The Ring of Fire & Serpents

Chapter Ten - No Trace

Laura's POV

I sit anxiously on the sofa, waiting for the girls to arrive home. It's now 1:15 am, and neither one are home. I have called Sophia's phone three times now, and it goes to voicemail. I have called Savannah's phone twice; the same thing happens. Those two are in so much trouble!

I anxiously stand up and begin pacing the floors. I guarantee that Savannah has convinced Sophia to stay out longer, but I can't help but worry. As if there are no consequences to her actions because she is eighteen; it's so infuriating! She is still living under my roof; she has to obey my rules or get shipped back to live with her father and the skag! I'm going to give them until 2:00 am to get home, and if they still aren't here, then I'm going to go hunt them down at their friend's house. I think that is more than generous! Do they think I won't embarrass them? Ha! I will cause a scene; I can promise that!

Suddenly, headlights shine through the blinds. I stop pacing and rush towards the door to wait. A moment later, the doorknob turns as I can hear it being unlocked from the outside. I stand directly in front of the door as it swings open. Savannah steps inside, yelps, and jumps back once she discovers that I'm standing there, "Oh God! Momma, you scared me!" she belts out. 

"Oh, you are going to be really scared here in a minute! Where is your sister?!" I yell as I cross my arms in front of me.

She stops, eyes wide; she spins around to look in the driveway before turning back to me, "Oh my God!"

My heart stops, my ears begin to ring, "Savannah Joy! What happened to your sister?!"

She covers her face with her hands, "Momma...."

I reach out and grab her shoulders and pull her closer to me, "Where is she, Savannah?!"

Tears begin to well in her eyes, "It was ten o'clock. She said she didn't feel good and wanted to go home.."

My body begins to tremble as rage consumes me, " You stayed at the party even when your sister told you she didn't feel well violently?"

She nods her head, "Momma, I thought she was being over-dramatic. I met a guy, and we were having such a good time...I gave Soph the car keys to drive home, and he offered to bring me home later. I didn't think you would care if I stayed out late, only Soph. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" I ask; my voice is raspy as I fight back the tears. 

She fishes through her purse to pull out her phone, glancing down at the caller ID, "Oh, gosh. I didn't realize it was dead. I'm sorry."

I push past her, slip my flats on and grab my purse and keys from the hook next to the door, "Just stay here until I get back! Call me immediately if she shows up! We are not done here! Do you hear me?! You better pray your sister is okay!"

She nods, tears streaming down her cheeks as I barge out the door, down the porch steps, and dash towards my car. I get in, turn the ignition and hightail it out of the driveway as fast as I can.

I frantically scan my surroundings while driving out of town, hoping to spot any sign of her. The first stop has to be Casey's house. I don't care if I wake the whole damn house up; I'm going there right now! 

It doesn't take me long, and I turn down an old gravel road in the country where she lives. I can tell which house is hers solely by the number of parked cars along the road as I pull up. The lights are still on, and there are young kids everywhere hanging out in the yard. I throw the car in park and run-up to the house, busting through the crowd of kids in the way. 

As I run up the front porch steps, there's a group of kids hanging out in the living room as I peek inside through the screen door. The air is thick with smoke..lots of red eyes in there. I burst through the screen door; it slams shut behind me. Everyone's focus is on me now as I stand there in the entryway, "Where's Casey?" I ask, crossing my arms in from of me.

An adorable and petite little girl timidly enters the living room from the kitchen, revealing herself. "Who...who's asking?" she asks, her voice is raspy. 

I point to myself, "I'm Sophia's mother. I'm not here to get you all in trouble. Frankly, I don't give a s**t what you all are doing. I'm looking for my daughter. I was told she left here about ten o'clock and she hasn't come home. Is she hiding out here by chance?" I ask. 

Her eyes grow wide, "No, ma'am. She left out of here in a big hurry. I called out to her and asked her to wait, but she wouldn't listen." 

I reach up and cover my head with my hands. I don't have a good feeling about this at all. Something has happened to my little girl, "Casey...I'm going to call the police. You best get these kids out of here and straighten up. I'm sure they are going to be visiting you." 

She nods, "Okay everyone, time to get out of here!" she yells.

The kids stand abruptly, gather their things, and make a mad dash for the door. I lean up against the wall out of the way as they do. Casey pushes through the group of people trying to squeeze out the door, "Out of my way!" she says as she makes her way outside, "Hey everyone, time to go home! The cops are on their way! Let's move!" she yells. 

I pull my phone out of my purse and check the time. It's now 1:45 am. I immediately dial 911, the dispatcher answers by the second ring, "911, what's your emergency?"

"I'd like to report a missing person."

I can hear her typing on the other line, "Okay, who would you like to report missing?"

"My daughter."

She remains silent while typing, "Okay, what is your name?"

"Laura Carmichael." 

"Address?" she asks. 

"1781 Maple Avenue, Ellisville, Mississippi," I respond.

"Your daughter's name?"

"Sophia Jade Carmichael," I respond. 

"How old is your daughter?" She asks. 

"Sixteen..."

Casey barges inside and approaches me, "How long has she been missing, ma'am?" the dispatcher asks. 

