos, it looked like there were quite a few under 21 that were consuming alcohol. 
"So…" Amara guessed, "We have gang activity?  Or what?"
I clenched my teeth, not wanting to think about Mason being in a gang, let alone be involved in something illegal. 
"I don't know," I said hopefully. "Maybe it's not what it looks like."
The look Amara gave me reflected how I felt.  There was definitely something not right and very not legal going on here, though I wished it wasn't so.  I looked down.  "So," I said, "what are we gonna do?"
Amara glanced at me to see if I had any ideas, and when I didn't say anything, she suggested, "Well, since we've figured out a little bit of what's going on here, why don't we just wait until Monday?  There's not much we can do right now, and after you meet with whoever this person is, I think we'll know a lot more."
I agreed, because honestly, I was already sick of all this not knowing stuff.

After eating lunch and discussing random, pointless stuff as we always do, we left Amara's house, and Alex dropped me off at home.  We had all agreed to keep our belts on us, just in case one of us got attacked as I did, when I wasn't expecting.  It was just to be safe, because for all we knew we could of been being watched, maybe even listened to.  I was just plain confused as to what was going to happen in the near future, and I wasn't even sure if I wanted to find out.  I hadn't told Amara or Alex that the place I was meeting the person who wrote the note was the place I had gone on that coffee date last year.  It seemed like yesterday, yet a million years ago at the same time.  It could just be a coincidence, because that was the only place to get coffee locally after all, but I wasn't sure what to believe.  I pretty much lounged around the house for the rest of the day, not doing much of anything.  At one point, I was getting a bowl of cereal, and I was so deep in chaotic thought I poured milk all over the counter and the floor.  I stuck to sandwiches after that incident.  I didn't know what to do with myself, so I did some pretty crazy things, including cleaning my room and washing my laundry, all of my own accord.  My parents were amazed, and were probably wondering if someone had kidnapped me and cloned me into someone that enjoyed cleaning, because that is definitely something I absolutely don't do.  I took a shower and sat on my bed with a book that bored me for the remainder of the night, thinking and not figuring anything out.  I decided that I should get some sleep eventually, and went to bed early.

Amara

After I was alone at the house, I wasn't sure what to do with myself.  I had plugged in my camera batteries, so they were good to go, I had done my laundry, wiped all traces of makeup from my face, AND watched multiple Spongebob episodes.  I played around on MarioKart with my brother for a while, tried on my prom dress again, and even pulled out my math homework and looked at it for a good 10 minutes before putting it away untouched.  I sighed heavily and plopped down on the couch.  I had been texting Alexandr all day, as usual, which usually was what kept me from dying of boredom on a daily basis.  Liz had been quiet today, which didn't surprise me very much.  Unlike her, I was excited to know what would happen next.  An avid wannabe author, I waited on the edge of my seat for something to happen, and was ready to jump in as soon as something did happen.  Some would call it reckless, but I call it living.  I worked myself up to the energy level to where I got up and pulled Just Dance out of the drawer and into the Wii.  I never got tired of this game, because I loved dancing.  I favored the African dances over the robot-type dances, my favorite dance being Jin Go Lo Ba.  It consisted of fluid, energetic movements, which I appreciated.  I realized too late that it wasn't smart to do hardcore hip movements in tight jeans.  How lovely is this?  I thought in annoyance.  I paused the game, jogged upstairs, and changed into shorts and a t-shirt I think I've had since about 6th grade.  For the next hour I sweat it out, trying to beat all of my high scores.  Afterward I took an absurdly long shower, contemplating life, as most teens do while showering.  I put on my favorite pajama bottoms, which were black with brightly colored lips all over them, and were extremely soft and fluffy.  It made for an unarguably comfortable night.  I put on a black t-shirt over it and sat on my MacBook for the next few hours, piddling around on my favorite websites, listening to The Ready Set.  Somewhere during that time Alexandr called, and we talked for hours, which had never happened before…ch-ch-changes, I sang to myself.
It was past midnight by the time I shut my laptop down, and I spent at least another good half hour on my iPod playing a word game before I actually went to sleep.  A typical Saturday night for me.

Liz

I woke up early on Sunday morning.  Early to bed, I thought.  Early to rise.  I think it was the slowest day of my existence.  So slow in fact that nothing significant happened that was worthy of noting.  It felt too still, too quiet, like the eerie calm before a storm.  The thought of school the next day depressed me, and the fact that I wasn't coming the second half of the day because I was going to coffee with someone I may or may not know made me feel extremely guilty.  I made hot cocoa and curled up on the couch, watching my addiction TV show, Lost, and wondered if I'd have nightmares tonight.

Amara

My day had consisted mostly of church.  Though the service was only an hour, it seemed to be so much more than that. The words and verses spoken and the lessons taught seemed to follow me all day, and I usually tended to apply these things to my daily life, not to mention these things were very thought-provoking. 
I wrote, I got my math homework out and stared at it again, and I danced.  I even picked out a cute outfit that I would wear to our fashionably challenged school tomorrow.  On impulse, I painted my nails bright red. Like blood, I thought, then snickered at myself for being so naturally sadistic.  Red had been my favorite color my whole life, and I could tell that wouldn't be changing soon.  I ended up talking to Alex on the phone for an hour or two again, and I didn't know what to think.  I was excited for tomorrow, and I hoped that Liz would shed some light on this story.  I went to bed later than usual, and didn't fall asleep as quickly as I should of, all because of sheer excitement and curiosity.

