Souls Of The Innocent

Chapter 16: Another disappearance

The wind blowing through her hair, her eyes closed, she breathed in the spring air. The sole purpose for being in his car was to have a conversation, but there she was enjoying the peace that this beautiful spring day was offering her as they drove down this beautiful part of the countryside . The trees blending in perfectly with the green grass were picture perfect. The breeze is simply the sweetest fragrance one could smell during Springtime. As the wind blows it carries with it the fragrance of the wildflowers which wraps around you like a shawl. Nathan glanced over at Amber, her eyes were closed and there was a big smile on her lips. He smiled as he turned up the volume of the music system and a famous pop song was on and he started to sing along. Amber opened her eyes and looked at him in surprise and he smiled at her. Amber shyly smiled back as she also started to sing along to the music. For the very first time, Amber Jones and Nathan Ricci were smiling at each other without some sort of tension hanging between them. Amber pushed her worries aside, but she knows that it will only be for a short while soon she will go back to her miserable reality. But for now, she wouldn't mind enjoying the fresh air and singing on top of her voice.

Noticing some police cars up ahead Nathan slowed down and reduce the volume of the music system.

" What's going on?", he said as Amber looked at the roadblock up ahead.

" Don't get any closer. We are in our uniform they might call the school ", Amber said.

Curiosity got the better of them, the flashing lights of the ambulance and that of the police cars turned the whole scenery into one of those episodes in a murder mystery tv show .The area around the lake was cordoned off by police yellow tapes indicating that no one should approach this area. A dozen police officers along with dogs roamed the area and they seemed to be shouting someone’s name.Nathan and Amber glanced at each other, whatever was going on it was definitely something serious.

" I want to know what's going on", Nathan said as he parked the car and grabbed his cap and a T-shirt on the back seat of the car. He started to unbutton his uniform shirt and Amber quickly looked away with her heart beating faster than usual. She had never been this close to a guy being bare chested and it’s not just any guy, it’s Nathan Ricci.

" What do you think you are doing?", Amber nervously said ,clearly her throat as she kept her gaze away from his direction. She pressed her hands nervously together , keeping her gaze outside. Nathan looked at her and smiled , he had no idea he could make Amber Rose act so nervously just by removing his shirt.

Virgin alert… definitely in all ways …, Nathan said to himself and smiled.

“ You can look now…”, Nathan said and Amber slowly turned her gaze towards him just as Nathan reached for the door handle .

“I'm going to get a closer look”, Nathan said and she quickly looked at him with worried eyes.She wasn’t really worried about what could happen to him out there, it was more about her getting caught skipping school and her parents face filled with disappointment flashed through her mind .

“ I don’t think you should go out there… I’m sure we will find out what’s going on in the news”, Amber calmly said trying to sound convincing. But before she could say anything else to convince Nathan not to put his nose into whatever business was going on out there he had opened his door, he turned and looked at her before stepping out. He closed the door , bent and looked at her through the window.

“ Relax , I’ve got this”,Nathan said. He pulled his cap over his head , and walked away towards the busy police scene.

We are doomed! Amber anxiously said to herself thinking that the police would probably scold them for truancy and if they call her parents, she could kiss goodbye the little freedom she has for one year or maybe for a lifetime.

Amber nervously clasped her hands together as she looked at Nathan who was speaking to one of the police officers. She silently prayed that he knew what he was doing. For someone ready to break into some weirdo's house, you are extremely brave! Her conscience reproached her for sitting there like a scaredy-cat. Amber knew that her conscience was right, but she was afraid of her parents more than anything else. If she gets into one more trouble which involves the police, her parents will surely take some drastic measures and she wouldn't be able to carry out her plans. The police officer gently patted Nathan on his shoulder and he walked back towards the car. Seeing that Amber breathed a sigh of relief but quickly changed her expression when she noticed that blank expression on Nathan's face as if he was lost in thoughts and that made her curious. She wanted to know what had the police officer told him that got him like that.