"She left to go to a party at seven o'clock with her sister, who is eighteen. They were supposed to be home at midnight for curfew. Only one daughter made it home."

Casey flashes an apologetic look at me, "Okay, ma'am. We will send an officer out to speak with you." The dispatcher replies. 

"I'm actually not at home right now. I'm at the home of the party my daughters attended. The young girl who lives here is standing right in front of me." I tell her. 

"Okay, please give me the address." 

I pull the phone from my mouth, "Casey, what is your address again?"

She anxiously pulls her thumbnail from her mouth, "It's 18009 County Line Road 245, Ellisville, Mississippi." 

I repeat the address back to the dispatcher, "Okay...we have an officer nearby approximately five minutes from your location. I'm sending him now. Be safe." She says. 

I immediately hang up and look down at Casey, "The officer is on his way. Go put some eye drops in your eyes, honey. Maybe eat something real quick. You got five minutes." I warn her. 

She dashes through the living room, down the hallway towards her bathroom, and shuts the door. I anxiously pace the floors waiting for the officer to arrive. Casey storms out of the bathroom a minute later and makes a beeline for the kitchen. I follow close behind her. She pulls a spoon out of the drawer and grabs the peanut butter from the cupboard, and shoves a big spoonful in her mouth, "Where are your parents, Casey?" I ask. 

She shakes her head and swallows the large glob of peanut butter before answering; she clears her throat. I can tell it's hard for her to swallow; her mouth is probably dry as a bone, "They are out of town." 

I throw my hands up in the air exasperatingly, " Of course they are!" 

She lowers her head to avoid my gaze. I walk over to her, "Casey, whatever the police ask you, I need you to cooperate, please. You may get in some trouble for what went on at the party, but anything you can remember about Sophia, or anyone that may have seemed off to you, I need to know. Actually, you need to tell the police, even if you don't tell me. It may make a difference in trying to locate Sophia.." I plead with her. 

She sticks her spoon into the peanut butter as she contemplates for a moment. Her eyes widen as it appears she has recalled something, "You know, there was a guy here that I didn't recognize before. He was nice and really cute. In fact, he was talking to Savannah all night. He came with a guy who lives down the road from me that I know named Clayton."

I reach out and place my hands gently on her shoulders, "Okay... do you know his name?"

She places her hand over her forehead, "Yeah, it's Wyatt...Wyatt Vance." 

My heart sinks as she tells me the name. I belt out a low pitch cry, "Oh my God! No!" 

A look of confusion crosses her face, "What is it, Mrs. Carmichael?" she asks innocently. 

"Honey, that last name, Vance..." I begin to say before I am startled by a knock at the door, "Oh, please go answer the door, Casey." I tell her. 

She sets the peanut butter and spoon on the counter and scurries towards the front door. I follow close behind. As she opens the door, two police officers are standing on the steps, "Good evening. Did someone call 911?" The offer standing in the front asks. 

I nod, "Yes, sir, I did."

"May we come inside?" The other officer asks.

Casey moves back out of the way and opens the door wide, "Yes, officer. Please come in. This is my house." 

The two of them stroll inside; I prance around them anxiously. They eye me curiously as I do, "You are the one that called and reported your daughter missing, I presume?" 

I glance down at his badge, "Yes, sir." I respond. 

He reaches into his shirt pocket and pulls out a small notebook and pen, "The name is Officer Lovely. This here is my partner, Officer Langford."

"I'm Laura Carmichael; my daughter's name is Sophia Carmichael." 

The officer writes down the information before he looks up, "Okay, please tell me in as much detail what happened tonight. Please don't leave anything out because we will find out anyway. I need to know everything that you remember so that we can get a better idea of what we might be dealing with here." 

I take a deep breath, attempting to calm myself. I don't have a good feeling about this. I'm praying that I wake up from this horrible nightmare with Sophia safe at home. I knew I had to get through this, so Casey and I told them every single detail of what had happened tonight. She even told them about how she and Sophia were smoking pot with a group of kids earlier that night. She told them about Wyatt as well. The police officer took down lengthy notes, and as we finished up, he flips the notebook cover back and sticks that and the pen back in his pocket, "I don't want to alarm you, but we generally don't entertain filing a missing person's report unless the teenager has been gone twenty-four hours or longer. Most of the time, parents discover their teenager has run away, and they come back within that time frame anyway. Now considering the circumstance and the fact that we have had six teenagers missing here recently in the general area, this will cause us to put out a missing person alert right away and begin investigating immediately." he says. 

Tears begin to stream down my cheeks, "Okay, officer, thank you." I tell him, my voice raspy. 

He tips his hat, "We will be in touch, Mrs. Carmichael." He says. 

The two officers head toward the front door. Casey follows behind them to see them out before returning to the living room, "If you hear anything, would you please notify me right away?" I ask her. 

She scans the living room and runs over to a desk drawer, pulling out a pen and a piece of paper before returning to me, "Of course, write your name, number, and address here. I'll contact you if I hear anything." She says. 

I write the information down as instructed and head out the front door, down the porch steps, into my car and drive off down the road. 

I