Ridgewood Town

Chapter 9

Sophia

June 23

Tuesday

The whole house went dark once the clock struck nine. It's my cue to get out of the comfort of my sheets. I crouched down and pulled the folded ladder under my bed. I found it very useful during the nights when I couldn’t sleep, because I could sneak out of the house faster and safer. I always go out at night before. I go to the woods alone to paint. The silence and tranquility of nature calm me, which helps me to paint freely. I never sensed danger nor felt scared. I guess I got this from dad as he never gets distracted that easily.

When I was nine, I loved sneaking out to play. Some kids were still playing on Mason’s porch. I would always sneak out after dinner to play with them. Taylah and Henry would sometimes watch us out, bringing food and drinks for us.

When my parents found out, they barricaded the door to prevent me from going out. They trapped me inside, stealing my freedom at a very young age.

Ain't it like before? Now, they have locked me inside to stop me from finding my boyfriend. I quietly lay down the ladder. I double checked my door to see if I had locked it inside. That way, they can’t open my door from the outside either. Even if they use the keys.

The cold wind immediately met me when I was on the ground. I could see the roads from here, and stare at the house across from mine.

“Going out?” a soft voice suddenly made my body jolt. I followed where the voice came and saw Ana, leaning on her bedroom window. I put my index finger on my lips. She smiled and nodded. She raised her thumb out like she was approving me or something. Then she vanishes into her room.

I sighed. I couldn’t help myself to worry. I felt my heart beat fast, doubling the fear I was feeling.

This is for Luis or at least what I think I can do to help him for now.

I calm myself, continuously reminding myself of the reason why I’m doing this.

The houses are all devoid of light now. When the clock struck nine, Ridgewood Town was asleep. I unconsciously looked around, feeling eyes were around me, just watching. The streetlights help me to look at the road, but sometimes staring at them scares me for a reason. A blinking red dot would sometimes be seen on one of those which reminded me of cameras that are recording. There weren't CCTV cameras so I doubted that. Maybe just some features for a streetlight. Anything is possible. I hugged myself when I immediately felt a shiver on my spine. The wind is getting colder. I wonder where Peyton is right now.

“BOO!” Large hands suddenly grabbed my shoulders. Before I knew it, my satchel bag had already hit him a few times before I recognized his shouting voice. Peyton quickly hid his face behind his arms, but wasn’t lucky as my bag already hit his cheeks. The force I put into hitting him would feel like punches, especially with the things inside my bag. I stopped for a moment until he dropped his arms.

“What the hell, Sophia?” he groaned as he caressed his cheeks to check for some wounds.

“What the hell, Peyton? Don’t grab me that suddenly! You’re freaking me out!” I screamed in a whisper. He was massaging his arms, not even minding me. I stared at him. He was so tall that I was almost gawking at his height. He was tousling his mousy hair as he was watching the inside of the woods.

“When did you get here?” I asked, looking inside the woods too.

“Just a minute ago, before you got here . I was glad I didn’t sleep through the night or I would've missed that text. What are we doing here anyway?”

“Gathering evidence because no one's going to help me. Detective Philips didn’t push through investigating the woods, right?” I fumbled inside my bag and handed him a flashlight.

“Yeah. I was actually going to tell you about how the investigation was going but your dad didn't let us in," he explained. We started walking our way inside the woods as he feeds me with details. "When Detective Philips and I talked this afternoon, he never mentioned anything about the woods. Did something happen in here?”

My brows furrowed. I fainted that day and when I woke up I was already in my bed at night.

“I don’t remember anything after I passed out. I woke up in my room after that and I never saw Lui again.”

We talked in hushed voices as we tried to search for anything that could help us in any way. I need to find anything that could prove that the treehouse has been placed right here. That night when Detective Philips came there with me, I never had the chance to go back in the morning. My parents had already locked me up, thinking I would be safer inside. I wonder why we didn't even see the debris of the treehouse. I was sure that it should be just around but the tree house vanished in a night.

"What are we trying to find? I don't see any ashes if they were burned down or painted wood like the one in the treehouse. Maybe it has been in the junk already," he says while flashing lights on the ground. "Or maybe someone got rid of it."

"Even if they did that, it's impossible to take it all out. Let's just find something that could help us. Luis won't go missing just because Taylah's dead, right?"

He hummed as an answer. I continued to light on everything hoping to find something. The wind is getting stronger, the temperature is dropping, and my flashlight flickers on something below my feet. I immediately recognized the familiar thin steel. It was still tainted with my dried blood. It was the WIC Company badge Luis had dropped that day. And this little thing was the cause of my blackout.

"I found something, Peyton." I squatted down and pulled my hanky from my kangaroo pocket. I still remember the last time I picked it up with my bare hands. I don't want to make the same mistake again.

"What is it?" he crouched down with me and accidentally directed the light at my face, earning a groan from my end. I felt blinded for a few seconds. I jokingly glared at him and handed him the pin.

"Ain't this the pin given to the trainees at the WIC Company? I have this one at home," he said, inspecting the thing. " Is this dried blood?"

"The blood isn't his but mine. The badge is his. I remember picking that up when I got a cut from its thorns. Then I fainted. When I woke up, I was already on my bed and Taylah was dead." I couldn't hide the sadness in my voice. In just a few hours, I had lost someone close to me. And now the one closest to my heart is missing.

"You have been fainting recently. Is there something wrong?" Peyton asked, his voice full of concern.

"I don't know. When I saw blood on that pin, I fainted and woke up hours later. I-" I felt his hand on my lips, silencing me.

"Shhh..." He pulled me over and we hid behind a large tree. He put his pointer finger on his lips, signing me to keep quiet. I nodded and watched my surroundings.

Twigs snapping were heard; lights from the corner emerged. People in suits were suddenly nearby, as they were flashing their flashlights everywhere like they were trying to find something. The familiar badge was pinned in front of their suits, and when one of them turned their backs, the WIC Company was imprinted on the suit. A cream-colored satchel bag I recognized was in his hand. Luis owns one of those. If only I could see if it had that patch. I'd put a sunflower patch on Luis' satchel bag and it's on the back.

I was about to ask them when I felt a calloused hand wrap my mouth, stopping me from calling out the people in suits. He pulled me back into the confines of the tree. I looked at him confused and he quietly shook his head. I removed his hand from my mouth and continued observing.

They weren't talking and were busy finding something on the ground. The one that seems to be the leader of their group raises his light, signaling them to follow him. They stopped and went away.

We waited for a few minutes before we came out of our hiding place. We look at each other, not making a sound. I don't feel safe with those people.

Who are they? And why are they holding Luis' satchel bag? Does the company have something to do with Luis' disappearance?