" Is everything ok?", she asked when he reached for his seatbelt.

" Another girl has gone missing", he softly said and then glanced at Amber who was looking at him with a half-opened mouth. He started the engine and turned the car around, they will have to head back to school.

" Now can we have this conversation that we supposed to have in the first place", Nathan said in a serious tone, and Amber knew that the peaceful moment which she was enjoying a few minutes ago had suddenly disappeared. It was back to her gloomy world even if the spring sunshine and the baby-blue sky were displaying such a beautiful day.

" Tell me more about the girl first. Who is she?", Amber asked and Nathan glanced at her.

" Some Farrah Martin", Nathan said and Amber's eyes widened and she started to breathe faster.

" Did you say, Farrah Martin?" Amber softly said and Nathan nodded yes as he glanced at her again. He quickly stopped the car when he noticed how pale Amber's face was. He glanced in the rearview mirror and was glad that there wasn't any other vehicle behind him otherwise he would have been involved in a serious accident. He quickly parked the car in a large parking spot which over looked the Jaded wood, where extremely tall trees were the towers of that forest. With trembling hands Amber fondled the door handle and pushed open the door. She needed to get some air, she felt like she couldn't breathe as the name Farrah Martin went around in her head.

" Amber, what's wrong? Do you know that girl? What did you do ?", Nathan asked with a serious tone.

" What do you mean what did I do?! Do you think I'm some sort of psycho murderer, that I go around killing young girls!", Amber said with an angry tone and her eyes glaring at him.

Her tone didn’t please Nathan, it only made him realize why he was upset at Amber Jones.

" Then explain to me what's going on. Two girls have gone missing in our town. This is all new, shouldn’t we be scared that there's some psycho out there?", Nathan said kicking at a small pebble.

" What did the police officer say to you exactly?", Amber asked looking at Nathan with a serious face.

" That's some girl, that Farrah, has gone missing since last night and they are searching for her", Nathan said.

" She's not from here. She's from Snow Flake", Amber softly said. " Regardless of their name being similar, I need to confirm if it's her… I need to know if it’s the same girl that I know!”, Amber said as she quickly opened the back passenger door and grabbed her phone from her backpack. With trembling fingers, she opened the search engine and typed the name of Farrah Martin, and a picture of the little girl she saw at Lisa Martin's house popped up. Tears tickled her eyes and she slowly shook her head as she held on tightly to her phone.

" It's her. Lisa Martin little sister", Amber said with a sad tone. Small prickled goosebumps broke out across her arms , she was wondering that if Farrah became a victim of whatever is attacking them , then she could be their next victim. Her heartbeat increased and she closed her eyes and took in deep breath.

" Ok Amber, can you please explain what the hell is going on", Nathan demanded trying to remain calm.

Amber took in a deep breath before she started to tell Nathan the story of Lisa Martin, the similarity between her disappearance and that of Nora’s , and the story of the mysterious neighbor. Nathan stood there looking at her with a puzzled face, he was finding it hard to digest everything that Amber was telling him. From a girl who disappeared to a neighbor who they only see at night. The same woman who jumped in front of his car the other night... all of this sounded hard to believe.

" Wait", he said putting up his hands and Amber stopped talking.

" Is this some sort of series or some extract from a book? Because I'm finding it hard to believe everything that you are telling me", Nathan said with a soft laugh as he ran a hand through his hair.

" I knew you wouldn't understand anything! Why did I even bother to tell you wants going on!", Amber said and Nathan could sense that his words had upset her.

" Amber it's hard to believe in this supernatural b***s**t that you are telling me!", was Nathan's response.

Amber shook her head, she walked towards the car, grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulders, and started to walk away ignoring Nathan as he called out her name.

" F that girl is going to give me a headache !", Nathan said as he ran after Amber ,he grabbed her by her arm and turned her around.

" Where do you think you are going?", he sternly asked.

" Anywhere but here!", Amber replied as she glanced at his hand on her arm and he slowly let go of her and ran a hand nervously through his hair.