Liz

My alarm went off in the early morning, blasting the only ringtone that could wake me up.  I was face down in my bed, the blankets crumpled on top of me, making a cocoon of heat, which I really, really didn't want to get out of.  I really hated Monday mornings.  Eventually I got up and stumbled into my clothes, which I had picked out the night before.  I brushed my unruly hair and put it in a high pony, not wanting to deal with it today.  My house was freezing, which never made me more motivated to go downstairs and get ready for school.  I plopped down at the table after toasting a pop tart, resisting the urge to rest my head on the table.  I had already considered not coming to school today, since I would be leaving halfway through anyway, but I didn't think my parents would buy any of my sick acts.  My mom and dad would be home lunchtime anyway, and wouldn't let me go anywhere besides school for sure.  So I was just planning to drive home during lunch, and then park on a backroad and walk a little ways down to the cafe.  When my parents found out that I had skipped class, I would definitely be grounded.  I wouldn't be able to tell them what had actually happened, because that just didn't seem like an option.  I was trying not to think about it too much, but not thinking is about the hardest thing not to do, especially when there's things to think about.  I drove to school a little later than usual, which also meant I was going to miss the first bell.  It was sunny outside, a typical spring day.  But it was also frosty and cold, as it had been almost a year ago, the last time I had gone to the cafe.  It was like a deja vu with an ironic twist.  I got to the parking lot, stopping and scattering gravel, making popping sounds under the tires.  My car wasn't fancy by any means, just a gray Volvo that was probably from the 70's, with ugly felt seats and a stick shift, but a car was a car.  I stepped out, and hurried inside, because it really was cold.  My shoes squeaked as I turned left and opened my locker with a clank.  I hurried to my first class, managing not to be late.  As I sat down at my table, I looked over at Amara, who was wiggling her eyebrows at me, as if to say, "Today's the day!  What's gonna happen?"  She wasn't the one taking risks here, so she was purely excited, whereas I was anxious.  I wasn't the kind to jump into this kind of stuff. 
Alexandr was bent over the notes in front of him, looking scarily interested.  He was a nerd, and Social Studies just happened to be one of his favorite classes.  To be honest, it was one of my favorites too.  History was interesting to me, while Amara thought it was the most boring thing in the world.  She had once said to me, "Why focus on the past so much?  I know if we don't know we'll make the same mistakes, but I really don't care about the past, so why make me take these classes?"  I think she was in a defiant mood. 
Social studies dragged by, and then speech, FBLA, and Calculus.  The bell rang for lunch.  My stomach seized.  Here we go…I thought, and went to meet Amara and Alex at her locker. 

Amara

Lunch couldn't of gotten here slow enough.  Seriously, by the time I got to my Yearbook class, I was ready to explode of anticipation.  Mondays never left me in a good mood, but I was hoping today would be different.  Today would be extremely strange, no matter what happened, that was for sure.  Yearbook was the class right before lunch, and it was as if time had known I was looking forward to something and had stopped just to keep me on the verge.  It was a slow day, so the class had already finished what we were supposed to do today, and now pretty much had free reign.  I went and sat next to Alexandr, who was putting papers in his folder.  I had ended up not getting much sleep last night, so even with all this new stuff happening, I was still tired.  I leaned on him, and said, "So what do you think will happen today?"
He closed his binder.  "Whatever does happen, I have a feeling it's not gonna be what we expected." 
I sat up, feeling a little drained, the lack of sleep finally getting to me.  He saw how my eyelids were drooping, and laughed and held my hand, laughing and saying "You couldn't sleep, could you?  You really are excited for this."
Meanwhile, my mind was saying something like HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!!!!!!  But instead of saying that, I smiled and said, "Yeah!  I'm seriously curious!  If I wasn't so tired, I would be bouncing off the walls right now."
Alex smiled, spreading heat through me.  "Amara.  You've been like that all day, until about thirty seconds ago."
"Shut up."  I snapped, giggling.  He just rolled his eyes at me, so I just leaned back on him, trying not to fall asleep, because that would look bad in the middle of class.  God forbid Liz sees this, I thought. I will never hear the end of it.  I heard him say, "So, what are your plans for lunch today?"
"I don't really know." I replied.  "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking you're coming to my house.  Capiche?"
I was internally screaming victoriously.  "Ok.  I capiche."
He snickered.  "You can't say that."
"Yes I can."  I said, with my head still leaned on his shoulder.  "By the way, your shoulder is way too bony to be comfortable.  Get fat or something."
"There's a lot of things that I would do for you, but getting fat is not one of them.  Sorry to disappoint you."  He said smugly into my ear.
I was about to explode from both happiness and excitement now.  Wonderful.
The lunch bell rang.  We stood up, still holding hands.  "Let's go."  He said cheerfully.  "We'll see tonight what Liz finds out."
I smiled, really, really excited.  "And hopefully what she does find out isn't too much for her."
We walked out of the classroom and down the hall to the senior hallway, where our lockers were.  We stopped at Liz's locker, who was standing, waiting for us, looking like she was about to cry, or have a mental breakdown.
"Dude, it's ok."  I said to her.  "It's just half of one day, and with luck your parents won't even know."
Her mouth flattened to a line.  "I don't care as much about my parents as I do who is meeting me at this cafe.  I mean it could be anyone, and I don't know if I'll know them or not, or what to do, or say, or-"
"Stop."  I cut her off.  "Just relax.  Everything will be fine.  But you have to call as soon as school is out, so we know you're safe."
She nodded.  "I will.  But I'll try to text you sooner, because the classes after lunch don't really limit texting in class."
"Which I still don't get." Alex put in.
"Ok.  You should go now. Good luck."  I said, eager for her to get on her way.
She took a deep breath.  "Ok.  Thanks.  See you two later."
And with that, she walked out the door.

~read part 2- this story isn't over!~