from his name. I didn't know how he had been able to hear me calling him – or how had he gotten to me so quickly. I did know that I wanted to see him again. He'd said that I would. I hoped it would be soon.
As I drew closer to school, my thoughts turned to Charisse. I wondered what type of reception I would receive when I saw her. I had a feeling that she would still be furious. Suddenly I felt a brief flash of panic. I wondered if Charisse and Branden would have eloped yet. I really hoped they hadn't.
I walked into the schoolyard and realized with a sinking heart that I need not have worried about what sort of reception I would receive from Charisse. I could see quite clearly that the picnic table Charisse had staked out since the beginning of the year was empty.
A familiar blond-haired figure with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans kicked at the ground nearby. His back was to me, and his head was down.
I walked over to him. "Hey Simon."
Simon turned and looked at me. I was shocked by the way he looked. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his skin was pale. He was clearly miserable.
"Simon, what's wrong?" I asked.
A muscle worked in his jaw, and it was a moment before he answered. He grated out one word.
"James."
"Maybe it's just another misunderstanding," I said quickly. "Maybe there's a good explanation."
Simon shook his head, and his face contorted as if he were in pain. "It's not the police this time. It's James himself. He's gone."
"Gone? You mean he ran away from home?"
Simon shook his head again and looked down at his feet. "He was taken."
I frowned. "Taken? What do you mean he was taken?"
Simon looked up at the sky. "Look, I don't expect you to believe this, but our house was attacked last night – just a little past eleven. James was out on the mud porch at the back of the house. He goes out there with his laptop sometimes – for the wireless reception. So, I was up in my room, and I heard this serious crashing and screaming downstairs. I ran down to find out what was going on, and I found my mom and dad staring out into the mud porch. The back door had been torn clean off its hinges, and James was gone. I ran outside, but I couldn't see him anywhere. I ran into the woods behind our house, but I couldn't find any sign of him. Then I went back home. In the meantime, my parents had called the police—"
Simon broke off, and he stood for several moments not saying anything. Then he looked at me.
"Somebody took my brother, Katie. Somebody took him. Some freak broke into our house and dragged him into the forest. Who would do that?"
I felt a chill run through me. "Oh, Simon, I'm so sorry," I said.
"The police said they have no leads. They even think some of James's former friends might have come after him, or helped him to stage this. But Katie, you didn't hear those screams. Something really wrong happened last night – there was nothing normal about it."
"Why didn't you call me?" I asked.
"I couldn't do that to you," Simon said. "I wanted you to sleep. Besides, there was nothing you could have done."
"You should have called me anyway," I said. "And why did you come to school today? You really should have stayed home."
Simon shook his head. "It's better to be at school. Both of my parents are at work, anyway. I didn't want to be home
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