" Amber listen, this is hard for me to digest. My sister had to leave this town, she's alone in the city ,in a new environment, in a new school where no one knows her ,because of what happened to Nora. Eva was being accused of being responsible for her disappearance, the police were insinuating that she killed her. My family's name was being dragged in the mud and you know how things are when you live in a small town", Nathan said and he felt relieved to have removed some of the things off his chest. Things that he had wanted to say to Amber for quite a while.Amber looked at Nathan and then she glanced away.

" How do you think I feel Nathan?!My little sister vanished into thin air. One moment she's at the school the next she's gone. How do you think we feel when we walk past her empty bedroom every day, when she doesn't come downstairs anymore for breakfast, don't take the bus with me anymore. She's NO LONGER THERE! You still have your sister, I DON'T! I will do whatever it takes to find answers even believe in things that I never did before because you have no idea of the hell that I've been going through since Nora’s disappearance !", Amber angrily said with her voice breaking down every now and then.Tears rolled down her cheeks, she wanted to be brave but she couldn’t anymore, speaking about her pain made her feel vulnerable . Nathan looked at Amber, her expression was a fifty-fifty mixture of pain and anger. Without giving it another thought, Nathan pulled Amber into his arms which took her by complete surprise. He hugged her tightly, being the first time that a guy hugged her like that Amber didn't know what to do. But as he gently caressed her hair she found herself automatically resting her head against his chest. It felt so good to be hugged like that and his fingers gently caressing her hair put her in a trance. For a moment ,Amber forgot why she was hurt and upset a few minute ago. If only a hug could resolve any issues, then enemies would hug each other and there will be forgiveness, Amber thought and she softly smiled.

“ I’m sorry for acting like an i***t”, Nathan whispered and his voice brought her back to reality and she quickly took a step back.

“ It’s ok, we both have been through a rough time recently...”, Amber stuttered a bit avoiding looking straight at Nathan as she awkwardly grabbed the shoulder straps of her backpack. Awkward, what do I do now? Amber said to herself.

“ Let’s go back to the car and I want you to tell me everything again”, Nathan said and Amber looked at him with raised eyebrows and he promised that this time he was going to listen with an open mind. As they walked towards the car Amber was thinking about a million things at the same time. Her mind had switched back to Farrah’s disappearance and she wanted to know what happened to her. The article that came up about her didn’t give much information, except for her physical description and her age, where she was last seen and her family's contact number. It did not even mention that her older sister had also disappeared a while back. Two young girls disappearing from the same family. What if she’s taking them by twos? What if I could be next? Those questions tormented Amber, a chill ran down her spine and she stopped walking.

“ Are you ok?”, Nathan asked looking at her.

" I need to go to her house. I need to speak to Gregory", Amber said her tone changing from a soft one into a serious one as she looked at Nathan.

“ Whose house?”, Nathan asked with narrowed eyebrows.

“ Farrah’s house”, Amber replied.

" Are you mad? There's a police investigation going on. Probably there are police officers around that place and I don’t think that the family will be happy to see you there”, Nathan said trying to convince her to change her mind.

“ If you are not coming, drop me at the nearest bus stop. I’ll have enough time to go there and come back before sunset”, Amber said glancing at her watch.

Nathan shook his head as he wondered what he got himself into. He wasn’t a fan of supernatural things or getting into issues with the cop. He’s got his wild ways, but this girl standing in front of him is crazier than he is. So is he in or not?

“ We better don’t get into any troubles or you owe me your life Amber Jones”, Nathan said with a soft smirk as they got in the car and Amber gently bit on her bottom lip trying to stop herself from smiling. She once had a crush on this guy sitting next to her, she had dreamt of this moment for a long time and there she was next to Nathan Ricci speeding down the road in his convertible car. He glanced at her and her heart skipped a bit when he smiled at her. Guess you never stop crushing on this guy! Amber said to herself. Stop, I have more important things to think about! she said to herself.

The next stop was the Martin’s residence.